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Planning and Building Control Directorate Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture Murray House, Mount Havelock, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 2SF
Subject: Building Planning Application at Carnane
Dear all,
SES Satellite Leasing Limited (SESSL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SES S.A. of Luxembourg, the world's largest satellite operator, is glad to apply herewith formally for building permission at the Carnane site, zoned for "Radio Transmitting Station", to install four satellite ground antennas and related buildings.
The application fee of £265, based on Town and Country Planning (Application and Appeal Fees) (No. 2) Order 2015, for:
is included.
With best regards!
Dr.-Ing. Richard K. Arning Vice President and Director, SESSL
SES Satellite Leasing Limited Tel. +44 (0) 1624 618060 Fax: +44 (0) 1624 612826 www.ses.com
Registered Office: First Floor, Belgravia House, 34/44 Circular Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM1 1AE
Place of Incorporation: Isle of Man
Company registration No: 004632V
VAT registration No: GB 002 4449 19
SES Satellite Leasing Limited
AT Carnane, Upper Howe, Old Castletown Road DOUGLAS IM4 1AB
Planning Application Supporting Statement
DATE: 29th February 2016 PREPARED BY: Dr.-Ing. Richard K. Arning SES Satellite Leasing Limited
The aim of this document is to provide the necessary background to explain why SES Satellite Leasing Limited ("SES SL") is applying for planning permission to invest and build satellite ground antennas / earth stations to connect to its global satellite network and why this is beneficial for the Isle of Man's economy. SES SL's aim is to minimise the visual impact of providing this new service from the island and to choose the best site and best technology possible, keeping visual amenity as a priority at all times. This document will also help to explain the sequential process which led to the down-selection of the specific location being chosen, the site layout and what alternatives were discounted.
The development covered by this application is intended to be a site share on land zoned for "Radio Transmitting Stations" according to Isle of Man Planning Scheme (Development Plan) Order 1982.
SES Satellite Leasing Limited ("SES SL") is an Isle of Man-based affiliate of the Luxembourg-based SES S.A., the Group ("SES"). SES is the world-leading satellite operator, providing reliable and secure satellite communication solutions to broadcast, telecom, corporate and government customers worldwide. SES owns and operates a fleet of 54 geostationary satellites that are complemented by a network of Earth Stations and offices located around the globe. This far-reaching infrastructure enables its customers to reach of the world's population and places SES at the heart of the global communications chain and satellite transmission for TV broadcasting including the British Isles.
SES SL, founded in 2004 on the Isle of Man, is a fully operative entity including own local engineering skills, and has recently been awarded the necessary licences by the Communications Commission and Ofcom to operate "radio transmitting and/or receiving stations as satellite permanent earth station" (see Annex 1) from the Isle of Man after successful approval based on public consultation.
To serve the needs of SES SL as a satellite operator to fly and control its satellites from the Isle of Man, to uplink and receive customer data and connect on-island enterprises like data centres with their off-island customers e.g. in remote regions or in the maritime environment, SES SL intends to build four satellite antennas.
The proposed development will consist of up to four parabolic antenna dishes, two buildings to host the antenna electronics, a backup power generator building and a small MEA meter cabinet. The installation is planned to be placed on and share the land already zoned for "Radio Transmission Stations" at Carnane, Upper Howe, Old Castletown Road, Douglas, which also used by the current nearby 77 m and 40 m high towers of Arqiva and DHA (Department of Home Affairs).
The satellite antenna diameter is 9 m with a theoretical overall top height in the most elevated (vertical) dish position of 9.67 m above ground level (AGL). Operationally, depending to which satellite pointing, the antennas have to be slightly tilted having a top height between ca. 8.5 m and 9.6 m above ground. All antennas are placed on concrete pads of .
The two electronic equipment buildings and the one backup power generator building are proposed to be made out of similar brick and appearance as the current DHA building. Building dimensions are for the equipment building, respectively for the backup power generator building.
A standard 2 m high fence made from welded mesh or chain links, e.g. in green, is sufficient to protect the area from the public entering into the site.
Groundworks will lead to minor amounts of extraction and filling. Any soil removed will be used as filling material remaining on-site, so that there are no fills imported or exported.
Committed to invest into the Isle of Man, SES SL's plans are in line with the island's Vision2020 to grow the economy. The space industry is a long established strategic sector managed by the Department of Economic Development (DED) with SES SL being a key player and employer. Its growth is supporting the diversification of the island's industry. As a provider of telecommunication and broadcasting services SES is part of the ICT (Information, Communication \& Technology) sector as well. SES SL is a member of the Manx ICT Association MICTA.
The planned investment into a high-tech infrastructure with up to four Earth Stations will be the first space industry related physical infrastructure, securing and growing the presence of the island's space and ICT business and its job base. It adds as well an additional, independent and resilient layer to the island's global broadband connectivity.
For SES SL ongoing investments into satellites, it is mandatory to be able to control them. Hence, site proximity to SES SL offices in Douglas plays a key role. To open up the local Isle of Man market as well the regional market potential of the Northern Powerhouse in data driven business, for instance in eGaming, data centres, telecom, maritime communications or even biomed data services, it is mandatory to operate the satellite ground antennas from the Isle of Man. Global connectivity for local businesses is a must in the 21st century. When the clients have no fibre broadband because being they are in remote areas, or operating on the sea (like oil rigs, ships) or in the air, satellite is the only possible connection. In addition to addressing the established Isle of Man industry sectors the new satellite ground antenna facility can be used to attract further inward investment from outside, e.g. from TV broadcasters.
By redirecting spending of SES for currently used third party earth station services in other jurisdictions to the Isle of Man, SES SL can grow by insourcing this business. The typical lifetime of a satellite of 15 years and more goes hand in hand with the long term investment commitment in building and operating a satellite earth station. Hence, a significant amount of spending to plan, build and operate this infrastructure will be subcontracted to local suppliers, e.g. for construction, cabling, electricity supply, maintenance, data network management, landscaping and gardening etc.
The Carnane site zoned for land use with Radio Transmitting Stations is currently hosting the antenna towers of Arqiva ( 77 m height, 148 m above sea level - ASL), DHA ( 40 m height, 144.5 m above sea level), and a smaller redundant tower plus various scattered functional buildings, most of them built from brick and designed with flat roofs. It is located south of Douglas harbour and the industrial area around TESCO on the Carnane hill between the Coast and the Pulrose golf course (see Annex 2: Maps). The area, which is covered by a mix of grass, scrub and heath land as well as gravel, is surrounded by private farmland, separated in the South by a dry stone wall. With an approximate length of 30 meters, the Arqiva building compound is the largest building complex. For safety and security reasons the current buildings and towers are protected by mesh fences with barb wire as well as palisade fences. Annex 3 (Carnane photos) gives an impression how the site looks like today.
The immediate site of application within that wider zoned side at Carnane is situated on the back-slope of the hill (seen from Douglas Central) to the feet of the DHA tower at ca. 140 m above sea level.
Carnane was chosen because it represents the least visually obtrusive option available as described in the following chapter. The site is surrounded by private land/farmland which prevents close distance view by the general public. Due to the Carnane hill top and crest shielding the lower based satellite antennas of less than 9.7 m height AGL, they cannot be seen from Douglas Central, North and Onchan, while from some spots in Douglas West the top of the most western antennas would be seen. Visibility is only possible from at least 1 km away and therefore the impact would be negligible. The remaining impact might be mitigated to a certain extent by planting a line of bushes/small trees between the northern back of the most western and more visible antennas, while the more eastern antennas are visually shielded by the existing DHA building.
More details can be found in chapter 7.
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General Policy 2 of the Strategic Plan states: "Development which is in accordance with the land-use zoning and proposals in the appropriate Area Plan and with other policies of this Strategic Plan will normally be permitted".
The Development Plan from 1982 and the Braddan Local Plan 1991 (South) Map 3 actually designate the site as "Transmitting Station" (see Annex 2: Maps).
As the Carnane site is dedicated to "Radio Transmission Station" usage and in fact used like that today, a further use for radio transmission stays within the current planning.
Chapter 11.9.2 of the Strategic plan states: "It is important that a balance be struck between the need for new, evolving communications systems to satisfy residential and business demand and the impact that the necessary infrastructure will have upon the environment. New communications development should be in accordance with the provisions of this plan." As a strategic business sector the Isle of Man space industry is managed by the Department of Economic Development. The satellite operators are part of the ICT sector as well and require the necessary communication infrastructure. Hence an earth station licence was granted to SES SL by the Communications Commission and Ofcom after public consultation "to establish, install and/or use radio transmitting stations." The environmental impact needs to be kept in balance in the best way possible.
SES SL believes the installation complies with the Islands Policies above.
SES Satellite Leasing Limited Proprietary
As GEO satellites are stationary above the equator at 22 thousand miles altitude, they all appear south, looking from a location in the Northern hemisphere. This corresponds on the Isle of Man to a visible arc from (roughly West-southwest) to (roughly East-southeast) where on the extreme ends of this arc the GEO satellites appear just on the horizon. A ground antenna communicating to a GEO stationary satellite makes a free line-of-sight to the whole horizon on this arc mandatory.
This requires an obstacle free, and elevated antenna position, and a slope of the selected antenna site down to the South. For instance locations in the North of the island are not feasible because a South looking antenna would be blocked by the mountains.
Also to avoid the antennas from blocking each other, the antennas have to keep circa 23 meter distance from each other in an almost West to East alignment. Hence a land plot for four antennas needs to offer a West to East length of circa 100 meters.
Access needs to be guaranteed 24 / 7 by car within half an hour response time for the staff. Hence extreme rural locations or locations effected by TT have to be discounted.
In a systematic sequential process all technically feasible sites were screened and ranked or discounted according to the following criteria catalogue making visual amenity paramount:
Most of the available sites on the island with land zoning for radio transmitting stations turned out to be either within/nearby residential areas (e.g. Braddan next to the school), and/or too small to host the antennas (e.g. Laxey), and/or did not provide the unobstructed view (e.g. Foxdale with South Barrule blocking line of sight).
From a pure technical point of view in terms of unobstructed view from the ground antenna to the sky and the land plot area size two options turned out to be feasible, Creg-ny-Baa and Carnane.
Finally, the Creg-ny-Baa option was discounted as well, because of its landmark character and the widely visual presence. Also access difficulties by car during TT and the lack of redundant power supply were arguments against.
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