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Application No.: 22/01022/LAW Applicant: Graylaw International Proposal: Certificate of lawful use of land for storage and/or distribution (Use Class 2.4) Site Address: Graylaw International Newlands Spring Valley Industrial Estate Douglas Isle Of Man IM2 2QT Planning Officer: Miss Lucy Kinrade Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Certificate of Lawful Use/Devel Approved Date of Recommendation: 05.10.2022
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
C 1. There is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the use for storage and/or distribution ('Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 2019' Use Class 2.4) has been in excess of 10 years and therefore a Certificate of Lawful Development can be issued.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to application form and google image date received 30/09/2022. _______________________________________________________________
Additional Persons
None _____________________________________________________________________________
1.0 INTRODUCTION - 1.1 In accordance with the provisions of Schedule 4, Part 1, paragraph 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 ("the Act"), a development carried out in breach of planning control shall become immune from enforcement action after a certain period of time, provided that formal enforcement action has not already been taken. The relevant time periods are set out below:
1.2 Section 24 of the Act makes provision for the submission and issuing of a Certificate of Lawfulness to establish the lawfulness of a breach of planning control. - 1.3 An application for a Certificate of Lawfulness is determined on the basis of fact. Unlike an application for planning approval, it is not concerned with land-use planning considerations or the impacts of the development upon the public realm. - 1.4 The principal test is whether, on the balance of probabilities, the breach of planning control has occurred continuously for the given period. The burden of proof rests with the applicant and their evidence must be both precise and unambiguous. If the Planning Directorate has no evidence of its own to contradict that provided by the applicant, then provided that the applicant's evidence is sufficiently precise and unambiguous, a Certificate of Lawfulness may be issued. It is not usually necessary for the Planning Department to corroborate the applicant's evidence.
2.0 APPLICATION SITE - 2.1 The application site relates to a detached building and its surrounding land outlined red known as 'Newlands', Spring Valley Douglas.
3.0 THE PROPOSAL AND EVIDENCE SUBMITTED - 3.1 A Certificate of Lawful Use is sought for: o Use of the land for storage and/or distribution (Use Class 2.4 of the Town and Country Planning (Use Classes) Order 2019). - 3.2 The application has been submitted with the following evidence (in no order):
3.3 The application form compiled by the applicant states that the operation started 'since build'.
4.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 4.1 The site was approved for the erection of the building under: o 96/00042/B - Erection of industrial unit with associated offices - APPROVED.
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS Copies of representations received can be viewed on the Government's website. This report contains summaries only. - 5.1 Braddan Parish Commissioners - No objection (06/09/2022). - 5.2 DOI Highway Services - Do not oppose (24/08/2022).
6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 This is an application seeking a Certificate of Lawful Use, and therefore it is not a matter of considering the planning merits of the scheme but rather a legal determination based on the facts to establish whether the stated operations are established and lawful by period of time and therefore beyond the scope of enforcement action. The test of the evidence is based on the balance of reasonableness and probabilities. In this instance, the applicant seeks to rely on the fact that the use in question has been undertaken for a period in excess of 10 years to establish that the development can be considered lawful, as set out in Part 4, Section 24(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999. - 6.2 The applicant has provided information in the application form and a photograph taken from Google streetview dated Oct 2010 which shows the land being used by HGV vehicles typical of a distribution company. On further review of Google Streetview it is apparent that the business utilising the site at that time was a trade distribution company with their logo seen on building and vehicle signage. It is also clear that there were pallets being stored within the building. These streetview images help to corroborate and support the evidence that the site has been used for the storage and distribution use since at least 2010 and thus in excess of the 10 years required to be considered lawful.
7.0 CONCLUSION - 7.1 In view of the above, it is recommended that a Certificate of Lawfulness can be issued.
8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS - 8.1 As the application is for a CLU this is not required to be assessed. There is no right to appeal against this decision.
I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Director of Planning and Building Control in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded Interested Person Status.
Decision Made : Certificate of Lawful Use/Devel Approved Date : 06.10.2022 Determining officer Signed : J CHANCE Jennifer Chance Director of Planning and Building Control
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