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| Application No.: | 12/00678/B |
| Applicant: | Mr William Ian & Mrs Kathleen Lowey |
| Proposal: | Erection of an agricultural cattle shed |
| Site Address: | Balladoole Farm |
| Balladoole | |
| Castletown | |
| Isle Of Man | |
| IM9 4PQ |
1.1 The site represents the curtilage of Balladoole Farm, Balladoole, Castletown, which comprises of a group of farm buildings/barns with a detached farm house. All the farm outbuildings and the dwelling house (exception of Dutch barn and more modern steel framed barn located along the western boundary of the orchard) are Registered Buildings. The application site is not within the curtilage of a Registered Building. All are located to the south of the Shore Road (A5) which runs to Port St Mary to the west and Castletown to the east. The farm is access via an access road which runs from the Shore Road in a southern direction to connecting to a number of properties and Pooil Vaaish Quarry.
2.1 The application seeks approval of the erection of an agricultural cattle shed. The proposed shed would be sited to the south of the existing farm complex and would have a width of 32 metres, a depth of 12 metres and a maximum height of 5.9 metres.
2.2 The proposal would be sited to the south of the existing Dutch barn and to the west of the walled orchard. Part of the proposal would be set into the hillside of an adjoining field, which would required the re- profiling of the land to create a 45 degree slope, which has a height of 1.3 metres.
3.1 The application site is within an area recognised as being an area not zoned for development under the Isle of Man Development Plan Order 1982. The site is not within a Conservation Area, but is within an area zoned as High Landscape or Coastal Value and Scenic Significance.
3.2 Under the Modified Draft Area Plan for the South the site is on land not zoned for development, and the Landscape Assessment indicates the site as being within an area is characterised as being "Undulating lowland plain".
3.3 Due to the site location, zoning and the type of proposal, the following policies are relevant for consideration:
"General Policy 3: Development will not be permitted outside of those areas which are zoned for development on the appropriate Area Plan with the exception of:
| Case Officer: | Mr Chris Balmer |
| Photo Taken: | 22.05.2012 |
| Site Visit: | 22.05.2012 |
| Expected Decision Level: | Officer Delegation |
"Environment Policy 15: Where the Department is satisfied that there is agricultural or horticultural need for a new building (including a dwelling), sufficient to outweigh the general policy against development in the countryside, and that the impact of this development including buildings, accesses, servicing etc. is acceptable, such development must be sited as close as is practically possible to existing building groups and be appropriate in terms of scale, materials, colour, siting and form to ensure that all new developments are sympathetic to the landscape and built environment of which they will form a part.
Only in exceptional circumstances will buildings be permitted in exposed or isolated areas or close to public highways and in all such cases will be subject to appropriate landscaping. The nature and materials of construction must also be appropriate to the purposes for which it is intended.
Where new agricultural buildings are proposed next to or close to existing residential properties, care must be taken to ensure that there is no unacceptable adverse impact through any activity, although it must be borne in mind that many farming activities require buildings which are best sited, in landscape terms, close to existing building groups in the rural landscape."
4.1 The following previous planning applications are considered relevant in the assessment and determination of this application: Change of use of agricultural building to residential dwelling to rear Balladoole Farm - 88/01271/B – APPROVED Approval in principle to convert agricultural building into dwelling - 86/01053/A - APPROVED
5.1 No written representations have been received.
6.1 The starting point for any development within the countryside (i.e. not zoned for development) is General Policy 3 paragraph F of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan. This policy states that development will not be permitted outside of those areas which are zoned for development on the appropriate Area Plan with the exception of those buildings which are essential for the conduct of agriculture or forestry.
6.2 Further to this policy, Environment Policy 15 also need consideration, as the first paragraph of this policy requires first the Planning Authority to be satisfied that there is agricultural or horticultural need for a new building, sufficient to outweigh the general policy against development in the countryside.
6.3 To find whether the proposed barn would have a sufficient justification to comply with General Policy 3 and the first aspect of Environment Policy 15, the Authority has contacted the Agricultural Advisor from the Department of Environment, Food and Agricultural (DEFA) for their comments.
6.4 The Advisor has stated that currently the farm enterprise is based on 84 acres, of which 60 acres is owned by the applicant and the remainder is leased land (5 year tenancy agreement). The farm operation is based on around 25 spring calving cows, 25 one to two year old cattle and 15 acres of cereals. A small area (0.4 acre) of vegetables is grown.
6.5 The Advisor also indicates that the dairy based agricultural enterprise has a standard labour requirement of 0.39 standard labour units. The Department considers this enterprise as a part time agricultural business.
6.5 It is indicated that the applicant has only recently expanded his farming acreage and activities to include Balladoole Farm. The farm has historically been managed organically, and only recently ceased its official organic status. Stocking rates are therefore currently lower than that of a non-organic farm.
6.6 The advisor state that there is only one existing modern buildings and this is not ideal for the housing of livestock and appears to be used for hay storage. The remaining farm buildings are traditional stone buildings which are poorly ventilated/accessed and therefore unsuitable for the housing of livestock.
6.7 The advisor concludes that; "...the provision of an agricultural building is agriculturally justified and will allow this agricultural enterprise to develop and expand for the future."
6.8 Given these comments and the need/requirements for the building outline by the Advisor, it is considered the proposal would be acceptable in terms of General Policy 3 and the first aspect of Environment Policy 15.
6.9 The next aspects of Environment Policy 15 which needs consideration are is regarding the siting and size and the design (materials & colour) of the proposal and whether the proposal would be a sympathetic to the landscape and built environment of which they will form a part.
6.10 The design, finish, form and scale is of a standard agricultural barn which is common throughout the Island. A condition should be attached requiring the 'Yorkshire Boarding' being painted and retained in a dark green colour to ensure the building blends with the countryside.
6.11 The proposal from the Shore Road would apparent, although given the topography of the land, the siting of the barn into the hill side and the existing buildings between the proposal and the highway, these views would not be of a prominent feature in the landscape, but rather limited and fleeting. From further a far (from the junction with Shore Road and New Road (A28) the existing farmhouse, farm buildings and significant mature trees would screen the proposed barn from view. Perhaps the best view of the proposal would be from the access road which runs along the eastern boundary of the farm complex in a southerly direction. The southern gable end of the barn would be apparent, although the proposal would screen the majority of the existing Dutch barn from view, therefore the amount of built development apparent from the access road would only be slightly increased.
6.12 The proposal would be sited next to the existing group of buildings and would appear part of the main farm complex. This siting is what Environment Policy 15 seeks to ensure development does not result in sporadic and isolated buildings in the countryside.
6.13 As the proposal would lie adjacent to a number of Registered Buildings, the Conservation Officer has been involved at an early pre-application stage discussing the siting and design of the proposal in relation to the potential impacts upon the Registered Buildings. It is also noted that the existing farm is a working farm. Through these discussions the proposed design and siting is what was accepted by the applicant and the Conservation Officer. Consequently, the Officer has no objection to the proposal.
7.1 For these reasons the proposal is considered to comply with the relevant polices of the Strategic Plan and therefore recommended for an approval.
8.1 It is considered that the following meet the criteria of Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2005, paragraph 6 (5) (d) and should be afforded interested party status:
Arbory Parish Commissioners
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal
C 1. The development hereby permitted shall commence before the expiration of four years from the date of this notice.
C 2. This approval relates to the erection of an agricultural cattle shed as proposed in the submitted documents and drawings SL 2, SP2, MC /01B S1, MC /01B S2 and MC /01B S3 all received on 8th May 2012.
C 3. The building must be used only for agricultural purposes.
C 4.
| Recommendation | |
| Recommended Decision: | Permitted |
| Date of Recommendation: | 03.07.2012 |
I confirm that this decision accords with the appropriate Government Circular delegating functions to Director of Planning and Building Control / Development Control Manager/ Senior Planning Officer.
Decision Made : Permitted Date : 10/7/12
Signed : A. K. K. K. K. Anthony Holmes Senior Planning Officer
Signed : _________________________ Michael Gallagher Director of Planning and Building Control
Signed : _________________________ Sarah Corlett Senior Planning Officer
Signed : _________________________ Jennifer Chance Development Control Manager
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