DEC Officer Report

Application No.: 19/00436/B Applicant: Ballavell Farm Ltd Proposal: Erection of agricultural barn Site Address: Ballavell Farm Grenaby Road Ballasalla Isle of Man IM9 3DP Planning Officer: Mr Nick Salt Photo Taken: 15.05.2019 Site Visit: 15.05.2019 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 20.05.2019 _________________________________________________________________

Conditions and Notes for Approval

C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions

• C 1. The development hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this decision notice.

Reason: To comply with article 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

• C 2. The building must be used only for agricultural purposes.

Reason: The countryside is protected from development and an exception is being made on the basis of agricultural need. As such the building must be used for the purposes for which it is approved.

Plans/Drawings/Information:

This decision relates to the following plans, information and drawings, date stamped as received on 9th April 2019:

• o Worksheet calculation of Standard Labour unit requirements
• o Rural Business Consultancy statement
• o Location Plan
• o Site plan as existing and proposed
• o Photographs as existing
• o Proposed elevations and plans _______________________________________________________________

Interested Person Status – Additional Persons

None _____________________________________________________________________________

Officer’s Report

1.0 SITE - 1.1 The site is Ballavell Farm near Ballasalla, a medium sized dairy farm. The farm currently contains a number of farm buildings within a compact area, ranging from older traditional stone barns to more modern framed constructions. - 1.2 The application has provided the following information regarding the farm:

• o The farm is based around 262 acres of which 70 is cultivated for cropping with the remainder grass
• o Stocking included 90 dairy cows and 172 young stock
• o The labour demand is 2.97 units

2.0 PROPOSAL - 2.1 Proposed is the erection of a new agricultural shed infilling a space between an existing whitewashed stone barn to the north west and a larger shed to the south east. The building would be 30.5mx13.7m with an eaves height of 4.26m, facilitating a new milking parlour and cow handling pens. - 2.2 The following information about the proposed has also been provided by the applicant:

• o The current milking parlour is nearing the end of its functional life and due to its location in an old stone building where there is insufficient room to accommodate the larger parlour that is proposed. The current milking parlour milks 6 a side whereas the proposed parlour will milk 12 each side.
• o The proposed new parlour will allow for the herd to expand to 120 milking cows which will increase the labour requirement to 3.37 standard labour units.
• o The proposed building will be clad with Yorkshire boarding style wood above a concrete wall to the southern gable with the northern gable being fitted with gates to hold and manage stock easily. The two sides will be incorporated with the existing building structures to manage stock efficiently.
• o The building will be sited with the existing building cluster to allow for the existing services to be utilised and to ensure stock and machinery access is not compromised.
• o The building would be fitted with an open protected ventilated ridge as per DEFA guidelines for livestock housing.
• o There is a small homemade lean-to building within the proposed building curtilage that will be removed to accommodate the proposed building.
• o A stone wall will also be removed to allow access into the building from the yard and improve access to the buildings.
• o Roof water will be piped into existing drainage.

2.3 The new building would feature a 15 degree roof pitch, the ridge of which would be lower than the adjacent stone barn and marginally higher than the building to the south east.

- 3.0 PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 14/00504/B - approval was granted for the erection of a new agricultural dwelling on the farm. - 4.0 PLANNING POLICY

4.1 The proposal site is within an area which is not designated for a particular purpose on the Area Plan for the South (2013). It is within an area of High Landscape or Coastal Value and Scenic Siginificance on the 1982 Order and Incised Inland Slopes on the Landscape Character Assessment.

4.2 Due to the land use designation , General Policy 3 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 applies, it lists exceptions to the rule for the restriction of development in the countryside, one of which is (f) " building and engineering operations which are essential for the conduct of agriculture or forestry." - 4.3 Spatial Policy 5 states; New development will be located within the defined settlements. Development will only be permitted in the countryside in accordance with General Policy 3 - 4.4 Environment Policy 1 states: The countryside and its ecology will be protected for its own sake. For the purposes of this policy, the countryside comprises all land which is outside the settlements defined in Appendix

3 at A.3.6 or which is not designated for future development on an Area Plan. Development which would adversely affect the countryside will not be permitted unless there is an overriding national need in land use planning terms which outweighs the requirement to protect these areas and for which there is no reasonable and acceptable alternative.

4.5 The present system of landscape classification of Areas of High Landscape or Coastal Value and Scenic Significance (AHLV's) as shown on the 1982 Development Plan and subsequent Local and Area Plans will be used as a basis for development control until such time as it is superseded by a landscape classification which will introduce different categories of landscape and policies and guidance for control therein. Within these areas the protection of the character of the landscape will be the most important consideration unless it can be shown that: (a) the development would not harm the character and quality of the landscape; or (b) the location for the development is essential. - 4.6 Environment Policy 15 states: "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."

- 5.0 REPRESENTATIONS

5.1 Malew Parish Commissioners have no objection to the application (01.05.19).

5.2 DoI Highways have stated that there is no highways interest in the application (01.05.19).

- 6.0 ASSESSMENT

6.1 The key considerations in the assessment of this application are, the principle of the development and the visual impact of the proposed shed/parlour. It is not considered that there are neighbours close enough to be impacted.

6.2 The principle of the erection of the sheds/barns

• 6.2.1 As with any countryside development, there is a presumption against any which would adversely impact the countryside. With this development proposal, as part of an existing farm, it must be established if there is sufficient need for the building.
• 6.2.2 The applicant has demonstrated in their written submission supported by a Labour unit calculation sheet from DEFA that the provision of the new milking parlour through the erection of the shed would facilitate an increase of milking cattle from 90 to 110 units. The increase in simultaneous milking capacity from 6 per side to 12 per side would provide efficiencies not possible within the existing milking parlour in an older stone barn.
• 6.2.3 The agricultural need for the new building is therefore accepted.

6.3 The visual impact

• 6.3.1 The new building would be sited to fit between two existing buildings, and would not sit above the overall roofline of those buildings. There is also a silo directly to the north east. In this respect, the only noticeable visual impact would be likely be from the south west. That said however, the building would fit with the existing cluster on the farm and would not appear out of place. No further impact on the surrounding countryside is envisaged.
• 6.3.2 From any public road or vantage point, the new building would be screened from view by both the existing buildings either side and existing trees and vegetation surrounding the farmyard.

6.4 The removal of the small lean to building

• 6.4.1 The removal of a minor agricultural addition to one of the existing barns would have no impact on the appearance of the area. It is not of any traditional value.
• 7.0 CONCLUSION

7.1 In summary, it is considered that there is an agricultural need for the shed, and impacts on the countryside would be minimal if any. The proposal is therefore compatible with the aforementioned policies of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan and is recommended for approval. - 8.0 INTERESTED PERSON STATUS

8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No 2) Order 2013 Article 6(4), the following persons are automatically interested persons:

• (a) The applicant, or if there is one, the applicant's agent;
• (b) The owner and the occupier of any land that is the subject of the application or any other person in whose interest the land becomes vested;
• (c) Any Government Department that has made written submissions relating to planning considerations with respect to the application that the Department considers material
• (d) Highway Services Division of Department of Infrastructure and
• (e) The local authority in whose district the land the subject of the application is situated.

8.2 The decision maker must determine:

• o whether any other comments from Government Departments (other than the Department of Infrastructure Highway Services Division) are material; and

• o whether there are other persons to those listed in Article 6(4) who should be given Interested Person Status.

8.3 The Department of Environment Food and Agriculture is responsible for the determination of planning applications. As a result, where officers within the Department make comments in a professional capacity they cannot be given Interested Person Status.

I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Principal Planner in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.

Decision Made : Permitted Date: 30.05.2019 Determining officer

Signed : S CORLETT Sarah Corlett Principal Planner

Customer note

This copy of the officer report reflects the content of the file copy and has been produced in this form for the benefit of our online services/customers and archive records.