The Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure)
(No 2) Order 2013
The Planning Inspector appointed by the Council of Ministers has now considered the application and submitted his report in accordance with statute.
On 15th August 2019, the Council of Ministers considered the recommendations of the Planning Inspector and determined to approve the application subject to the condition(s) specified below.
Dr. Alow. Mr W Greenhow ACMA Chief Secretary
Date of Issue: 27th August 2019
Conditions of Approval
The development hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of the decision notice.
Reason: To comply with Article 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.
All tools and machinery are to be stored on the hard surface of the car park during the works and all works to the car park are to be undertaken from the existing hard surface as far as possible. If lizards are found on the site, works are to be stopped and a Biodiversity Officer informed and a plan put in place to protect them.
Reason: To limit ground disturbance to the surrounding grassland and banks in the interest of protecting any lizards found on the site.
In accordance with statute, please be advised that the decision of the Council of Ministers is binding and final.
All parties should note that there is no prescribed right of appeal relevant to the Council's decision herein and accordingly the only right of challenge is by a petition of doleance brought to the High Court of Justice of the Isle of Man. Such doleance proceedings required to be issued promptly and in any event within 3 months.
Yours faithfully,
A Johnstone Planning Appeals Administrator On behalf of the Chief Secretary
Crown Division Government Offices Douglas Isle of Man 30 July 2019 To the Council of Ministers Case Reference DF19/0003 Planning Application 19/00196/B Application by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture for planning approval for resurfacing of existing stone car park with bitmac and installation of surface water drainage outlet to proposed gravel-filled soakaway at Conrhenny Plantation, Creg Ny Baa Back Road, Lonan, Isle of Man.
I have the honour to report that on 26 July 2019 I carried out a site visit at the above location. The case is being made by written representations.
Pursuant to Section 10(1)(b) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013, the application must be considered by the Council of Ministers, not the Planning Authority. This is because the application site is owned by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA), of which the Planning Authority forms part.
Site Description and the Proposal
The appeal site is the Conrhenny Plantation car park, adjacent to Creg Ny Baa Back Road. The Plantation is a Community Woodland and Nature Reserve providing for activities including walking and nature studies. It is also one of the 26 registered Dark Sky Discovery Sites on the Island. The existing car park has a gravel surface but the bellmouth entrance from the road is surfaced in bitumen macadam (bitmac). The car park is bounded by grass verges and timber fencing. It provides parking space for walkers and other users of the Plantation, as well as for access into the Plantation for Forestry and other vehicles.
The proposal is to resurface the car park with bitmac surfacing and remove the existing gravel and the timber edging and grass from the boundaries. The existing grass verges would also be resurfaced in bitmac. The existing entrance would be retained. The car park slopes downwards to the north, towards the road, and a gravel-filled soakaway is proposed at the northern corner of the application site to accommodate rainwater run-off.
Planning Background and Policy
The car park was constructed following approval Ref 09/00220/B in 2009. The application site is within an area of Open Space designated in the Laxey and Lonan Local Plan 2005 (LLLP).
Relevant policies are contained in the adopted Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 (SP).
General Policy 3 (GP3) resists development outside settlements but makes certain exceptions, including by way of criterion (h) which allows for works required for the interpretation of the countryside, its wildlife or heritage.
Environment Policy 1 (EP1) protects the countryside and its ecology from development, unless there is an overriding national planning need for it and no reasonable and acceptable alternative. EP3 protects ancient, natural and semi-natural woodland with public amenity or conservation value.
Advice from the DEFA Planning and Building Control Directorate
The material points are:
Issues
The key areas for consideration are the environmental and visual impacts and highway safety aspects of the proposed development.
Environmental Impacts
It is not considered that any negative impacts would result either on the ecology of the Plantation or the wider countryside as a result of the proposed works.
However, Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT) raised concerns about the potential impacts on lizards in the area but the DEFA Biodiversity Team have no record of Common Lizards on or surrounding Conrhenny Plantation car park, the nearest being around 150m to the south. However, that is not to say that none are present and MWT has requested that, should the application be successful, Forestry, Amenity and Lands (FAL) insert a requirement into the pre-tender work instructions to protect any lizards.
Visual Impacts
The bitmac surface would give a more permanent and less natural appearance and would be marginally more noticeable, albeit only from the roadside. The car park would not be increased in size and the works would not involve the loss of any trees or planting. The visual impact of the proposed development would therefore be negligible.
Highway Safety
The new surface would reduce the amount of dust and gravel entering the Creg Ny Baa Back Road. Any erosion of the car park would be limited by the more durable surface treatment. Run-off water would be directed to the soakaway in the north corner, such that the likelihood of water running directly onto the road is slight. The development would therefore improve highway safety.
Conclusions
The proposal seeks to provide a permanent surface on a car park which has been in existence for approximately 10 years. The car park surface would provide suitable and accessible parking for users of the public open space. The proposed development would not harm the area visually, or cause damage to the Plantation or the surrounding countryside. The proposal therefore complies with the relevant policies of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 and the Local Plan.
Other Representations
Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT) has requested that, should the application be successful, Forestry, Amenity and Lands (FAL) insert the following statement (or similar) into the pre-tender work instructions:
Subject to the possibility of lizards being found on site all tools and machinery are to be stored on the hard surface during the works and all work should be undertaken from the existing hard surface, where possible, to limit ground disturbance to the surrounding grassland and banks. If lizards are found, works should stop and a Biodiversity Officer should be informed and a plan put in place to protect them.
Assessment by the Inspector
Issues
In my view, the main issues are, as advised by the Planning Authority, the environmental and visual impacts of the proposed development, as well as its highway safety aspects.
Environmental Effects
On the available evidence, there is some relatively slight possibility that protected lizards could be present on the site and affected by the proposed works. In the circumstances, the precautionary condition suggested by Manx Wildlife Trust and endorsed by the Planning Authority offers a sufficient safeguard and is appropriate. This would require all car park construction works to be kept within the area of the car park and suitable protective measures put in place, with the advice of a Biodiversity Officer, should any lizards be found.
Otherwise, there is no evidence that there would be any adverse impacts on the ecology of the Plantation or the wider countryside as a result of the proposed works.
Visual Effects
Although the proposed bitmac surface would give a more permanent, and less natural appearance than the present gravel, and would be would noticeable from the immediate area, the car park would not be increased in size overall and the works would not involve the loss of any trees or planting, aside from the narrow grass verges. I therefore consider that the visual impact of the proposed development would be minimal, with no significant detriment to the appearance of the site and the surrounding area.
Highway Safety
As advised by the Planning Authority, the new, closed bitmac surfacing would limit dust and gravel from the car park entering the Creg Ny Baa Back Road. The erosion of the car park would be limited by the more durable surface treatment and run-off water would be directed to the soakaway in the north corner, such that the likelihood of water running directly onto the road is slight. The development would therefore improve highway safety.
Conclusion
The development would not cause any unacceptable adverse impacts on any planning interests. It would generally support the interpretation of the countryside, its wildlife and heritage by the public using the improved car park, in line with General Policy 3(h) of the Strategic Plan. Nor would there be any conflict with the aims of Environment Policies 1 and 3 to protect the countryside, its ecology and woodland with public amenity or conservation value.
I therefore conclude that planning approval should be granted for the proposed development.
Recommendation
I recommend that planning approval be granted for resurfacing of existing stone car park with bitmac and installation of surface water drainage outlet to proposed gravel-filled soakaway at Conrhenny Plantation, Creg Ny Baa Back Road, Lonan, Isle of Man, as shown on Drwg Nos 19-005 01 and 19-005 10, received 22 February 2019, and subject to the following conditions:
1) The development hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of the decision notice
Reason: To comply with Article 14 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (No2) Order 2013 and to avoid accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals. 2) All tools and machinery are to be stored on the hard surface of the car park during the works and all works to the car park are to be undertaken from the existing hard surface as far as possible. If lizards are found on the site, works are to be stopped and a Biodiversity Officer informed and a plan put in place to protect them.
Reason: to limit ground disturbance to the surrounding grassland and banks in the interest of protecting any lizards found on the site.
(B) 7 Sims
Brian J Sims BSc CEng MICE MRTPI Independent Inspector
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Source & Provenance
Official reference
19/00196/B
Source authority
Isle of Man Government Planning & Building Control
