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Received 15.10.12 DEPARTMENT OF INFRASTRUCTURE PLANNING AND BUILDING CONTROL
DIVISION
Town and Country Planning Act 1981
Date and Office: 11.12.12
Miss Day
Appeal
Planning Officer Planning Department Department of Infrastructure Murray House
Douglas
Isle of Man 12th October 2012 Planning application number 12/00947/A Dear Miss Davy, I write regarding the above planning application which we have asked to put on hold while I provide this further information.
Our history:
My husband and I have lived in Kionslieu Farmhouse for almost 30 years, since 1984.
From 1987 we operated farmhouse bed and breakfast and since 1994 we have operated five self-catering holiday cottages on the farm. Our website www.iomfarmholidays.com confirms that we specialise in holidays for families. We have very satisfied guests, many returning each year. This is confirmed by comments on trip advisor and pictures and comments on our face book page.
During good weather our guests already enjoy our large gardens with play area and playhouse. We have also provided a communal bbq area and there is a petting area with friendly farm animals. Our only indoor facility is the 'games loft' which we feel is no longer up to the required standard; this 'loft' is in the barn which we would like to re-build. One of our cottages is for less able bodied guests & without major work the loft is inaccessible to them and also anyone who is less than agile.
Guest expectations are rising and the weather this year has highlighted the need for us to improve the indoor entertainment and reception areas for our guests.
At the moment guests arrive to either a small entrance hall in our house or our utility room/back kitchen. The utility room is home to our cockatiels which our guests enjoy meeting. The room is also used to display a large selection of DVDs which we provide for guests use and to display tourist information leaflets.
We also sell farm produce from this room, as this summer has been so wet it has been less than ideal as the room is also used for our boots, wet coats etc as well as the washing machine and tumble drier.
Our application is to re build a barn which is currently redundant other than one room which we advertise as a 'games loft with pool table'. The access to this loft is up outdoor steps. The door into the loft is 110 cm high (less than 4 ft ) and so is not easily accessible to guests other than children.
At present we are reviewing the situation, hence the planning in principle application. In other parts of the building the woodwork is riddled with woodworm, some in such a bad condition the wood has collapsed. There are no footings and the downstairs floods on a regular basis. The walls have structural faults with vertical gaps appearing. To underpin the walls etc would be extremely difficult given the lay of the land. The cost would be prohibitive and we could not create what is needed as the building has such thick walls it would be impossible to create a usable interior space while keeping on the same footprint.
We do not wish to increase the height or size of the building. The only alteration in size would be to include the area which is currently an unused Thie Veg. There is a gateway into the field at one end of the barn and the hedge meets the other end and so the size of the replacement building would be governed by these.
As already mentioned to renovate the cost would be prohibitive, the alternative would be to leave the building in its current state. We would then need to consider if the loft is still in a safe condition for use by our guests and eventually lose the facility. Should it become necessary to demolish the building at a later date the impact on the surrounding area would be much greater to both us and the surrounding area.
In our proposal our intention for the area between the barn \& farmhouse would be to provide a dedicated reception area for our guests. This would be a pleasant bright area almost like a covered walkway with occasional chairs furniture, tourist information, DVD collection, a computer for internet access and also a small aviary.
This area would lead into a new communal space for guests where we can provide a much higher standard of leisure facilities accessible to all to all of our guests. In this area we plan to put the pool table/ gym equipment.
We feel that both of the above would very much improve our guests experience at Kionslieu particularly in wet weather.
At the moment we do not have a garage and so to the Northern end of the barn we would provide a garage with clean, dry storage above for cottage Christmas decorations, spare beds, mattresses etc which at present are stored in our own house.
With the slope of the hill we could provide a small two storey self contained unit on the southern end of the barn without increasing its height. Our intention would be to use this as a single bedroom unit sleeping two persons. If the application is given approval we also hope we can incorporate a shower room for use by campers during TT \& Grandprix fortnight as are often asked for this facility.
We have considered the impact this development would have and can advise the following:-
It may appear on a map that our farm is out in open countryside yet the building in question is 150 m from the new Heritage Homes Development of 31 houses, it is less than 380 m from the new mansion house permitted on the Louisa Mine Site and less than 300 m from the planned development of approximately 50 houses opposite Springfield Terrace.
We hope that with the additional information now provided that our application can be approved and would welcome a visit from the planning officer when a more detailed application has been prepared.
Yours sincerely
Fiona Barker (Mrs)
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