16 April 2025 · Committee
Clypse Beg, Little Mill Road, Onchan, Isle Of Man, IM4 5bf
The application sought to demolish the existing house and outbuildings at Clypse Beg and construct a replacement dwelling with a new access drive. The site is in a countryside setting, making the principle of replacement housing the central planning issue, assessed against Housing Policy 14 and related policies. Committee found the replacement dwelling acceptable on balance. The design blends modern and traditional elements, using render, natural Manx stone, timber, and slate, broadly in line with Planning Circular 3/91. Ecological impacts were addressed through biodiversity enhancements including native hedging and tree replanting. Landscape integration was supported by retention of sod banks, consistent with the Landscape Character Assessment.
Committee permitted the scheme because it met the requirements for replacement dwellings in the countryside under Housing Policy 14, achieved an appropriate design using traditional materials, incorporated biodiversity enhancements to address ecological concerns, and improved highway access. Taken together, these factors were judged to deliver measurable benefits to the countryside setting while complying with the relevant housing, environmental, and transport policies.
Condition 1
The development hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this decision notice.
Condition 2
Prior to the occupation of the dwelling hereby approved, all access arrangements, including visibility splays, as detailed in approved drawings 23 1757 07 Rev A and 23 1757 03 Rev B, shall be fully implemented and retained as such thereafter. At no time shall there be any obstruction within the visibility splays above a height of 1.1 meters.
Condition 3
The development shall not commence until a programme of historic building recording of the building on the application site has been undertaken, submitted to and agreed in writing by the Department. The programme of building recording must be undertaken in accordance with Level Two as set out in Understanding Historic Buildings: A guide to good recording practice.
Condition 4
Prior to the installation of external lighting at the site, a detailed external low level lighting scheme shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Department. The lighting of the site will be designed in accordance with the recommendations outlined in the BCT and ILP Guidance Note 8 Bats and Artificial Lighting (12th September 2018). The lighting details shall include detailed drawings of the proposed lighting columns and fittings, information about the levels of luminance and daily duration and any measures for mitigating the effects of light pollution. The development shall not be carried out other than in accordance with the approved plan.
Condition 5
Prior to the removal of any trees marked for removal, a Preliminary Roost Assessment must be conducted by a suitably qualified ecologist to assess the roost potential. The resulting report shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Department. All recommended mitigation measures shall be implemented as part of the development.
Condition 6
Prior to the commencement of development hereby approved, the tree protection measures detailed in the Tree Protection Plan (Drawing No. TP-110424) shall be fully implemented and retained for the duration of the construction process unless otherwise agreed in writing by the Department. Within the Construction Exclusion Zones identified on this drawing, nothing shall be stored, placed or disposed of above or below ground, the ground level shall not be altered, no excavations shall be made, no mixing of cement or use of other contaminating materials or substances shall take place, nor shall any fires be lit. Any retained tree which within five years of the approved development being occupied or completed (whichever is the later) dies, are removed or become seriously damaged or diseased shall be replaced by a similar species, of a size to be first approved in writing by the Department, during the next planting season or in accordance with a programme of replacement to be agreed in writing with the Department.
Condition 7
Prior to the occupation of the dwelling hereby approved, the bird and bat mitigation measures as detailed in Drawing No. 23 1757/10 shall be fully implemented in accordance with the approved plans and retained as such thereafter.
Condition 8
No above ground floor development shall commence until a schedule of materials and finishes and samples of the materials to be used in the construction of the external surfaces (including brickworks and mortar details), including roofs, have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Department. The development shall not be carried out unless strictly in accordance with the approved details.
Condition 9
Notwithstanding the provisions of the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2025 (or any Order revoking and/or re-enacting that Order with or without modification) no extension, enlargement or other alteration of the dwelling, and no garages or other free standing buildings shall be erected within the curtilage of the dwellings hereby approved, other than that expressly authorised by this approval, without the prior written approval of the Department.
Condition 10
Prior to the occupation of the dwelling hereby approved, the new residential curtilage shall be laid out strictly in accordance with Drawing No. 23 1757/11. The boundary shall be formed using either a planted hedge of native species, a Manx hedge constructed in accordance with Planning Circular 1/92, or a post-and-wire fence and/or a combination of these. This boundary shall be permanently retained and maintained in accordance with the approved details.
