Statement

Planning Statement In Support Of The Issue Of A Certificate Of Lawfulness For A Dwelling, Thie Ny Chibbyr, Ballakeighan Corner, Arbory Im9 4Pq La

A photograph showing a single-story detached bungalow with a grey tiled roof and white window frames. A wooden post-and-rail fence runs across the front of the property in a rural setting.

Photograph dated 17.06.25

Sarah Corlett Town Planning Consultancy Ltd Registered address: Ballachrink Croft, Ballacorey Road, Bride, Isle of Man IM7 4AW t: 07624 485517 e: [email protected] w: www.sarahcorlett.com Directors: Sarah Elizabeth Corlett, Nicola Jane Corlett Company Registration 134925C

Sarah Corlett

1.0 Introduction

1.1 Thie ny Chibbyr is an existing dwelling which sits close to Ballakeighan Corner which is formed by the junction of the Castletown Bypass (A5) and the A28 Castletown Road which links Ballakeighan Corner with Ballabeg. The site is on the Southern 100 race circuit.

Sarah Corlett

A site plan map showing the location of a proposed development site circled in red near the A26 road. The map includes surrounding properties like Ballakeghan Farm and labels indicating a rural setting.

TOWN PLANNING CONSULTANCY

1.2 The dwelling is a modest and simple bungalow:

A photograph showing a detached single-story bungalow with an attached garage and a gravel driveway in a rural setting.

A photograph showing a single-story detached bungalow with an attached garage, situated in a rural setting with a wooden fence and hedges.

Google Streetview 2010

Photograph taken June 2025

Sarah Corlett

1.3 Vehicular and pedestrian access is directly from the A28 with a short driveway leading up to the integral garage and with a small turning area in front of the dwelling. 1.4 There are established hedges forming the boundary of the site and there is a modest rear garden which backs onto agricultural fields.

Government aerial photography currently online (2021)

An aerial photograph showing a rural property with a detached bungalow, driveway, and surrounding fields adjacent to a road.

2.0 Planning Context

2.1 The property does not appear to have planning approval. 2.2 We have searched through the historic records in the Planning Office and found one application for the erection of a bungalow across the road (IDO52971) which was refused in 1981 and at that time there was no Thie ny Chibbyr shown on the plans. 2.3 A pre-application submission seeking guidance on how the property may be developed resulted in a helpful response from Paul Visigah who confirmed that he is unable to find any specific planning approval and has not been able to locate any planning history for the property. 2.4 We believe that Thie ny Chibbyr was erected by the then Local Government Board as we have the Deeds of the property (attached) which confirm that the property was sold by them to the then purchaser, in 1988. The Planning Officer confirms this when he says: "The property was built under the Isle of Man Government Agricultural Workers' tied houses scheme, granted under Resolutions of Tynwald dated 6th February 1945 and 17th April 1946.

This scheme facilitated the erection of houses in areas where Housing Local Authorities were non-functioning, and it came into operation on 1 April 1952. The property was built as an agricultural dwelling with a clause that once purchased, the property may not be sold within the first ten years without having first been offered back to the Government and also that no further dwelling would be erected by the Government under the Agricultural Workers Tied Houses Schemes on land associated with Thie ny Chibbyr." 2.5 The property has been consistently occupied but not by anyone engaged in agriculture since 2015.

2.6 The applicant has no knowledge nor is there evidence that any building works have been undertaken to the property since its construction.

Sarah Corlett

Aerial view of a rural property showing buildings, access roads, and surrounding green fields.

3.0 The Proposal

3.1 This application seeks the issue of a Certificate of Lawful Development for the erection of the dwelling and establishment and continued use as a private dwelling. 3.2 The property has not been altered since its construction in the 1980s and appears as such in the following aerial photographs:

2015

2018

3.3 The earliest raster we have been able to find is for 2001 which shows the following: 3.4 These photographs show Thie ny Chibbyr remaining constant whilst the buildings and land around it have changed over the period. 3.5 Below is a copy of a photo dated 1995 (written on the reverse).

A low-resolution aerial site plan showing a road, surrounding green fields, and nearby buildings with yellow markers indicating the application area.

Sarah Corlett

A framed aerial photograph showing a single-story bungalow with a driveway and garden, situated next to a road and an outbuilding.

TOWN PLANNING CONSULTANCY

3.5 We have also contacted the rating authority who confirm that the property is rated as a private dwelling. 3.6 Attached is a letter from Kelly, Luft, Stanley and Ashton confirming the completion of the purchase of Thie ny Chibbyr, dated 1st March, 1989; the Registration of a Deed dated 1989 and a letter from the Department of Local Government and the Environment to Kelly, Luft, Stanley and Ashton approving the transferring of the Deed for Thie ny Chibbyr from Mrs. Taggart to her daughter. The letter from Kelly, Luft, Stanley and Ashton stated that there is also a letter dated 23rd November, 1988 received from the Works Division of DLGE confirming that to the best of the knowledge of the Inspector, the erection of the dwelling had been carried out in compliance with the relevant regulations and also confirming no action will be taken by the DLGE against any subsequent purchaser of the property.

Town Planning Consultancy

4.0 Assessment

4.1 Whilst no planning approval exists for this property, the dwelling has existed without change, and has been occupied since 1981. The Deeds demonstrate this was when the property was handed over by the Government. 4.2 The series of aerial photographs demonstrate that the dwelling has been in situ in its present form since 2001. 4.3 There is also submitted a series of e-mails which confirm by whom the property has been occupied between July 2015 and the current time and the nature of their occupation, demonstrating that at least during this overall period of ten years not only was the dwelling in situ but also that the property was not occupied by anyone engaged in agriculture. 4.4 As there is no planning approval related to the property, there can be no planning conditions controlling its occupancy or anything else. 4.5 Since 2015 the dwelling has been occupied as a private dwelling with the occupants having no association with agriculture. 4.6 As such, we believe that the property is now immune from the issue of an enforcement notice in respect of the unauthorised dwelling which has clearly been in situ for at least ten years and its occupation as a private dwelling due to the passage of at least four years, under Schedule 4, paragraph 3a. 4.7 As there is no planning condition to restrict the occupancy of the property to an agricultural worker. As such, we do not believe that the property should be considered to be an agricultural dwelling. However, it should be noted that Schedule 4 of the Act relates to the change of use to a single dwelling house, the time limit for which is 4 years and the property has been occupied as a single dwelling house for ten years.

Sarah Corlett

4.8 We would submit that the evidence contained within this application demonstrates that the property is immune from enforcement action in respect of the existing dwelling and associated residential curtilage and its use as a private residential dwelling. As such, we would request that a Certificate of Lawful Development should be issued in this respect.

18.07.25

Statement

Source & Provenance