Officer Report

Application No.: 25/90088/B Applicant: Mr & Mrs Duncan and Lisa Gerry Proposal: Rebuilding of former fisherman's hut to form tourist accommodation (amendments to 23/01325/B) Site Address: Fisherman's Hut Lakeside Patrick Road St Johns Isle Of Man IM4 3BP Senior Planning Officer: Jason Singleton Expected Decision Level: Planning Committee Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 25.03.2025 _________________________________________________________________

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 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

• C 2. Other than as provided for in Condition 3, the change of use of the 'Fisherman's Hut' hereby approved shall not be occupied at any time other than for purposes incidental to the enjoyment of the residential use of the dwellinghouse, known as 'Lakeside', and shall not be separated, sold off or occupied as an independent dwelling unit.

Reason: To ensure proper control of the development and to avoid any future undesirable fragmentation of the curtilage.

• C 3. Other than as provided for in Condition 2, the development hereby approved shall not be used or occupied other than for the purpose of short-let holiday accommodation and shall not be used as a separate dwelling. The accommodation hereby approved shall not be occupied by the same person(s) for a single period or cumulative periods exceeding 28 days in any calendar year.

Reason: To ensure that the development is only used and occupied as short let holiday accommodation and to prevent the creation of an unjustified separate dwelling in the countryside.

• C 4. There shall be no external lighting at the site unless full lighting plan details have been first submitted to and approved in writing by the Department, such details shall include position

of lights, level of illumination and cowl details. Any external lighting shall then only be installed in full accordance with the approved lighting plan.

Reason: In the interests of the character and appearance of the site and surrounding area.

• C 5. Prior to occupation, the proposed development hereby approved shall be externally cladded where shown on Drawing No. 20181-PL05 with natural timber only and retained as such thereafter. Reason: To ensure the level of finish is appropriate for the rural setting.
• C 6. The building hereby approved, shall be drained as per the existing arrangement as noted in the application, and on the Application form. There shall be no discharge of waste water or rain water from the building into the River Neb.

Reason: To prevent any cross contamination of the River Neb, in the interests of protecting and enhancing the biodiversity of the environment.

N 1. The applicant is advised to contact Fisheries (tel. 685857, or email [email protected]) to discuss method statements and arrange an initial advisory site visit in conjunction with the DEFA Environmental Protection Unit

This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason.

The rebuilding of the fisherman's hut would not adversely impact upon the visual amenity of the countryside setting and landscape, and would have no impact upon private or public amenity, and therefore comply with Environment Policies 1, 2, 16, and Housing Policy 11 of the IOM Strategic Plan.

Plans/Drawings/Information; This decision relates to drawings and supporting information received on 24 January 2025

_________________________________________________________________ Right to Appeal It is recommended that the following organisations should NOT be given the Right to Appeal: DoI - Flood risk management - no objection and a condition addresses their comments DoI - Highways Services - no objection

_________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report

THIS APPLICATION IS REFERRED TO THE COMMITTEE AS IT COULD BE CONSIDERED A DEPARTURE FROM THE DEVELOPMENT PLAN AND IS RECOMMENDED FOR APPROVAL

1.0 THE SITE - 1.1 The application site is the residential curtilage of Lakeside, Patrick Road. St Johns. The property sits on the northern side of the A30 Patrick Road which links St. John's with the hamlet of Patrick. The house is situated about 209m from the road and accessed via a long driveway which curves around the trees and the large lake which is close to the site frontage. To the east of the lake is a former fisherman hut and additional storage outbuilding. - 1.2 The dwelling and outbuildings are not publicly visible from Patrick Road, being screened by existing trees which surround the site and along long stretches of Patrick Road. The site is heavily treed, particularly along the southern and eastern boundaries of the site, and along the

• western boundary to the large lake on site. The site contains a former fish farm, with the large pond and a reclaimed are that once was smaller ponds.
• 1.3 Access to the site is via a bridge over the River Neb which connects the highway with the long driveway serving the site.
• 1.4 The property is situated at considerable distance from all its neighbours, with the nearest neighbour 'Inglenook' situated about 173.4m south of the application site, separated by the highway, large areas of mature landscaping and pond.

2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 This application proposes the rebuilding of former fisherman's hut to form tourist accommodation (amendment to 23/01325/b).Approved 25th January 2024. - 2.2 This application is identical in terms of appearance to the former (23/01325) however rather than retaining the existing single brick structure and extending, the applicants seek to demolish the existing structure and build a "new Build" from scratch echoing the extant approved drawings in terms of size scale and finish. - 2.3 The architect notes; The rebuild will be undertaken using highly eco and energy efficient SIP panel construction for both walls and roof... The floor space will total 75m2…The floor space proposed is to ensure the unit is completely disabled friendly. It would allow for both bedrooms to be wheelchair accessible and have the shower room and WC separate. This is important for full use flexibility for the occupants".

3.0 PLANNING POLICY - 3.1 The site lies within an area of High Landscape Value and Scenic Significance not designated for a particular purpose on the 1982 Development Order, and the site is not within a Conservation Area. The site is considered to have low surface water flood risk. There is no registered tree on the site, and the site is not within a registered tree area, although the entire eastern boundary of the site abuts a registered tree area. - 3.2 The following policies from the 2016 Strategic Plan are considered pertinent in the assessment of this application;

Strategic Policy

• 5 Design and visual impact 8 Reuse of quality buildings for Tourism General Policy

• 2 General Development Considerations (a-n)
• 3 Exceptions to development in the countryside Environment Policy

• 1 Protection of the countryside and its Ecology
• 2 Protection of the character of AHLV 16 Use of rural building for tourism 22 Protection of the environment from statutory nuisances Business Policy

• 11 Conversion of rural building to tourist use
• 12 conversion of redundant buildings in the countryside to tourist 14 Tourist development in rural areas

Transport Policy

• 4 Highway safety

• 7 Parking provisions

3.3 Other Material Considerations The Residential Design Guidance (March 2021) which provides advice on the design of new houses and extensions to existing property as well as how to assess the impact of any development on the living conditions of those in adjacent residential property. Tourist policies; - 3.4 IoM Visitor Economy Strategy 2022 which provides the strategic plan for growing the Island's Visitor Economy over the next 10 years through to 2032. - 3.5 IOM Govt Island economic strategy 2022, set out the direction on investment and economic security for the next 10 years and highlights the importance of year round tourism and growing part of our Island's proposition for both visitors and residents.

4.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 4.1 The application site benefits from the following historic approvals;

• 22/00501/B - Single storey extensions and change of use to tourism unit. Approved with seven Conditions.
• 23/01325/B - Increase in footprint of approved application 22/00501/B - extensions and change of use of fisherman's hut to tourism. Approved. This approval gave an increase (existing is 57swm) in 18m2 to allow internal alterations to cater for disabled access. Overall footprint measurers 75sqm.

5.0 REPRESENTATIONS (in brief, full reps can be read on line) - 5.1 Patrick Commissioners - No comment at the time of writing. - 5.2 DoI Flood Risk Management (03/02/25) No Objection and seek an evacuation plan. - 5.3 DoI Highways Development Management - No comment at the time of writing.

6.0 ASSESSMENT - 6.1 In terms of this application, that is an amendment to the former approvals as noted above have previously considered those material issues of Principle, design, visual impact, neighbouring amenities, highway safety, drainage, ecology, flooding and external lighting, which were previously deemed to be complaint with the aforementioned planning policies. As there has been not change with regard to the material considerations or planning policies in the interim, the same unobjectionable conclusion here could easily be reached. - 6.2 As these proposals are not altering any of the design attributes, or the levels of finish, once cladded in accordance with the former approval, there would be little visual acknowledgement of the existing structure evident. In this instance, its demolition and rebuild in SIPS over the existing footprint and its extensions could be considered acceptable with no visual impact as a result. - 6.3 However, it has to be acknowledged that this proposal now seeks demolition of the existing structure rather than the previous application which were for conversion and extension of the existing. Technically the demolition aspect could be seen to be contrary to HP11 given the cross reference from GP3 and EP16 where it explicitly states; "Permission will not be given for the rebuilding of ruins or the erection of replacement buildings of similar, or even identical, form". - 6.4 With this is noted and given the circumstances in this instance, in terms of type of construction, general appearance, size and the siting of the proposed and its use for tourism, a finely balanced exception to the policy could be made that would ensure the application is not being seen to inadvertently create a new residential dwelling in the countryside.

7.0 CONCLUSION - 7.1 For the above reasons it is concluded that the proposal could be read in accordance with GP3, Ep16, BP11, 12,14 and EP 1,2, but equally contrary to HP11 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016, and on balance is recommended for approval with conditions.

8.0 RIGHT TO APPEAL AND RIGHT TO GIVE EVIDENCE - 8.1 The Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 sets out the process for determining planning applications (including appeals). It sets out a Right to Appeal (i.e. to submit an appeal against a planning decision) and a Right to Give Evidence at Appeals (i.e. to participate in an appeal if one is submitted). - 8.2 Article A10 sets out that the right to appeal is available to:

• o applicant (in all cases);
• o a Local Authority; Government Department; Manx Utilities; and Manx National Heritage that submit a relevant objection; and
• o any other person who has made an objection that meets specified criteria.

8.3 Article 8(2)(a) requires that in determining an application, the Department must decide who has a right to appeal, in accordance with the criteria set out in article A10. - 8.4 The Order automatically affords the Right to Give Evidence to the following (no determination is required):

• o any appellant or potential appellant (which includes the applicant);
• o the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, the Department of Infrastructure and the local authority for the area;
• o any other person who has submitted written representations (this can include other Government Departments and Local Authorities); and
• o in the case of a petition, a single representative. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________

I confirm that this decision has been made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority afforded to that body by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Committee has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded interested person status and/or rights to appeal.

Decision Made: Permitted Date: 14.04.2025 Signed : Presenting Officer

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