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Application No.: 25/90234/B Applicant: The Manx Military And Aviation Museum Proposal: Installation of aircraft fuselage to form display space; erection of sculpture; alterations to walkway Site Address: The Manx Military And Aviation Museum Ronaldsway Airport Ballasalla Isle Of Man IM9 2AT Senior Planning Officer: Jason Singleton Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 14.05.2025 _________________________________________________________________
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.
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason. The proposed installation would comply with General Policy 9 and Environmental Policy 1 of the Isle Of Man Strategic Plan 2016.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the submitted documents and drawing all received on 31 March 2025.
_________________________________________________________________ Right to Appeal
It is recommended that the following organisations should NOT be given the Right to Appeal: DOI Highway Services - No Objection Malew Parish Commissioners - No Objection
_________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report
1.1 The site represents the curtilage of the Aviation Museum which is located on the south eastern side of the A5 Castletown Road, to the south of Ronaldsway Airport and accessed by a small roadway off the A5 leading solely to this site. - 1.2 The site accommodates a range of single storey buildings - a Nissen hut and a masonry and sheeted roofed structure alongside, linked by a lean-to clad structure. A concrete apron sits in front of the Nissen hut extending out as far as the end of the larger masonry building. - 1.3 The site is currently used and operated as small museum dedicated to Manx aviation and military history.
2.0 THE PROPOSAL - 2.1 Proposed are three aspect, the first is the installation of the nose section of an aircraft fuselage (on the ground) measuring 11m long and 2.7m wide, to form display space that would be located between the nissen hut and the main building on the east elevation. - 2.2 Secondly, the erection of bronze sculpture (The angel of Ronaldsway) that would measure a height of approx. 2.4m tall and would feature a hollow silhouette of a person in the middle and around this, is a figure of wings and a head and arm of a person towards the top section. - 2.3 Thirdly, alterations to timber walkway to replace the deteriorated timber cladding covering the walkway between the buildings, and replaced with insulated aluminium sheeting, along with the reinstatement of a blocked doorway that will serve access to the nose section of the aircraft.
3.0 PLANNING POLICY - 3.1 The application site is mainly within an area recognised as being an area of "white land or not zoned for development" under the Area Plan for the South, Map 4- Ballasalla. The site is further identified on Map 1 'Constrains' as being within the demarked area for the Airport Boundary. - 3.2 The site is not within a designated Conservation Area or within an area identified as being at floor risk from tidal or surface water flooding. There are no registered trees / tree areas identified on / adjacent to the application site. - 3.3 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 contains the following policies that are considered specifically material to the assessment of this application;
General Policy 3 (h) - development in relation to heritage interpretation
9 - In major development proposals, there should be included provision for artwork that is accessible to the public.
The text preceding General Policy 9 states; "The Department will support the inclusion of such artwork in development proposals, and will expect such inclusion within major proposals. Artwork may take the form of public sculpture, such as the recently erected statues of T. E. Brown and Sir William Hillary in Douglas, or may be incorporated into features such as friezes, railings or landscaping. Commissions to locally based artists would be particularly welcome".
EP1 - Protection of the countryside.
4.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 4.1 The application site benefits from the more recent approvals;
04/01918/B - Erection of additional Nissen Hut with new external link corridor. 09/00283/B - Erection of an extension and creation of hard standing area.
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Malew Parish Commissioners (09/05/25) - No objection - 5.2 Highways Services commented (14/04/25) with no objection / "No Highways Interest".
6.0 ASSESSMENT The fundamental issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are;
6.1 The strategic plan allows for the installation of public art work through GP9 subject to no unacceptable effect on the character or amenity of the area which is echoed through Ep1 due to the nature of the area and its land use zoning in the area plan. The main issue to consider is whether the proposed scheme would have a significant visual impact upon the area.
6.2 It is considered the proposed installation of the aircraft fuselage would be set between two existing structures and on an underutilised part of the site that is currently laid to grass. Only the nose section would protrude beyond the eastern elevation and would be partially visible from the entrance way (highway) when approaching. Its size and height would present a relatively low level structure and being lower than the existing buildings would have a minimal visual impact upon the area and would sit within the grassed area essentially surrounding the proposal and would be appropriate in this case to the overall use of the buildings as an aviation museum in accordance with GP9. - 6.3 The proposal art work or 2.4m high bronze structure would be located in a grassed area to the east of the building and opposite the aforementioned fusilage. This would be seen as a positive and appropriate art work without having a detrimental impact on the site or that of the surrounding area and would be complaint with GP3 and EP1 as the proposals would not have any detrimental impact upon the wider countryside (as per the land use designation)
7.0 CONCLUSION - 7.1 For the above reasons, it is concluded that the planning application would not harm the unique character of the area and would comply with General Policy 9 Environmental Policy 1 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016, and is recommended for approval.
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:
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):
I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Principal Planner in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation and that in making this decision the Officer has agreed the recommendation in relation to who should be afforded interested person status and/or rights to appeal.
Decision Made : Permitted Date: 16.05.2025 Determining Officer
Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner
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