Officer Report

Application No.: 25/90284/B Applicant: Mr Andrew Corlett Esq Proposal: Erection of replacement agricultural building Site Address: Outbuildings North Baldrine Farm Baldhoon Road Laxey Isle Of Man IM4 7QL Planning Officer: Vanessa Porter Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 14.08.2025 _________________________________________________________________

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. In the event that the building hereby approved is no longer used or required for the agricultural purposes for which it is proposed, the building must be removed from the site and the site returned to its natural state, within 18 months of the date the use ceased.

Reason: The building has been exceptionally approved solely to meet the specific use based on the information provided, and its subsequent retention would result in an unwarranted intrusion in the countryside.

• C 3. The building hereby approved must be used only for agricultural purposes.

Reason: The countryside is protected from development and an exception is being made on the basis of agricultural need. As such the building must be used for the purposes for which it is approved.

N 1. The applicant/ owner is reminded of their legal obligations under the Wildlife Act 1990 in respect of bats, and in any event that such a protected species or roost is found advice should be sought from DEFA Ecosystems team.

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

Overall, the proposal is considered acceptable in terms of both agricultural need and visual impact and broadly accords with Environment Policy 15, General Policy 3, Environment Policy 1, and Environment Policy 4 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016.

Plans/Drawings/Information;

This decision relates to the following plans and drawings, date stamped received on 20th March 2025;

• o Drawing No. SM25/630/1
• o Planning Statement
• o Appendix 1
• o Appendix 2
• o Appendix 3
• o Appendix 4
• o Appendix 5 _________________________________________________________________

Right to Appeal

It is recommended that the following organisations should NOT be given the Right to Appeal: DOI Highway Services - No objection Garff Commissioners - No objection

_________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report THE APPLICATION SITE

1.1 The application site is within North Baldrine Farm, which is a farm holding located off Baldhoon Road in Baldrine, of which the specific area in question is North of the existing farmhouse situated within a cluster of farm buildings all in varying levels of dilapidation, and is an existing stone barn. - 1.2 The existing agricultural building measures approximately 19.3m by 4.4m with an overall height of approximately 4.5m. The barn is Manx stone with a corrugated roof. There are several openings within the North West elevation. THE PROPOSAL

2.1 The current planning application seeks approval for the removal of the existing Manx Stone barn and erection of a new agricultural barn upon the same footprint. The proposed agricultural barn is to measure 18.28m by 9.14m with an approximate overall height of 5.6m. - 2.2 The new building will be of steel frame construction with block infill panels to the base with steel sheet cladding in olive green to the South West and South East elevations and tanalised Yorkshire timber boarding above on the North East elevation. No doors would be installed on the barn although it would have an opening which is the only access into the building, which measures the whole of the North West elevation. 8 GRP roof lights would be installed on its roof pane which would be finished in natural grey profiled fibre cement sheeting roofing. - 2.3 The agent on behalf of the applicant states the following regarding the reasoning for a replacement barn, "After poor weather over the winter period and a number of quite violent recent storms, the building is becoming structurally unsafe and within the high exposed south facing wall, a large section of stonework at the roof level has partially collapsed leaving a gap between the roof line and top of the stonework. The wall, which is over 4.000 metres high on the inside face from floor to roof, is not secured safely to the roof and is now starting to "bow" internally. Because of the restricted size of the building and narrow width, it is probably no longer fit for its' originally intended purpose and the proposal would involve demolition of this

building and replacing it with a purpose built, steel portal framed building that would fulfil the needs of the Applicant and provide a vastly improved, new agricultural building with space and light much better suited to the modern farming needs and methods."

PLANNING HISTORY

3.1 There is one previous application which is relevant to the assessment as it is situated directly upon the barn, PA16/00129/B - Conversion of redundant farm buildings to five self-contained holiday cottages with parking - Permitted with several conditions, none of which are relevant to this assessment. PLANNING POLICY - 4.1 The site lies within an area zoned as "not for development" on the Area Plan for the East, Map 7 - Laxey. The site is not within a Conservation Area, Flood Zone, nor an area zoned as High Landscape or Coastal Value and Scenic Significance.

4.2 Given the nature of the application it is appropriate to consider General Policy 3 (f) which sets out exceptions to development in the countryside including operations essential for conduct of agriculture, Environment Policy 1 which seeks to protect the countryside from unwarranted development and Environment Policy 15 which outline the general design criteria for agricultural buildings.

4.3 The Town and Country Planning Act 1999 states "agriculture" includes horticulture, fruit growing, seed growing, dairy farming, the breeding and keeping of livestock (including any creature kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur, or for the purpose of its use in the farming of land), the use of land as grazing land, meadow land, market gardens and nursery grounds, and the use of land for woodlands where that use is ancillary to the farming of land for other agricultural purposes, and "agricultural" shall be construed accordingly." REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 The following representations can be viewed online in full;

5.2 DOI Highway Services have considered the application and state, "No Highways Interest." (24.03.25)

5.3 Garff Commissioners have considered the application and state, no objection. (10.04.25)

5.4 DEFA Ecology have considered the application and state, no objection with the following response, "Although the existing agricultural building is an old stone building, close to areas of woodland and scrub, which increases the likelihood of bats being present, the roofing material and general condition of the building and its increasingly dilapidated state mean that the potential for bats is low. It does not look suitable for a maternity colony of bats. However, there could be limited potential for occasional or transient use by a small number of bats in small cavities in the stonework of the building. There also may be limited potential for nesting birds internally. We therefore recommend that precautions are taken when the building is being demolished. Through checks for bats and birds must be made in and around the building prior to its demolition. If bats or bird, or evidence of bats and birds, such as nesting material or piles of droppings, are discovered, all work must stop and advice be sought from the DEFA Ecosystems Policy Team on 01624 651577." (11.04.25) ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The main issues to consider in the assessment of this planning application are;

• - principle/ agricultural need
• - character and appearance
• - visual impact on the countryside
• - other matters

- 6.2 PRINCIPLE / AGRICULTURAL NEED

• 6.2.1 When looking at the principle of agriculture in applications such as this where there is a proposed new agricultural development within the countryside, it is necessary to assess whether the principle of the development prior to any other matter is acceptable, with the starting point for this development being General Policy 3(f) of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan

1. This policy states that development will not be permitted outside of those areas which are zoned for development on the appropriate Area Plan with the exception of those buildings which are essential for the conduct of agriculture or forestry.

• 6.2.2 When looking at agricultural buildings and need there can often be a chicken and egg situation, without an established operation in place it can often be difficult to demonstrate a need for a building while on the other hand applicants want to ensure they have all the appropriate facilities and buildings in place first before investing in agricultural or horticultural paraphernalia or investing in livestock.
• 6.2.3 Often established agricultural enterprises are the sole income for farmers and their livelihood is heavily dependent on their continued and efficient operation. The bigger and more established the farming operation the easier it's likely to be to demonstrate an agricultural need for a new building to continue the farming operation. This is not to say that smaller farm holdings or start up hobby farms should be discouraged as these can also help contribute to local economy and sustainability, but rather than their agricultural justification is proportionate to the size of the operation and that they can provide sufficient evidence to support the need for any agricultural building. The risk is that any ad hoc decisions taken on agricultural buildings without sufficient justification of need could lead to an unacceptable proliferation of unwarranted permanent buildings across the countryside which may become obsolete if the intended farming operation does not materialise as anticipated or expected.
• 6.2.4 Any structure positioned within this site would require planning approval. Sometimes in trying to address the chicken and egg situation approval is first sought for a much smaller or less permanent building which meets the basic farming/ horticultural needs and once the enterprise becomes more established then consideration can be given to a larger more permanent structure for approval.
• 6.2.5 The applicant has provided a planning statement which states that "North Baldrine Farm is an active farmer enterprise (AB1112) consisting of @ 170 acres of mostly hill land, located on an elevated position above Laxey. The farm is currently stocked with 25 breeding cows which produce calves in March/April annually and 10 other cattle intended for finishing or breeding." The applicant then goes on to state that they would be looking at doing folder crops in the summer for animal feed.
• 6.2.6 Correspondence with the Agricultural Policy Manager has confirmed that the applicant currently has an agricultural holding as stated for 170 acres of hill land. Their 2025 census report stated that the farm is currently stocked with breeding cows and heifers, and that the land is used for grazing and fodder production as described and that the farm has been actively farmed for many years.
• 6.2.7 It's clear that the existing structure, is now unusable for the welfare of animals and that a new purpose built modern structure is required, when noting the above the application is a working farm, with the existing structure no longer being fit for purpose. As such the principle of the proposal is deemed acceptable and would meet General Policy 3(f).

- 6.3 CHARACTER AND APPEARANCE

• 6.3.1 As sufficient need for the agricultural barn has been demonstrated, Environment Policy 15 goes further into the requirements in terms of siting and size/material used etc, with the key being that, "such development must be sited as close as its practically possible to existing building groups and be appropriate in terms of scale, materials, colour, siting and form."

• 6.3.2 The proposed agricultural barn is to be sited on the footprint of the existing stone barn, within a cluster of buildings, and whilst the materials would not match the surrounding stone structures, the proposed steel framed construction with shuttered concrete, steel sheet cladding and the Yorkshire boarding are all materials, which would be expected of a modern agricultural barn. As such the proposed agricultural barn would be suitable for its intended use in accordance with Environment Policy 15.

- 6.4 VISUAL IMPACT ON THE COUNTRYSIDE

• 6.4.1 The siting of the proposed building as noted above would not be within an open location and its siting is within a cluster of established buildings abide in a certain state of dilapidation. As such the proposal would be read in the context of an existing working farm to which planning policies support for the placement next to existing building groups and replacing existing buildings.
• 6.4.2 Due to the location of the proposed agricultural barn within the farm holding and the overall location of the cluster of buildings within the streetscene it is unlikely that the proposal would be seen from a public vantage point whilst that is the case, if the proposed agricultural barn is seen, it would be read in the context of its surroundings.
• 6.4.3 Overall the proposed agricultural building would meet Environment Policy 15 by having a minimal impact on the overall streetscene nor the countryside as per Environment Policy 1 and as such deemed not to have a visual impact on the countryside.

- 6.5 OTHER MATTERS

• 6.5.1 The comments raised by DEFA Ecology are noted and as such, a note regarding bats and birds will be added to the application. CONCLUSION
• 7.1 The proposal is considered acceptable in terms of both agricultural need and visual impact, with the proposal being deemed to comply with the above policies, The application is therefore recommended for approval subject to conditions related to the agricultural use, removal if no longer required and a note regarding bats and birds. 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.

8.5 The Department of Environment Food and Agriculture is responsible for the determination of planning applications. As a result, where officers within the Department make

comments in a professional capacity they cannot be given the Right to Appeal.

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: 14.08.2025 Determining Officer

Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner

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