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Application No.: 25/00555/LAW Applicant: Mr David Philip Allvey Proposal: Certificate of Lawful Development for alterations to driveway and associated field access, and alterations to garage block Site Address: Dreemskerry Farm Dreemskerry Ramsey Isle Of Man IM7 1BF Planning Officer: Paul Visigah Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Certificate of Lawful Use/Devel Approved Date of Recommendation: 19.06.2025 _________________________________________________________________ Notes for Approval N : Notes attached to conditions C . There is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the alterations to driveway and associated field access, and alterations to garage block shown in the submitted information has been in situ for more than 4 years and as such, the Department may not issue an enforcement notice due to the provisions of Town and Country Planning Act 1999 Schedule 4 Part 1 paragraph 3(a). ## Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to the submitted documents received on 30th May 2025, and additional documents received 19 June 2025.
_________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report
1.0 INTRODUCTION - 1.1 In accordance with the provisions of Schedule 4, Part 1, paragraph 3 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 ("the Act"), a development carried out in breach of planning control shall become immune from enforcement action after a certain period of time, provided that formal enforcement action has not already been taken. The relevant time periods are set out below:
1.2 Section 24 of the Act makes provision for the submission and issuing of a Certificate of Lawfulness to establish the lawfulness of a breach of planning control. - 1.3 An application for a Certificate of Lawfulness is determined on the basis of fact. Unlike an application for planning approval, it is not concerned with land-use planning considerations or the impacts of the development upon the public realm. - 1.4 The principal test is whether, on the balance of probabilities, the breach of planning control has occurred continuously for the given period. The burden of proof rests with the applicant and their evidence must be both precise and unambiguous. If the Planning Authority has no evidence of its own to contradict that provided by the applicant, then provided that the applicant's evidence is sufficiently precise and unambiguous, a Certificate of Lawfulness may be issued. It is not usually necessary for the Planning Department to corroborate the applicant's evidence.
2.0 THE APPLICATION SITE - 2.1 The application site is the curtilage of a dwelling known as Dreemskerry Farm, Dreemskerry, which is a large, two storey-detached building finished with Manx stone, white render (in places) and grey slate roof tiles. The dwelling is set within a significant area of surrounding land and includes and open-faced three-berth garage, with a long driveway from the main highway. The site is bounded by the Manx Electric Railway, which borders the application site to the northeast.
3.0 THE PROPOSAL - 3.1 The application seeks a Certificate of Lawful Development in respect of operations carried out for a period in excess of 4 years for alterations to driveway and associated field access, and alterations to garage block. The applicants indicate that the developments have been insitu since 20 February 2018. - 3.2 The application seeking the Certificate of Lawfulness was submitted on 30th May 2025.
4.0 PLANNING HISTORY - 4.1 There have been a number of previous applications at the site. They include:
5.0 REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 None received at the time of writing this report.
6.0 EVIDENCE SUBMITTED - 6.1 The application has been submitted with the following evidence (in no order):
7.0 ASSESSMENT - 7.1 This is an application seeking a Certificate of Lawful Development, and therefore it is not a matter of considering the planning merits of the scheme but rather a legal determination based on the facts to establish whether the stated operations are established and lawful by period of time and therefore beyond the scope of enforcement action. The test of the evidence is based on the balance of reasonableness. In this instance, the applicant seeks to rely on the fact that the alterations to driveway and associated field access, and alterations to garage block, which are the subject of the current application has been in situ for a minimum of 4 years to establish that the development can be considered lawful, as set out in Part 4, Section 24(2) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999. - 7.2 The applicant has provided a number of documents relating to the developments, which demonstrate that the alterations to the driveway and associated field access, as well as changes to the garage block, have been in situ since February 2018. Taken together, these documents indicate that the developments have been in place for a period exceeding four years. - 7.3 Given the above, it is recommended that a Certificate of Lawfulness of Development is granted in respect of these works, as they have been insitu for a period exceeding 4 years.
8.0 CONCLUSION - 8.1 In view of the above, it is not recommended that a Certificate of Lawfulness be issued.
9.0 INTERESTED PARTY STATUS - 9.1 As the application is for a CLU this is not required to be assessed. There is no right to
appeal against this decision.
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 : Certificate of Lawful Use/Devel Approved Date: 26.06.2025 Determining Officer Signed : J SINGLETON Jason Singleton Principal Planner
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