Statement of Supporting Information

Dandara Commercial Ltd

Relocation of Existing Stone Recycling Area and Creation of Industrial Starter Units, Land Currently Used as Part of Recycling and Storage Compound and Adjoining Unused Land, Adjacent to Existing Industrial Units and Animal Waste Processing Plant, Middle Farm, Braddan

Statement of Supporting Information

1. The site is part of a group of existing industrial buildings and uses which is located to the south of Richmond Hill and the A6 highway. This group includes the Energy From Waste Plant, the Animal Waste Processing Plant (AWPP), a recycling and construction storage compound, a stone recycling facility and a group of industrial starter units. The application site is directly to the south of the industrial starter units and to the east/south east of the AWPP, and is currently used in part for the recycling of stone and other demolition material.

1. The existing industrial starter units were approved at appeal under PA 06/00558¹ and necessitated the relocation of the stone recycling area a short distance to the south east. The recycling process does not have to be physically connected to the rest of the compound to be effective, and the short distance between the two does not affect how they operate. The relocation also carried the visual benefit of moving piles of stone further away from the public highway and behind new buildings. In order to help address the continuing need for industrial starter units in the east of the Island this application seeks detailed planning approval for a similar scheme of 20 no. units to supplement that approved under PA 06/00558, with the relocation of the stone recycling again being visually positive.

1. When considering the applications which sought permission for the storage/recycling compound and the existing industrial units the Planning Authority gave weight to the land use zoning of the Draft Braddan Parish Plan 2003, which places the application site within an area which is zoned for Industrial Use (Proposed Waste Treatment and Recycling). As well as the application site this area includes the site of the EFWP and the AWPP, the existing recycling/storage compound, the existing industrial units and further

¹ The decision notice and Inspector's report for PA 06/00558 are attached at appendix 1

land to the south east of the application site. The Modified Draft Braddan Plan was considered at Inquiry in June 2003 and the Inspector's report was published before the Minister announced in June 2006 that the Plan would be progressed no further. The Minister also announced that the Department would consider whether weight could be ascribed to the proposed zonings and policies of the Draft Plan "outside of the main areas of contention". On this matter the Inspector for PA 06/00558 (the existing industrial units) concluded that "that draft plan can be viewed as an indication of the direction of the Department's thinking, and when taken with the construction of the Energy From Waste Plant and the other planning approvals given in the immediate vicinity, I consider that the extant designation of Open Space (Agricultural) has been overtaken by events."

1. The continuing need for industrial starter units on the eastern side of the Island - and a shortage of sites capable of addressing that need - led the Inspector to recommend that PA 06/00558 be approved, concluding that the need outweighed any requirement to retain the land for recycling and waste management and noting that, in any event, the units would be suitable for recycling uses. The Minister concurred with this conclusion and we consider that the level of need has increased further since the approval of PA 06/00558, a conclusion which is supported by the assessments of current demand and land availability/take up which accompany this application.² Importantly, the Department of Trade and Industry has considered the scheme now being proposed and has expressed its support³.

1. The Inspector also noted that "it is important that industrial units are provided where they are needed, and that new units are coming online before the current supply is exhausted" - the application site requires little in the way of new infrastructure or further planning and as such approval of the application would help to meet an immediate need, allowing other longer term measures (such as an Area Plan for the East or a Development Order for Cooil Road) to be properly considered.

² An assessment of current demand undertaken by Black Grace Cowley and a summary of current availability and take up are attached at Appendix 2

³ A letter of support for the proposal from the Department of Trade and Industry is attached at Appendix 3

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1. In respect of visual impact the Inspector for PA 06/00558 concluded that "the development proposed would not materially affect the environment as viewed from the public highways, nor would it have any significant adverse effect upon dwellings in the area". It is now proposed to locate the new units and the stone recycling area even further from the nearest public highway and they will thus have even less of an impact. A report on highway issues was prepared for PA 06/00558 and the appeal Inspector reported that there were "no outstanding highways objections"; the issues addressed by that report relate closely to this new proposal and as such it has been included with this application⁴. The scheme also includes a new access road immediately to the south east of the proposed new units which will allow alternative access to the AWPP and the zoned land adjacent to it if required.

1. Parking for the new units will be provided in a central courtyard, 66 spaces at more than 1 space per 50 sq.m of floorspace. Surface water will drain to the existing system (via a petrol interceptor) and foul drainage will be by way of a Klargester bio-disc system as approved for the adjacent units. It is proposed that the buildings be finished in profiled sheeting set above rendered blockwork and that the courtyard be finished in paviors. The application also includes an Energy Impact Assessment/Statement in order to comply with Energy Policy 5 of the IoMSP⁵.

4 A Report into Highway Issues which was prepared for PA 06/00558 is attached at Appendix 4 5 An Energy Impact Assessment/Statement is attached at Appendix 5

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