Planning Justification Statement

Erection Of Extension To Agricultural - Style Building Used For Domestic / Hobbby Storage Of Vehicles \& Implements

Ballacashin Farm, Abbeylands, Onchan

The current building was constructed in 1987. It was originally proposed as an implement shed on the then existing farm (PA 87/196). Ownership of the shed has not changed and it is still part of Ballacashin Farm and still owned by Mr Gwillam Owen.

Since Mr Gwillam Owen retired the farm as such no longer exists. Mr Gwillam Owen his wife and his son Roger still reside at Ballacashin Farm. For the past 20 years the shed has been used on a hobby basis by both Mr G Owen and Mr R Owen to accommodate an extensive collection of domestic vehicles and implements. Mr R. Owen is partially disabled. More work space is required. There is no commercial use of the shed. With the substantial changes to farming in the past 20 years most of the adjacent farmland of both the former Lanjaghan Farm and Ballacashin farmlands is run by a farmer from the Crosby area and there is no need for the shed for agricultural purposes.

The shed is set back from the public highway. An extensive continuous hedge of Leylandii now about 5 m high obscures the shed from the approach from the south along Abbeylands Road which terminates as a public highway at the Lanjaghyn crossroads. The hedge will be retained. The combination of the existing shed and the hedge will mask the extension from wider viewpoints.

The proposal is for a one-bay-4.5m wide - extension of the shed on its west side. The external finishes would match the existing and the elevations copy the existing.