Loading document...
Government Railty's Ellen Vanain
Change of use of site from a former market garden to use for the storage of construction materials (retrospective)
Ballakinnish Nurseries Ballakinnish Richmond Hill Braddan Isle Of Man
PA Reference 14/00689/C
Statement prepared on behalf of DOI Planning and Building Control by Planning Officer: Miss Jennifer Chance
8 October 2014 14/00689/C
8 October 2014 14/00689/C
Page 2 of 6
Page 2 of 6
1.1 This is an application by the Department of Infrastructure, which Under Article 10 (1) (a) of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) (no 2) Order 2013, falls to be determined by the Council of Ministers following the consideration by and a report of a Planning Inspector. This is the statement of Planning and Building Control provided to assist the Inspector in his or her deliberations. As the application is made by the Department, no assessment or recommendation is provided.
2.1 The site lies on the northern side of the A5 New Castletown Road, which is a main arterial route connecting the south of the island with Douglas. It is about 4 miles from central Douglas and 500m from the Spring Valley roundabout. The site is rectangular in shape and is about 12000sqm (about 1.2ha). In the vicinity there are 4 dwellings in large curtilages, otherwise the site is surrounded by open fields.
3.1 The application seeks approval for the change of use from a former market garden to use for the storage of construction materials (retrospective). The application was originally advertised as being 'conversion of site from market garden to light industrial use for the storage of construction materials'. This was a mistake arising from a misunderstanding of the term 'light industrial' and has been corrected.
3.2 The application form sets out that the use for material storage is to allow the Department to store construction materials for two current projects in Douglas, the town centre regeneration and the Promenade improvement scheme. The materials to be stored include natural stone products, concrete paving, drainage products, UPVC ducting, granular material and excavated arisings.
3.3 Accompanying the application is a general layout plan, a photograph of a temporary building to be used as a welfare facility, and a planning statement which provides a history of the site, hours of operations, site security and has a simple traffic assessment as well as a statement on Environmental Impact. The statement also sets out other sites that were considered.
4.1 The site used to be a market garden/nursery. There is little planning history of the site, save for applications for conservatories. However a 'Google search' indicates that the site was used intensively. The use apparently commenced around 1908 and grew throughout the 20th Century.
4.2 Planning and Building Control do not know when the use ceased or when the buildings were demolished, nor whether there was any intervening use of the site.
5.1 The site is defined in the 1991 Braddan Parish District Local Plan as a Market Garden that reflected its use at the time of the adoption of the Plan. The area surrounding the market garden designation is rural and by virtue of Policy 13.3 is designated as being of High Landscape Value. It is arguable as to whether Policy 13.4 applies as it relates to development in the countryside (as oppose to on a site designated for market garden). However it states that 'no further development in the countryside will be permitted with the exception of those referred to in 13.2 (which are not applicable) and those which are required for national strategic reasons'.
5.2 The Strategic Plan sets out the strategic and spatial aims of Government. The relevant policies are:
Development will not be permitted outside of those areas which are zoned for development on the appropriate Area Plan with the exception of:
(a) essential housing for agricultural workers who have to live close to their place of work; (Housing Policies 7, 8, 9 and 10); (b) conversion of redundant rural buildings which are of architectural, historic, or social value and interest; (Housing Policy 11); (c) previously developed land(1) which contains a significant amount of building; where the continued use is redundant; where redevelopment would reduce the impact of the current situation on the landscape or the wider environment; and where the development proposed would result in improvements to the landscape or wider environment; (d) the replacement of existing rural dwellings; (Housing Policies 12, 13 and 14); (e) location-dependent development in connection with the working of minerals or the provision of necessary services; (f) building and engineering operations which are essential for the conduct of agriculture or forestry; (g) development recognised to be of overriding national need in land use planning terms and for which there is no reasonable and acceptable alternative; and (h) buildings or works required for interpretation of the countryside, its wildlife or heritage.
The countryside and its ecology will be protected for its own sake. For the purposes of this policy, the countryside comprises all land which is outside the settlements defined in Appendix 3 at A.3.6 or which is not designated for future development on an Area Plan. Development which would adversely affect the countryside will not be permitted unless there is an over-riding national need in land use planning terms which outweighs the requirement to protect these areas and for which there is no reasonable and acceptable alternative.
(a) the development would not harm the character and quality of the landscape; or (b) the location for the development is essential.
(Whether this policy is applicable depends upon the assessment above as to whether the market garden is in the countryside)
i) to be accompanied by an Environmental Impact Assessment in certain cases; and ii) to be accompanied by suitable supporting environmental information in all other cases.
"industrial building" means a building (other than a building in or adjacent to or belonging to a quarry or mine and other than a shop) used for the carrying on of any process, for or incidental to any of the following purposes, namely:-
a) the making of any article or of part of any article; or
b) the altering, repairing, ornamenting, finishing, cleaning, washing, packing or canning, or adapting for sale, or breaking up or demolition of any article; or c) without prejudice to the foregoing paragraphs, the getting, dressing or treatment of minerals;
being a process carried on in the course of trade or business other than agriculture, and for the purposes of this definition the expression "article" means an article of any description, including a ship or vessel.
Such buildings are sub-divided into light industrial, general industrial and special industrial buildings, each defined as follows:
"light industrial building" means an industrial building (not being a special industrial building) in which the processes carried on or the machinery installed are such as could be carried on or installed in any residential area without detriment to the amenity of that area by reason of noise, vibration, smell, fumes, smoke, soot, ash, dust or grit, or undue generation of traffic or parking of vehicles; the use of light industrial buildings for research and development of products or processes is permitted by the Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development) Order 2005.
"general industrial building" means an industrial building other than a light industrial building or a special industrial building;
"special industrial building" means an industrial building used for the carrying on of processes (including storage) which may be particularly offensive by reason of noise, smell, vibration, smoke, soot, ash, dust, grit, or fumes, or dangerous by reason of the storage or use of dangerous or inflammable material, or inimical to public health by reason of vermin or other causes.
6.1 Some representations have been made direct to the Planning office regarding the application. They are as follows:
6.2 Highway Services (30 June 2014): 'The access meets current standards for visibility and access by large vehicles. The location on a strategic route accords with the Department's Policy Relation to the Hierarchy of the Island's Road Network by accommodating heavy goods vehicles on strategic routes and away from residential and urban routes where possible. Highway Services have no objection to this application.'
6.3 Braddan Parish Commissioners (1 July 2014): 'The Commissioners feel that the application is insufficient in that it is clear that not only it is storing materials it is, at their own admission, being used as a waste transfer site without the requisite licences.'
6.4 Eden Park Developments Limited (16 July 2014): In summary they state; no objections to the proposed temporary use of the land for construction material storage. Concern relates to addition of light industrial to the description of the proposals beyond that sought for in section 11 and 12 of the application form. (As stated above, this has been corrected. Their full letter and attachment is provided for the Inspector)
Reason: The development is granted only as an exception in the national interest.
Reason: The development is granted only as an exception in the national interest.
Reason: In the interests of visual amenity.
Reason: In the interests of the environment.
Copyright in submitted documents remains with their authors. Request removal
