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Application No.: 23/01116/C Applicant: Mr Patrick Cole Proposal: Change of Use from an Existing Barn to Holiday Accommodation. Site Address: Abbey Cot Kerrowmoar Sulby Isle Of Man IM7 2AX Planning Officer: Mr Hamish Laird Photo Taken: 11.12.2023 Site Visit: 11.12.2023 Recommended Decision: Permitted Date of Recommendation: 21.02.2024
C : Conditions for approval N : Notes attached to conditions
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.
Reason: To ensure that the unit of holiday accommodation is not occupied as a permanent residential dwelling. This is due to the application site being located in the open countryside where planning permission for a separate unit of living accommodation would not be granted unless there was an identified and justified need - such as a requirement for an agricultural or forestry worker. This accords with the provisions of General Policy 3a); Housing Policies 4a) and 11; and, Environment Policy 1 in the Adopted Isle of Man Strategic Plan (2016).
This application has been recommended for approval for the following reason.
The proposal is considered to comply with General Policies 2 and 3; Business Policy 12; Housing Policy 11; and, Environment Policies 16 and 23 in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan, 2016. The living conditions of the occupants of neighbouring and nearby properties would not be made worse as a result of the proposal. There would be no adverse impact on the character and appearance of the Barn or to the character and appearance of the surrounding area, arising from the development. The application is recommended for approval.
Plans/Drawings/Information; This approval relates to:
Additional Persons
It is recommended that the owners/occupiers of the following properties should be given Interested Person Status as they are considered to have sufficient interest in the subject matter of the application to take part in any subsequent proceedings and are mentioned in Article 4.2:
Lezayre Lodge, Ramsey, IM7 2AX,
as the property is located within 20 metres of the application site and they satisfy all of the requirements of paragraph 2 of the Department's Operational Policy on Interested Person Status (July 2021). _____________________________________________________________________________
Officer’s Report SITE
1.1 The site comprises a single storey, 'L'-shaped, white-painted, stone built barn housed under a pitched natural slate roof, which forms part of a larger in that it adjoins an existing single storey dwelling in similar materials attached to its west side. The barn roof has a centrally placed, pyramid roofed, square shaped cowl and existing chimney in its east elevation. The two structures are located immediately adjacent to the carriageway on the south side of the A3 Lezayre Road at Abbey Cottage, Kerrowmoar, Sulby to the west of Ramsey. A - 2.5m high Manx stone wall with castellation's atop, marks the sites roadside boundary. Access to the site is derived from that existing to the east which serves the adjoining dwelling, and the detached dwelling to the rear in spacious grounds at Abbeyhill.
1.2 The site lies outside the Settlement Boundary for both Sulby and Ramsey as shown in the Island Development Plan - Draft Area Plan for the North and West (24 June, 2022), where it is classed as being land not designated for a particular purpose. The site lies outside any Conservation Area, and is not prone to flood risks. There are no registered trees on site, and the site is not within a registered tree area. PROPOSAL - 2.1 The full planning application proposes the "Change of Use from an Existing Barn to Holiday Accommodation". The submitted drawings show the existing barn and garage which face out onto an adjoining courtyard to the west which is accessed via an archway housed under the same roof and which separates the barn from the garage. The proposed holiday accommodation would provide a double bedroom with en-suite shower room, and a kitchen/living/dining area with access doorway into this area from the courtyard. 2 No. windows would be inserted into the courtyard elevation to provide light into these two rooms. The archway and garage would be retained as existing.
4.2 In terms of paragraphs and policies within the Strategic Plan, Business Policy 12 sets out a general presumption in support of the conversion of redundant buildings in the countryside to tourist use subject to the polices set out in paragraph 8.10.1 - 8.10.3 and Housing Policy 11. - 4.3 As tourist accommodation provided it does not compromise the amenity of the neighbours, Environment Policy 16 deals with the use of existing buildings for new purposes such as tourism accommodation, and reads:
"Environment Policy 16 indicates: The use of existing rural buildings for new purposes such as tourist, or small-scale industrial/commercial use may be permitted where:
4.4 Proposals to convert rural buildings to residential accommodation will be considered along with the advice given at Section 8.10 of this document." - 4.5 Environment Policy 23 addresses changes to neighbouring amenity as a result of development. The general design standards set out in GP2 b, c, g and i); GP3 b); and, the Residential Design Guide 2021 shall also be taken into consideration along with Environment Policy 13, Community Policies 7 and 11 in respect of flood risk, minimising criminal activity and reducing spread of fire.
REPRESENTATIONS Copies of representations received can be viewed on the Government's website. This report contains summaries only.
5.1 Lezayre Commissioners - has no objection to this proposal. (3/11/2023).
5.2 Department of Infrastructure Highway Services - comments received on 13/10/23 Highways advises: - "23/01116/C - After reviewing this Application, Highway Services HDC finds it to have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking due to the relatively small size of the proposals that would create a negligible increase use of the existing vehicular access, subject to the proposals being conditioned as holiday accommodation for the lifetime of the development.
5.3 One letter in the form of a third party/neighbour representation has been received from the occupant of Lezayre Lodge, Ramsey, IM7 2AX, which is a detached dwelling lying opposite the site on the north side of the A3 advising as follows:
"Whilst I no objection to the application in principle, my only concern would will any late night noise from loud music or revelling holiday makers, only a very short distance away. We have always lived in a very quiet community and would wish it to continue."
6.1 The application seeks approval for the change of use of the existing Barn to a holiday accommodation use. The proposed change of use is generally supported as per the provisions of the Strategic Plan by Environment Policy 16; Business Policy 12 and the advice contained at paragraphs 8.10.1 - 8.10.3; and, Housing Policy 11, as long as the proposed changes to the existing structure are minimal and the changes and use would not compromise existing neighbours residential amenities. Although there is generally a view in favour of using rural buildings as tourist accommodation, there can be times when this is opposed. There has been a small number of refusals given to applications looking to gain the same permission. The use of a barn or former farm building for tourist accommodation could potentially have a damaging effect on the amenities of others through the comings and goings of tourists in comparison to permanent residents, where here, the barn adjoins an existing residential property, although most are granted approval.
6.2 In this case, comments raising concerns as outlined above have been expressed by a neighbour at Lezayre Lodge, which is a detached dwelling in substantial grounds lying opposite the site on the north side of the A3 that the proposed tourism use could give rise to late night noise from loud music or revelling holiday makers, only a very short distance away. They further advise that they have always lived in a very quiet community and would wish it to continue. These comments are noted. - 6.3 The site is located in a rural area on the A3 Ramsey - Sulby road. The A3 forms part of the TT and Manx GP course. The nearest settlement is Sulby approx. 1.0km to the west, whilst Ramsey itself is located approx. 4.0 km to the east. Ramsey contains Parliament Square, where tourists congregate to watch the TT and Manx GP races during their respective race meetings; the Town centre, Sulby River, and Ramsey Harbour, all provide a number of tourism and leisure as well as shopping facilities etc. The proposal involves the allocation of one car parking space in the garage with further parking space on the apron to the front and side of the garage and arch on the west side of the barn. - 6.4 Ramsey is a busy settlement, and is the main settlement located in the north of the Island and as advised above, Lezayre Road forms part of the TT course. It would, therefore, be difficult to differentiate between the behaviours of tourists, permanent residents or school traffic and toings and froings, in the locality, which may be no more apparent than the daily movements of those living in the property at Abbeyhill and those in the nearby area (such as Lezayre Lodge); and, during race meetings. It could be that as a tourist, a person may be out a lot of the time, but may also have a greater number of late nights and be disruptive on return. On the other hand, permanent residents may be at home more, and could be more likely to invite friends or family over for dinner or parties that may be noisy. In this case, it is noted that the surrounding and nearby uses - apart from Abbeyhill and Lezayre Lodge are mostly rural/agricultural or tourism uses. In general, it is considered that incidences of anti-social or disruptive behaviour are very unlikely to arise as a result of the proposed development of a one bedroom unit of holiday accommodation. - 6.5 The comments from DoI Highways that the proposal would have no significant negative impact upon highway safety, network functionality and/or parking due the relatively small size of the barn, are noted. Furthermore, it would result in a negligible increase in the use of the
7.1 For the above reasons the proposal is considered to comply with General Policies 2 and
3 (as specified); Business Policy 12; Housing Policy 11; and, Environment Policies 16 and 23 in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan, 2016. The living conditions of the occupants of neighbouring and nearby properties would not be made worse as a result of the proposal and there is no demonstrable harm to the above outlined interests arising from the application. There would be no adverse impact on the character and appearance of the Barn or to the character and appearance of the surrounding area, arising from the development. The application is recommended for approval.
8.1 By virtue of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019, the following persons are automatically interested persons:
8.2 The decision maker must determine:
I can confirm that this decision has been made by the Acting Head of Development Management 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
Decision Made : Permitted Date : 22.02.2024 Determining officer
Signed : A MORGAN Abigail Morgan
Acting Head of Development Management
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