Applicant Additional Information Statement

Planning application for field shelter/stable in Field no 211013 behind Upper Ballacrye Jurby Additional Information from P and A Warrilow 13/11/23

Firstly we should apologise for starting the building of this structure without researching what planning consent was required. We recently lost use of some grazing land near our home for our horses, rendering the stables we have there of little use. Realising we did not have much time, before the cold weather sets in, we took the decision to erect a shelter on our own land, at Ballacrye, Sandygate, where there is plenty of winter grazing. We currently have 5 “normal” sized horses on the grazing as well as 2 miniature Shetland ponies. Of these, only 2 of the “normal” sized horses are elderly and need the building, the natural shelter of the gorse hedges is enough to protect the others. Elderly horses, whilst needing shelter, also need to have freedom to move around to avoid them becoming badly affected by arthritic stiffness etc., so just stabling them at home, 24/7, was not an option. The best welfare practice would be to allow daytime grazing and night-time stabling, with the ability to vary this with the weather, hence the building needing to be very near the grazing. We only use our field for grazing our horses and have no wish to develop any area for riding or schooling our horses. All the horses are used purely for pleasure riding and we do not provide livery or take payment for keeping other peoples horses. There are stables and buildings in at least one directly neighbouring property, as well as at least 2 others within half a mile, so hopefully our application would not be seen as out of keeping for the area.

In our panic to provide for the welfare of our 2 elderly horses we hastily planned and started building this shelter, neglecting to think through the wider implications of our actions. In our naivety and panic, we now realise that we did not comply with the planning rules. For this, we apologise and hope to rectify with this retrospective planning application. We now understand more about the process, thanks to Richard Kneen, who was very helpful and highly informative. Immediately, on receiving Mr Kneen's letter, we ceased construction of the building and started to search for alternative accommodation for our elderly horses for this winter. We include photos of the work we had completed at that time and will change nothing until we have your decision.

For clarity, and to allay any possible fears from our neighbours, who we assume raised their concerns with the planning department, we own a house in Sulby and have absolutely no wish or need to develop the land we own at Ballacrye in any further way. We have no ulterior motive for erecting this building beyond providing animal shelter and a covered store or work area for a small agricultural market garden/smallholding. I know there was a concern from one of our near neighbours, when we bought the field, that we might want to erect some sort of human habitation there but this is not something we wish to do. We are trying to be open about our plans to alleviate this concern.

The field, as a whole, we currently use for our vegetable growing, grazing our equines and housing our small flock of poultry. The long-term plan is to grow more vegetables and increase the percentage of the 5 acres we use for this. Whilst equines are likely to remain part of the plan, I am

nearly 60 and unlikely to ride for many more years. So, as our current horses pass on, we plan to have miniature equines only (we have 2 so far). The equines and the increasing market gardening go hand in hand as we use the horse manure as a growing medium for our “No Dig” vegetable production system. This year was our first year growing and harvesting and it has been very successful, we have sold produce as well as feeding ourselves. We now intend to up-scale production and try to build up a small agricultural/horticultural business to see us into retirement. Even when the number of equines reduces on our land, we will have a strong need for the proposed building to enable us to sort clean and store our produce. If we can make a viable business plan we would also like to increase our poultry keeping and maybe provide Manx reared, free range, chicken meat in a small way, something that is sadly lacking on Island at present. So there will be a long term use for the building for agricultural as well as it's immediate equine use. This land is not Class 1 or 2 agricultural land and, to the best of our knowledge, has only been used as part time cattle or sheep grazing land for some years. The land has a pretty wide range of grasses and other plants, which are, mostly, good for our horses and good for wildlife. We use no chemicals in our vegetable growing or in our grazing paddocks at present and this is our aim going forward. One corner of the field is currently fenced off as it has a dub and it is quite wet in winter, we aim to keep this area un-grazed and undisturbed as a wildlife area. This area is at the opposite end of the field from the proposed building. Our proposed building would not materially effect the rural character of the area as it has been designed to blend, colour wise with the natural hedges and will enable us to better use our smallholding. The site chosen is tucked in beside a high gorse hedge and screened from view as explained below. Our design also allows for the building to be removed in the future, without leaving a footprint, should the building no longer be needed for its proposed purpose, again, details below.

The proposed building is fully sited within the boundaries of our own land (field 211013). It is not near or visible to any homes or businesses. It is barely visible to the surrounding fields due to big and continuous gorse hedging around the whole field. We are not planning to add in any services such as electricity or telephone lines. We have a single water trough which serves our field which is sufficient for animal welfare and occasional vegetable production needs. We capture and reuse as much rainwater as we can already and any rainwater falling on the proposed buildings roof will also be captured for use, especially in the summer. The rainwater we capture would have fallen on, and been absorbed by, the field anyway. We currently use battery powered lights and tools when necessary and don't need mains electricity. Any manure and soiled bedding produced within the shelter will be added to the muck heap we already have and composted for use on the vegetable plots. Access to our field is via an established farm track from the Sandygate to St Judes road. We have full and unlimited right of access over this track and use it at least twice a day currently. There would be no increase in traffic or visits resulting from this building. Any selling of our produce is, and needs to be, done at a farmers market or similar, not directly from our isolated field. Our uses of the land do not produce any noise, smell, light or environmental “pollution” other than those generally expected from a rural smallholding.

As explained before, we started to construct the building in a hurry, for animal welfare purposes, and consequently chose methods and materials we could handle ourselves, without machinery or contractors. Despite this, we did plan a building that will have minimal current or future impact on the land as an open agricultural space. The majority of the building will be wood, which would rot away in time, if the building was no longer used. The roof could be removed and sold for scrap or recycled easily. All the wood for the construction has been sourced from the Govt. Sawmills in St Johns. The roofing sheets have been purchased from a small local business. The green chosen for the roof and the dark brown wood preservative planned for the exposed woodwork were chosen to replicate the colours of the gorse hedges around the field, minimising any visual impact to others. We have opted not to erect on a concrete base as we like the idea of the building leaving no long-

term footprint when we are gone. The only concrete used is in small pads on the bottom of each structural upright post, to stop the building sinking or moving. These pads are only a few inches wider than the posts they support and are buried deeply so that, even if they were not removed when the building is finished with, they would pose no impedance to future ploughing or cultivating of the land, once the wood had been removed or rotted away. The internal partitions and kick-boards will also be wood and the walls are single skinned throughout, except where half-height kick-boards are needed to stop the horses breaking out or damaging the thin outer feather-board walls. The roof is single skinned metal, with no insulation in the building anywhere, as it is not necessary. Rubber mats will be the only flooring used, laid straight onto the earth. A shallow ditch around the back and side of the building may prove necessary to keep heavy rain from flooding the floor inside. If this proves necessary, the water will just be directed around the building and away out into the field where it will soak away.

We hope this gives you a clear picture of what we started building and would like to complete, with your permission, Hopefully, we have also given a clear indication of the future use of the land and how the building will help us going forward. Our wish is to keep this land in a way that respects its agricultural status as well as it providing a suitable home for our equines and eventually a small supplementary income for ourselves.

Thank you for your time.