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Fields 434527 & 434527 are located to the north of Corlea Road and have an approximate area of 3.71 acres (15,025m2). The fields are located at the northern end of a larger parcel of agricultural land, known as Glen Moar, with an approximate area of 383,225 square metres (38.32 Hectares / 94.7 acres) owned and farmed by the current owner Manx Rare Breeds Ltd.
The fields consists of general grazing land surrounded on the four boundaries with shrub / hedging to a height of approximately 2.0m. The site falls from the northern boundary to the southern boundary and has a private access track along the western boundary, providing access into the application fields and also fields further to the North. The vehicle access track runs north from the Corlea Road to the southern boundary of field 434531, through fields 434527, 434528 and 434530. The application fields are surrounded on three sides by agricultural grazing land in the ownership of others and Corlea Road to the south.
The parcel of agricultural land, known as Glen Moar, is identified outlined in blue on the Location / Land Ownership drawing (numbered 2015/12/01) and is owned and worked by Manx Rare Breeds Ltd. The overall extent of the holding is in the region of 94.7 acres of land and is used for grazing of rare breed cattle and sheep during the year.
We are not aware of any previous planning applications made by the current owner for this parcel of land.
Manx Rare Breeds have made several planning applications for various others fields which form part of the Glen Moar holding but none of these applications have any impact on the current proposals.
The current proposals seek to increase the width of the existing vehicular access off Corlea Road, improve the condition of the existing access track across the west boundaries of the site and erect new Manx sod banks with stock proof fencing to provide more secure enclosures.
The existing vehicular access comprised a 10 foot wide metal field gate directly off the Corlea Road, see photograph from Google Earth of Site Existing drawing, numbered 2015/12/02. Due to the classification of Corlea Road as a B road then the width of the carriageway is often reduced to single vehicle and restricts the turning of tractor with trailer units entering or leaving the application fields. Therefore it is proposed to increase the width of the opening to 4.5m and install a new metal farm
gate, which can be opened as required to provide safer access and egress from the fields.
The existing vehicular access track along the western boundary of fields 434527, 434528 and 434530 had become severely rutted over the years due to minimal maintenance. In order to make the track more vehicle accessible it is proposed to hardcore over the existing track, with a width of approximately 5m, to ensure the access track is usable all year round. As the most northern field is not under the ownership of Manx Rare Breeds but only has access from the Corlea Road via the access track then Manx Rare Breeds have a legal responsibility to ensure the access track is suitable for use at all times of the year. Therefore to prevent future rutting and cutting up the proposals allow for new hardcore, as has been used elsewhere on the Glen Moar holding, to create a suitable all weather surface.
As part of the improvement works to the existing access track then Manx Rare Breeds propose to construct a 1.5 metre wide Manx sod bank along the eastern boundary of the track and erect stock proof fencing to the field side. This will help reduce the visual impact of the hardcore track in the landscape but also provide a suitable boundary to the fields for grazing of animals. Originally there were no field gates separating fields 434527, 434528, 434530 & 434531 so any stock were able to roam freely between the fields. Management of grazing and separation of stock breeds were very difficult and involved erecting temporary fencing to create individual enclosures. As the fields have now been enclosed on all four sides with stock proof fencing and a field access gate has been provided to each individual field then management of grazing and stock isolation will be far easier.
Following verbal discussions and written correspondence with Mr R. Baker, Planning Enforcement Officer of the planning department we understand that the works are classed as 'Engineering Operations' under Section 6 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 and as such a planning application should have been submitted for approval prior to commencement of the works. We apologize for this error and seek to submit a retrospective planning application to cover the works carried out to date and cover the issues required to complete the works.
As the location of the site is located within an agricultural parcel of land a change of use for part of the field would be required to residential. The planning policies that are relevant to the proposals are Strategic Policy 1 and General Policy 3 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan.
The proposals will ensure the long-term use of the agricultural fields by providing a more suitable access from Corlea Road to the individual fields and enclosing the fields to ensure suitable grazing paddocks.
General Policy 3 f) The upgrading of the field access from Corlea Road, improvement of the access track and enclosure of the fields are essential for the ongoing conduct of agriculture on the site.
SUMMARY
We recommend that the proposals be granted planning approval on the grounds that the proposals comply with the policies set out in the Isle of Man Strategic Plan and do not have an adverse impact on the adjacent properties or the surrounding area.
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