DEC Decision Notice

Rural Business Consultancy Ballachristory Jurby Isle Of Man IM7 3HD

TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1999 The Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019

In pursuance of powers granted under the above Act and Order the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture determined to APPROVE an application by George Alfred Moore, Ref 21/00174/B, for the Erection of two agricultural buildings and creation of new field access at Field 324368 Top Road Crosby Isle Of Man .

Any conditions or notes which apply to the approval are set out below. This approval is subject to compliance with any conditions listed and may not be implemented until it becomes final (see guidance notes).

• 1. The development hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this decision notice.

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.

• 2. The buildings hereby approved may only be used for agricultural purposes.

Reason: the countryside is protected from development and an exception is being made on the basis of agricultural need. As such the buildings must be used for the purposes for which it is approved.

• 3. The agricultural buildings hereby approved shall be removed and the ground restored to its former condition in the event that they are no longer used or required for agricultural purposes.

Reason: The buildings have been exceptionally approved solely to meet agricultural need and their subsequent retention would result in an unwarranted intrusion in the countryside.

• 4. Prior to the use of the access hereby approved, the first 6m (minimum) of the existing access shall be made of a bound material, and all access arrangements, including visibility, shall accord with drawing titled 'Visibility Splays' and thereafter retained as such. Reason: in the interests of highway safety.

• 5. The development hereby approved shall be undertaken in accordance with the points set out below.

• o Any vegetation to be removed to facilitate the development shall only be cleared by cutting or strimming during the non-active reptile season (start of October to end of February) to make the habitat unsuitable for lizards (this will also avoid breeding bird season). Clearance of this vegetation shall only be undertaken using a strimmer or brush cutter in two passes, the first to 0.2 m, the second close to the ground, both passes to be carried out on the same day and all cuttings raked and removed the same day. The vegetation shall be maintained at the short length throughout the works to ensure common lizards do not use these areas.
• o Removal of the bank shall only take place between Mid-April to August to avoid days when lizards are likely to be active. Sod bank removal should be done from the mid-section (mid-way along the length of the sod bank) outwards towards the ends of the sod bank to allow any lizards present to escape.
• o The turfs from the current bank should carefully be removed and retained and used
• on top of the new section of sod bank in order to retain the existing seed bank and thus the existing wildflowers.

o If any lizards are found during operations all work must stop immediately, the Department be contacted for advice and such advice must be received and complied with prior to work recommencing.

REASON: To protect the biodiversity and ecology of the site.

• 6. The design and construction details of the new Sod bank structure shall include large stones which partly protrude from the bank to allow common lizards 'access to the interior. These details shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Department before any development is commenced and thereafter, the development shall only be carried out in accordance with the details as approved. Reason: To safeguard statutorily protected species.
• 7. The plastic coated steel sheets to be used on the external walls of the storage building must be coloured olive green or as otherwise approved by the Department and retained as such.

Reason: to minimise the visual impact of the development on the countryside which is generally protected from development.

• 8. Prior to the use of the agricultural buildings hereby approved, the levelled site area proposed to be grassed shall be grassed and retained as such. All planting, seeding or turfing of the site must be carried out in the first planting and seeding seasons following the completion of the development or before the occupation of the buildings, whichever is the sooner. Any plants which within a period of five years from the completion of the development die, are removed, or become seriously damaged or diseased must be replaced in the next planting season with others of a similar size and species.

Reason: In the interests of the appearance of the development and the surrounding countryside.

• 9. Animal waste management

Notwithstanding the submitted plans, the details of the animal waste management scheme including the floor treatment/maintenance (straw bedding of the buildings) shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Department before any development is commenced and thereafter the development shall only be carried out in accordance with the details as approved.

Reason: To ensure that the proposal is permanently provided with satisfactory animal waste management arrangements, so as to avoid unacceptable pollution resulting from animal manures and effluents generated in the buildings.

This approval relates to:

• o Location Plan
• o Site Plan
• o Floor Plans and Elevations
• o Visibility Splays
• o Aerial Photographs
• o Photographs, and
• o Rural Business Consultancy (Supporting Information) Received 9 February 2021; and
• o Location Plans and Land Ownership
• o Revised Plans and Elevations
• o Supporting Information from Agent Received 16 June 2021. NOTE Common Lizards are protected under Schedule 5 of the Wildlife Act 1990. It is an
• offence to intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or take any wild animal listed in Schedule 5, or damage or destroy any structure or place which they use for shelter or protection. The Maximum penalty that can be imposed is a fine of £10,000. All birds, their nests, eggs and young are protected by law (Wildlife Act 1990) and it is an offence to:
• o intentionally or recklessly kill, injure or take any wild bird
• o intentionally or recklessly take, damage or destroy the nest of any wild bird whilst it is in use or being built
• o intentionally or recklessly take or destroy the egg of any wild bird
• o intentionally or recklessly disturb any wild bird listed on Schedule 1 while it is nest building, or at a nest containing eggs or young, or disturb the dependent young of such a bird.

The maximum penalty that can be imposed - in respect of a single bird, nest or egg - is a fine up to 10,000 pounds.

The bird nesting season is usually between late February and late August or late September in the case of swifts, swallows or house martins, and pigeons have been known to nest year round if conditions are favourable. Thorough checks for birds, their active nests and eggs should be undertaken prior to vegetation removal. If a nest is discovered while work is being undertaken, all work must stop and advice sought from the Ecosystem Policy Team, DEFA.

This decision has been made for the following reasons(s)

Overall, the proposal is considered acceptable in terms of both agricultural need and visual impact and broadly accords with Environment Policies 15, 1 and 2, and General Policy 3 of the Strategic Plan.

Date of Issue: 19th July 2021

Director of Planning and Building Control

Guidance Note

This decision was made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority delegated to it.

This decision refers only to that applied for under the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 and its subordinate legislation.

A copy of the Officer’s report and any correspondence which led to the assessment and decision is available to view on the Government’s website (via Online Services www.gov.im/Viewapplications) or at the Department’s offices Murray House, Mount Havelock, Douglas.

Implementation The decision does not become final until either

•  Any appeal has been concluded; or
•  21 days have passed since the date on this notice and no appeal has been submitted

Development must progress in accordance with the plans approved under, and any conditions attached to this approval (irrespective of any changes that may separately be requested at the Building Control stage or by any other Statutory Authority). This approval does not remove the need to also comply with any other relevant legislation.

Any conditions requiring certain works, submissions etc. prior to commencement of development must be fulfilled prior to work starting on site. Failure to adhere to this approval and meet the requirements of all conditions may invalidate this approval or result in formal enforcement action.

Appeal Any appeal must be in writing and submitted to the Department within 21 days of the date of this Notice. The appeal must contain:

•  the grounds for making the appeal;
•  payment of the planning appeal fee (currently £295); and
•  if relevant, confirmation that the appellant wishes to have the appeal determined by means of an inquiry and payment of the additional inquiry fee (currently £110). Where the appeal is submitted by the applicant they must:
•  specify in detail and by reference to material planning considerations the reasons why the appellant disagrees with that determination; and
•  Where against a refusal, on the grounds of deficient detail or supporting documentation, set out why they consider the information or documentation forming part of the application was sufficient in the circumstance. If the appeal is submitted by someone who has interested Person Status but is not listed in Article 4(2) of the Development Procedure Order 2019, that person must relate their grounds for making the appeal to issues which they included in representations made prior to the application being determined.

Failure to meet all of the relevant above requirements will mean that the appeal cannot be validated.

An appeal form and more detailed guidance are available either from Planning & Building Control, Tel 685950, or from the Department’s website www.gov.im/planningappeal

If this decision becomes final because there is no appeal, the Department’s public reference copy (counter copy) of the planning application may be collected by the applicant or their agent from Murray House. Please note that if the counter copy of the application is not collected within thirty days following the last date on which a planning appeal can be made it will be destroyed without further notice.