Planning Officer Assessment Report

The site lies at the north eastern end of Abbeylands, between Strenaby Farm and Ballacashin and accommodates the line of a new access which has been roughly formed from the old cottage to the Abbeylands Road. The site edged in blue represents the curtilage of Ballacashin - the new bungalow and the former Ballacashin farmhouse - an abandoned cottage which was the subject of a successful application for renovation - PA 02/0296. This application was initially refused by the Planning Committee then approved and this approval confirmed at appeal despite an Inspector recommending refusal. The Minister did not refer to any personal association with the house or the applicant in her dismissal of the Inspector's recommendation and merely noted the contribution which the building makes to the landscape where she states "...even after some 27 years the building still has the general appearance of a house, that it is visible from the number of public vantage points and that it is apparent possible to retain the majority of the external structure as part of the proposed conversion...in these circumstances and having regard to the potential for improvement in the appearance of the local landscape, the minister has concluded that it would appropriate to adopt a more liberal interpretation of the Department's policies in respect of redundant buildings than that used by the appointed person". The applicant made it clear in this and the previous applications that the property when refurbished would be occupied by his son although no personal occupancy condition was attached to the approval, nor should it have been as it related to building works. The approval was subject to a number of conditions including one which stated "The detailed application must involve the demarcation of the domestic curtilage of this new dwelling which should be roughly the site of "Ballacashin" adjacent together with the means of access past "Ballacashin" on the main road/drive" ("site" should read "size" although this was not picked up - the condition is fairly meaningless otherwise). The submitted plans showed a red dotted line running to the south of the bungalow to the main entrance drive which has a high leylandii hedge on both sides. Now proposed is an alternative access into the new property on the basis that there are tail drains serving "Ballacashin" which would have to be re-routed if the access is to go across them. The new alternative access would of course enable easier separation from the main house and if the applicant has changed his mind about having his family living in the renovated house, it would be much more conducive to privacy of both existing and proposed houses to have another access as is proposed. However, despite these concerns, there was no occupancy condition tying the new house to the old one so in itself this is not a valid reason for refusal. Rather the application should be judged on the basis of its impact mainly visual in the landscape and any impact on adjacent properties. It cannot be stated that the new access will have a significant impact on the landscape (see photos). From Johnny Watterson's Lane the access is not appreciable and when completed the north-south run will be bounded by a hedge on the eastern side so this will obscure any view of the new lane. From closer up of course the new access is visible although it looks no different from the lane to Strenaby Farm which is only 30 m to the south west. The applicant discussed this with me on site several months ago and suggested that he wanted construction traffic to use this access rather than having to come past the house, which is understandable and also suggested that there used to be a lane in the position shown parallel to the lane to Strenaby Farm. However, I have checked with past aerial photographs and can find no evidence of the existence of such a route. I would conclude that there will be no adverse visual impact from the proposed access and on the basis of the grounds for the original approval for the renovation of the cottage, that there is no valid reason to refuse this application. ## Summary of objections/views Onchan District Commissioners recommend refusal - result in separate dwelling and visual impact in the landscape Department of Transport- OK Recommendations Approve Signed. Date.