Approval in principle for the erection of light industrial units On the 9th October 2007, the Director of Planning and Building Control agreed to extend the duration of the planning consent to the 30th September 2009.

Why Was This Refused?

• ✓Site is zoned as Open Space or Woodland in the Douglas Local Plan, not for industrial use
• ✓Proposed light industrial units would be contrary to the Local Plan
• ✓Insufficient justification to support an exception to the Local Plan
• ✓Visual harm from introducing built industrial development on a green edge-of-town site
• ✓Site is a field of approximately 2.275 hectares between Old Castletown Road and the Steam Railway Line

This application sought approval in principle for the erection of light industrial units on a roughly 2.275-hectare field at White Hoe, between Old Castletown Road and the Steam Railway Line in Douglas. The site sits at the edge of town and is zoned as Open Space or Woodland under the Douglas Local Plan. The application was refused by the Secretary Planning Committee on 8 March 2005. The decision reflected the officer's recommendation to refuse. The core reason for refusal was that the site's Local Plan designation does not permit industrial development. The applicant did not provide sufficient evidence to justify departing from that designation, and the committee concluded that the visual harm of placing light industrial buildings on this green space outweighed any case for an exception.

The application was refused because the land is designated as Open Space or Woodland in the Douglas Local Plan, not for industrial use. The committee found that the case for making an exception to the Local Plan was not strong enough to justify introducing light industrial buildings on this green space at the edge of town, given the visual harm that would result.

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