Why Was This Refused?
- ✓Site designated as open space/agriculture and high landscape value — not for residential use
- ✓Proposal would extend development into open countryside beyond the existing dwelling curtilage
- ✓Contrary to Laxey and Lonan Area Plan policy L/RES/PR/1 restricting housing to designated residential areas
- ✓Contrary to Planning Circular 1/88 (Revised) presumption against houses in the countryside
- ✓No exceptional circumstances identified to justify setting aside the countryside presumption
- ✓Fundamentally, the application site is not designated for residential development and represents a combination of the curtilage of a dwelling within the countryside and an area of countryside.
- ✓As set out within the planning policy section of this report both local plan policy and general planning policy sets out a general presumption against residential development in the countryside.
- ✓There are clearly no exceptional circumstances to warrant setting aside this well established presumption against residential development in the countryside.
The application sought approval in principle to demolish an existing detached dwelling and erect three new dwellings with double garages on a site combining the existing dwelling's curtilage and an adjoining field on Ballamenaugh Beg Road, Baldrine. The site sits at the northern end of Ballamenaugh Beg Road near Baldrine Park Estate and is designated under the Laxey and Lonan Area Plan 2005 as open space/agricultural land and an area of high landscape value and scenic significance — not as residential land. The core planning problem was that the proposal would replace one dwelling with three and extend development into open countryside, directly contrary to the area plan designation, local policy L/RES/PR/1 (which restricts residential development to areas already designated for residential use), and Planning Circular 1/88 (Revised), which establishes a general presumption against houses in the countryside. The officer found no exceptional circumstances to justify setting aside that presumption, and the application was refused under delegated authority.
The site is not designated for residential development: it falls within an area of open space, agriculture, and high landscape value under the Laxey and Lonan Area Plan 2005. Both local plan policy and general planning policy presume against new housing in the countryside, and the proposal to build three dwellings — extending into the adjacent field — could not overcome that presumption. No exceptional circumstances were identified.
Site Observations
- •The application site comprises of a combination of the curtilage of a detached dwelling and adjoining field, which is located on Ballamenaugh Beg Road in Baldrine, Lonan.
- •The site can be found at the northern end of Ballamenaugh Beg Road close to Baldrine Park Estate.
Refusal Reasons
- ✕The planning application is unacceptable by reason that it is contrary to the established presumption against residential development in the countryside. In this particular instance the presumption is reinforced in three ways: i) The proposed development of three dwellings on the application site is contrary to its designation under the Laxey and Lonan Area Plan Order 2005, which designates the application site as being within a) an area of open space/agriculture use and b) an area of high landscape value and scenic significance. The application site is not designated for residential development; ii) The proposed development is contrary to policy L/RES/PR/1 of the Laxey and Lonan Area Plan Order 2005, which states that residential development will generally only be approved in areas designated as proposed or existing residential use; and iii) The proposed development of three dwellings to replace one existing dwelling and to extend into the adjacent countryside is contrary to the provisions of Planning Circular 1/88 (Revised), Residential Development – Houses in the Countryside, which sets out a general presumption against residential development in the countryside.
- ✕This decision was made by the Director of Planning and Building control in accordance with the authority delegated to him under Article 3(13) of the Town and Country (Development Procedure) Order 2005
