9 December 2025 · Delegated
Close Lake Bungalow, Jurby Road, Andreas, Isle Of Man, IM7 2ej
The applicant, a plumbing and heating engineering business (Manx Boiler Mann), applied for a Certificate of Lawful Use for a hardstanding and three associated buildings on land to the north of Jurby Road, southwest of St Judes Crossroads. The site has a long history, with the hardstanding originating from its use as an airport in the 1930s. The business has rented the site for storage and distribution purposes since at least the early 2000s. The evidence package included invoices from 2000, 2003, and 2004 for site rental, a letter from the farm tenant confirming regular rent payments from the applicant's family for storage use, aerial photographs spanning 2001 to 2018, and a planning statement setting out the site's history. The officer assessed both the hardstanding and the buildings together and concluded that, on the balance of probabilities, the use for storage and distribution had been continuous for at least ten years, satisfying the legal threshold for a Certificate of Lawful Use.
The certificate was granted because the documentary and photographic evidence, taken together, was sufficient on the balance of probabilities to demonstrate that the site had been in continuous use for storage and distribution (Class 2.4) for at least ten years. No planning merits assessment was required; the decision turned solely on whether the evidence met the legal threshold for lawful use.
