Dept. of Environment, Food & Agriculture South Planning Enquiries Murray House Mount Havelock Douglas IM1 2SF
10 December 2019
Approval in Principle Application
Approval in Principle is requested for the construction of a private house in Ballasalla. Details are as follows:
Construction of a four bedroom bungalow giving approx. 4000 sq. ft of living area. The proposed construction will include a two car garage and a conservatory and will be built to a high quality standard. The house will be similar in style to surrounding properties and an illustration is included in the attached file 'New Build Image'.
The attached file 'Site Location Plan' shows the location of the property which is a vacant piece of land accessed by a private lane off Bridge Road. The land is shown bounded in red and the adjoining property also owned by ourselves is shown bounded in blue. As owners we have right of way along the private lane and access to the land.
Although planning permission was previously granted for a house on this location (application 85/00660/B) we are aware that it is now excluded for development on the current Strategic Plan for the Ballasalla area. However a development at this location would appear to be aligned with the general aims and policies of the Plan in that:
As a Service Village, Ballasalla has been identified as a preferred location for further housing development
The proposed location is a few minutes walking distance from the village centre, giving ready access to the school, shops, medical and community facilities
This piece of land is not part of the countryside that the Strategic Plan seeks to protect, and is in fact surrounded by existing and well established properties. Over the years numerous applications have been granted for these properties to be extended and also a new property created by sub-division. Although these applications mostly pre-date the current Plan, this would suggest that there has been no concern about development in this area. For reference a selection of the more significant developments are listed below and are also shown on the attached file 'Site Location Plan with Planning Approvals'.
1985 85/00660/B Erection of four bedroom dormer bungalow with double garage
1985 85/00864/B Extension to form garages, games room, entrance hall, toilets and additional bathroom at Mill Kent
1986 86/01361/B Extension to provide double garage at Ballasalla house
1992 92/00447/B Construction of a conservatory at Mill Kent
1998 97/02123/B Alterations and extension to include new swimming pool at Mill Kent
Approval in Principle Application December 2019
Prior to the current Plan the land was designated for low density development in alignment with the surrounding properties. As such it is questionable as to what positive outcome has been achieved by the current zoning. The land cannot be considered to be maintaining the integrity of the surrounding countryside and as such any development would not detract from the 'quality of life' for local residents.
We would also point out that as the land has no value for any farming or agricultural purpose it has now been rendered useless. This seems entirely contrary to aims of the Strategic Plan, the policies of which are intended to facilitate the most efficient and beneficial use of the Island's resources.
Finally, we should mention that these issues would have been raised when the Plan was at a public consultation stage, but unfortunately we were not living on the Island at the time and were not aware of the process that was underway.
2005
05/01915/B
Erection of a detached dwelling on land adjacent to Mill Kent (sub-division of the Mill Kent property)
2007
07/00994/B
Alterations, conversion of existing barn and erection of extensions to provide living accommodation and a double garage at Ballasalla House
2011
11/00747/B
Erection of a boat shelter at Monk Walk
2012
12/00144/B
Erection of an extension to a shed at Monks Walk
2015
15/01241/B
Alterations and extensions to dwelling and erection of a detached garage at Monks Walk
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