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Application No.: 20/00008/LAW Applicant: Daryl Blake Construction Ltd Proposal: Certificate of Lawful Use for the use of site for storage of equipment and materials Site Address: Goose Field Depot Castletown Road Port St. Mary Isle Of Man IM9 5LT Principal Planner: Miss S E Corlett Photo Taken: 13.02.2020 Site Visit: 13.02.2020 Expected Decision Level: Officer Delegation Recommended Decision: Certificate of Lawful Use Declined Date of Recommendation: 26.02.2020 _________________________________________________________________ Reasons for Refusal R : Reasons for Refusal O : Notes attached to reasons R 1. It has not been demonstrated that the use of the site for the storage of materials and plant has ever been carried on in a material sense or that it has been used for such for a period of ten years.
_______________________________________________________________ Interested Person Status – Additional Persons NA _____________________________________________________________________________ Officer’s Report THE SITE
1.1 The site is a parcel of land which lies on the southern side of the Castletown Road which runs between Four Roads, Port St. Mary and Bay ny Carrickey, Rushen. The site has a frontage to the road of 11m, widening at the rear to 16m and is generally 10m deep from road to rear. - 1.2 The site has stone walls along its frontage and enclosing its shape with the stone wall continuing towards the east. - 1.3 The site is grassed and generally devoid of structures or features within.
1.4 The nearest adjacent properties are two residential dwellings to the west - Douval and Brook Cottage and on the other side of the road, slightly to the east, is the Southern Civic Amenity site. THE APPLICATION
2.1 The application seeks a Certificate of Lawful Use of the site for the storage of materials and equipment. The only evidence submitted with the application is an e-mail from the DoI who previously owned the site prior to its purchase by the current applicant, which states:
"Further to your request I have made enquiries in to the use of the depot at Pound Lane, Port St, Mary, The depot when in the Department of Infrastructure's ownership was used to store plant and materials for the last 20 years; prior to that it was a Pinfold." This is dated 16.12.2019
together with a series of photographs, one of which shows a pile of hardcore at the rear of the site opposite the entrance, one showing some metal barriers and a traffic cone, one showing nothing being stored there and one showing a traffic sign lying down to the east of the entrance gate. In all of the photographs the ground is uneven with grass and weeds in varying amounts. There are also two undated photographs which appear not to show anything being stored on the site.
2.2 The current state of the site is as shown in the photographs including the traffic sign. Interestingly there was a traffic cone visible in the adjacent field which could suggest that these have been maliciously left there rather than having been deliberately stored. PLANNING POLICY
3.1 Whilst the merits of the application are not at issue, it should be noted that the site lies within an area designated on the Area Plan for the South as not for a particular purpose and thus there is a presumption against development here as stated in Environment Policy 1. The site is not within an area of High Landscape Value on the 1982 Development Plan and as such, Environment Policy 2 is not applicable. On the draft Landscape Character Appraisal which is incorporated into the Area Plan for the South, the site lies within an area of Incised Slopes and where the site is not identified in particular but the overall objective in the landscape strategy is to preserve the existing rural character appearance and distinctiveness of the area. PLANNING HISTORY - 4.1 There have not been any applications submitted for this site. REPRESENTATIONS - 5.1 Rushen Parish Commissioners express concern that appropriate measures should be in place for access and to ensure the adjacent stream is not polluted and they wonder whether the proposed use if appropriate for this semi-rural area (21.02.20). ASSESSMENT - 6.1 The purpose of an application for a Certificate of Lawfulness of Use is to demonstrate that a use has prevailed for a period of ten years or more, which continues to the time of the application, which would render the use immune from the issue of an enforcement notice under the Town and Country Planning Act Schedule 4(3c). The previous owner states that the site had been used for the storage of plant and materials for the past 20 years and before that it was a pinfold - an area where escaped or stray animals could be secured until returning to their owners or being transferred somewhere else.
6.2 Unfortunately the only evidence which has been produced are photographs which show a small number of items or materials on the site - a single traffic sign, one small pile of hardcore and a few barriers and a traffic cone. In planning terms this does not amount to a material use of the site for storage purposes, rather it would be an area of open space in which a small
7.1 It is recommended that a Certificate of Lawful Use of this land for the storage of materials and equipment should not be issued.
I can confirm that this decision has been made by a Principal Planner in accordance with the authority afforded to that Officer by the appropriate DEFA Delegation.
Decision Made : Certificate of Lawful Use Declined Date: 26.02.2020 Determining officer
Signed : C BALMER Chris Balmer Principal Planner
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