DEC Decision Notice

Department of Home Affairs Department of Home Affairs Tromode Drill Hall Tromode Road Douglas IM2 5PA

TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1999 The Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019

In pursuance of powers granted under the above Act and Order the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture determined to APPROVE an application by Department of Home Affairs, Ref 21/01311/B, for the Installation of ground mounted solar array. at Area Of Land Adjacent To Upper Howe Farm Old Castletown Road Douglas Isle Of Man .

Any conditions or notes which apply to the approval are set out below. This approval is subject to compliance with any conditions listed and may not be implemented until it becomes final (see guidance notes).

• 1. The development hereby approved shall be begun before the expiration of four years from the date of this decision notice.

Reason: To comply with Article 26 of the Town and Country Planning (Development Procedure) Order 2019 and to avoid the accumulation of unimplemented planning approvals.

• 2. In the event that the panels hereby approved are no longer in use, they shall be removed from the site within 6 months of their last use. Reason: In the interests of visual impact and protection of the countryside.
• 3. Prior to the commencement of the development hereby approved details shall be provided to the department including:

• - an assessment of the current habitat of the application site;
• - measures to implement the physical impact of the proposed installation on that habitat; and
• - measures to manage the site, including the management/removal of gorse.

Reason: the site has been identified as being of sufficient value to be a Local Wildlife Site, the assessment of the site identifies gorse as being a particular concern the proposed development will not require the complete clearance of the site and so some habitat within the site can be retained and enhanced in accordance with Strategic Plan Environment Policies 4 and 5.

This approval relates to the following documents:

• o Site Photographs,
• o Location Plan,
• o Solar Panel Details, and
• o Drawing No. 03 (Proposed Site Layout & Typical Section through Solar Dig Out Area), All received 3 November 2021.

This decision has been made for the following reasons(s) Overall, it is concluded that the planning application is in accordance with Environment Policy 22 and Energy Policy 4 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016, as well as wider Government climate change strategy, having no adverse impacts on private or public amenities.

Date of Issue: 23rd February 2022

Director of Planning and Building Control

Guidance Note

This decision was made by the Planning Committee in accordance with the authority delegated to it.

This decision refers only to that applied for under the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 and its subordinate legislation.

A copy of the Officer’s report and any correspondence which led to the assessment and decision is available to view on the Government’s website (via Online Services www.gov.im/Viewapplications) or at the Department’s offices Murray House, Mount Havelock, Douglas.

Implementation The decision does not become final until either Any appeal has been concluded; or 21 days have passed since the date on this notice and no appeal has been submitted

Development must progress in accordance with the plans approved under, and any conditions attached to this approval (irrespective of any changes that may separately be requested at the Building Control stage or by any other Statutory Authority). This approval does not remove the need to also comply with any other relevant legislation.

Any conditions requiring certain works, submissions etc. prior to commencement of development must be fulfilled prior to work starting on site. Failure to adhere to this approval and meet the requirements of all conditions may invalidate this approval or result in formal enforcement action.

Appeal Any appeal must be in writing and submitted to the Department within 21 days of the date of this Notice. The appeal must contain: the grounds for making the appeal; payment of the planning appeal fee (currently £295); and

if relevant, confirmation that the appellant wishes to have the appeal determined by means of an inquiry and payment of the additional inquiry fee (currently £110). Where the appeal is submitted by the applicant they must:

specify in detail and by reference to material planning considerations the reasons why the appellant disagrees with that determination; and

Where against a refusal, on the grounds of deficient detail or supporting documentation, set out why they consider the information or documentation forming part of the application was sufficient in the circumstance. If the appeal is submitted by someone who has interested Person Status but is not listed in Article 4(2) of the Development Procedure Order 2019, that person must relate their grounds for making the appeal to issues which they included in representations made prior to the application being determined.

Failure to meet all of the relevant above requirements will mean that the appeal cannot be validated.

An appeal form and more detailed guidance are available either from Planning & Building Control, Tel 685950, or from the Department’s website www.gov.im/planningappeal

If this decision becomes final because there is no appeal, the Department’s public reference copy (counter copy) of the planning application may be collected by the applicant or their agent from Murray House. Please note that if the counter copy of the application is not collected within thirty days following the last date on which a planning appeal can be made it will be destroyed without further notice.