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The site represents the curtilage of Westfield, Grenaby Road, Dogmills, Ramsey, which is a detached property, located on the southern side of Grenaby Road and northeast of the Regaby Crossroads.
The application site is within an area recognised as being an area of 'White Land', under the Isle of Man Development Plan Order 1982. The site is not within a Conservation Area; nor within an area zoned as High Landscape or Coastal Value and Scenic Significance.
The following planning application is considered relevant in the assessment and determination of this application:-
PA 04/00532/C - Removal of agricultural workers condition concerning occupation of dwelling - Refused on the following ground:-
at open market value without any discounting it is considered that insufficient evidence has been submitted to demonstrate the lack of demand for an agricultural workers dwelling in this location. Accordingly, the removal of the agricultural workers condition is insufficiently justified."
PA 96/00802/C - Change of use from agricultural workers dwelling to private residence - Refused
The proposal seeks approval for the removal of agricultural tie. The applicant has requested the removal of the tie due to a change in his circumstances. The applicant states that his wife has passed away and he is no longer in robust health (the applicant is 81 years old). Due to this, the applicant may require full-time care in the future and with no children or siblings (also in poor health) to care for him, the applicant will possibly need to sell the property to fund long term care (approx. £ 35,000 per annum). The release of the agricultural tie will enable the applicant to more widely market the property and support him in a nursing home. If the applicant cannot rely on his own finances then he will have no alternative but to seek support from the Government.
The Authority has received no privately written representations objecting to the application.
The Departments practice is to require that the property has been marketed at a reduced sum of between and for a period of at least 6 months. The submission does not include any details if the property has been for sale, and if it has, whether the property was for sale at the required discounted rate.
With any new agricultural workers dwellings being given planning permission, a condition is attached restricting the occupation to a person engaged or last engaged solely in agriculture; or a widow or widower of such a person, or any resident dependants. As indicated within the Isle of Man Strategic Plan paragraph 8.9.4; "Such a condition will not usually be removed on subsequent applications unless it is shown that the long-term need for dwellings for agricultural workers, both on the particular farm and in the locality, no longer warrants reserving the dwelling for that purpose."
Whilst sympathetic to the needs of the applicant ultimately, agricultural workers dwellings are granted as an exception to the normal presumption against residential development in the countryside. The removal of an agricultural occupancy condition without sufficient justification would be contrary to those reasons for its original imposition. It is recommended that the planning application be refused as insufficient evidence has been submitted to demonstrate that the property is no longer required for occupation by an agricultural worker in the island.
The following parties, who submitted comments, accord with the requirements of Planning Circular 1/06 and are therefore, afforded Interested Party Status:
The Department of Transport Highways Division Bride Parish Commissioners
Recommended Decision: Refused
Date of Recommendation: 15.07.2008
N : Notes attached to conditions R : Reasons for refusal 0 : Notes attached to refusals
Insufficient evidence has been submitted to demonstrate that the property is no longer required for occupation by an agricultural worker in the island. Accordingly the removal of the agricultural workers condition is insufficiently justified.
The Department's established practice in these matters is to require that the dwelling should be offered for sale for a period of 6 months at a valuation which reflects the limitation on occupancy imposed by the current planning approval; there would usually be a reduction in the free market value of approximately . The Applicant is recommended to market the property at this discounted rate for a period of 6 months. If after this period the house is still on the market then the applicant is recommended to submit a further application with the relevant evidence.
Decision Made : Committee Meeting Date :
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