The Department of Infrastructure The Town and Country Planning Act 1999 The Area Plan for the South (Incorporating the Parishes of Rushen, Arbory, and Malew, the Villages of Port Erin and Port St Mary, and the Town of Castletown) Written Statement Made this 7th day of December 2012 Minister for Infrastructure Adopted by Order on: 7th December 2012 Statutory Document Number: 0719/2012 TOWN AND COUNTRY PLANNING ACT 1999 The Area Plan for the South This document comprises that referred to in article 3 of the Town and Country Planning (Area Plan for the South) Order 2012, and is, accordingly, annexed to that Order. Contents Foreword Chapters Page Chapter 1 Preface 5 Chapter 2 The Isle of Man Strategic Plan Context 9 Chapter 3 Southern Identity and Spatial Vision 14 Chapter 4 Residential Development 30 Chapter 5 The Natural Environment, the Built Environment and 64 our Cultural and Historic Heritage Chapter 6 Employment (including Industry and Offices), 73 Retail and Tourism Chapter 7 Transport, Infrastructure and Utilities 86 Chapter 8 Sport, Recreation, Open Space and Community 92 Facilities Chapter 9 Minerals and Waste 99 ____________________ Appendices Appendix 1 Extract from the Residential Land Availability Update 102 for the South (Interim Update 2010) showing approval and completion data up to 31/12/10 Appendix 2 Land identified for residential development on previous 103 Plans which remains available (as at 30/06/2009 – Update 3), and Area Plan proposals for that land Appendix 3 List of Existing and Proposed Low Density Housing 108 in Parkland Sites Appendix 4 4(a): Groups of Houses in the Countryside Survey 109 4(b): Maps showing survey boundaries for selected 111 groups of houses in the countryside Appendix 5 List of Registered Buildings and those buildings on 114 the list for further investigation Appendix 6 Audit of Community Facilities 118 2 Appendix 7 List of Ancient Monuments 122 Tables Table 1 Sequence of events for the release of all 41 Strategic Reserve Sites Table 2 Availability of Employment Land in the South, 74 2007 and 2009 Table 3 Availability of Employment Land in Malew, 2009 74 Table 4 Retail Floorspace in Castletown, March 2009 80 Table 5 Retail Floorspace in Port Erin, March 2009 81 Table 6 Retail Floorspace in Port St Mary, March 2009 81 3 Foreword The Area Plan for the South is the first in what will be a comprehensive set of Area Plans for the Island. There have been many people involved in its production and I would like to thank all those individuals, special interest groups, businesses, local authorities, Government departments and bodies, as well as community groups, who have contributed. This Plan has been through a number of stages but all have been necessary to ensure that the best decisions are taken in respect of designating land, protecting land, and in devising supporting proposals which will allow the South to develop sustainably. There is, of course, a balance to be struck and I believe that our Vision for the South is robust and positive without forgetting the need to protect the environment and existing and future communities. This Plan will provide opportunities for both housing and employment, but will, at the same time, protect and work to enhance the precious natural and built environments the South has to offer. Hon David Cretney MHK Shirveishagh Bun-troggalys 4 1. Preface 1.1 The need for Area Plans 1.1.1 The Department of Infrastructure is required by Section 2 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1999 to prepare the Island Development Plan. This Plan must consist of two parts; a Strategic Plan, and one or more Area Plans. The Isle of Man Strategic Plan was approved by Tynwald in July 2007 and forms the first part of the Development Plan. That document sets out Policies which cover the whole of the Isle of Man but no site specific Proposals; these are to be included in the Area Plans. 1.2 Area Plan coverage 1.2.1 The second part of the Island Development Plan is likely to be made up of four Area Plans (although this may be subject to review later in the Plan programme). The four areas identified in the Island Spatial Strategy (Chapter 5 of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan, 2007) are: The South which covers Castletown, Port Erin, Port St Mary, Rushen, Arbory, and Malew. Douglas and the East which covers Douglas, Onchan, Braddan, Marown, Santon, Laxey, and Lonan. Peel and the West which covers Peel, Patrick, German, and Michael. Ramsey and the North which covers Ramsey, Andreas, Ballaugh, Bride, Jurby, Lezayre, and Maughold. 1.3 The Area Plan Programme and the Isle of Man Strategic Plan Review 1.3.1 The process of preparing and completing an Area Plan will take approximately two and a half to three years. Preliminary work on the Plan for the East has started. Within the Isle of Man Strategic Plan, 2007, (in Chapter 13), there is a commitment to undertake a five- yearly review. Once results from the 2011 Census are collated and analysed, the Isle of Man Strategic Plan, 2007 will be reviewed by way of a partial review. This will commence in 2013, with a view to rolling forward the Plan to a longer-term horizon beyond 2016, most likely 2036. Any changes to Isle of Man Strategic Plan Policies will apply Island-wide and have implications for Proposals in the Area Plan(s) and any other extant development plan. Decisions on the Area Plans for the West and the North will be taken in the light of the Strategic Plan Partial Review. 1.4 The Lifetime of the Area Plan for the South 1.4.1 The current Isle of Man Strategic Plan, 2007 (referred to also in this document as the “Isle of Man Strategic Plan”), covers the period from 2001 (when the Draft Isle of Man Strategic Plan was published) to 2016. The Area Plan for the South also covers the period up to 2016 as it was based on the figures contained within the Isle of Man Strategic Plan i.e. the 2001 Census (as updated by the 2006 Interim Census, in which projections looked ahead to 2016). This is known as the „plan period‟. The intention, as set out above, is to review the Isle of Man Strategic Plan, 2007, which would allow any Area Plan in place at that time to be reviewed as necessary. Whilst the Area Plan for the South will follow the current timescale in place for the Isle of Man Strategic Plan, this does not mean that the lifetime of the Plan or relevance of the Proposals within the Plan will come to an end in 2016. Rather that the lifetime will run until the Plan is reviewed. The Plan contains three „Strategic Reserve‟ sites which are intended for development in the longer-term (beyond 2016) or 5 possibly before that, should there be a demonstrable need. The arrangements for the future release of such Reserve Sites have been set out in Chapter 4 but will, in the first instance, take account of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan Partial Review and the most up to date Annual Monitoring Report for the South. 1.5 The Area Plan’s geographical context 1.5.1 The Plan Area, as defined on Maps 1 and 3 includes Castletown, Port Erin, Port St Mary and the Parishes of Arbory, Malew and Rushen and adjoins the Parishes of Patrick, Marown, and Santon. Whilst these Parishes will form part of the Area Plans for the West and the East, they also form part of the immediate geographical, topographical, and social context of the Southern Area. The Department has therefore had regard to this context in the formulation of the Plan. 1.6 Future Review of the Area Plan 1.6.1 The Proposals contained within this Plan will ensure that the development needs of the South can be met. However, in the interests of providing a more equitable spread of housing land in the South in the longer term, the Department accepts that there is the potential for additional land to be released for housing in the wider Castletown area. This could be by way of general allocation i.e. „Proposal Sites‟ or as „Strategic Reserves‟. In order to explore the opportunities fully, and to assess any implications for traffic generation generally, the Department is committed to undertaking a timely partial review of the Area Plan to examine the potential for additional allocations in the Castletown area only. This will not only allow a re-assessment of the land at Great Meadow and Knock Rushen but also other sites which may, or may not, have come forward previously. Such a Review will not affect the Proposal Sites contained within this Plan but may have implications for the timing of the release of the existing Strategic Reserves; this will be addressed as part of the review process as well as via the Annual Monitoring Reports for the Area Plan for the South. 1.7 Stages in the Plan Process 1.7.1 The Area Plan for the South has been though the following main stages: July, 2008 Issues and Options Report published March, 2009 Public consultation events in the South October, 2009 Draft Area Plan for the South published January, 2010 Public consultation event in Castletown January, 2011 Modified Draft Area Plan for the South published October/November, 2011 Public Inquiry into the Draft Area Plan with Modifications February-May, 2012 Publication and consideration of the Planning Inspector‟s Report June, 2012 Publication of the proposed modifications and consideration of responses December, 2012 Adoption of the Plan by the Department with Modifications (by Order) Early 2013 Approval of the Plan by Tynwald (by Order) 1.8 Documents which make up the Area Plan for the South 1.8.1 The Area Plan is made up of this Written Statement which sets out the background to the various topics as well as detailed „Proposals‟ and „Recommendations‟.