Developer's appeal against Isle of Man housing refusal thrown out

Plans for the Development on land off Lezayre Road were first put forward in 2020

A developer's appeal against the decision to refuse permission to build 138 new homes in the north of the Isle of Man has been thrown out.

Dandara had contested the decision to block building on fields at Lower Milntown in Lezayre in May.

But Environment Minister Clare Barber supported a planning inspector's recommendation to reject the bid.

That report raised concerns about road safety, harm to wildlife and a change in housing needs in the area.

The development, which would have been on land between Auldyn River and Auldyn Meadows, was first proposed in September 2020.

Although initially 181 homes were initially planned, the blueprints were scaled back to include a mixture of 138 bungalows, terraced and semi-detached homes.

'Material harm'

While the site is currently classed as agricultural land, the two fields earmarked for the houses are proposed for residential development under the Isle of Man Development Plan 1982.

However, concerns were highlighted over changes in the population shown in the most recent census and a drop in the number of new homes needed in the north and west by 2026.

In its appeal, Dandara had argued the reason for the refusal had failed to "apply due weight to the provisions of the development plan" and representations that supported the proposals.

But the minister upheld the view that the application was refused as the development would have resulted in "material harm" to the "established character and appearance" of the rural area and "biodiversity and ecology interests".

Those harms had not been "outweighed by the benefits of the development proposed", she added.