All development on the Isle of Man requires planning permission with the exception of those works specifically excluded by legislation. 

Planning is a very complicated subject. In order to get answers, you’ll need to explain the specifics of your case to someone who knows what they are talking about. 

To help you, the Isle of Man Planning Department has introduced the Interactive House Planning Portal to explain the criteria that apply to semi or detached houses that are not within a Conservation Area or a Registered Building.

Click here to find out if you need planning approval

Click here for further information

To view all of the relevant planning legislation, please see the Legislation Page

You've purchased a plot of land with the right to build a house on it. Or you have planning permission for an extension, but money is tighter than you anticipated when you submitted the application.

Any planning permission granted is only valid for a specific period of time. Generally speaking, unless your permission specifies otherwise, you have four years from the date your permission is granted to begin building. If you haven't started building by then, you will have to reapply for the planning permission.

If you have outline permission, you need to decide on your details and get your applications for approval in before the four years runs out. 

Usually if you make some kind of clearly visible first action, you can keep your approval alive without beginning the main construction phase. 

• any work of construction in the course of the erection of a building;
• the digging of a trench for the foundations of a building;
• laying the underground main or pipe to the foundations, or part of the foundations, of a building or to any such trench;
• any operation in the course of laying out or constructing a road or part of a road;

You have 21 days from the date the yellow Site Notice is displayed at the site but only interested parties may appeal. Interested party status can be granted to someone who has a legitimate planning concern, lives within 20m of the application site (unless it is a development) and whether the land they own or occupy would be impacted by the development. 

A garage up to 6m by 6m and with eaves not exceeding 2.9m may be erected without planning permission providing all the conditions set down in Class 17 of the Permitted Development Order are satisfied. No approval is given as part of this for the creation or alteration of an access onto the highway.  If a new or amended access is required then this would require a planning application.

Conservatories are considered as an extension for the purposes of Permitted Development and as such a conservatory may be erected under certain conditions, provided that the area does not exceed 15sqm beyond that of the original house when first constructed.

Conditions:

a)  the general conditions applicable to Section A

 Section A —General Conditions as amended

1) No part of the development may be constructed within 9 metres (measured at ground level) of the route of any overhead electrical line carrying 11kv or more (High tension power cable);

2) No part of the development may be constructed within 9.1 metres of the bank of any designated watercourse under the Flood Risk Management Act 2013;

Also included from Schedule 4 of the Order

(2A) The operations specified must not be constructed (including any foundations) so as to involve the felling, lopping or limbing of any tree (other than a tree referred to in section 3(3) of the Tree Preservation Act 1993).

(2AB) The following Schedule 1 operations must not be situated closer to a tree (other than referred to in section 3(3) of the Tree Preservation Act 1993) than the required distance (a) Class 14 Extension so dwelling house

(2B) for the purpose of paragraph (2AB) the “required distance” is

      (a) for a tree with a single stem, 12 times the tree’s stem diameter; or

      (b) for a tree with more than one stem, 12 times — (stem diameter 1)2 +       (stem diameter 2)2 … + (stem diameter 5)2, where the stem diameter is    measured 1.5 metres above ground level.

b)  the floorspace (measured externally) of the extension must not exceed 15sqm beyond that of the original dwelling house;

c)  the extension must not exceed 4 metres in height above ground level;

d)  no part of the extension may be nearer to any highway which bounds the curtilage of the dwelling house than

i) that part of the dwelling house nearest to that highway, or

ii) 20 metres,

whichever is the nearer,

e)  no part of the extension may be nearer than 1 metre to the boundary of the curtilage of the dwelling house;

f)  the external finish of any walling must match that on the major part of the dwelling house; and

g)  operations within this class are allowed only if –

(i) at least 2 car parking spaces remain within the curtilage of the dwelling house on completion of the operations; or

(ii) where there are fewer than 2 car parking spaces within the curtilage of the dwelling house prior to the operations taking place, there will be no net reduction in the area of car parking space on completion of the operations.

For the purpose of paragraph (g) the minimum size permitted for a car parking space is 6 metres by 3.25 metres.

Town and Country Planning (Permitted Development and Change of Use) (Amendment) Order 2020 introduced – Class 24A Replacement of conservatory roofs

The installation of a replacement conservatory roof in a dwelling house.

Conditions:

(a) no part of the replacement roof may be more than 200mm higher than the roof that it is replacing when measured parallel with the external surface of the original plane of the roof slope;

(b) no part of the replacement roof may overhang more than 200mm further than the roof that it is replacing; and

(c) the tiling or roofing of the replacement must match, or be similar to, the roof of the main dwelling.

Class 15 – One or more garden sheds or summer houses may be erected within the curtilage of a dwelling provided;

a)   the general conditions applicable to Section A

Section A —General Conditions as amended

1) No part of the development may be constructed within 9 metres (measured at ground level) of the route of any overhead electrical line carrying 11kv or more (High tension power cable);

2) No part of the development may be constructed within 9.1 metres of the bank of any designated watercourse under the Flood Risk Management Act 2013;

Also included from Schedule 4 of the Order

(2A) The operations specified must not be constructed (including any foundations) so as to involve the felling, lopping or limbing of any tree (other than a tree referred to in section 3(3) of the Tree Preservation Act 1993).

b) the height of the garden shed or summer house must not exceed 2.8 meters above ground level;

c) the area of the ground covered by the garden shed or summer house must not cumulatively exceed 15 sq metres in total; and

d) no part of the garden shed or summer house may be nearer to any highway which bounds the curtilage of the dwelling house than

i) that part of the dwellinghouse nearest to the highway, or

11) 20 metres

whichever is the nearer.

Modus Architects continues to grow and work to serve our clients' needs. Our design team has extensive experience in the Isle of Man planning. We've completed both residential and commercial design projects of all types and at all scales for domestic and institutional clients. 

If you need planning permission for your building project, please complete our enquiry form below.  We will be in touch with you as soon as possible.