Ramsey Commissioners have been given an update on the legal position regarding the controversial Three Legs of Mann on the side of North Barrule.
The assembly of stones was the work of local builder Bryan Callister, who created the 30m diameter ’art installation’ without permission in 2019.
He followed it up with a planning application to paint it white, then withdrew the application but went ahead anyway, prompting a number of objectors to contact the commissioners, asking the board to support them in making a further approach to planning enforcement.
Town clerk Tim Cowin told the recent board meeting that he had spoken to the planning enforcement officer and been told that the problem had arisen because the Three Legs had been painted.
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If it had just been left, it would not have contravened planning regulations as it would, in time, have blended into the landscape.
The problem lay in the fact it had been painted white. If steps were taken to re-paint it in the future an ecological impact assessment would be required, as it would involve disturbing the stones and therefore the vegetation that had grown on and around the stones.
Adam Beighton, one of the newer commissioners, asked: ’Why is this on our agenda? I’d say the majority of constituents quite like it.’
Luke Parker responded: ’It doesn’t matter whether the people of the town like it or dislike it - it’s the principle that is at stake. The fact is, he didn’t go through the proper channels. We have to keep following this up, if only to prevent it setting a precedent that could encourage other people to do something similar.’
In 2019, Mr Callister spent 12 weeks on North Barrule shifting hundreds of rocks to create a 100ft Three Legs of Mann.
’It took me 33 days moving over 100 ton of stone over a 12-week period in horrific winds, fog, drizzle with only five nice days in that period,’ he told the Examiner at the time.
The idea for the project came to him during Easter 2018 on a family hike.
He wanted to encourage people to get out and appreciate the island’s landscape.