Inspector recommends changes to development plan

A raft of changes to a report zoning future development land on the the Isle of Man have been recommended by an independent planning inspector.

The Area Plan for the North and West sets out which parts of the two regions are earmarked for housing or industrial use, and those to be kept as green spaces.

Among the recommendations are removing the Jurby Airfield safeguarding zone and rejecting the inclusion of land at Ramsey's Poyll Dooey for residential development.

The Cabinet Office is now considering the report and says it may adopt the plan "with or without" the suggested modifications.

A draft of the plan was published in 2022 before being significantly altered in March this year, and the final document can only be implemented once adopted by the Cabinet Office and approved by Tynwald.

In its overall conclusions, the report found that draft currently “does not achieve the requisite general conformity with current Isle of Man strategic planning policy”.

However, the inspector states that it would conform if the major changes outlined in the report were implemented.

Among other recommendations are that flood alleviation schemes for Peel and Ramsey harbours be “supported in principle” only if the impact on nature conservation sites and biosecurity is assessed first.

The report highlights that the safeguarding of Jurby Airfield as a potential contingency national airport will be handled by the Department of Infrastructure’s Masterplan for Ronaldsway Airport, rather than the area plan.

The report, which has been made available online, follows on from a consultation and a two-week public inquiry into the draft area plan in July.

The land at Poyll Dooey was rejected for development by the inspector because it was "not appropriate" based the evidence from the inquiry.

The report advises adding a paragraph to acknowledge that the plan’s aim to build 5,100 additional houses between 2011 and 2026 “comes towards the end of the plan period and is likely to last beyond 2026”.

It also highlights that the draft plan "fails by a long margin" to meet the numerical standards of the Isle of Man Strategic Plan 2016 for sports pitches and play space.

The inspector also recommended that the site of the former Waterfall Hotel in Glen Maye have its designation changed from mixed to residential use, whilst the car park is changed to mixed use.

A government spokesman said a further update on the next steps it would take would be issued in late November.

Additional reporting by the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

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