Boundary expansion bid rejected after review

A bid to double the footprint of a northern town on the Isle of Man has been rejected by an independent inspector after a public inquiry.

Ramsey Commissioners’ application to extend the town’s boundary had faced opposition from neighbouring local authorities Lezayre and Garff.

The inquiry’s independent chairman ruled the authority had “sufficient land within its boundaries to accommodate its predicted growth" of 500 people by 2031.

However, Peter Taylor said the town had become a “service centre for its hinterlands”, and its ratepayers should not have to solely shoulder the burden of cost.

In his report, the advocate said the island’s rates system was “long overdue for reform”.

He said it was "readily apparent" the application had been motivated by the need for the authority to be able to fund itself, which required an "increase its rateable income".

The report said the application was “far larger” than the authority would require for “even on the most optimistic estimates of population growth”.

To “future proof” the town it would need to make sure it had the infrastructure to deal with a population rise, and could make “specific applications to extend the boundary to what is necessary".

Ramsey Commissioners chairman Robert Cowell said the board was “very disappointed” by the decision.

He said the population conclusions in the report “differ greatly from the opinions of the commission and its own conclusions”.

The application had intended to secure the town for “future development, not to play catch up with development as has been the case previously”, he said.

He said the board echoed the call for "the urgent need for the Isle of Man Government to implement rates reform to ensure fairness for all”.

The Department of Infrastructure said it had accepted the review's recommendation to reject the application and would not take the request to Tynwald.

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