Castletown’s historic Peggy vessel could be returning to the ancient capital and placed in a new home in a £5m project.

Manx National Heritage this week announced the appointment of a design team to develop an attraction at the Nautical Museum.

The redesign will also see the return of the Peggy, an armed yacht built in 1789, to a boathouse at the heart of the site.

To the annoyance of some Castletown residents, the Peggy has been in storage in Braddan since 2015.

Former chief minister and Castletown MHK Tony Brown was among those who demanded that she be returned.

MNH removed the boat from Castletown Nautical Museum for conservation work and said that the museum’s cellar boathouse was causing tide damage to the vessel.

The project has been designed to highlight the story of the Peggy and her owner/designer, George Quayle, along with the island’s wider maritime history, MNH says.

The design team will be led by Dannat Johnson Architects (DJA) and project managed by Fraser Randall who together completed two new permanent exhibitions for the Imperial War Museum in London last year.

DJA is also a framework architect for both the British Museum and University of Greenwich.

The design team also includes exhibition designer Real Studios, which brings experience in nautical gallery and exhibition design, with clients including the Mary Rose Trust and the Windermere Jetty Museum.

Connie Lovel, executive director at Manx National Heritage, said: ‘Manx National Heritage has undertaken a rigorous procurement procedure and, through the process of shortlisting and interviewing a number of very capable teams, we have selected an extremely experienced group of design professionals to work alongside us.

‘They will manage this transformational project professionally, sensitively and to the highest standards of conservation.

‘The completed attraction will tell a variety of stories around different themes, focusing on the island’s rich maritime heritage with the nautical history of 18th and 19th century Castletown and the unique story of the Peggy – the centrepiece of the redeveloped site.’

The Peggy is the oldest complete vessel on the UK National Register of Historic Vessels whose fleet are assessed for significance based on their age, design innovations, historical associations, level of originality, condition and rarity.

‘Manx National Heritage’s vision is to create an immersive all-weather family-friendly visitor attraction with heritage at its heart, engaging with a diverse demographic and allowing visitors to journey through the original buildings and encounter the Peggy atmospherically displayed in a contemporary purpose-designed gallery,’ Ms Lovel added.

‘We are striving to develop a world-class, fully accessible visitor experience at the Nautical Museum that will only serve to enhance the Isle of Man’s attractiveness as a destination and contribute to the long-term economic resilience of the wider visitor economy – supporting government’s “Our Island Plan” and Visit Isle of Man’s 10-year visitor economy strategy.

‘We are now looking forward to an intensive creative and productive period working with our design team on an exciting project which will contribute to the rich cultural life of Castletown and the Isle of Man.’

Ranald Caldwell, chairman of the Visit Isle of Man Agency (the modern version of the tourist board), added: ‘Manx National Heritage’s redevelopment of the Nautical Museum site matches the ambition of Visit of Man as we endeavour to better serve the tourism sector and significantly increase our visiting population – championing the Island as a vibrant all-year round visitor destination.

‘The Isle of Man is already home to a diverse collection of heritage visitor attractions.

‘Collectively the Nautical Museum and the Peggy are of great international significance with enormous potential for wider understanding. This is truly a transformative project for Castletown and the Isle of Man and one the agency fully supports.’

MNH has not said when it expects the work to be completed.