Enterprise Minister Laurence Skelly has pledged to ensure high street retail will thrive.

He said the new agency Business Isle of Man ’encourages and supports retail within an ever-changing economy’.

He added that a thriving retail sector and a busy high street were vital for the economy,

’The department has a track record of supporting the sector through existing enterprise assistance and other government schemes,’ said the minister, who was responding to a Tynwald question by Jason Moorhouse (Arbory, Castletown and Malew).

Mr Skelly called on retailers to get in touch with his department for informal discussion on whether they could access any of the support schemes.

’Business Isle of Man is in the early stages of analysing the current strengths, weaknesses and opportunities existing within the retail economy whilst benchmarking against similar towns and regions,’ he added.

’The agency will continue to work with the Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce to review the recommendations of the retail sector’s strategy and will support the Central Douglas Masterplan to push forward the development of key sites within the capital.’

It would also work with regional chambers of commerce and ’town teams’.

The development of a new area plan for the east would give ’opportunity for progressive growth whilst protecting the identity and occupancy of high streets and retail centres in the east of the island’, Mr Skelly said.

’With this new focus and the improved public and private sector collaboration which Business Isle of Man delivers, over the next 12 months the agency will develop existing policies and bring forward new strategies to ensure that high streets and retail spaces across the island are supported in the most appropriate way, to provide a thriving environment for businesses and shoppers alike.’

Among the schemes offered by the Department for Enterprise are:

â?¢ Micro Business Grant Scheme -supports start-ups with training, cash support of up to £6,000 and business mentoring for eight months.

â?¢ Business Support Scheme - provides 50% grant support of up to £4,500 for assistance with consultancy towards energy surveys and transactional web sites.

â?¢ Green Business Loan Scheme - supports retail business to become greener and more cost effective with up to £20,000 interest-free loans over four years.

â?¢ Vocational Training Assistance Scheme - makes available up to 30% funding towards training costs (transferred to the Department of Education, Sport and Culture in 2017).

Earlier this year Mr Moorhouse responded to Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan’s call for Budget suggestions, by proposing a high street support grant for innovation.

He said this was not a case of rewarding ’continued decline, but supporting new ways of doing things, possibly administered by DfE.

Another of his suggestions was a five-year reduction to zero and 10% rated taxation on ’core retail property in specified areas to replace the 20% rate of income tax on income from Isle of Man land and property, i.e. rental or property development profits’.