A Ramsey commissioner has described the Department of Infrastructure’s recent large vehicle plan as ‘flawed’.

The DoI is proposing restrictions on large vehicles that are more than 1.87 metres high and 5.5 metres long, excluding these from being able to park overnight or at weekends in selected areas. The DoI is consulting with local authorities to get a general opinion on the matter.

Juan McGuinness, a commissioner in Ramsey, says that local authorities should not be dividing roads up as ‘allowed or not allowed’ and that the DoI’s newly proposed system is ‘flawed’. Mr McGuinness says: ‘We were asked by the DoI to submit geographical areas within Ramsey where larger vehicles could be allowed or not allowed, but we didn’t wish to engage with that.

‘Ultimately, larger vehicles are owned by a wide variety of residents on the Isle of Man and they do need to be able to be parked.

‘Whilst I understand that there’s certain areas where people feel overwhelmed by large vehicles, there is no magical solution and these vehicles have to be parked somewhere.

‘I think the DoI are right to consult with the local authorities but, in this particular instance, I think they have brought it to the table without a sense of a wider view. This single letter, I think, will create more consternation with residents around the island than is perhaps necessary.’