Braddan Commissioners says purchasing 30 affordable houses from the ‘Braddan Woods’ development will help meet the demands of its social housing wait list.

The local authority has agreed to do this in principle, having previously publicly objected to the development of the land on Braddan Road due to access and traffic concerns.

It adds that it wouldn’t need any additional staff to cover maintenance work because the Department of Infrastructure has taken back the management of 40 properties in the parish.

Chair Andrew Jessopp has confirmed it would be financed through capital loans and ratepayers will not be covering the cost of the houses.

‘It's some time since we actually expanded the number of houses that we have in our portfolio,’ he said.

‘We've replaced some with some more modern ones, obviously at Snugborough in the apartments down there, but there's still quite a number of people on the housing waiting list, excluding Onchan, Peel and Douglas.

‘There's an all-island waiting list of 304 people, of which 57 have got first choice for Braddan, and so there is a shortfall in terms of the number of houses that are available for people and there is obviously a demand.

‘This is an opportunity for us to actually meet some of that demand, subject to all the necessary approvals and funding.’

Asked why he had previously objected to the plans, Mr Jessopp said it was because of where they planned to locate the houses.

‘It's not a case of us changing our mind, and the reality is that planning approval has been given,’ he added.

‘It would be completely stupid of us to bury our head in the sand and say, from a matter of principle, we object to the site when it’s going to give people an opportunity to have a house.’