The end is in sight for this row of houses in Ballasalla which will soon be reduced to rubble.

The homes on Railway Terrace are to be demolished as part of the village by-pass scheme.

They will make way for a new four-leg roundabout at Balthane which will link the new bypass that will re-route the main Douglas to Castletown A5 road from the centre of Ballasalla.

The new section of road will link Glashen Hill to the north of the village and Balthane to the south.

Following a competitive tender process Island Drainage & Groundwork Ltd were appointed to carry out preparatory works including the demolition of the houses on Railway Terrace, and felling trees on land next to the current roundabout.

The houses have been screened from the road and work has begun to strip them of internal fixtures ahead of the demolition.

While feeds from the gas, electric and water services are capped at the roadside in the next week or two, traffic management will be put in place outside Railway Terrace.

Demolition of the houses is to be carried out from off the road via the former site of Balthane Cottage at the side of the Terrace.

This means that there will be no impact on the flow of traffic past the site during demolition.

There was outcry in 2019 when Balthane Cottage, which apparently dated back to 1785, was demolished.

Its owner accepted an offer from government to sell the property without it going down the route of compulsory purchase.

Construction of a bypass has long been mooted to help reduce traffic congestion in the village.

Homebuilder Dandara has built the bypass as part of its planning consent for its Reayrt Mie development, part of which will be accessed by the new road.

Planning consent for the 282-home development was secured in August 2019 (19/00137/B).

But the Department of Infrastructure is responsible for the construction of the roundabout at Balthane.

Planning consultant Patricia Newton has previously criticised the government for being ’underhanded’ over its handling of the bypass scheme.

She pointed out that the planning consent includes provision only for a ‘one-ended’ bypass.

Mrs Newton claimed that the demolition of the historic Balthane Cottage rode ‘roughshod over development proposals’.

She said by the time government came forward with a planning application to complete the bypass, the cottage was long gone with the public having had no opportunity for any say.

IDG Ltd has employed tree surgery firm, Advanced Tree Care Ltd to do the felling work.

Before felling the trees were inspected for nesting birds. Only one tree was found to have a nesting bird in it, and this will not be felled until the chick has fledged.