A neighbouring authority is urging its residents to fight Ramsey Commissioners’ bid to annex part of its land.

Sulby-based Lezayre Parish Commissioners today pleaded for ratepayers to ‘fully engage’ with a public inquiry which is likely to be announced in the next few months about Ramsey Town Commissioners’ application for an extension to the town’s boundary.

Lezayre Commissioners say they consider that proceeding to a public inquiry before the Area Plan for the North and West and the All Island Area Plan have been published would be a significant waste of both taxpayers’ and ratepayer’s money.

However, the legislation is such that once an application has been made pursuant to Section 6 of the Local Government Act 1985, an inquiry must go ahead unless the application is withdrawn. 

The commissioners are concerned with the scale of the proposed expansion, which would effectively see the area covered by the town’s boundary double in size. 

Not only would homeowners within the new boundary see their rates increase from 100.5p to 467.0p in the pound, the significant reduction in the parish’s income would result in a rate increase for all other householders of about 33%.