Two parts of the government have thrown their wight behind a major development in the capital.

Isle of Man Enterprises, which owns Shoprite, has appealed against approval for a new campus facility comprising of a headquarters office building with restaurant, café, collaborative working areas and 66 flats.

In its appeal statement, Isle of Man Enterprises cited road safety, inadequate parking, flood risk, trees and the impact on heritage as reasons for its appeal, while also claiming the alleged benefit to the Manx economy would be ‘minimal’.

However, the Department for Enterprise, in its own submission to the appeal, has said it ‘is disappointed that one interested party, can block the redevelopment of a site which laid dormant for many years’.

And said the department is ‘pleased to further endorse the application by reinforcing its previous submission’.

The department has also said that supporting it is coherent with the economic strategy and desire to drive inward investment into the island.

Its submission said: ‘The economic strategy acknowledges that existing sectors will remain a major driver of economic performance and that the Island needs to continue to support and develop them in continuing to diversify and expand digital businesses both within the gaming sector and more widely.’

And added: ‘We consider that a scheme of this quality and ambition exemplifies the economic strategy’s ambition to promote a location that is a leading, sustainable island.

‘This considerable investment will provide a new home for a highly skilled, highly productive workforce, which will deliver on the Economic Strategy’s drive to deliver better paid jobs and rewarding career opportunities. The nature of the inward investment via the recruitment of employees internationally as well as on island, sustains government’s goals for a more diverse economy and a larger, younger, more diverse population by promoting growth in an established sector.’

The DfE has also said it considered redevelopment of the Brownfield site as ‘of prime national importance responding directly to the Economic Strategy’.

The highways division of the Department of Infrastructure has accepted Isle of Man Enterprises’ point that it is not possible to limit car ownership amongst the workers and people living on the proposed campus.

However, it added: ‘There is to be a third of employees, approximately 150 from a total of 330 employees, living on site and others residing nearby who are expected not to be car drivers or licence holders due to these employees coming predominately from South East Asia. This would reduce the likely number of single occupancy car based trips.’

The division further said that it doesn’t see parking as an issue on the site, that it has good pedestrian access.

Isle of Man Enterprises is the parent company of supermarket Shoprite.