The Hooded Ram brewery must pay for its rent of the Bottleneck car park during TT, even though it didn’t use the site.

Its planned TT festival fell through after the company was denied permission to install Andrew Cross as its designated official after police cited his lack of experience of large events.

Leader of Douglas Council David Christian said that as the company had signed a licence agreement for the 2019 TT in February this year, it ’has a contractual obligation to meet in terms of payment for the use of the facility’.

The sum involved is confidential.

Mr Christian also revealed that a report was due to go before the environmental services committee meeting on June 17 on the matter.

Mr Christian was responding to a question from Councillor John Skinner.

Mr Christian said the licence was an annual agreement, rather than a five-year one.

This was in case there was any reason not to issue a licence, such as the promenade regeneration works making it too difficult to run.

Mr Christian said that Hooded Ram currently had ’full intentions to resume the event for the 2020 TT’.

He added: ’Officers will meet with the licence holder after this year’s TT to continue discussions.

’If the licence holder chooses not to sign a licence for use of the car park in 2020 and/or seeks to surrender its agreement with the council, the council can seek alternative uses of the site.’

The Examiner contacted the Hooded Ram Festival organiser Jim Brookman for a comment. However at the time of going to print had received no comment.

The company has previously made clear its intentions to run its festival event in 2020.