Residents in Bride are crying foul over how much they are being asked to contribute towards the operation of the Northern Civic Amenity Site.

Manx Rock was awarded the contract to run the Balladoole site this year, but operating costs have risen to £725,000 for the current financial year. Last year they were below £500,000.

The share paid by each of the seven northern local authorities is calculated according to rateable value.

Although Bride has the island's lowest rates at 70p in the pound, its rateable value, at 15.3%, is second only to Ramsey in the north, largely because of the Point of Ayre quarry.

As a result, its contribution towards running the site has increased to £111,020 for 2026-27 - equivalent to around £600 per household across Bride's 170 properties.

The figure is around double Andreas' contribution and about three times that paid by Jurby.

Last year, Bride agreed a reduced contribution of £11,900 as its share of Balladoole's operating costs.

Former Bride commissioner Dennie Talbot said: 'It's a ludicrous situation for the residents of Bride to pay £600 per household to use the civic amenity site at Balladoole. It's nonsense.'

Resident Russell Vaughan said: 'It's completely, morally wrong.'

Bride Commissioners held an open meeting for ratepayers last Sunday to discuss the arrangements for the civic amenity site.

It is understood a petition on the issue will be presented on Tynwald Hill next week.

In a letter to ratepayers, Bride Commissioners wrote: 'Bride residents will be paying £111,000 for about 40 people to take a bag of twigs to the tip once a week.

'[It] is a huge proportion of the total income for Bride parish. Little is left to cover all the other services provided.'

Mr Talbot argued contributions should instead be based on the number of households in each local authority area. Under that model, Ramsey residents would pay considerably more, although the town's rate stands at 528p in the pound.

Ramsey's contribution to the Northern Civic Amenity Site this year is £382,839, Lezayre's £58,967, Andreas' £55,043, Maughold's £44,688, Ballaugh's £40,798 and Jurby's £31,645.

It is not the first time Bride has clashed over how much it pays towards the Balladoole site.

In 2024, it withdrew from the committee that then operated the facility. The committee handed back the keys and Ramsey Town Commissioners ran the site for a year on behalf of the Department of Infrastructure before Manx Rock was appointed this year.

Bride's withdrawal prompted Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper's controversial Clause 5 amendment to the Local Government Bill, which would have required a local authority or joint board to carry out specified functions, preventing them from 'walking away' from services.

The proposal prompted an outcry from local authorities, and the House of Keys voted to scrap Clause 5 in April.

Tynwald will this month be asked to approve an order creating a joint board intended to ensure responsibility for managing and operating the Northern Civic Amenity Site rests collectively with the northern local authorities.

An explanatory memorandum notes there is currently no formal mechanism to ensure equitable contributions from each parish.