To the Manx people, please accept my sincere apologies.

Reluctantly, and with great sadness, I must advise the Manx public that I have been forced to abandon all of my plans to one day provide public access to the River Glass area of Castleward Farm, due to the continual neglect by the Department of Infrastructure’s flood risk management team to address the rapid loss of our designated watercourses and riverbanks.

This area has now become extremely dangerous to both the Manx public and our farm livestock and farm workers.

The never-ending arrogance and contempt shown towards the Manx people and taxpayers of this island by your DoI’s flood risk management team and their minister Chris Thomas, are just to unbearable for me to endure anymore.

The continuous flippant disregard by them to comply with, and to fully carry out their duties under the 2013 Flood Risk Management Act, together with this latest email from Chris Thomas of Tuesday, April 18, at 2.01pm are the final straw that has broken this camel’s back,

Dear Alf

Mr Ripley’s emails are helpful and accurate.

If you want a Deemster to construe how Isle of Man or any other law applies in a particular situation in the Isle of Man, legal action would have to be taken.

The difference between legal powers and duties are clear, here and anywhere else.

Hope you are well and your recovery continues after your visit to Noble’s?

Best regards

Chris

Shortly I will be terminating my decades of hard work along the River Glass area on Castleward Farm.

I will be calling time on my relentless efforts to maintain and improve this river area. It has always been my overwhelming desire to one day as part of the future overall plan for Castleward Farm, to provide :-

A network of footpaths from Noble’s Hospital (and now also the Hospice) down to the River Glass and the wooded area along the river, this woodland also extends to ‘Castleward Fort, Knock y Troddan’.

This would have effectively created a spectacular national glen for Braddan/Douglas.

It also would have facilitated to provide the missing link for the Millennium Way footpath that stops at Sir George’s Bridge and then restarts again in Tromode.

These proposals have been on record since 1989. At that time I also proposed to build an interpretation centre for our kids to learn about our island’s history of Castleward Fort, Knock y Troddan.

To the Manx people. Please rest assured.

Although I may have been forced to abandon my dreams of providing a tranquil recreation area along the River Glass area on Castleward Farm, together with all of the benefits this would have offer to all of our Manx people and our tourist industry, I will most certainly not be abandoning my support for our Manx farming community and that of our Manx People.

I will continue to fight for the underdogs on this island. You may very well ask who are these underdogs?

Well that is a simple question to answer, it’s anyone that has to deal with your difficult, unaccountable, non-transparent government.

Anyone who cares about our island and who may wish to view what could have been effectively one of our island’s most beautiful Manx National Glens, please contact me and I will be more than happy to show you around this beautiful river area before it deteriorates any further.

Please feel free to contact me by phone on 07624 436939 or email me at [email protected] to arrange a viewing.

Alf Caine

Castleward Farm

Strang Road

Braddan

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This letter was first published in the Isle of Man Examiner of April 24.