An MHK says the winter closure of Castle Rushen is no joke.

Jason Moorhouse made the complaint in the House of Keys on Tuesday when he tried to get a commitment for longer opening at heritage sites such as Castle Rushen.

Enterprise Minister Laurence Skelly said there were no plans to increase the opening dates for the landmark medieval castle in Castletown.

Mr Moorhouse (Arbory, Castletown and Malew) hit back saying the castle was a key heritage site.

’The doors were closed on November 5, 2018, and will not open until April 1, 2019 - not a joke.’

He pointed to the decision to extend the opening hours of the Manx Museum in Douglas to include Sundays - that museum is open year round - and asked whether any consideration had been given to extending the opening of heritage sites in Castletown.

Mr Skelly it had been ’standard policy’ for the sites to be closed during the winter.

He added: ’They do need to close at those periods for remedial works that they must undertake.’

He pointed out the recent Nightmare Nights event as an example of opportunities being explored for the castle.

’In terms of extending the opening hours, that really is a matter for Manx National Heritage to discuss this with the trustees and consider their fiscal responsibility.’

Earlier Mr Skelly was asked to outline the success of the trial for Sunday opening at the Manx Museum.

He said MNH was due to consider the success of the trial at a meeting that will take place today (Thursday).

The criteria against which success would be judged included whether increased footfall had been displaced, whether income generated would offset at least half of the operating cost and whether visitor satisfaction had increased.

It also included ’impact on other days at the museum, the impact on the wider Douglas economy, and increased promotion and accessibility’, said Mr Skelly.