Improvements are being carried out to Port St Mary golf course following a public consultation.

The lease on the local authority-owned golf course came up for renewal at the end of September last year.

Ahead of that Port St Mary Commissioners launched a public consultation, seeking residents’ and ratepayers’ views on the future of the facility.

The local authority stressed there was no intention to develop or sell the land for housing.

But it did ask whether the area should remain as a golf course or be used as open green space for alternative recreational activities.

The results of the consultation came overwhelmingly in favour of retaining the golf course, although the response rate was only 17.4%.

Of the 6% who did want to change the use of land, suggestions included glamping, skatepark, town square and splash park.

Following the consultation, the commissioners have been working with the golf club to improve access and the viability of planting around the rough edges of the course.

They are also looking at the option to include a crazy golf course as part of a new lease.

Commissioners clerk Hayley Kinvig said: ‘We are looking to use the consultation outcome to improve the new lease, improving access for walkers, wildflowers and tree planting etc. I’m really hoping we can work crazy golf into the new lease. It would be a great addition to Port St Mary.

‘We have some work to do in the Pavilion before it is relet, but the process is under way so hopefully it won’t be too long.’

The cafe at the Golf Club Pavilion closed at the end of March after the tenants decided not to renew their lease after five years at the venue.

Instead, they will be running the farm shop and tea rooms that will be opening at a new-look Manxonia House on Bay View Road.

Posting on Facebook, they said it had been a ‘tough decision’ to not submit a tender for the lease at the Pavilion which came to an end on March 31 but they wanted to ‘dedicate their time and energy into the exciting renovations at Manxonia House’.

‘The last five years have been absolutely incredible and we all feel so honoured to be a part of the Pavilion’ story,’ they added.

No date has been sent for the move to Manxonia House but renovation work is well under way.

Plans (21/00501/B) to convert the long-empty building, last used as a corner shop, into a farm shop and tea rooms were approved in June 2021. Having stood empty for a number of years, the former boys’ school was controversially purchased by Port St Mary Commissioners 2016 for £191,000 but two years later the authority admitted it didn’t have the money to complete the refurbishment.

The building was sold in 2020 for £227,500. The farm shop will be located in the existing shop unit with a new bakery at the side. A new glazed extension on Bay View Road will form the entrance to the two-storey tea rooms.