Hartford Homes’ proposal to build 48 houses on land at Knock Rushen in Castletown have provoked a number of objections.

Attempts to build in the area in the past have been controversial.

Campaigners fought - under the group Save Our Scarlett - development at Scarlett Point for 13 years but were defeated when Hartford first got permission to build at Knock Rushen in 2006.

The latest plan (18/00987/B) follows a call by government (prompted by the local authority) for sites suitable for housing development in town; Knock Rushen was identified as such.

It extends a Hartford Homes development of 45 properties already at Knock Rushen.

SOS campaign group chairman John Cringle, who lives on Queen Street, which is an access road for the site, described the latest bid as ’an unwarranted intrusion into an area of high scenic significance’.

He said the loss of agricultural land ’is unacceptable in the current climate’, it is ’on the wrong side’ of town and would funnel traffic through the town centre and its narrow streets.

Another resident, Roger Rawclife referred to previous public outcry against development there.

He said the edge of the previous development provides a ’distinct and reasonably satisfactory boundary to the town’ and altering this would be detrimental.

He said the proposal was ’of a mean suburban nature not worthy of their iconic position’. He believes other more suitable areas in town have been identified for development.

Castletown Commisisonerss had no objection to the application. Clerk Hugo Mackenzie said: ’It would appear to be in line with the objectives of the call for sites’.

Their ’only concern â?¦ was the suitability of Scarlett Road as the main access route’ but highways ’is better placed to comment on this matter’.

Scarlett Road resident Richard Bedford said this response was a ’serious dereliction of their duty’.

He asked commissioners to ’urgently reconsider their position about the roads accessing the proposed development, saying: ’By side-stepping the problem of the access roads to the proposed development ... I believe that the commissioners have disgracefully avoided their responsibility to their ratepayers and that by doing so they have damaged their standing and respect.’

’I, and I believe, many many others, will regard the commissioners’ side-stepping of this issue as a cop out and a serious dereliction of their duty to their ratepayers.’

He said emergency vehicles will have problems using ’existing terribly narrow and pinch pointed roads on the current Knock Rushen development’. He said it is difficult to cars each other and parking ’needs to be very seriously considered’.