The planning committee has unanimously rejected a regeneration scheme for Peel’s main shopping street.

Traders who had opposed the plans for Michael Street packed into a meeting of the planning committee on Monday and welcomed the decision, hailing it as a ’victory for democracy’.

Planning committee member Adrian Kermode said he was ’absolutely against’ this scheme as it was ’contrary to conservation’, adding: ’It would take away the charm of the place and make it look like any modern town centre.’

Fellow member Ian Cottier, attending his last planning committee before retirement, said the modernisation of Michael Street was ’contrary to what Peel is all about’.

And committee member Sam Skelton warned that businesses, already impacted by the Covid pandemic, could disappear if the proposals went ahead.

The planning department had recommended this scheme be approved.

Planning officer Sarah Corlett questioned whether the existing street scene was worth retaining, given its current variety of finishes and poor condition of some of the pavements.

scheme

She said: ’In our view the scheme is worth supporting. That said, I completely understand where the traders are coming from.’

The Department of Infrastructure described the scheme as a ’priority’ which was ’long overdue’.

The plans had been opposed by more than 30 Peel business owners, who wrote a public letter saying that the proposals put forward could have forced a number of shops to close.

Roads in the area would have been shut for at least nine months if the plans had been approved in their current format.

Stuart Hardingham, who runs Simpsons on Michael Street, told the Isle of Man Examiner that if the works had gone forward it could have been the worst thing to happen to him in his life. He was certain it would have meant the end of his business had they gone ahead.

He said that while he agrees with the idea of ’moving Peel forward’ with improvements, his issue was with these plans in particular.

’It needs a lot more thought than just digging the road up and putting us out of business for nine months,’ he said.

’The plan might work if there was some provision made for parking, but that needs to be done first.’

The need to close due to any potential disruption is of particular concern to Mr Hardingham, as Simpsons is in the process of opening a new location on Michael Street, which he feared would ’go to waste’ if the road had closed due to the works.

alternative

When asked what alternative plans he would suggest that might pose less disruption to trade from road closures, he said: ’The amount of work on an alternative plan needn’t be anywhere near so long, and businesses would be able to cope with a shorter period.

’It’s not that we don’t ever want any work, and don’t expect any work to be done.

’It’s just this particular plan wouldn’t really work for us because we would be close for too long.’

He also felt that business owners had been ’misrepresented’ by Peel Commissioners.

He attended the planning committee meeting and reacting to their rejection of the plans he said: ’I think it’s a sensible decision for Peel and the future generations of Peel.

’They’ll now be looking at Peel how it used to look, rather than looking like every other town centre in England.

’There’s still work to be done in Michael Street and we recognise that, but I think this was a far and sensible decision.’

Joanna Lace, of Shamny Tea Rooms, had also voiced her concerns about the plans to us, saying: ’We would love to get it (Michael Street) re-done, because it does need a tidy-up.

’I’m not opposed to the idea, but I would want it postponed until we got back on our feet.

’Having just been shut for three months because of Covid, having lost TT and the tourist season, we don’t have the savings to last through the winter period.

’If they shut the street now, they’ll shut us’.

consulted

Businesses owners such as Laura Lewis, of Atholl Place Collectables, felt that traders had not been consulted by the government over these plans at all.

She told the Examiner: ’No thought has been put into it whatsoever.

’Lots of men rolled up in suits and clipboards and that’s it, job done.

’We know it’s scruffy (Michael Street), but we need someone to sit down with us (the traders), but no one has.

’We’re all business people, we’re not stupid, if someone sat down with us, we could come to an amicable agreement.’

One of her main concerns is the disruption it would cause to parking on Atholl Place, and how this would drastically affect businesses to the point of some having to close, explaining:

’Any loss to the parking now is a detriment to all the traders.

I’m not just speaking for me, it will be to the detriment of all of us.

’We are one of the oldest shopping streets on the island.

’Without us (shops) there would be no Michael Street.

’But we need parking for customers to get to them.