A public consultation is being held today and tomorrow for the new ‘Westmoreland Village’ development.
The Manx Development Corporation wants to build 170 homes in an area around Westmoreland Road and Demesne Road in Douglas.
The plan encompasses the old nurses’ home, on Westmoreland Road, which will be converted into 37 flats.
The area also includes the site of the old Ballacloan Infants’ School.
Consultations will be at Douglas Lawn Tennis Club on Kensington Road today (Friday) from 3.30pm to 6.30pm and from 11am to 3pm tomorrow (Saturday, January 28).
The demolition work on the school has started and the site is to be used as ‘temporary storage’ of equipment for the current development at the old nurses’ home.
The MDC has released an artist’s impression of what it hopes the area will look like once all of the developments have been completed.
The new accommodation will stretch from the old Ballacloan School, around the front of Demesne Road and Westmoreland Road, and finish at Crookall House, which is being ‘reimagined’ as office space.
The expanded development will mean the relocation or closure of three businesses – James Caine Ltd, Ellan Vannin Chiropractors and Quickfit garage.
Andrew Malone, the owner of Quickfit, told this week’s Manx Independent: ‘They’ve not done me any favours. If we don’t have a place to move by April or May, my business is going to close.
‘They’ve built all this fencing here and, to be fair they have to secure the property but they’ve put all of this green fencing here so if people drive up Westmoreland Road, they can’t see that we’re here.’
The MDC, which is state-owned, has not yet made a formal planning application but says it intends to do so next month.
If everything goes ahead without hitches, the development could be finished in years’ time.
Read the story in which we revealed this development was taking place here.
Parking is a big issue. Click here to read our story about that.
A businessman who'll be affected talks to us on video about the development. Click here.