Proposals to use land for employment purposes are to be incorporated into the Eastern Area Plan process.

Last year, the Employment Land Project set out to find locations for use to create jobs and identified sites at the Nunnery and off Cooil Road in Braddan as having potential.

But Policy and Reform Minister Chris Thomas (pictured) told Tynwald, ’it was apparent that other work was needed ahead of the publication of any draft development order’. He said that it had been decided to ’subsume the development order work within the area plan for the east’.

’Priority must be given to the area plan for the east process so that a draft plan can be published early next year,’ he said.

’This will mean that the percentage of the resident population living in an area covered by a development plan will increase from one sixth to three quarters.’

He said the eastern area plan would replace five other plans, up to 35 years old.

’The need for change and improvement in the planning system is also recognised, and the Cabinet Office has worked across government - and particularly with the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, the Department of Economic Development and the Department of Infrastructure - since the election to develop a planning system action plan,’ Mr Thomas added.

’The planning system action plan should be available for consultation very soon as per the action in my name in the Programme for Government, and it is expected that it will result in implemented improvements to the planning system by April 2018.’