The proposed Ballasalla bypass could mean the end of the line for an old tramcar.

Owner of Balthane Cottage, Grant Taylor, is the proud owner of an ex-Lisbon tram which he has converted into a bar in his back garden – complete with bar stools, beer mats and a Guinness pump.

Grant said the deal for the government to buy his cottage is ‘pretty much done’ and he’d accepted the DoI’s offer – government valuation plus 10% – which he said was the best he’d get without going down the compulsory purchase route.

But he said the tram will have to be left behind. The department has offered £2,000 to either buy it from him or put towards moving it.

Grant, who works for Isle of Man Railways, said: ‘The latter is not viable given the property I’m moving to, so it is in limbo at present.

‘The whole thing is with the advocates at the moment.

‘I’ve not tried selling it yet but thought about putting it on manx.net to gauge interest but unless someone’s willing to offer me more I’ve had the best offer I’m likely to get unfortunately!’

Dating from 1908, Lisbon no.360 was purchased from Portugal for the Manx Electric Railway in 1996, at a reported cost of £23,000.

But its MER career ended before it began when it was found it was too wide to clear the tram poles at Port Jack.

It was subsequently used as a waiting shelter at Derby Castle and then put into storage before being taken to JCK’s yard in Balthane.

From there it was offered to Grant who just had to pay to get it moved and in 2013 it was craned into position on a plinth in his back garden.