Douglas is dying as more companies move out of the town centre, some local politicians claim.

In the week that a big regeneration programme for Lord Street was announced, councillors said that the decision of many firms to relocate - especially to the business park off the Cooil Road - was damaging the capital.

The town council’s leader, David Christian, said: ’This is killing Douglas.’

He was speaking in a council debate sparked by a planning application for a well-known business to sell more products.

Riley’s Garden Centre (Eden Park) has applied for permission for the sale of bulky goods including electric bicycles and petrol utility vehicles, the sale of men’s, women’s and children’s clothes, the sale of dairy products, health food, groceries and a delicatessen as well as the sale of home interior goods.

The council’s environmental services committee resolved to make no comment on the first proposal for bikes and utility vehicles but objections have been raised to the other three proposals as they are in contravention of the Island Strategic Plan 2016.

The plan outlines the need ’to maintain and enhance the viability and vitality of town centres by controlling the location and nature of new retail and commercial development’.

However, Councillor Ritchie McNicholl, who chairs the environmental services committee, disagrees with this.

He said: ’I don’t think Douglas should have objections for adjacent parishes, in this case Braddan. They don’t object to plans for Douglas.

’Part of the rejected plans were for home interior goods.Well, in the strategic plan it clearly says, Douglas town centre has now largely lost its furniture shops to out-of-town sites.

’So who is Riley’s supposedly competing with? Zurich has also moved up to Braddan, how do you stop it? Simply put, you can’t.’

Leader of the council David Christian said: ’The town centre is decaying because of plans like this. Pets at Home should never have been allowed, now we have no pet shops in Douglas.

’PC World and Currys were allowed as they sold bulky white goods, but I think the majority of what they sell is carried out and loaded into the car. That could be bought in town.

Responding, Mr McNicholl said: ’Riley’s used to have five sites across Douglas but what they have built up at the Cooil, there is nowhere in Douglas it could be built so had to move out, it is a well established Manx business employing over 30 staff. It should be supported.’

The wider issue of businesses moving out of the town centre, such as Zurich International which recently moved to a new building in Braddan is one which causes Mr Christian grave concern.

One of the first companies to leave the town centre was Manx Telecom, which moved most of its staff to the business park about 17 years ago.

Mr Christian said: ’You can see it around town, lunch times aren’t as busy and it hits the night life too. If you work out of town, you aren’t going to go out in the same way you would if you work in Douglas.

’This is killing Douglas. Some bars open only on selected nights, most of the taxis don’t even go out during the week, God knows how all the restaurants survive.’

In recent years, office buildings in the capital have remained empty.

Businesses, particularly in the financial sector, have either scaled back their operations or staffing levels, moved to another part of the island or such as in the case of Nationwide International, simply just closed.

While the Cooil Road is on the outskirts of Douglas, it’s actually in Braddan.

This has a knock-on effect for rates, so Douglas Council’s income drops while Braddan Parish Commissioners’ rise.

The question of rates is probably a minor concern for companies moving out of town.

The availability of parking and the ability to build bespoke buildings are big attractions.

For retailers, free and nearby customer parking is the biggest advantage to setting up outside town.

lExaminer comment, see page 18.