Police officers could be charged to park in an overflow parking area outside the force’s headquarters.

The move has sparked outcry from the Police Federation who described it as a ‘kick in the teeth’ for serving officers.

On-duty officers and civilian staff have been using part of the paddock to park when there are no spaces available outside police headquarters.

Douglas Council was due to introduce a nominal £1 a day charge to park there in a couple of weeks’ time but it is understood that this might be delayed now until after the TT.

Federation chairman Richard Hewitt described the situation as ‘frustrating’.

‘It’s a kick in the teeth to be honest,’ he said. ‘It just seems unnecessary’.

‘It might not seem a lot but money is forever getting tighter. For some people it is quite a lot of money.’

He said parking at police headquarters was inadequate – and new Chief Constable Russ Foster had taken up the Federation’s concerns with the local authority.

There are fewer spaces available since the £2.8m custody suite was built on land previously used for parking.

Earlier this year the Federation claimed policing had reached a ‘crisis point’ in the island over pay and conditions.

Talks about introducing parking charges at Noble’s Park were first raised before the Covid pandemic.

In 2020, Councillor Andrew Bentley said that police officers had ‘taken over’ the area after losing car parking spaces outside police headquarters.

He said: ’We should have made the Department of Home Affairs pay for police parking since there is no room for their vehicles.’

A spokesman for Douglas Council said the authority had been in talks with the police and had offered them the option to buy parking permits.

He said: ‘There are a range of parking charges in Noble’s Park, including a disc zone for park users, a nightly fee of £10 for motorhome users and a nominal £1 charge for up to 12 hours’ parking.

‘Out of courtesy, we began discussions with the Isle of Man Constabulary some time ago and also made an offer for them to purchase parking permits for staff.

‘There have been further conversations over the last few days and we are awaiting their response.

‘The area in question does not affect the free parking either outside police headquarters or on the opposite side of the road.’