The taxpayer will foot the bill of costly court proceedings after the government failed in a bid to prevent land owners from challenging the area plan for the east.

The Cabinet Office claimed that three companies had missed the deadline for objections.

But the High Court has thrown out the government’s case in a ruling that will cost the public pocket tens of thousands of pounds.

It is understood that costs incurred by the objectors is at least £20,000 in legal fees. In addition, the government will have incurred its own legal costs.

Bacarrat Limited, which owns land at Camlork Estate in Braddan, and Morland Enterprises, which owns land next to Ballanard Road, will now get their day in court.

A director of both companies, Henry Kennaugh, said: ’I do not think this strike-out application had any chance of success.

’This was a vain attempt to prevent our very serious challenges to the area plan from being heard. The area plan is deeply flawed.

’They tried whatever they could do to fend us off.

’It has backfired. It’s a complete waste of taxpayers’ money and for all the wrong reasons.’

The two companies submitted their challenge to the area plan on Friday, January 8, this year.

They had calculated this was deadline day as objections had to be made within six weeks of publication of the area plan. The plan was published on December 1, 2020.

But the Cabinet Office applied to the High Court to strike out the two claims, along with a separate claim from another company, JM Project Management Limited, asserting that the deadline had passed the day before, on Thursday, January 7.

A Tynwald Hansard extract was highlighted in court where Policy and Reform Minister Ray Harmer, in response to a question from Chris Thomas MHK, said any challenge would need to be lodged by January 8 - the same day the land owners lodged their claims.

In his judgment, Deemster Andrew Corlett dismissed the government’s application that the claims were out of time. Costs were awarded against the government on behalf of all three companies.

Mr Kennaugh has called for an investigation into the debacle by the public accounts committee over what he describes as a ’considerable waste’ of public funds.

His companies’ challenge to the area plan is now due to be heard in the High Court in October.