A new body could oversee the development of brownfield sites in the island.

The Department for Enterprise has published a consultancy report into ’urban development agency models’ to guide potential future development of unoccupied sites.

If such an agency were created, it could have the powers to give tax breaks, cut red tape, make planning quicker and grant lump sum investments.

The issue of brownfield sites has been raised recently in the debate about the eastern area plan.

While swathes of countryside have been earmarked for potential development, critics have pointed to a number of sites in Douglas that lie empty and say they should be prioritised.

The report, prepared by accountancy firm PWC, also points to the fact that the Manx government currently invests in development projects off the island through its ’investment portfolio’ and suggests that some of that money could be channelled to the island itself by an agency.

The report recommends that the agency should have the power to compulsorily buy properties, so dilapidated properties could be targeted.

The agency would concentrate on Douglas and draw up a plan to reinvigorate the town centre. It would also be able to make ’lump sum’ payments to projects.

The suggested incentives the agency would be able to offer include lower taxes and rates to encourage development, mortgage interest relief for homeowners and a cut in the requirements for car parking ’so development can provide higher returns to developers’.

The report’s authors say: ’Interviewees told us that the 20% rate of property and land tax (increased from 10%) directly led to the collapse of nascent development projects on the island. A reduction in this tax could have a significant and immediate effect on improving economic returns to investors.’

It suggests that land registration and building control fees are currently hampering development and suggests that ’affordable housing and other social benefits are not always suitable to all development sites and limit economic viability’.

Among other recommendations is that an agency should ’identify strategic redevelopment areas and provide the framework to deliver cost neutral development outcomes’. It also says it should ’establish and maintain a flexible fiscal and funding environment in which development is economically viable’.

The agency would be an arm’s-length one, staffed by civil servants and private businesses.

Tynwald’s select committee on unoccupied urban sites - which commissioned the report - said that developing in the countryside was ’more straightforward and commercially attractive’ than developing in town.

Earlier this month, Middle MHK Bill Shimmins, whose constituency could see more homes under the eastern plan built on greenfield sites, highlighted a number of places in Douglas that he said should be developed instead.

Those included the old Park Road school site, the old prison and the South Quay.

One of the approved recommendations in the consultancy report is that a development agency should be set up and it should work with local government and the private sector.

Laurence Skelly MHK, Minister for Enterprise (pictured right), said: ’Given the likely significant public and political interest in such an agency, it is essential that we ensure the correct structure is in place to enable efficient delivery of projects to improve our urban areas whilst recognising the inevitable scrutiny and need for good governance.

’As part of this work it is imperative that we engage in development that is environmentally sensitive and utilises low carbon impact designs and materials that comply with the government’s forthcoming climate change policy.

’Work is continuing to bring the island development plan up to date alongside general improvements to the planning system to provide opportunities for social, environmental and economic benefits to better support government’s journey towards a sustainable island.’

The development agency approach has been adopted in a number of other jurisdictions and the consultancy report analysed the differing models in order to assess which may be more applicable in the island.

The report’s authors talked to people in the private and public sector ’to fully understand the need and required structure, powers and governance framework required for it to succeed’.

The Department for Enterprise is working with the Departments of Infrastructure, Environment, Food and Agriculture, the Cabinet Office and Treasury as part of a cross-government working group on all of the recommendations of the select committee and will consider the next steps as part of the response to the select committee report, which is due to be brought back to Tynwald in December by the Minister for Policy and Reform, Chris Thomas.