The Draft Area Plan for the North and West is short-sighted and could stifle development in Ramsey, the town commissioners believe.

The local authority believes the aim of the plan is good, but as it will only have a two-year life span (it is expected to be replaced in 2026 by an All-Island Plan), potential developers could be confused as to which plan to follow.

With an allowance for only 138 new properties, the board says the town is poorly served, especially as the plan contains no strategic reserves.

The main plan is to develop under-utilized sites and bring old buildings back into use by renovation and regeneration.

The Sulby Riverside site, currently the subject of a planning application, has its designation changed from ‘light industrial’ to ‘open space’, while the Vollan Fields and the Lezayre Road/Gardeners Lane sites currently zoned for development are excluded.

‘Ramsey needs sites such as this to be included as they are close to the centre of Ramsey and meet many of the requirements of the plan,’ says the board.

‘For this plan to work, Ramsey needs help. Old buildings and brown field sites are the proposed development route, but both are far more expensive to develop than a green field site.

‘Ramsey will require grants and assistance to promote development, otherwise the aim of people living and working in the community will be too expensive.’