A public meeting has been held which heard opposition from Peel residents against plans for a village of tourist accommodation huts at the site of the town’s skatepark.

Duke Events Ltd (21/01537/B) has applied for permission to build 45 temporary cabins on the site at the end of Peel promenade (next to the tennis courts, and close to where the swimming pool was) next year between May and September.

Local businesswoman Katryna Baptist organised the meeting of around 40, which saw commissioners Mike Wade and Frank Crompton explain the idea to residents - and Infrastructure Minister Tim Crookall, who lives nearby.

Among her main objections were fears around ’the loss of the public space’.

’There are lots of properties that have only got a tiny yard, so for us, it’s a safe space for the kids which is just walking distance from our house, and they go around on their scooters or bikes - and we can take the dog.

’It needs investment because it’s a bit run-down, but at least it’s there, it’s recreational space.

Another concern was the lack of parking for potential guests, with residents already using the promenade for parking and struggling for space.

Also, she did not think it right that such a central public site had been offered immediately to Duke Events Ltd, without any open tender process that allowed other local business to make expressions of interest and compete for the contract.

Ms Baptist added that several local tourist accommodation providers had strongly expressed in the meeting that the ’pop-up hotel’ would take away from their business, when they already have trouble filling their accommodation during summer.

Peel businessman Stephen Moore felt the application should be rejected outright because it set a bad precedent for the use of the site, which he said had existed a recreational space for the people of Peel for ’20-odd years now’.

He called for the site to be designated for recreational use under the new area plan.

The money being offered by Duke Ltd for the site was also ’a pittance’ compared to what was being lost during the peak time of the year.

Mr Moore noted last year’s protests against the discharge of raw sewage into the bay, and questioned how much more sewage would be generated by this development.