Will a growing population affect the quality of life in the island?

This week the Examiner spoke to shoppers in Douglas about a white paper set to discuss the ideal population size for the nation.

Government wants to grow the working population to bring in more tax revenue.

The white paper, to be published on December 21, follows the 2016 census findings that revealed a drop in island residents from 85,716 to 84,599 since 2011.

But this year’s first quarterly report shows that the population has started to grow again by 360 per annum.

Douglas resident Marcella Mazzitelli, 26, who is originally from Brazil, believes the Isle of Man will benefit from a larger population.

She said: ’It will be good for meeting new people and it’ll financially help the island too.’

Her mother, Solange, 50, hesitantly agreed.

She said: ’It would be nice to have more people, but I don’t think there’s enough support for everybody. We have so many people without jobs and the island’s too small.

’There are a lot of things that could be affected, like property, waiting lists, education, businesses,’ she added.

Gerry Pishvaie, 56, from Douglas said: ’Bringing more people over to the island will boost the economy and encourage jobs. I don’t think it will significantly affect the quality of life that we have.’

Ian Baker, 63, is concerned about the affect a rise in population will have on Peel.

’The place has doubled in size and it’s still growing, but nobody goes to the shops because they feel it’s easier to go to Douglas and so the shops in Peel are closing down.

’The government plead poverty here. They give themselves a big rise, but give little to the population,’ he explained.

A couple from Maughold, Linda, 70, and Terry Owen, 73, believe more needs to be done to cater for a rise in population.

’The planning as it stands is not adequate on the island. There needs to be a thorough plan on infrastructure, including schools and roads because the roads are shocking here,’ Terry said.

His wife added: ’People come over and don’t always fall into the easy life here.’

Linda and Terry moved to the island from the UK in 2002 and have found it a pleasant place to live.

’I cannot imagine living anywhere else. I’m here permanently,’ Linda added.

Dion Croom, 58, who moved to Douglas from the United States, thinks that a range in culture and skills brought in by people from around the world will benefit the community.

’There’s not enough variety here. If we don’t have variety we get stagnated and I feel like that’s what is happening to the island,’ he said.

’No matter how much we put into the community, we are still seen as outsiders. The way we are is different to how Manx people have grown up and if they don’t grab more people here, the whole social system will collapse.

’The economy and community will be stronger if new and younger people come over. It needs to be the view of the Manx people, that these people are actually adding value,’ he explained.

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