The Department of Infrastructure has raised concerns that the number of proposed housing developments in the south would take two road junctions ’beyond capacity’.

The highways division’s principal engineer, Maria Barry, made the comment as she apologised for the delay in responding to a transport assessment as part of a bid for a major residential development at Great Meadow in Castletown.

The application (18/01172/A) is for approval in principle for a housing development in fields off Malew Road of about 130 houses, sheltered housing, a care home and a community centre.

There are concurrently two other bids with planners for housing estates in Castletown, following a call from government - instigated by the local authority- for sites suitable for development.

A plan by Dandara for 282 homes and new bypass at Ballasalla is also in the pipeline.

Ms Barry said: ’Due to the South Area Plan and the number of committed development sites in the south discussed in the last year, highway services have built a Paramics traffic model in the Castletown/Ballasalla area to be able to model the impact of several large developments proposed in the area for which the current application is one of them.’

She said the assessment considered the junction at the Castletown bypass, next to S&S Motors, and the Cross Four Ways junction but had ’been done in isolation excluding the impacts of other committed developments in the area’.

’There is highway concern that these junctions would be beyond capacity with the proposed development in place, particularly for the latter phases, due to the other committed developments in addition to the existing traffic conditions,’ she said.

’Highway services have therefore delayed providing the highway response to the current planning application to enable the highway impacts of the development to be assessed by the traffic model.

’The work is being undertaken by our highway consultant and it is anticipated that highway services will have the modelling results in the next few weeks which will then enable us to review transport assessment.’

The bid for Great Meadow was submitted in October.

The planning division said it ’strives to determine applications within eight weeks of their receipt’, adding: ’Unfortunately in this instance the eight weeks has been exceeded. It is hoped a recommendation and decision may be arrived at as soon as possible.’

The proposal provoked several objections and many said a holistic view must be taken of the three plans. Manx National Heritage director Edmund Southworth said he was ’concerned’ the ’cumulative impact (of all the plans) is not being adequately considered’.

The Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society said it would ’urbanise a significant area of green land’.

Manx Utilities recommend sheltered housing should not be in areas that could flood.