Ramsey Commissioners are sending an open letter to the Department of Infrastructure over plans to regenerate the quayside in the town.

Minister Tim Baker and director of highways Jeff Robinson are being invited to discuss the proposals in more detail.

The condition of the quayside is widely acknowledged to be in a poor state, however, there are concerns the local authority is being pressured into supporting the DoI’s plans.

Chairman Andy Cowie said improvements in the town are ’sorely needed’, adding: ’Whilst in principle we support the proposal, the detailed concerns we had have been addressed to a certain extent, but the board weren’t happy that there were fully addressed - we haven’t seen revised plans which addressed some of the issues that we’d raised and we’d like to go through those and explain our reasoning to the department directly to see if we can have a little bit more feedback.’

He added: ’It’s a significant project, it will affect the heart of the town for a number of months whilst it’s being undertaken, and it does have some long term ramifications for the fishing community, as it’s a thriving fishing port as well as a commercial port - so it’s important to get it right.’

Mr Cowie was then asked about the view of certain commissioners that the letter sent from the DoI was essentially saying ’either accept or support the current plans or nothing will get done’.

He said: ’That was the general viewpoint and certainly how we read the letter. So again, this meeting is to clarify that position.

’I don’t think it was entirely all or nothing, there was still an option for some flood defence work to be done which is intimated in the letter.’

Asked if he was optimistic that a suitable resolution could be found, he said: ’Absolutely, yes. We have worked successfully with the department on many occasions in the past, and fundamentally there is a desire to make sure the basics of this happen.

’I’m sure with the new minister as well, and face-to-face dialogue explaining our concerns, we can get a way forward which suits most of the people.’