Castletown Commissioners have been left ’deeply frustrated’ with planners, after an attempt to build homes in the town was rejected.

It comes after an application by Hartford Homes for 48 properties at Knock Rushen was refused last month.

It’s one of six sites identified in the Castletown Housing Land Review as suitable for development to meet the town’s housing need.

In 2017 developers were invited by the Cabinet Office to submit plans for sites at Great Meadow, Gardenfield, Knock Rushen and Qualtrough’s Yard.

It was stressed that all applications would be ’considered on their merits in the normal way’, with no guarantee of approval.

The land review was a ’partial revision’ of the Area Plan for the South, the governing planning policy document which was approved in 2013.

Castletown Commissioners feel it’s not clear how the two documents are ’weighted’ when decisions are made by the planning committee.

Hartford Homes has lodged an appeal against the Knock Rushen decision.

Chairman Richard McAleer says members feel they’re ’banging their heads against a brick wall’, and are asking the Cabinet Office for clarity.