The Summerland site is being surveyed by the Manx Development Corporation, a body that aims to regenerate brownfield sites.

The site at the end of Douglas promenade has been unused since it was demolished in 2006.

The entertainment complex shut its doors for the final time in 2004 due to the building being deemed unsafe.

The 3.81 acres of land has been for sale since 2008, categorised as a ‘prime development site’.

The Manx Development Corporation (MDC) is a government-backed company that look to make long-term contribution to urban regeneration and brownfield development on the island.

The MDC is currently completing redevelopment work on the old nurses’ home on Westmoreland Road in Douglas.

A spokesperson from MDC said the company was currently commissioning ‘several invasive and non-invasive surveys’ on the Summerland site, and the findings of these would help its staff ‘understand the characteristics of the existing ground, cliff face, site ecology and other potential existing site risks’.

The site has been subject to several failed attempts at redevelopment over the years, including a proposal by the Sefton Group for a new leisure centre called The Wave in 2009.

The complex would have included a cinema, bowling, ice skating, a casino and conference facilities.

trouble

But that idea was dropped when, in April 2013, the Sefton Group was handed a £1.3 million government bail-out after running into financial trouble.

In 2015, it appeared a deal was about to be done for the land, but the preferred bidder then went into administration and the Summerland site, at the far end of Douglas promenade, went back on the market, where it has remained since.

Douglas councillor Andrew Bentley believes the site ‘desperately needs development’ and wants to see high-density affordable housing on the land.

He said: ‘Two thirds of Douglas households have only one or two occupants, one- and two-bedroom flats are the most requested on council’s housing waiting list and we are struggling to attract young essential workers into education and health care due to lack of affordable housing.

‘High-density affordable housing would be good for regeneration, good for attracting essential workers, good for the transport system and good for the economy of the local area, and the views aren’t bad either.’

Clare Barber, MHK for Douglas East, said: ‘I am keen to see the Summerland site redeveloped and my main priority would be to see something that will be fit for the future, but that incorporates a meaningful and considered memorial to ensure we do not forget the past.

‘I look forward to hearing the plans from Manx Development Corporation and would ideally like to see progress prior to the 50th anniversary of the Summerland disaster in 2023.’

Last week saw the 49th anniversary of the disaster, and two separate services were held in memory of the 50 people killed.

Summerland, before the devastating fire in 1973, was a five-storey amusement and leisure complex that included restaurants and bars, swimming pools, amusement arcades and a theatre.

The complex was reconstructed on a smaller scale after being destroyed by the blaze and reopened again in 1978.

Tina Brennen, the organiser of the yearly memorial service held at the old site, claims it is not a ‘prime development site’ as the government have categorised it as.

She said: ‘There’s the question of the instability of the cliffs, the fast rising sea levels meaning the site is battered by waves, rocks, stones and seaweed, the inaccessibility onto the site during bad weather when the road has to be closed, the atrocious sewage smell and the issue of this site being where 50 men, women and children perished in the most horrific way.’

She witnessed the blaze in 1973 and is pushing for a memorial at the site that would include 17 standing stones, one for each of the families, groups of friends and working colleagues who died together, as well as an educational centre with a digital recording facility for the people who have their own stories and experiences of Summerland.

memorial

She said: ‘If the state of New York can put a fitting memorial on the site of the 9/11 disaster, forgoing any thought of cashing in on the most lucrative real estate in the world, surely we can take a small piece of derelict land, the site of such a huge disaster, and put a fitting memorial on it.’

There is a memorial for the 50 people who died in the Kaye Gardens on Queen’s Promenade, unveiled in 2013 by Douglas Council.

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