Bid for new law to prevent marina plan progress

Plans were drawn up to develop a 400-berth marina with residential and commercial housing in Ramsey

A bid to permanently prevent development in the area of a beach on the north of the Isle of Man will be made in the parliament.

Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper will ask the House of Keys to support the creation of a new bill that would ensure planning permission to develop the town's South Beach could not granted and was instead guarded against in law.

The move comes after plans to develop a 400-berth marina, residential and commercial units and a yacht club near the town's harbour were unveiled in 2019.

Last month, Tynwald voted to throw out a development plan for the north and west of the island, which Hooper said had left the possibility of future development on the beach "up in the air".

Ramsey Marina Ltd, who put forward the development proposals, has been approached for comment.

Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper wants the marina plans to be shelved

Hooper said Ramsey Marina Ltd, the team behind the plans, were still "keen" to follow through with their sketches.

"It's only a minority of people who seem to be very much pushing the development... but they never seem to go away," he said.

'Pie in the sky'

He said that although concerns specifically about Ramsey's development were not central to Tynwald's rejection of the area plan in October, not having that in place meant protection for the area "isn't there anymore", which had added to the long-felt "worry" from some residents.

"There's never been a proper plan, it's never really been explained how they're going to fund and develop it [and] some of it felt a bit pie in the sky," he said.

Hooper stressed he would welcome development in surrounding areas as long as it was not on the South Beach.

He said, if granted leave to introduce a private members bill by members of the House of Keys on Tuesday, the area would be forbidden to be implemented into both existing marina plans and future planning projects.

If the bill progresses, his ambition was to have a bill ready by the new year, to be progress to the point of Royal Assent by the summer, he said.