Land swap for community centre access stalls

The access road is expected to cost Braddan Commissioners about £220,000

An agreement to complete a land swap to allow for new access to a community centre on the Isle of Man has stalled, the chairman of the local authority had said.

Braddan Commissioners have received permission purchase land close to the Roundhouse following a deal as part of a trade with the with the government.

But chairman Andrew Jessopp said the refusal of a request to use the nearby Palatine Health Centre's car park out-of-hours had created further delays to the access road plan.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said the parking matter would need a "separate discussion and licence" and the sale paperwork was "ready to sign".

Access to the building had been disputed between the commissioners, the department and Manx Care, with the government refusing to grant access to the community centre through hospital grounds earlier this year.

'Tidying up'

In June, an agreement was reached that would see the local authority pay £250 for land to build a separate access road to the Roundhouse, and in return the government would take ownership of parcels of commissioners' land around Noble's Hospital.

Both parties also agreed to exchange land found to have been incorrectly plotted around Palatine Health Centre.

Mr Jessopp said as "part of the tidying up exercise" the commissioners had subsequently sought a legal agreement from the DHSC to effectively double the number of car parking spaces, from about 70 to 140, in the evenings and at weekends.

He said the authority would not be signing off the sale paperwork without the extra parking provision as it would mean the facility would not have enough spaces during busy periods.

While it had been thought the access road's construction, set to cost about £220,000, could be completed by the end of the year, "at this rate it's looking unlikely", he added.