Plans for 92-home Peel development approved

Plans for a 92-house development in Peel have been backed by planners

Plans to build 92 new homes in the west of the Isle of Man have been approved despite concerns over already stretched infrastructure in the area.

The proposed Dandara development would be located on agricultural fields near the Castle View nursing home, a Glenfaba residential development and Peel golf club.

The firm's planning director David Humphrey said it was an "important opportunity to address housing need" in the Peel area.

But objections were voiced over the likely pressure more residents would have on services such as GPs, dentists and schools.

Mr Humphrey argued public services should be made available in response to population growth, "not the other way round".

Chairing the planning committee meeting, Peter Young said that while the proposed development's impact on doctors and schools had been raised, it was not a reason to reject the application.

Peel plan

Fellow committee member Peter Whiteway questioned what weight a "shortfall in social facilities" should be given when considering the application, given that services were already stretched.

The development, which would be constructed on 20.5 acres (8.3 hectares) of land, comprises two, three, four and five-bedroom properties.

Twenty-three homes would be classified as affordable housing.

The development would also include a temporary sewage treatment works to treat the effluent on site until a sewage plant in the area was up and running.

The planning officer who recommended the plan's approval said the land was designated for development and noted that in the Peel local plan residential development was considered a priority.

The plans were approved after committee members voted three votes to two in favour.