Sailing club says end of lease will be 'huge loss'

Peel Sailing Club has been situated at the Rocket House since 1986

The ending of Peel Sailing Club's lease at the Rocket House will be a "huge loss to the town", the group's commodore has said.

It comes after the town's commissioners announced that the use of the Rocket House would be put out to tender when the club's current 21-year lease ends in 2028.

Club commodore Roger Cave said the facility was a "community hub", which was used during the New Year's Day Dip and Viking Longboat Races, as well as hosting events by the Moddey Dhoo Motorcycle Club during TT and Manx Grand Prix.

But Peel town clerk Derek Sewell said the local authority would "welcome" a tender from the club for the use of the building once it was refurbished.

Different terms

Mr Sewell said the club was granted a long lease in 2006 because there was an agreement that the it would provide toilet and shower facilities for the new marina, which was opened in 2009.

He said as the Department of Infrastructure had since replaced those facilities, a contract of that length would no longer be approved, and so the club would be on a new and shorter-term lease, with "drastically" different terms.

Plans to construct a regional sewage plant for the area would "attract more visitors" as the beach would be cleaner, which presented an opportunity for the commissioners to decide what facilities they want on "essentially its shopfront", he added.

Mr Cave said while he had emailed the local authority at the end of 2023 about the situation, the club did not receive a response until March, and had not previously been aware they could tender for a future extension to the lease.

He added the commissioners had been invited to visit the club but "only one" took up the offer.

Additional reporting by Emma Draper, Local Democracy Reporter.