Bold action needed to tackle Isle of Man's housing issues

Chris Thomas wants to create a five year plan to address the "massive" housing challenge

Tackling a "housing crisis" on the Isle of Man needs "bold action", the government's new lead for the sector has said.

The housing and communities board was created to develop a strategy to deal with problems like the affordability of housing, homelessness, and vacant properties.

Chairman Chris Thomas said solving the issues would be a "massive challenge".

The surging cost of housing was a key issue at September's general election.

Chief Minister Alfred Cannan has described the situation as "fast approaching crisis point", with young people "struggling to buy first time properties due both to lack of availability and cost".

Chris Thomas will lead the new housing and communities board

Mr Thomas said he wanted to produce a five-year-plan "early in the new year", but earmarked a few "quick wins" to focus on before Christmas.

These include a deposit protection and arbitration scheme, defining homelessness in law, investigating the redevelopment of vacant properties, and amending the government's first time buyer scheme.

A small proportion of the £400 million borrowed by Treasury earlier in the year would "have to go towards dealing with our housing crisis", he added.

With responsibility for aspects of housing currently split across several government departments, Mr Thomas said he believed the best way to "remove the silo approach", was to "be bold, be imaginative, be active".

"I hope we can put something down early in the new year to suspend disbelief and show we are going to do something really worth while," he added.