New £10m fund proposed to encourage building on disused urban sites

If approved, developers will be able to apply for grants of up to 25% of a project's cost

Private developers on the Isle of Man could benefit from a £10m scheme to encourage development on disused urban sites, if Tynwald backs the initiative.

A new fund has been proposed by the Manx government to offer grants of up to 25% of a project's expenditure to stimulate regeneration of the areas.

More than 30 urban sites currently lie unoccupied in Douglas and Onchan.

Enterprise Minister Lawrie Hooper said the viability of these sites "simply isn't there" without extra support.

Developers have told the government issues like contaminated land and the remains of previous buildings on the sites were "barriers to brownfield site development" as they drove up costs, he added.

Private sector investment

Politicians will be asked to approve the Island Infrastructure Scheme at the December Tynwald sitting.

If supported, the fund would be managed by the Department for Enterprise (DfE) and would open for a first round of applications for three months from 3 January.

The scheme is part of a wider government drive to see unused urban sites developed to benefit the Manx economy.

Government data from 2020 showed the majority of the more than 30 such sites spread across the east of the island were under private ownership.

Anyone applying for the grants must have secured planning approval for the project, with the DfE holding powers to reclaim the funds if a development is not carried out within agreed criteria.

Mr Hooper said the overall value to the economy of rejuvenating the sites would outweigh the cost of the grants, and "substantial private sector investment" would need to be secured to drive much of the redevelopment.