Manx Development Corporation: More sites surveyed for regeneration

Redeveloping a former nurses home was the Manx Development Corporation's first project

Studies have begun to "unlock" a number of government-owned disused sites, a Manx development firm has said.

The Manx Development Corporation (MDC) was set up to regenerate publicly-owned brownfield sites on the island.

Managing director Dane Harrop said work to redevelop a former nurses home on Westmoreland Road was "well underway".

Surveys and feasibility studies were now being undertaken at sites including Summerland and the Parade Street East car park, he said.

The project to built 37 homes on the site of the former nurses home was the first put forward by the arms-length commercial company, which was backed by Tynwald in 2021.

The firm's second plan for the 133-home Westmoreland Village nearby is still being considered by planners.

Surveys on the former Summerland site on Douglas Promenade had been carried out to "understand its risks and what needs to be undertaken", Mr Harrop confirmed.

But there were a "number of complexities" and the next steps were "still to be determined and worked through" with the body's steering group, he said.

The entertainment complex was rebuilt following a fire which killed 50 people in 1973, and subsequently demolished in 2006.

The former Summerland leisure complex was demolished in 2006

The developer also confirmed it was in the early stages of designing a "multi-use development" on the Parade Street East car park, which was used for border control at the ferry port during the coronavirus pandemic.

Investigations and surveys, in line with the approved master plan for lower Douglas, had been completed and a public consultation will be launched to gather feedback on the proposals within a month, Mr Harrop said.

The update from the firm at the government conference on Thursday came as private developers' plans to regenerate three brownfield sites were given support in principle under the Island Infrastructure Scheme.

An office, retail and hotel complex at the Villiers site in Douglas was given the green light, alongside apartment schemes in the capital and Port Erin.

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