A SURPRISING u-turn was made over the designation of the Ramsey Estuary as an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in December.

Environment, Food and Agriculture Minister John Shimmin MHK criticised the way ASSIs were designated and said the process had been "heavily influenced by my department from start to finish."

The department will now look into how to handle ASSI designations in the future.

The site was designated for its estuarine habitats earlier this year, under the Wildlife Act, and consultation followed.

Ninety three responses were received and discussions included a public meeting.

The department is obliged to "confirm, vary or rescind" the ASSI designation within two months of the end of the consultation period.

As it has decided to rescind it means the controls brought in by the designation have been removed.

Mr Shimmin said: "After lengthy consideration of all matters I have made the decision to rescind the designation of the Ramsey Estuary as an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) and in light of the importance of the decision I feel it appropriate to provide reasons for my decision.

"It was obvious to me from the meetings I held with the Commissioners, a group of users of the harbour, the public meeting and the correspondence received in the consultation process that the issue was very controversial and an important matter that came to light was that the process itself was unfairly biased in favour of my department.

"This caused me to further interrogate our policies and responsibilities and to examine the way in which these designations are formulated.

"Whilst I raise concerns with the process I wish to commend my highly professional and dedicated officers who brought this matter forward and fulfilled my departments obligations and followed the procedure set down for them in the correct manner.

"There should be no implied criticism of any officer in this decision, which is taken by myself alone as Minister of the Department of the Environment, Food and Agriculture, as allowed for in the legislation.

"The current process involves my department, through its officers, identifying those areas which have a special interest by reason of their flora, fauna, or geological or physiographical features.

"The department then consults with the Wildlife Committee (made up largely of senior and specialist department officers, a specialist from Manx National Heritage and two external wildlife specialists), and if the department still considers an area worthy of designation as an ASSI it then informs owners/occupiers that the area has been so designated and formal consultation then takes place, with the land protected during discussions.

"The difficulty I have with this process is that it is heavily influenced by my department from start to finish and it may appear to interested parties that they are being presented with a fait a complit, especially as once the designation has been notified and consultation completed, the final decision still remains with the department.

"In addition to this lack of independent review, I am also concerned that from the moment of designation there are restrictions placed upon all users of the area and any activities have to be 'consented' by my department.

"This has a very negative impact and creates a period of uncertainty as we attempt to 'regularise' activities which may have been carried out in the same way for decades.

"I feel there is a need for these issues to be advanced in a collaborative and open manner rather than the confrontational way which developed on this occasion.

"Government should aim to govern with and for the people not to be seen as dictating 'to' the people.

"I can fully understand the need for strong powers where an area is seen to be 'at risk', and that there needs to be a way in which government can quickly protect an area to avoid a wilful act of environmental destruction.

"However there is an argument that these powers should be available but only able to be used in exceptional circumstances.

"It is therefore left to me to determine how my department should move forward in regard to this site and other future ASSI locations.

"I am particularly encouraged by the approach adopted to develop the Marine Nature Reserve (MNR) in Ramsey Bay.

"The consultation to be commenced shortly will allow all interested parties to express their views on the area off Ramsey Bay but the proposal has already been worked up in partnership with the fishermen and conservation bodies.

"I hope that this will lead to the first MNR of its type in the British Isles and be an example of good practice and engender popular public support.

"I feel that this process is deserving of further investigation and could be developed as good Manx practice in regard to the designation of future ASSIs.

"I believe that we can often achieve more by adopting a collaborative approach but this will require investigation within my department as to the current legal responsibilities, our guidelines and operational practices and our international commitments.

"I wish to avoid the situation where many members of our community look at environmental protection as being a negative restrictor on their freedoms and opportunities for development, rather, I want my department to be ambassadors of good practice who educate and encourage communities and individual land owners to see the future benefits of a growing level of environmental awareness and protection.

"With this in mind I am tasking my chief executive to work with our officers and my political colleagues in DEFA to consider the issues raised in this decision and to identify options to move forward with regard to future ASSI designation.

"In closing I would like to say that I was overwhelmed by the level of interest shown in this matter and would like to thank all those persons who took the time and the effort to submit their written comments on the proposal.

"This has been an exceptionally difficult decision to take particularly in view of the fact that this is the Year of Biodiversity and as Environment Minister I have a significant responsibility to set an example, on behalf of your government, to ensure we protect our fragile and precious environment.

"Nevertheless I am confident that not only is the decision correct in these circumstances but that the process that will flow from the decision will be one that not only protects our environment but is also one that has the confidence and support of the people we represent."