The Dandara story began in 1986, when Dan Tynan first started building on the Island, he was joined two years later by his college friend Seamus Nugent, and Dandara began its first construction project of fifty seven starter homes at Farmhill in Douglas in 1989. Today it is estimated that approximately 12% of the island’s population lives in a Dandara home and the company has also been responsible for numerous commercial property projects ranging from corporate headquarters for companies such as Manx Telecom, Royal Skandia and Scottish Provident, to retail and leisure outlets, warehousing and nursing homes.
Speaking at the event, Managing Director Seamus Nugent said: “We have certainly been very busy over the last two decades; and it is thanks to the strong foundations the business established here on the Isle of Man, that we have grown to become a major developer in the Channel Isles, Glasgow, Manchester and the Greater London area.
“Our aim has always been to provide high quality homes, communities and places of work, however this can only happen if you have high quality people working with you and I would like to pay tribute to all of our staff, subcontractors and suppliers for their dedication and commitment over the last 20 years, along with the thousands of families, individuals and businesses who have supported us and purchased property from us during that time.”
Directly and indirectly, the Dandara Group employs over 1200 people locally and according to recent Census figures, construction is now the second largest sector of the island’s economy, employing even more people than the banking Industry. Construction also plays a significant role in the support of other sectors such as distribution and retail, legal, financial services and estate agencies. As a result any slowdown in the production of new homes on the island could have a downward impact on the economy - as the slowdown in the UK has shown, where household spending has fallen to its lowest levels since 1995.
This theme was echoed by Dandara Group Chairman, Dan Tynan: “We, like many other businesses have benefited from the vision and sound leadership of successive Isle of Man Governments over the years. The island has had a strong and stable economy that has grown consistently for 26 years, however, the landscape is changing and we now find ourselves in unprecedented times. Banking and finance - for so many years the bedrock of our economy – is facing uncertainty and whilst job losses have so far been few, there remains the real possibility of consolidation and rationalisation within the sector.
“For the last decade, unemployment on the island has been below 2% but it now stands at 2.2% and continues to rise. In our own sector the fall in demand has already had a significant impact on jobs with around one third of the island’s registered unemployed coming from the construction sector. It has never been more important for both Government and the private sector to work together to help boost our construction industry. We urge Government to take the necessary decision to release land for development for further capital projects including bringing the island’s social housing up to a par with the best in the world. Without land we cannot keep our industry at work and play our part in the island’s continued economic development as we would wish to.”
It is 33 years since the island’s Government last zoned land for house building as Seamus Nugent explained: “Contrary to popular belief the raw material for building is not bricks and mortar, it is land however the last time that land was zoned for building by our Government was the 1976 plan adopted by Tynwald in 1982.
“We now have a situation where there is no more land available for house building in the South and East of the island – areas with the greatest employment opportunities and where most people want to live. Coupled with the land shortage our industry faces a further challenge in the form of planning and regulation with the average lead-in time for most new housing schemes running at around four to five years – and all this at a time when first time buyers are desperate to get onto the housing ladder and the industry really needs the work.”
Mr Nugent also stressed that the level of bureaucracy being levied is yet another challenge the island’s construction sector faces: “We need the help of Government at all levels within the industry; particularly with regard to planning and housing policy, capital expenditure projects and the ever-increasing weight of regulation and paperwork, which demand an enormous amount of time from the larger companies, let alone the smaller operators who do not have the same level of resource. “Although our industry faces some very tough challenges in the near future I am confident that we can work with Government to reach a solution. Our first 20 years in business have been fantastic and we are extremely proud to fly-the-flag for the Isle of Man. We look forward to playing our part in the island’s ‘Freedom to Flourish’ for another 20 years, and many more thereafter.”
Picture shows artist impression of latest Quay West development in Douglas.
