An additional site been identified as part of a Government initiative aimed at releasing new employment land to support economic growth in the Isle of Man.
A report published on Thursday sets out the potential of land to the south of Cooil Road in Braddan to be used for employment purposes.
Identified as ‘Site 9’, it has been assessed against a comprehensive set of criteria and found to score as highly as two sites highlighted in an earlier report.
The assessment of Site 9 could not be completed at the same time as the others as part of the site was subject to a planning appeal. That appeal has now been concluded, with approval being granted for the development of a car showroom.
The Government issued a call for sites for employment land last year in response to the findings of the Employment Land Review 2015. The report highlighted strong demand for additional land to be released for employment purposes, such as manufacturing or warehousing, as well as land suitable for high-quality technology uses.
It was recognised that land supply would start to dry up, particularly in the East, if new sites were not released, stalling future investment and economic growth.
The 14 sites submitted were assessed and a report published in June 2016 identified land at Sangster’s Field, the Nunnery, as the two preferred sites. Work is currently taking place to explore the suitability of progressing these sites through the Development Order process for Tynwald approval.
Once the Employment Land Review 2015 has been updated by the Department of Economic Development, consideration will be given to how best to take forward Site 9. This may be as a second Development Order or as part of the emerging Area Plan for the East. The call for sites for the Area Plan is open until 16 September 2016 and more information is available at www.gov.im/tape
Policy and Reform Minister John Shimmin said: ‘The Government is committed to driving economic growth to support our ambitions of securing a sustainable future for the Isle of Man. With the release of this additional report, it is clear that there is land with potential and this has been recognised through a thorough site assessment process.’
He added: ‘Development Orders are a mechanism to bring forward land ahead of the wider Area Plan process. A commitment has already been made to work on one Development Order. There is now the opportunity to consider how best to support further investment opportunities.’
The latest report has been prepared by Bilfinger GVA’s Planning, Development and Regeneration team, who have been assisting the Cabinet Office and DED with work to relieve short-term pressures on employment land supply.
The original report and the addendum, both prepared by Bilfinger GVA, are available to view on the Government’s Employment Land (Development Order) web page at www.gov.im/eldo
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