Southern Area Plan

What’s happening?

The Department of Local Government and the Environment (DLGE) is taking the first steps in the preparation of the Area Plan for the South of the Island.

This follows on from the Publication, last year, of a Strategic Plan, containing broad policies covering the whole of the Island. Click here to find out more about the Strategic Plan.

The Area Plan for the South will include policies which guide development at the local level and will cover Rushen, Arbory, Malew, Port St Mary, Port Erin and Castletown (see map - right).

Why do we need an Area Plan?

The Plan will aim to guide development to those areas where the Island and its people can gain most from it and where it has the least adverse impact.

How will it happen?

There is a detailed process for preparing the Plan. Click here to find out further detailed information about the process. A provisional timetable is given at the bottom of this page.

What is the status of the current Local Plans in the South?

The current plans in the South will remain in operation until the new Plan has been approved, but some weight may also be accorded to the new Plan as it emerges.

How long will it take?

It is envisaged that the process from start to finish will take in the region of two years.

What stage are we at now?

The Department has published the Issues and Options Report for the Southern Area Plan. This paper sets out the main issues of concern within the Southern Area and, where appropriate, sets out options for dealing with these.

The Issues and Options Report, Part 1 and Part 2, can be downloaded here.

How to get involved?

We are now seeking responses to the Issues and Options Report. To assist in this, we have produced a response form which will guide those wishing to respond.

The response form can be completed electronically by using the Word version. Simply fill out the document and then e-mail it to the Planning Policy Team at the following address:- areaplansouth@dlge.gov.im.

Alternatively, print off the PDF version of the response form and send it, once completed, to the following address:-

Planning Policy Team, Planning Office, Murray House, Mount Havelock, Douglas, IM1 2SF.

All responses, either by e-mail or hard copy, should be returned to the Planning Policy Team by Friday, 24 October 2008.

Why get involved?

This is your local area and you can help decide how it might look in the future. Your views and experience are vital to the planning team to enable them to devise policies which can assist in creating the places you want to live, work and spend time in.

What else has been published?

As well as the Issues and Options Report, the Department is also publishing a number of other reports all of which will inform and assist in the preparation of the Draft Area Plan:-

1. Landscape Character Assessment
   This is an assessment of the Island's landscape identifying different categories and so enabling the introduction of appropriate management policies for each. Click here for a copy of an Executive Summary; see also the Cover Report to Landscape Character Assessment; for the full version of the Report contact the Planning Office on 685950.

2. Residential Land Availability Update (2008)
   The first annual update of the study was published by the Department in 2007 and has now been updated. The study shows where planning permission has been granted, where work has started on site and where there is land zoned for residential but with no current planning permission. The Updated Report and Summary Tables are available in the list below. For the full version of the Report, contact the Planning Office on 685950.
   • Residential Land Availability, Update 1, 2008
   • Table 1 - Island Approval Statistics 2001 - 2016
   • Table 2 - North Housing Figs p.1
   • Table 2 - North Housing Figs p.2
   • Table 2 - North Housing Figs p.3
   • Table 3 - South Housing Figs p.1
   • Table 3 - South Housing Figs p.2
   • Table 3 - South Housing Figs p.3
   • Table 4 - East Housing Figs p.1
   • Table 4 - East Housing Figs p.2
   • Table 4 - East Housing Figs p.3
   • Table 5 - West Housing Figs p.1
   • Table 5 - West Housing Figs p.2
   • Table 5 - West Housing Figs p.3
   • Table 11 (summary) - Demolition Statistics 2001 - 2007
   • Table 16 - Implementation of approvals p.1
   • Table 16 - Implementation of approvals p.2
   • Table 17 - Residential Land Availability

3. Site Assessment Framework
   This is a set of criteria against which all sites identified will be assessed before a decision is made regarding their inclusion within the Draft Plan. To see the Site Assessment Framework or the Cover Report to the Site Assessment Framework click the relevant wording.

   Developers and landowners are requested to print off and complete a site identification form and return this to the Planning Policy Team, Planning Office, Murray House, Mount Havelock, Douglas, IM1 2SF, by 24 October 2008 for assessment against the criteria.

The Department has already undertaken an Initial Evidence Gathering exercise. A summary of the responses received from the public leaflet issued in January 2008 may also be viewed by clicking here.

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