Local authorities

There are 21 local authorities on the Isle of Man, consisting of 4 town authorities, 2 district authorities, 2 village authorities, and 13 parish authorities.

One of the main functions of a local authority is to ensure that they provide the required services to their ratepayers, and in order to assist them in doing this, local authorities are required to set a rate for their district. The Island's local authorities also undertake a range of other functions, as set out in the list below, although these vary according to the size of the authority:

For more information about services please contact your Local Authority.

A more detailed explanation of the functions carried out by the local authorities can be found in the General Information Handbook for Members and Officers of Local Authorities. A document listing the main functions carried out by each local authority can be downloaded in PDF format from this page.

Transfer of Functions to Local Authorities

Functions such as street cleaning, gully emptying, removal of weeds, maintenance of highway verges and hedge trimming were transferred to all of the Island’s local authorities in 2015, and the agreements can be viewed below

• Deed of  Delegation of Functions  
• Schedule 1 – Map of Service Routes
• Consent to deal with hedge trimming

A copy of the Local Authority Transition Review can be found here. The review confirmed that the focus for future transition should be to improve the services that are delivered, rather than the future structures of Local Authorities, and identified that different delivery structures are appropriate for different services.

Trees and High Hedges

Local Authorities have powers under the Trees and High Hedges Act 2005 to deal with complaints about trees and high hedges. Please note that these bodies can only intervene once an individual has exhausted all other avenues of resolving their dispute.

Please see Trees and High Hedges for further guidance and advice, and to view a list of the contact details of all those Local Authorities who have delegated powers under the Trees and High Hedges Act 2005. 

War Memorials

Local Authorities, in exercising their powers under the War Memorials Act 2016, should note that there is an Isle of Man Government Preservation of War Memorials Committee, which has been established for the purposes of (inter alia) ensuring the proper maintenance and upkeep of such memorials and preventing the removal or destruction of memorials. The Committee can be contacted for advice and guidance and their contact details can be obtained from the Cabinet Office via Email: enquiries@cso.gov.im

Another source of useful information is ‘The War Memorial Trust’, an English registered Charity, working for the protection and conservation of war memorials across the UK which also embraces the Isle of Man in its work. The Trust can be contacted via e-mail: conservation@warmemorials.org or alternatively, useful information can be found via their website at: www.warmemorials.org

Freedom of Information