Area Plan for the East

Island Development Plan – Area Plan for the East

In order for the Area Plan to take effect, Cabinet Office must adopt the plan ‘by order’ and that order must be approved by Tynwald. Following the Modifications Stage, Cabinet Office has now adopted the Area Plan. It will be considered at the October 2020 sitting of Tynwald for approval.  Details of the consultation which closed on 14 April 2020 can be seen here Consultation Hub and responses to the modifications have been publishing the in the Response Table. All information and evidence dealt with during the Public Inquiry (Sept – Oct 2019) as well as the Inspector’s Report can be found on the Cabinet Office's website and documents produced Pre-Inquiry can be found on the planning policy page. Adopted Plan documents September 2020: Written Statement Maps 1a - Environmental Constraints 1b - Infrastructure Constraints 1c - Community Constraints 2 - Landscape Assessment 3 - Proposals 4 - Douglas 5 - Douglas Central 6 - Onchan 7 - Laxey 8 - Union Mills 9 - Baldrine 10 - Crosby and Glen Vine 11- Newtown Video clips  - Differences between Draft Plan and Adopted in terms of key sites – These videos are indicative only and do not form part of the Order. Laxey Baldrine Crosby and Glen Vine Newtown Douglas North and Onchan Union Mills and Strang Douglas South Central and Braddan

Background to the Area Plan for the East

While the Isle of Man Strategic Plan contains general land use policies for the Island as a whole, it is the role of the Area Plans to identify site specific proposals and address planning policy matters at the local level.  The Area Plan for the East covers:

• the Borough of Douglas
• the District of Onchan
• the Parishes of Braddan, Garff (Laxey and Lonan Wards only), Marown and Santon

From 24 February to the 26 May 2017, Cabinet Office invited all interested parties to make comments on the proposed scope of the plan. This is known as the ‘Preliminary Publicity’ consultation.  

The Preliminary Publicity consultation was informed by the responses to the ‘Call for Sites’ which was issued in 2016. The material published for the Call for Sites stage can be viewed.

Once the Department considered all of the representations to the Preliminary Publicity consultation it embarked on the remaining stages in plan preparation as set out in Schedule 1 of the 1999 Act, namely:

• The publication of a Draft Plan;
  • The undertaking of a Public Inquiry (held between 10 September and 2 October 2019)*; and
  • Publicity of the Inquiry Report

The Department is currently at the following stage:

• The adoption of the Plan by the Cabinet Office.

The final stage is the publication of the Plan after approval by Tynwald.

The extant development plans in the East will remain in force until the Area Plan for the East is approved and comes into operation.

*On the 31 May 2019 Cabinet Office published a ‘Public Notice’ inviting all interested parties to attend the Pre-Inquiry Meeting.  This was held in Douglas on the 18 July 2019. The purpose of the pre-inquiry meeting was to:

1. outline the procedures to be followed at the Inquiry
2. discuss the programme for evidence, and how this evidence is to be presented at the Inquiry
3. facilitate the submission and exchange of any additional professional and technical evidence in advance of the Inquiry
4. to encourage those with common cause to consider working together to present their case