About 10% of accidents on the Isle of Man involve vehicles where a mechanical fault contributed to or caused the accident. In the UK this figure is 2%. In the UK all private vehicles are tested annually after their third anniversary. In most of Europe vehicles are tested on their fourth anniversary and then every two years. Currently on the Isle of Man there is no mandatory test for private vehicles other than if they are more than 3 years old when first registered. This means they could be used for many decades without being tested. All vehicles need to be maintained to a safe standard particularly as they get older.

The Department is therefore seeking your opinion as to whether additional vehicle testing should be introduced. This might comprise a one off test at 10 or 15 years or possibly regular testing at other intervals. Or should we leave testing as it is currently. Please tell us what you think.

The public’s views are being sought on proposals to introduce a fee for submitting planning appeals.
Traditionally, the right to appeal against a planning decision has been free to both the original applicant & any third parties with the cost for administering the appeal service met by the Department of Infrastructure & the Chief Secretary’s Office. Under the proposed fee structure, anyone submitting an appeal would pay a one-off fee of £150, with that sum refunded should the appeal be successful.
The consultation will start on 8 October 2012, with submissions to be sent in no later than 5pm on 19 November 2012.
Comments can be either sent electronically to planning@gov.im or by post to the address below.

As part of the Isle of Man Marine Plan, a ”Manx Marine Environmental Assessment” has been undertaken to bring together the information currently available for Manx territorial waters.
Feedback on the content of the technical Report, particularly any errors or omissions and links to other sources of relevant, verifiable and publically accessible Manx data are sought.
The full MMEA Report and Non-technical summary are available below.
If you would like to submit a written response please see the Consultation Document and Questionnaire pro-forma which is available to download below.

The Department of Infrastructure’s outline design for Douglas Promenade can be viewed at the Department’s Murray House, Mount Havelock and Sea Terminal Offices or attached below from Monday 1 October until Friday 9 November. The Department’s design parameters for this scheme were developed in 2011 following the assessment of over 450 public consultation responses and the feedback from 4 public focus groups on the Issues and Options associated with this proposed development.

The Department is now seeking the views of the public on these outline design proposals which run from the Sea Terminal to Broadway. Please respond by filling in the Online Questionnaire through the https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/YourPromenade-YourSay link.

The Isle of Man Government is committed to promoting a strong, stable, and productive economy that aims to bring jobs and prosperity for all. One of the potential avenues of future growth is the development of offshore energy production. However, these resources cannot be exploited without due regard to the fragile and diverse environment in which they exist. This consultation proposes a robust assessment process that takes due regard of all maritime interests via extensive consultation and appropriate, site-specific Environmental Impact Assessment.