A temporary building which was erected in Noble’s Park for this year’s TT races could be there in breach of planning regulations.

The hospitality building by the TT grandstand has been there each TT since the centenary in 2007 and is used to host VIP events.

This year it has been left for use during the 90th anniversary Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT races which take place during the last two weeks in August.

But a spokesman for the government’s planning department said: ‘In theory it does need planning permission. The attitude would be taken that it was a two-week temporary structure. Because it remains longer, the enforcement ball would start rolling. If someone complained we would investigate it but it’s not been brought to our attention.

‘It would probably be a formality and by the time a retrospective application was processed the time could well have passed.’

She added there was planning permission in place for the 240-bed Snoozebox accommodation which was placed in the park last year and this year.

Noble’s Park grandstand and paddock area are leased by Douglas Council to the Department of Economic Development to use during the TT races.

Douglas Council’s assistant chief executive Susan Harrison said she had expected the building to be taken down.

‘It’s something that needs sorting out and we are looking into it,’ she said.

‘It’s still there at the moment and if the DED want to keep it up the onus is on them to get planning permission, otherwise the operators will have to dismantle it.

‘We will certainly work with the DED and see what can be done.’

Government TT and motorsports development manager Paul Phillips said the advice they had been given every year was that the building did not require planning permission.

‘If I’m wrong on this, you would think they would have been on our case before.

‘We’ve been doing it since 2007,’ he said.

‘We did budget to take it down but it’s more economic to leave it in position rather than take it down and put it up again.

‘We spoke to planning and as far as I’m aware it’s all above board. If there’s something wrong it’s news to me.’

What has now become an annual event - the Joey Dunlop memorial lap - takes place on Tuesday.

What has now become an annual event - the Joey Dunlop memorial lap - takes place on Tuesday.

Organised by the Joey Dunlop Foundation, the event is to raise money to extend the charity’s disabled holiday accommodation at Braddan Bridge next year.

The ride sets off from the TT grandstand at 7pm and organisers are hoping to attract a wide variety of machines to take part, both modern and vintage.

Everyone who is taking part is being asked to buy a commemorativeT-shirt either on the day, or weekday mornings from Braddan Bridge House or by visiting www.joeydunlopfoundation.com

Isle of Man Stamps and Coins have officially launched their Tour de France Edition 100 set of eight stamps at an event with Peter Kennaugh MBE in Douglas.

Peter was presented with the stamps and collectors products at a bike shop which has supported many Isle of Man cyclists over the last 20 years.

It’s been a busy fortnight for the 24-year-old Olympic Gold medal-winning Isle of Man rider. Last weekend he finished fourth in the National Road Race Championship in Glasgow, won by fellow Manx cyclist Mark Cavendish, and earlier this week he received his MBE from the Lieutenant Governor, Adam Wood. Announced as a Team Sky Tour de France team member just last week he follows the Manx Missile Mark Cavendish into Le Tour history.

Maxine Cannon, general manager of Isle of Man Stamps and Coins said: ‘We are extremely proud to have been given worldwide rights to produce exclusive items for Le Tour 100 in recognition of the tremendous contribution of the Isle of Man to the colourful history of the world’s greatest race. For more than 50 years Isle of Man International Cycling Week attracted a long list of tour de France riders.’

Peter said: ‘I think the Tour de France stamps issued by Post Office are pretty cool. They really showcase Le Tour and I think it’s great that they always goes to the effort of producing stamps to mark sporting events, achievements and Manx sportsmen. Interest in cycling is massive and is growing all the time around the world. It’s particularly popular on the Isle of Man and I know the island is 100 per cent behind me in its support as I prepare to take part in this year’s Tour de France – it’s an enormous boost and I feel very proud.’

One of the elements of this Sunday’s gruelling TT Triathlon will be cycling three laps of the Mountain Course.

In addition, competitors in the main event will start with a 2.4-mile open water swim across Douglas Bay and finish with a marathon run over 26.2 miles.

In total, hardy triathletes will compete over a colossal 142 miles, a mammoth task which will push their bodies and fitness to the absolute limit.

Approximately 100 competitors and 11 relay teams will be competing in the combined events - split roughly 50-50 between the full distance race and the short course event involving a 1.2-mile swim, a 37.7-mile bike ride over a single lap of the TT Course and a seven mile run on Douglas promenade.

There is no doubt that this will be the toughest triathlon ever held in the Isle of Man.

Both events begin at 6am on Sunday with the swim in Douglas Bay, which will be parallel to the sea wall, giving spectators a great view as the competition unfolds.

The transition from swimming to bikes will take place at the War Memorial on Douglas seafront, while the second transition into the run will be at the TT Grandstand. Competitors, the bulk of them from the UK, will then return to the promenade where they will have the luxury of a flat run.

After competing over 142.6 miles or 45.9 miles, the all-important finish will be at the TT Grandstand.

l The inaugural Isle of Man TT Triathlon is sponsored by AXA Wealth International.

Billed as an endurance challenge like no other the Isle of Man has ever experienced before, the sponsors are already a corporate partner of the Isle of Man Swimming Association.

By supporting Sunday’s event, the company aims to help contribute towards the delivery of this first of a kind, well-anticipated triathlon organised by Sport Support (IoM) Limited - a charity formed to divert a percentage of their profits back into local sport.

To find out more about the TT Triathlon, visit www.tttri.com

Please note that the Mountain Road will be shut between Ramsey and Creg-ny-Baa on Sunday from 7.30am until 3pm.

Cal Crutchlow has become the first British rider for 11 years to qualify on pole for a MotoGP race.

Having suffered disappointment in the previous grand prix in Spain, the Yamaha Tech3 rider hit back by producing the fastest time on the second day of the Dutch GP to claim the first pole of his career.

It is the first time a Briton has qualified in first place since Jeremy McWilliams did so in 2002.

The Ramsey resident’s best lap was one of 1m 34.398s which was 0.357s ahead of rising star Marc Marquez. The top six was completed by Stefan Bradl, Valentino Rossi, Dani Pedrosa and Crutchlow’s team-mate Bradley Smith.

During the previous day’s practice session reigning world champion Jorge Lorenze crashed spectacularly in the wet conditions and suffered a broken collarbone. However, the Italian has since had surgery in Barcelona and is hoping to return to Assen to compete in Saturday’s race. Even if he does, though, he will be forced to start from 12th position.

Find out how Cal gets on at Assen in Monday’s Isle of Man Examiner.

Hedge-cutting has been hit by government cutbacks.

The Department of Infrastructure says the since most hedges bordering the highway belong to the landowner and it is their responsibility to ensure that these do not obstruct users of the highway.

A DoI spokesman said: ‘Where owners are not undertaking the necessary work the department will continue to undertake cutting to ensure that the basic safety of the highway is maintained.

‘This includes removing growth where it is obstructing the highway or obstructing sight lines or signage.

‘The department may re-charge land owners for undertaking this work.’

On the plus-side, the deparment said there were some environmental benefits in reducing the cuts which allowed hedgerows to take on a more natural look, to flower and also enabling wildlife to flourish.

The spokesman added: ‘The department no longer has sufficient budgets to proactively remove weeds across the island.

‘However, it has been rolling out a programme of systemic weed killer spraying in towns and villages and along main roads and in Douglas, Castletown, Peel and Onchan it has entered into agency agreements to work through the local authority to undertake that work.

‘It would be of assistance if householders and businesses could remove weeds from outside their own properties where they are physically able and it is safe to do so.

Leonard Singer, the MHK with responsibility for highways in the department, said: ‘We have to recognise that there is simply less money available for some services and the department has faced tough choices in prioritising its expenditure.

‘In this case, while less work will be done, there are environmental benefits to wildlife.’

Waltons Television (Manx) Ltd has announced that a management buyout has been finalised.

Waltons remains locally owned and new owners, Robert and Brian Byers, are pleased with their acquisition and look forward to playing their part in the future of Waltons.

In a statement, they said: ‘We are delighted to be able to confirm that the long serving and valued staff have all agreed to remain and support the company.

‘The core electrical retail business remains unchanged and we will continue to offer the latest technologies from the world’s top manufacturers. We were the first on the island with LCD, first with 3D and now we are first again with the latest Ultra High Definition 4K Television from Sony. This very latest technology features four times the detail of a Full HD TV, the latest Smart features and unbelievable sound. If you are interested in technology please call in for a demonstration.

‘Waltons’ technical facilities will remain open for business as usual. Waltons’ repair facilities are second to none on the island and customers are assured that their equipment will continue to be serviced locally.’

Waltons has been established more than 43 years. The new owners plan to build on the strength with additions to the products and services Waltons can offer. Two new websites have been commissioned and will be online soon. These will offer ‘unrivalled choice and interactive features’.

Waltons says that its ability to offer same day free delivery, fast service, best price guaranteed and easy payment terms is proving popular.

Waltons own finance business remains in-house and will continue to offer the same range of payment facilities, including interest free options.

Many customers may already know Robert, who has been with Waltons for 18 years, and will remain as managing director. His brother Brian, a chartered accountant and partner in local Corporate and Trust Service Provider, Acclaim Limited, will join Waltons as a director.

They expressed their gratitude to the previous shareholders and retiring director for their co-operation in the sale.

Francie Clarkson and Andy Newall are just two of an estimated 100 competitors taking part in the inaugural Isle of Man TT Triathlon this weekend.

Both patrons for the the Help for Heroes charity, Francie and injured paratrooper Andy are taking part in the shorter of the two events, involving a 1.2-mile swim in Douglas Bay, a lap of the TT Course on a bicycle and a seven mile run in the Douglas Promenade/Onchan Head area.

The full-length event involves a gruelling 2.4-mile swim, three laps of the TT Course on the bike and a full marathon distance run of 26.2 miles.

Some competitors could take up to 17 hours to complete the latter event.

Sports editor John Watterson joined Francie and Andy on a training lap round the Mountain Course a couple of weeks ago.

Popular singing ensemble Musicalé, this year celebrating 25 years of music-making, has handed over cheques totalling almost £1,900 to three local causes.

Representatives from Isle of Man Live at Home Schemes, Manx Blind Welfare Society and the Isle of Man Agricultural Benevolent Trust dropped in on a rehearsal to receive the cheques.

Musicalé member and publicity officer Geoff Collier said: ‘Although we’ve performed at a huge variety of venues and events over the last 25 years, the vast majority of our performances tend to be for charitable causes, and we decided this year, to help celebrate our silver jubilee, we’d really push the boat out with our fundraising efforts and help make a difference to some of the causes close to our hearts.

‘So we’ve been holding some really special events this past year to mark this milestone. The £810 we’ve handed over to the Live at Home Schemes was the result of a wonderful musical soirée at The Sound Cafe; we had a fantastic day singing in all 17 parish churches during the first ever ‘Parish Squawk’, in which we raised £675 for Manx Blind Welfare Society; and we really wanted to do our bit for the stricken farmers, so we put together a special concert that raised over £408.

‘We want to thank everyone who has supported and joined us in our anniversary celebrations. Looking at our diaries, we have one of our busiest years ever coming up, so at this rate, the next 25 years will rush by as quickly as the first!’

Our picture shows Musicalé chairman Helen Prescott and treasurer Kathryn Glover alongside Graham Crowe of the Isle of Man Agricultural Benevolent Trust, Jan Farrell from Isle of Man Live at Home Schemes and Ian Cooil of Manx Blind Welfare Society. musical director John Riley, accompanist Jennifer Bird and choir members look on.

Using her ClubMANN card in Shoprite when she bought her Walkers crisps proved to be very lucky for Catherine Kneale as she won an Apple iPad in the latest ClubMANN rewards draw.

There are another couple of ClubMANN rewards draws currently taking place at the moment in Shoprite and Iceland supermarkets.

People who buy Nature Valley Granola Bars will be in with a chance to win a bike worth up to £500. Anyone who buys selected Kellogg’s Special K products to be in with a chance to win a pamper and makeover package worth over £400. Both draws end on July 14. To be entered automatically customers must have their ClubMANN cards scanned in when paying for shopping.

A Viking hoard unearthed by a metal detectorist in a farmer’s field has been declared Treasure Trove.

Seth Crowe, of Bircham Avenue, Ramsey, made the startling discovery at Ballaseyr Farm, Andreas Road, Andreas, over three days in April last year.

First he found a small silver ingot, covered in about 6ins of soil, then nearby a cut rectangular ingot and finally part of a silver brooch.

In a statement read out at a Treasure Trove inquest, Mr Crowe said: ‘I knew I had found something of value, possibly silver.’

He said he had felt proud of discovering something of value and interest and had handed them in to Allison Fox, curator of archaeology at the Manx Museum. Giving evidence at the inquest, Ms Fox estimated the artefacts dated from 930 to 980AD.

She said a very similar silver ingot was found by another metal detectorist at the same location in 2009 and all these items were likely to be part of the same hoard.

Ms Fox explained that ingots like these, which had a silver content above 50 per cent, were used as currency in Viking times. The brooch would have been used as a fastening for a cloak.

The inquest heard that during these turbulent times, the items would have been buried for safe keeping, with the intention of recovering them when the

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danger had passed. For reasons lost in the mists of time, however, they were never retrieved.

Subsequent ploughing of the field had led to the items being separated.

Ms Fox said there were no records of any archaeological sites in the vicinity, the closest being Mesolithic flints and a Bronze Age burial mound, which pre-dated this discovery by 6,000 years and 3,000 years respectively.

Coroner John Needham said that as the items were apparently hidden for safety but never retrieved then they should be declared Treasure Trove, with ownership residing with the Lord of Mann. The ingot found at Ballaseyr Farm in 2009 had also previously been declared Treasure Trove.

He said that it is clear the items are of significance from an archaeological point of view and give an insight into the lives of the people who inhabited this island 1,000 years ago.

Ms Fox said trustees of Manx National Heritage would now decide whether they wished to acquire the artefacts for the national collection. The items will be independently valued and the finder rewarded the market value.

Farmer Leslie Faragher said in a statement he had given permission to John Crowe and his nephew Seth to do metal detecting in the clay dubh field, with proceeds from any finds split following a Treasure Trove inquest.

A Mother and Baby Summer Fair in aid of The Jane’s Big Push takes place on Sunday July 7.

The event takes place at All Saints Church hall, Douglas, from 2pm to 4.30pm.

It’s being advertised as the first time that friendly local service providers will be brought under one roof.

Pregnancy services represented will include: pregnancy massage therapist, pregnancy bump painting, nutritionists, pregnancy yoga, relaxation advice and antenatal personal training.

And baby services represented will include: Organic baby clothes and accessories, mother and baby yoga, Cloth Nappy Network, baby massage and children’s party entertainment. Refreshments will be available.

The Jane’s Big Push campaign is raising money to refurbish two rooms at Noble’s Hospital’s maternity unit into a home-from-home birthing room.

The deadline for submitting 2012-13 personal tax returns is now just over three months away – October 6.

And the Isle of Man Government’s Income Tax Division wants to remind residents about using its online services.

Using Online Tax Services enables people to manage their tax affairs from their own home and avoid the potentially large queues at the Income Tax Division office, particularly in the final weeks before the deadline.

Almost 17 per cent of individual taxpayers already submit their tax returns online.

There are a wide range of existing services which allow people to receive tax returns, assessments, tax codes and letters electronically and calculate their tax liability immediately after completing their online return.

Users can also review their balances, pay their tax bills and receive refunds of income tax overpayments paid directly into their bank account.

People wishing to register should go to www.gov.im/onlineservices and select ‘Income Tax’ where video guides to assist in completion of the registration and enrolment process and their income tax return can also be viewed.

If you’re planning to lodge a petition for redress of grievance at this year’s Tynwald Fair, we’d like to hear from you.

Every Tynwald Day, the people of the island have a right to ask our politicians to look at something that they believe needs to be addressed in law.

We are keen to cover those stories well and, to help us to do that, the earlier you let us know the better.

It means we can get a better understanding of grievances and therefore include a more comprehensive report.

The more publicity your cause gets, the better.

Phone 695697 or email newsdesk@newsiom.co.im

More than £86 million has been spent on lump sum pension payments to public sector workers over the last five years, it has been revealed.

But Alfred Cannan, vice chairman on the Public Sector Pensions Authority, insisted that such lump sum payments to pension scheme members on retirement actually reduced the on-going liability and future costs.

Questions about lump sums drawn from government pension schemes each year since 2007 were raised in the House of Keys by Castletown MHK Richard Ronan.

In his written reply, Mr Cannan revealed that lump sums totalling £86,758,891 had been paid in that period to a total of 1,947 retirees.

Amounts paid out had more than doubled from £10 million in 2007 to £21 million last year.

Highest lump sums ranged in size from £377,730 - paid to a member of the civil service scheme in 2010-11 - to just £3,781 to a Manx Radio employee in 2009-10. In some years, in some of the pension schemes, no lump sums were paid out at all.

But Mr Cannan said: ‘It is worth noting that members taking a lump sum would serve to act in the best interests of the scheme as this will reduce the on-going pension liability, which given current mortality projections, will act to contain future costs.’

He pointed out that the payment system used to extract that information did not distinguish between lump sum payments on retirement and those paid on death in service but it was estimated that about £4 million had been paid in the past five years in relation to members who had died in service.

And he told MHKs that it was not possible to confirm how many retiring members had taken a lump sum compared to those who had not. But it was estimated that about 90 per cent of retiring members take the lump sum where this is an option.

Mr Cannan said it was not possible to predict with any accuracy how much would be payable in lump sums in future years as members can choose the age at which they wish to retire and the PSPA would not generally know which might be contemplating taking early retirement benefits.

Mr Ronan also asked for details of the size of employee contribution for each pension scheme. Figures released in the written reply show the contributions range from 11 per cent for airport firemen to 1.5 per cent for some manual workers.

Mr Cannan pointed out that an individual’s lump sum on retirement is calculated in accordance with the rules of each pension scheme and is based on length of service and final pensionable pay - so someone with longer service and higher pay will receive a higher lump sum. Lowest lump sums paid were likely to be in the £100s.

Before the government’s unified pension scheme was introduced in April last year, lump sum payments were an option rather than provided automatically to members.

Eleven-year-old Ben Batchelor beat the island’s best young sailors, including the current RS Tera world champion Greg Kelly, to win the Isle of Man Youth Dinghy Championship.

Rolling seas and strong westerly winds blowing above 20 knots severely tested the competitors in the six-race series, hosted on Saturday and Sunday by the Isle of Man Yacht Club.

Of the 10 who started race one on Saturday, only five made it to the start line for race two as the conditions proved too much for the younger and less experienced sailors.

Current RS Tera world champion Greg Kelly and Tera Pro Northern champion Ffinlo Wright kept each other honest in their RS Tera Pro dinghies, with the pair rarely separated by more than a few metres.

But despite the conditions favouring the strength and weight of the older sailors, the pair were under constant threat on corrected time from the three smaller RS Tera Sports sailed by Batchelor, 14-year-old Erin Murphy and 12-year-old Patrick Cope.

Batchelor got the better of the Tera Pro sailors to win three of Saturday’s four races in a superb demonstration of heavy weather sailing and fitness, leaving Kelly and Wright fighting for the other podium spots.

The equally impressive Murphy won the other, beating Ben across the line by only two seconds in race two.

With even stronger winds on Sunday, Ben all but guaranteed himself the overall win by winning race five, while Kelly finally managed to beat the Sports to take the honours in the final race and secure second overall.

With four podium finishes and one race win, Murphy claimed a well-deserved third overall, pushing Wright into fourth.

Alongside Batchelor, Murphy, Kelly and Wright, Patrick Cope was the only other sailor to complete every race of the championship- a great achievement by itself given the conditions.

The top seven finishers are all part of the Manx Youth Sailing Squad, who will be representing Team GBR at the RS Tera World Championships next month at the British Olympic venue in Weymouth.

Overall results: 1, Ben Batchelor (RS Tera Sport); 2, Greg Kelly (RS Tera Pro); 3, Erin Murphy (RS Tera Sport); 4, Ffinlo Wright (RS Tera Pro); 5, Patrick Cope (RS Tera Sport); 6, Tony Pitt; 7, Mat Perry; 8, Rory Donegan (RS Tera Sport); 9, Michael Moore (Laser 4.7); 10, Alex Cope (RS Tera Sport)

The controversial decision to introduce a £1 short stay parking fee at the airport has been put back until July 14.

TravelWatch met Department of Infrastructure (DoI) and airport officials on Thursday to discuss the proposed £1 charge.

The meeting, held at the airport, was attended by Infrastructure Minister,David Cretney MHK, DoI chief executive Ian Thompson and airport director Ann Reynolds, along with TravelWatch committee members Brendan O’Friel, Paul Moncaster and Bernard Arrowsmith.

Mr Cretney issued a statement saying: ‘I will be considering all the comments and I will set out my decision by July 14. Therefore the proposed change will not take place on July 1.

‘The airport staff are currently in negotiations with the management regarding staff cost savings of £1.85 million over a three year period, (2013-14 to 2015-16), which will have to be achieved with changes to terms and conditions, working practices and fewer posts.’

Mr O’Friel said: ‘We set out our concerns. These included that we thought the procedure for notifying the public was inadequate; we regretted the imposition of a charge for the first hour; and we stressed the need to provide a designated “short stay” parking area for those meeting passengers, which was close to the airport buildings. The DoI are to consider the points we have made.’

Tesco will make a third bid for an alcohol licence at its proposed Express store in Malew Street, part of Callow’s Yard, in Castletown.

The store’s application for an off licence is due before the licensing court at 10am on Thursday, July 11.

It is seeking to appoint as initial designated officials Debbie Britten, of Orchid Close, Governor’s Hill, Douglas, Karen Slinger, of Cooil Drive, Douglas, and Natalie Marsden, of Harbour Road, Onchan.

A copy of the application and the plans maybe inspected at the office’s of advocate John Wright at John Wright Legal Consultant, Oikyn yn Waag, 16 Willowbrook Gardens, Douglas, phone 611999, 494640 or email thie-awin@manx.net

Anyone wishing to make objection to the application may appear in person, or represented by an advocate, at the hearing providing not less than three days before the date they lodge with the office of the High Bailiff a written outline of their objection and serve a copy on the applicant using John Wright’s address.

Tesco’s first failed bid to secure a licence for the proposed Castletown store was in April 2012 and a second in October 2012 also failed.

Given the great number of licensed premises already in town, the court said it was not satisfied there was a need for another outlet selling alcohol. Tesco commissioned Ashgrove Marketing to carry out a survey of alcohol shopping in the south, which was submitted to the October hearing, but the court dismissed the findings as not ‘credible evidence’ due to its ‘limited circulation’ and it did not ask directly if there was a need for an additional licence.

The store held a private meeting with Castletown Commissioners on June 13 to discuss applying for another alcohol licence. At last week’s local authority meeting, on June 24, commissioners’ chairman said the board will meet – in private – on July 4, to discuss their stance on the store’s bid for another licence. He said: ‘We will need to sit down and discuss it as a board.’

In the past, the authority has expressed concern about the impact of an Express store on established businesses in town, parking and the impact of deliveries on nearby residents.

The town’s MHK Richard Ronan has also raised concerns about the impact on the town’s other businesses and the police are concerned about another licensed premise attracting anti-social behaviour to the area.

Members of the public seem split on whether a Tesco Express store would be good or bad for the town. Some have said it will create jobs and give greater choice; others are worried about the impact on other traders.

Mark Cavendish and Peter Kennaugh safely nogotiated their way through Sunday’s second stage of the Tour de France in Corsica.

After the chaos of Saturday’s stage - http://www.iomtoday.co.im/sport/cycling/chaos-for-cav-in-france-1-5810990 - the second day of this year’s Tour de France was a much more traditional affair featuring an early breakaway and a tense finale.

A group of four riders broke clear of the peloton early on and stayed out in front for the majority of the stage until they were caught late on.

Another break formed in the final few kilometres, featuring Cav’s team-mate Sylvain Chavanel and Jan Bakelants of RadioShack-Leopard amongst others, and briefly looked like it would stay clear until the end.

But the group disintegrated within the last kilometre and instead Bakelants went solo and took victory just metres ahead of the fast-charging Peter Sagan and Cav’s team-mate Michal Kwiatkowski in third.

Davide Cimolai of Lampre Merida took fourth while Peter Kennaugh’s Team Sky colleague Edvald Boasson Hagen rounded off the top five places.

Having worked hard for yellow jersey hopeful Chris Froome, Manxman Kennaugh crossed the line in 83rd place while Cav - who along with previous leader and stage one winner Marcel Kittel was dropped off the back of the peloton - came in more than 17 mnutes in arrears.

Monday’s stage is another mountainous one not ideally suited to Cav, a trek 145km from Ajaccio to Calvi, before the Tour heads to mainland France for a time trial around Nice on Tuesday.

The island’s air links are to be cut back again.

Today’s Isle of Man Examiner reveals that British Airways is to reduce its service to London City Aiport.

The paper has reaction from customers and asks the government about the issue.

The main story on page one is a report about a plan to cut the benefits of the long-term unemployed by placing them on work placements with ‘social enterprises’.

Inside, there’s more on the airport charges and cost-savings at Ronaldsway.

Further inside, we learn that the Post Office is also being targeted for radical changes.

We also find out how the roadworks on Peel Road are faring. {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/disruption-for-80-weeks-1-5368387|You might remember that originally it was forecast to take 80 weeks to complete the job}

Also inside, the police say that any cut in their budget could hit their effectiveness.

The main story on the back page is about Mark Cavendish and the chaos that hit the Tour de France on Saturday.

The island’s favourite paper is in the shops now