Douglas began the new rugby season with a bang beating Sefton 34-21 away from home in South Lancashire/Cheshire Division One on Saturday.

The Port-e-Chee outfit also secured a bonus point after running in four tries.

Paul Leivers, Rob Todd, Ben Webb, Guy Wood and Mark McGee all crossed for tries with Luke Hyland adding three conversions and a penalty.

Vagabonds lose out at Moore

Vagas first foray in the new Cheshire (South) Division saw them lose 43-28 in a high-scoring game at Moore.

The Ballafletcher outfit did, however, run in four tries and therefore picked up a useful bonus point.

Josh Carine scored two of Vagas’ tries, with the others coming from Ekong Bell and Rob Leece. Aidan O’Shea and skipper Leigh Kennaugh kicked one conversion each.

Ramsey beaten at Heaton

Ramsey’s came away empty handed from Heaton Moor when they lost 35-16 in their opening fixture in Cheshire (South). Tries from skipper Dan Bonwick and Craig Long, plus two penalties from Scott Kneale were insufficient to attract any bonus points.

Saturday’s results

South Lancashire/Cheshire Division One

Sefton 21-34 Douglas

Cheshire (South)

Heaton Moor 35-16 Ramsey

Moore 43-28 Vagabonds

Mark Cavendish was denied victory in the opening stage of this year’s Tour of Britain by the narrowest of margins on Sunday.

The first stage of the week-long race departed from Beaumaris on Anglesey and heading through several Welsh counties before ending in Wrexham.

The 177.7-kilometre stage had been expected to end in a bunch sprint but it was far from straightforward as an early four-man breakaway very nearly managed to stay clear of the chasing peloton, before finally being caught just 1.4km from the finish.

As the sprint unfolded, Etixx Quick-Step’s Mark Renshaw led out out Cavendish perfectly, delivering the Manx Missile to the finish where he went toe-to-toe with Team Sky’s Elia Viviani.

In the end it came down to a mere bike throw to the line between the two and, after a review, the victory was awarded to Viviani by mere centimetres.

The Aviva Tour of Britain continues until Sunday when it finishes on the streets of London.

Peel residents will get the chance to quiz the candidates hoping to become their next MHK tonight (Monday).

A requisition meeting will be held at 7.30pm in the Corrin Hall, in the grounds of St German’s Cathedral, ahead of Thursday’s by-election.

The town’s previous MHK, Tim Crookall, won a seat in the Legislative Council earlier in the year, leading to a vacancy in the town.

Independent candidates Leslie Hanson, Ray Harmer and David Pownall, and Liberal Vannin’s Penny Hardman are contesting the seat.

The candidates are expected to outline their policies before taking questions from the floor.

A similar meeting is taking place in respect of the Glenfaba by-election, where David Talbot and Geoffrey Boot are the candidates to fill the seat vacated by David Anderson, who also won a seat in the Legislative Council.

Foxdale Church will host the Glenfaba meeting, starting at 7.30pm.

Voting for both elections takes place on Thursday (September 10).

Peel residents will be able to cast their vote at polling stations situated at the Corrin Hall and Centenary Centre, in Atholl Street, between 8am and 8pm.

Glenfaba will have three polling stations, also open from 8am to 8pm: St John’s Methodist Hall in Main Road; St Paul’s Church in Mines Road, Foxdale; and Glen Maye Methodist Church.

In the 2016 general election, in 12 months’ time, the constituency boundaries will change - Peel and Glenfaba will merge and return two members.

Peel by-election candidates on why they deserve your vote

Glenfaba by-election candidates on why you should vote for them

Isle of Man Newspapers’ Awards for Excellence is not just for the large high profile local companies – just ask Segway!

There are 16 award categories at this year’s Awards for Excellence, offering opportunities for companies of all sizes, as well as public sector teams, charity and cultural organisations, and individuals.

Segway was the winner of last year’s award for Small Enterprise of the Year. The company impressed the judges with its innovative approach, succeeding in making the Isle of Man the first place in the British Isles where Segway use is permitted on publicly-owned land.

The company uses this environmentally efficient means of transport to provide its customers with opportunities for fun and adventure and a unique way to tour some of the island’s loveliest landscapes. In addition, they developed a range of events, including an obstacle and skills course for corporate team building and the night time Fright Glider tours, in which the company joins forces with Isle of Man Ghost Tours and local drama students.

So how has it gone for them since winning the award?

We caught up with Jason Larrosa who set up Segway with colleague Mark Davison.

Jason said: ‘The Awards for Excellence brought us a lot of awareness and a lot of recognition and we do believe that this contributed to Segway’s sales being significantly up this year – our largest rise ever.’

Proving that winners never stand still and rest on their laurels, Jason has been busy this year opening a second enterprise – The Tea Junction, in Castle Street, Douglas, which is also proving to be very successful.

He said: ‘We are thrilled to bits: it’s exceeding all our expectations.’

There are full details of all 16 award categories at this year’s Isle of Man Newspapers’ Awards for Excellence, and entry forms to download at www.iomtoday.co.im/afe

Work is expected to close a road in Ramsey for months.

A redevelopment scheme will start next week to ‘ensure it is capable of meeting traffic requirements for the next 40 years’.

The work includes reconstructing the failing carriageway on Bircham Avenue, upgrading the drainage system and resurfacing the footways.

The Department of Infrastructure scheme will get under way on Monday, September 14, and is expected to take 31 weeks to complete. The scheme will require the closure of Bircham Avenue due to depth of excavation and width of the road.

Work will be phased in order to maintain access for residents and traffic management will be in place to help minimise any potential disruption.

The main routes into Ramsey’s commercial centre and quayside via Lezayre Road will not be affected.

Businesses in the vicinity of the scheme will remain open and access will be maintained for customers.

The department’s highway services division says the 200-metre section of road on Bircham Avenue, between its junctions with Lezayre Road and Poyll Dooey Road, is in urgent need of full reconstruction.

The carriageway has been identified as being nearing the end of its operational life and is providing motorists with a poor ride quality.

During work on the highway, Manx Utilities will install a large water trunk main, while the drainage system will be upgraded to improve highway drainage on Lezayre Road as well as Bircham Avenue.

Footways will be re-kerbed and resurfaced, while new tactile crossing points will be installed to assist pedestrians.

Traffic lights will be in place for approximately 8 weeks at the junction of Poyll Dooey and Station Road while the drainage and outfall works are completed in partnership with private sector contractors.

The option of opening the gate at Greenlands Avenue was considered as a way of easing any build-up of traffic on Lezayre Road during the closure of Bircham Avenue. However, this has been discounted on safety grounds because of the proximity of the gate to Bunscoill Rhumsaa.

John Houghton MHK, the politician responsible for highway services, said: ‘Bircham Avenue needs to be redeveloped as a matter of priority and this scheme will greatly enhance the carriageway. The opportunity is also being taken to install new service mains and make essential improvements to the drainage system.

‘I’d like to thank the residents of Ramsey in advance for their cooperation and understanding while this important work takes place.’

Port St Mary lifeboat was launched to assist an injured fisherman on board a queenie scallop dredger on Sunday.

The lifeboat was launched at 4.15pm. It reached the vessel, Amelia, which is based in Port St Mary, at 4.50pm.

The coastguard helicopter – from Carnarfon – was already at the scene having arrived minutes before the lifeboat.

The rescue was complicated by the fact to lift and lower things most safely on and off the helicopter, a vessel must be moving.

Second coxswain Mick Kneale said: ‘As the (scallop) boat was drifting, it could not steam. For the helicopter to work well it has to be going. They asked us to steam at 10 knots and the winch man was lowered on to the lifeboat.’

Two lifeboat crew members accompanied the winch man on to the fishing boat and attended to the casualty ‘who was alert and conscious’.

The helicopter used a highline to drop down a stretcher to the lifeboat, which again had to be under steam.

The stretcher was moved to the fishing boat and then – once it contained the casualty, who had been hit by a heavy block – had to be transferred back to the lifeboat.

This was a particularly tricky manoeuvre as the fishing boat has high sides and the sea was choppy.

Once on board the lifeboat, again they had to steam and a highline was again sent down by the helicopter. The winch man and stretcher with the casualty were winched on board and it flew the fisherman to Noble’s Hospital.

He casualty had multiple broken bones and it is understood the casualty has since been transferred to Alder Hey hospital in Liverpool.

The lifeboat was back in Port St Mary at 6.25pm.

Stobart Air has signed a deal with Flybe to operate a number of flights out of Ronaldsway.

Two Stobart 72-seat ATR turboprops will operate alongside Flybe’s own aircraft on the Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester routes and will fly all scheduled services on the Stansted route.

A Flybe spokeswoman insisted that passengers would see little difference.

She said: ‘Flybe can confirm that it has secured a white label deal with Stobart Air to operate two Flybe-branded 72-seat ATR aircraft out of the Isle of Man.

‘The aircraft will operate alongside those of Flybe’s 78-seat Bombardier Q400 aircraft on the airline’s Birmingham, Liverpool and Manchester routes; and operate on Flybe’s behalf, all scheduled flying to and from London Stansted.

‘The on-board passenger experience and in-flight service will not differ from any other Flybe operated flight, apart from the fact that the aircraft type is different and passenger announcements will refer to ‘a Flybe flight, operated by Stobart Air’.

Stobart Air already operates Aer Lingus Regional flights between Ronaldsway and Dublin.

The company has been recruiting cabin crew for its new services.

Sayle Gallery’s photographer in residence Henry Uniacke is embracing the elements in his current exhibition.

‘Element’, which opened at the Douglas gallery last week, consists of more than 30 photographs by Henry that combine the pure landscapes of the island, with abstracted rock forms and seacapes and responses to his series of Turneresque seascapes by guest painters Jelena Benson and Stephen Thompson.

Since moving to the island a year ago, Henry has moved away from his more familiar style of people in landscapes as a response to his new environment.

‘I moved into a fisherman’s cottage on Peel seafront where you just can’t ignore the elements; sand gets through the smallest gaps in the cottage every time there is a storm,’ he explained.

His new works reflect the way he is ‘looking at both the compositional form and the way the elements of nature have formed them’.

Henry, raised on a farm in Sussex, has lived for the past 10 years inland, in both Oxfordshire and Prague.

‘I missed the sea and the sea air,’ he admitted.

‘I remember observing how in the still air of the continental Czech climate, a leaf would drop from the tree and remain when it fell, just decaying a little each year.

‘On the Isle of Man, the prevailing wind shapes even the trees.’

Henry primarily uses traditional photographic techniques, avoiding all but the essential post processing.

But the former solar engineer and physics teacher has included some novel techniques, including extracting colour from black-and-white film negatives.

‘This works particularly well with the expanse of the Manx landscapes and the mists, which absorb parts of the light spectrum, affecting crystal growth and giving the images some colour, reminiscent of hand-tinting,’ he said.

The exhibition, supported by the Isle of Man Arts Council, continues at the Sayle Gallery until September 27.

Time is running out to submit entries for the Young Musician of Mann 2015.

The contest is open to all young instrumentalists under 19. Performers will play a maximum 10-minute recital at the Erin Arts Centre on October 11.

The final takes place on November 15, when the Malcolm Dickinson Memorial Prize will be presented.

The deadline for entries is September 25.

For an entry form, call 832662 or email information@erinartscentre.com

Schoolchildren will get the chance to develop their computer skills thanks to a new computer bus.

The converted Code Club bus has been fitted with state of the art computer and project equipment and was launched this week.

The former Manx Gas Conversion Bus, donated to the project by Manx Gas, will be operated by the Manx ICT Association (MICTA) and the Code Club, in conjunction with the Department of Education and Children.

Kurt Roosen, boss of the MICTA, said: ‘The bus will visit schools around the island, providing a vital resource in helping schools deliver the ICT curriculum.’

The Isle of Man Code Club provides a focal point for people of all ages to develop their coding skills, share their knowledge and experience and teach others how to utilise today’s technology.

The Manx ICT Association has acted as the trade association for ICT companies in the Isle of Man since 2010 and is now expanding to develop all aspects of the ICT sector.

The Steam Packet transported the bus for free to and from Blackpool so it could be fitted with the computer equipment.

Kurt said: ‘I’d like to thank the Steam Packet Company for its support in helping us bring this project to fruition.’

Chief executive of the Steam Packet, Mark Woodward, said: ‘The Code Club bus is a great initiative, offering children a superb facility in which to develop their ICT skills.

‘We were delighted to help assist in bringing the bus from the UK and look forward to seeing it in action around our schools.’

New rules drawn up to ensure there is no repeat of a scandal-hit by-election come into force later this month.

The new laws, which aim to improve the transparency and integrity of the election process, will take effect one year ahead of the next general election on September 22, 2016.

But they will not apply to any by-elections to the House of Keys taking place before the general election.

They aim to prevent a repeat of the 2010 Douglas East by-election scandal, in which candidate and television chef Kevin Woodford’s campaign had financial backers whose identities were secret.

Mr Woodford’s campaign manager, Charles ‘Buster’ Lewin was later jailed for conspiring dishonestly to secure proxy votes for Mr Woodford, conspiring to steal and conspiring to forge a document.

The Amended Representation of the People Act include new provisions relating to ‘prospective candidates’ for the general election – anyone who publicly declares their intention to stand.

From September 23 a person who is or becomes a ‘prospective candidate’ cannot spend more than £2,000, plus 50p per registered elector in the constituency, on their campaign overall, to avoid undue influence on the election process.

Chief Minister Allan Bell said: ‘This is not a heavy handed approach. It recognises the concerns about the need for greater transparency.’

Candidates should keep a record of their spending in case any complaint is made after the election that they have spent too much. They also have to keep a record of donations received worth £50 or over, to support the declaration of donations election hopefuls must make before polling day.

They must not retain any donation given anonymously and must refuse support from a political party that is not registered under the Act.

The amended Representation of the People Act includes changes recommended by an independent review following the Douglas East by-election, as well as amendments arising from a public consultation.

Royal Assent was announced in July this year.

E-gaming has outstripped individual areas of financial services for the first time as the largest single sector in the Manx economy.

The latest report on national income has confirmed we have entered a fourth decade of unbroken economic growth.

Gross domestic product reached £4.32bn in 2013-14 after real growth of 4.5 per cent during the year.

Chief Minister Allan Bell said that while the report is for the 2013-14 financial year, all the indicators showed that the economy is continuing to grow.

He said: ‘This was the biggest increase in annual GDP since 2008, the year of the credit crunch.’

Key results from the report show that growth in GDP of 6.1 per cent, or 4.5 per cent in real terms (compared to 3.2 per cent in 2012/13).

Gross National Product, the other measure of national income, grew by 6.7 per cent, or 5.1 per cent in real terms (compared to 4.8 per cent in 2012/13).

The report reveals that Information and Communication Technology and e-Gaming were the main drivers of growth during the year, growing by 58 per cent and 30 per cent respectively in real terms, with e-Gaming overtaking insurance as the largest single economic sector.

E-gaming now has a 16.7 per cent sector share, while insurance is 14.6 per cent, banking 7.7 per cent and other finance and business services 10.1 per cent.

Mr Bell said this showed the success made of efforts to diversify the economy away from finance. He said this had stopped the island going into recession - in contrast with Jersey, which remains far more heavily dependent on financial services and has now been in recession for five years.

The Chief Minister said the report also reflected a strong recovery in the construction sector, which has seen real growth of 17 per cent compared with 2012/13.

However, retail and tourist accommodation both contracted significantly during the year. The Mount Murray Hotel was closed in November 2013 following a devastating fire. It is now up for sale.

The report can be read at www.gov.im/categories/tax,-vat-andyour-money/national-income/

The Ministry of Defence has admitted that a Royal Navy submarine was responsible for damaging Irish trawler about 18 miles off the Calf of Man in April.

The nets of the 60-foot wooden hulled trawler, the MV Karen, were snagged by the sub in April.

The crew of the vessel were not injured during the incident but it was estimated that repair costs would be upwards of £10,000.

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{http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/trawler-skipper-talks-of-lucky-escape-after-boat-pulled-by-submarine-1-7214298|Flashback: See our report of the time}

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In a written statement to the House of Commons, the Armed Forces minister Penny Mordaunt said: ‘The Royal Navy has now confirmed that a UK submarine was, in fact, responsible for snagging the Karen’s nets. The incident, the delay in identifying and addressing the events on that day, and their consequences are deeply regretted.

‘It is standing Ministry of Defence (MoD) policy not to comment in detail on submarine operations but, exceptionally, I can say that this incident occurred because the submarine did not correctly identify the Karen as a fishing vessel with nets in the water, and thus did not give her the berth she would otherwise have had.

‘Moreover, had the submarine been aware of the incident at the time, which it was not, then the protocols in place under the code of practice for submarine operations in the vicinity of fishing vessels would have required the submarine to surface and remain on scene while the matter was investigated.’

Boxer Mathew Rennie is into the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Youth Games 64kg division after victory in his quarter-final tie this morning.

The Manx ABC man defeated Ropati Potoa Hall from hosts Samoa to guarantee himself a bronze medal and tee up a last four bout against a Scottish opponent.

Swimmer Niamh Robinson nearly grabbed the island’s first medal of the Games, as she finished 4th in the 100m breaststroke final.

Fellow swimmer Alex Bregazzi set another new senior Island Record in the 100m free to win the B final and finish 9th overall.

Sadly athlete Catherine Reid has had to withdraw from the final of the 400m. Catherine picked up a slight injury during her semi-final heat. She saw the England physio and he advised her to do a very short and restricted warm up to see how she felt. The 17-year-old did that but the pain was too much and she had to withdraw.

Archer Charlotte Harris was ranked fifth after the first day in the individual competition and has qualified sixth for the mixed pairs semi-finals. Harris has paired up with a New Zealander in the pairs and they have been renamed ‘New Mann.’

More in Thursday’s Manx Independent.

A major route on the approach to Douglas will be closed at night from next week to allow a road improvement scheme to take place.

The A1 between Quarter Bridge and Braddan Bridge roundabout will be closed between 6.30pm and 5am from Monday, September 14, to Saturday, September 26.

The Department of Infrastructure scheme involves resurfacing.

A statement from the DoI said: ‘This work is necessary to enhance the ride quality of the road and to address issues with standing water, which create a safety hazard for motorists as well for the TT and Festival of Motorcycling.

‘Overlaying the road will resolve these problems and extend the life of the highway.

‘Work recently took place to renew the footpaths between Quarter Bridge and the entrance to Douglas Rugby Club’s Port-e-Chee ground. Higher kerbs were installed in order to allow for the road overlay.

‘Further kerbing and footway improvements are being carried out from the rugby club to Braddan School.’

The alternative route will be via Saddle Road where parking will be suspended between its junctions with Vicarage Road and the New Castletown Road throughout the duration of the work.

An unprecedented number of accidents within a few seconds of each other in the closing stages of the Manx Grand Prix Senior race left officials with no choice but to stop the race.

Manx Motor Cycle Club chairman Harvey Garton said five incidents occurred on the last lap of the race – all of them on the mountain section within a few miles of the finish.

‘Everything suddenly happened at the same time and so a decision was made that the race should be red flagged to make it safer for everyone, including the marshals trying to sort it all out,’ Mr Garton said.

In addition to the two rescue helicopters brought in specially to cover the races and practices, a third belonging to the DHSC was also used. The two remaining casualties were less seriously injured and did not require transport by helicopter but, with resources at full stretch, the race was ended early.

Clerk of the course Phil Taubman said he could not recall a similar situation ever occurring in the past. An event spokesman said occasionally the DHSS had made use of the race helicopters in the past but there were no plans to draft in extra airmed cover.

Speaking on Friday at the riders’ presentation evening at the Villa Marina, Mr Garton described this year’s event as ‘one of the most stressful I can remember’, after early practice sessions were curtailed or cancelled by unsettled weather conditions and IT problems on Wednesday, which delayed the Junior race and shunted the Lightweight and Supertwins to Friday morning.

Friday’s Senior race was won by Malachi Mitchell-Thomas, with Rob Hodson second and Andrew Dudgeon third.

David Taylor, who crashed at Brandywell and Peter Symes who came off at the 33rd Milestone were both described as critical after Friday’s Senior race and Mr Taylor, an IT worker who lived in Sheffield and achieved podium finishes in two previous Manx Grand Prix, later died from his injuries.

Mr Garton described him as ‘a well respected person and rider who was liked by all’. He had competed in the Manx from 1996 to 2012, then missed two years because of work commitments, returning this year to ride in the Junior and Senior races.

The other three riders involved in Senior race incidents were Martial Mourra (Mayhill), Donald Gilbert and Andy Farrell (both Creg-ny-Baa). They were all later reported as discharged from hospital or expecting to leave hospital soon.

A statement issued by race organisers at the weekend gave a condition report on riders injured earlier in the event. Yvan Cardona (Cruickshanks) was described as critical, Ken Davis (13th Milestone) was comfortable, Chris Dowling (Sulby Bridge) was comfortable, as was Jason Brewster (Goosneck). Sjak Van Dijk (Sarah’s Cottage) has been transferred to the Netherlands and John Tucker, who was injured during the vintage parade lap, has been discharged from hospital.

Manx Grand Prix newcomer Dennis Hoffer died after an incident near the 13th milestone during qualifying on August 26.

An Isle of Man based gambling company is tasting victory in a battle to buy a rival group for £1.1bn and it could mean jobs being created at the island head office, a spokesman told Business News.

AIM-listed GVC Holdings had spent five months battling with rival 888 Holdings for the Gibraltar online betting company Bwin.party.

GVC’s registered office is at Milbourn House, St George’s Street,Douglas, and is a multinational sports betting and gaming group.

A spokesman for GVC told Business News that the Douglas office is currently only temporarily staffed for when board and shareholder meetings are held there.

But he said the huge deal to buy Bwin.party will effectively ‘triple the size of the company.

‘As a result it will require permanent staff [at the Douglas office]

‘So this will be a real opportunity to build and enlarge the Isle of Man office with secretarial and finance personnel.’

He could not put a figure on how many staff would be needed to man the office.

GVC’s flagship brands which it owns include Sportingbet.

Bwin - whose brands include Partypoker, Partycasino and Foxy Bingo – had originally agreed to an offer from 888, worth about £900 million, before GVC fought back.

Bwin has now abandoned the approach from 888 Holdings and accepted GVC’s £1.1 billion offer, something it said was ‘fair and reasonable’.

Bwin said the GVC deal provided millions of additional value compared with the 888 bid.

Kenneth Alexander, chief executive Officer of GVC, said: ‘GVC is the natural partner for Bwin.party considering our strong sports betting and online gaming pedigree.

‘Sports betting is in our DNA and leveraging GVC’s experience of successfully acquiring and restructuring online gaming businesses, notably Sportingbet in 2013, we look forward to merging the two operations to deliver long term value for combined shareholders.

‘GVC has been working closely with Bwin.party’s management and has identified many talented individuals with whom it looks forward to working to ensure the future success of the enlarged business.’

This has been the latest in a series of high profile moves within the gambling industry.

Earlier this year betting firms Ladbrokes and Gala Coral unveiled a long-awaited deal to create a £2.3bn gambling giant.

And only last week Business News reported that Paddy Power, which has a staffing presence in the island, is involved in a proposed merger with Betfair. The impactof this move in the Isle of Man is as yet unknown.

A public inquiry starting on September 28 will look at the Strategic Plan for the long-term development of the use of land in the island.

The Chamber of Commerce and Tynwald agree that inward migration is essential to sustain the Isle of Man’s economic grown by providing businesses across all sectors with the skilled employees they need.

So, housing is a big issue.

However, Chamber of Commerce chief executive Jane Dellar has some serious concerns about the data on which the Strategic Plan is based.

She wrote about it in the Isle of Man Examiner.

The draft Strategic Plan – like all planning processes – has to be based on sound, accurate data.

The Plan is fundamentally about housing, and population projection is one of the most important, perhaps the most important, inputs.

Therefore, if the projected population input data is unreliable then it brings into question the Strategic Plan as a whole.

When the Plan was originally drafted, it was based upon the best available population figures available from Government’s Economic Affairs Division and used the Government’s Population Projection Model.

This involved feeding in base year data and then operating on these figures by applying various adjusting factors to take the data forward in time.

These factors are fertility rates, mortality rates, net immigration levels and immigration age profile.

Each of the adjusting factors as used within the model is open to questioning.

But the principal concerns must surround the immigration assumptions because these are absolutely critical given the levels of immigration, and their variability, experienced on the island over a long period of time.

It is this criticality that leads Chamber to call into question the adoption of the immigration assumptions in the projections for housing demand in the draft plan without there having been an examination of their validity.

In this regard the implicit assumptions about the age distribution of the migrant population are as relevant as the absolute numbers being assumed.

Any such examination could not avoid but consider the relationship going forward between immigration and the island’s economic performance, its changing economic structure, and its attendant prospective labour requirements.

Tynwald has unanimously supported one of the Chief Minister’s key objectives for economic growth which is to increase the island’s working population by 500 to 1,000 people per year to achieve the targets set out in Vision 2020. However, as it stands, the Draft Strategic Plan assumes that Government’s inward migration targets will not be successful. Chamber has raised this matter with the Strategic Plan Inspector on the basis that the population projections are not consistent with the jobs growth envisaged in Vision 2020. Unfortunately, our request that the figures be reassessed was rejected.

We acknowledge that any projection of population growth and its broader impact on the economy – no matter how carefully it is calculated – will be subject to a degree of uncertainty. However, we strongly believe that the Draft Strategic Plan should be based on (and support) Government’s aims and objectives for growth in jobs and, therefore, population too.

Isle of Man Chamber of Commerce members are from businesses which represent around half of the private sector workforce on the island.

As the biggest business network here we are always eager to support and encourage Government initiatives which we believe will benefit the economy.

After all, promoting the continued prosperity of ‘IOMPLC’ is in everyone’s interest. But there are occasions when we have to openly challenge Government – and this is one such occasion.

The Strategic Plan is a vitally important document and will form the basis of policies which will affect everyone on the Island, and have a huge impact on the potential for economic growth. In essence, it is a building block which will form part of the foundations of the society which the current policy makers hand over to the next generation. We can’t build these foundations on guesswork, which is why Chamber feels so strongly that the population projection data used as the basis for the Strategic Plan needs to be questioned.

We believe that it is essential for the Economic Affairs Division to update the population projection to be fully consistent with the stated aims of the Council of Ministers and Tynwald.

Chamber will continue to lobby Government about this issue.

Details of an event billed as the Isle of Man’s first technology summit was announced today. (Tuesday)

Wi-Manx, part of the Elite Group, will host the gathering next month. (October).

The company says the summit will showcase and introduce new technologies to island businesses and provide professionals with the opportunity to learn about new and innovative technology from leading industry experts.

It says the event will bring together industry expert speakers, business leaders and technology professionals for a ‘breakthrough inaugural event that has been designed to boost the adoption of best of breed technologies in the Isle of Man’.

A spokesman said: ‘Highlighting the wealth of advanced technologies available on island for businesses to consume, the overarching theme of the event is enhancing operational risk management and those attending the event will leave equipped with the knowledge and experience required to protect against internal threats, external threats and business down time while hearing the latest on the taxation of the digital economy.

‘Welcoming professionals from all areas, the event’s seminars will appeal to all of those involved in the technology decision making process because of the varied scope of topics covered across the afternoon from compliance planning and data governance to business continuity and the taxation of cloud revenues.’

Held at the Villa Marina in the Royal Hall on Tuesday, October 27, from 2pm to 5pm, organisers say the event will focus on giving business the tools they need to protect and better themselves.

Kate Hegarty, director at Wi-Manx said: ‘Managing cyber security and operational risks is a highly complex challenge for businesses; the Tech Summit will expose island companies to the intelligent technology available to assist with protection against evolving threats.

‘Wi-Manx are committed to innovation and the continual investment in technology, the Tech Summit will showcase some of these technologies but also give attendees invaluable insights and knowledge from high calibre industry speakers.

‘We are very proud to have EY supporting the summit as a Gold Sponsor; this reinforces the importance of the event and the message that all the services your business needs are right on your doorstep.’

The Isle of Man Tech Summit will be split into seminar streams, each delivered by leading industry experts.

EY will focus on cyber security and tax implications of moving to the Cloud, while software giant Varonis (a Silver Sponsor of the event) will offer key insights about internal threat management and The Elite Group, will cover back up and recovery.

There will also be opportunities for attendees to network and gain invaluable insight from experts in this industry.

Alistair Stennet, executive director, Taxation at EY said: ‘We are delighted to be supporting the event. The summit comes at a great time given the mission-critical nature of data in nearly every aspect of a modern enterprise; organisations are facing not simply an escalating risk, but the near-certainty that they will suffer a cyber-security breach’.

In a recent study conducted by EY, 28 per cent of polled finance professionals stated that they were most likely to see the biggest threat emanating from external hackers, but significant proportions also saw threats coming from technical systems vulnerability (23 per cent) and employees (21 percent).

The Isle of Man Tech Summit will equip island businesses with knowledge and tools they need to prepare against cyber security threats whilst balancing cost, risk and value.’

Anyone who wishes to attend can visit www.wimanx.com/iom-tech-summit to find out more and register to attend for free.

A visiting motorcyclist who died in an accident on the mountain road suffered massive blunt force trauma, a court has heard.

The inquest on Lewis Clark, a 22-year-old chef from Pontefract in West Yorkshire. was opened and adjourned by coroner John Needham.

Mr Clark was riding on the mountain road near to the Black Hut when the accident happened on August 30. A post mortem examination by pathologist Dr Christopher Clague found Mr Clark died as a result of injuries to his head and body consistent with a motorcycle accident. He had also suffered burns, the court was heard.

Mr Clark’s body was formally identified by his mother Beverly Clark.

The accident, which happened at about 1.30pm, closed the mountain road. Workmen from the Department of Infrastructure worked through the night carrying out repairs to the surface before racing, scheduled for Bank Holiday Monday morning, was able to take place.

Coroner John Needham said the proceedings were limited to time place and cause of death and formally identifying Mr Clark, whose body could then be released to his family.

The conclusion of the inquest, when detailed witness statements will be considered and the coroner will reach a formal verdict, will take place at a later date which is still to be fixed by the court.

Proceedings were adjourned in the meantime.