The winning candidate in the Douglas East by-election says he is realistic about what he can achieve in the 10 months before the general election.

But one issue Jon Joughin is determined to tackle is the number of ‘missing’ voters - down by about 1,000 in his constituency since he last contested the seat in the 2010 by-election.

Former Douglas town councillor Mr Joughin emerged victorious last week with the narrowest of margins, receiving 159 votes. Clare Bettison secured 146 votes, Richard Falk 145; Geraldine O’Neill 131; Cat Turner (Lib Van) 108; John McBride 90 and Kurt Buccholz 75. Turn-out was 30.51 per cent.

Mr Joughin said: ‘I really didn’t think it would be that close. It’s testament to the good candidates that stood. They all did extremely well.’

He said the 30 per cent turn-out was not bad for a by-election, especially given the atrocious weather on polling day.

The new MHK for Douglas East said he did not blame the turn-out or the number of candidates for his low winning tally of votes. Instead he blamed the large drop in the number of registered voters, down from 3,800 in 2010 to 2,835.

This follows changes to the voters’ list which means that householders are no longer automatically retained on the register. Mr Joughin lost his seat on Douglas Council when it emerged he wasn’t on the electoral register. He insists he posted his form but it was never processed. He said in the short time before the general election he was going to tackle the issue of missing voters.

Mr Joughin said he will stand at the next election and until then he will focus on protecting front line services and the vulnerable.

He said in times of austerity, public trust in politicians had been eroded and he wanted to help rebuild that trust.

Chief Minister Allan Bell said it was a concern that the winning candidate secured his seat with so few votes. He said: ‘Douglas East has always faced a challenge in the sense that turn-out in elections has been consistently lower than every other constituency. The bad weather on Thursday was also a problem and having seven candidates meant the vote was always going to be split.

‘I congratulate Mr Joughin on his success. He only has a short time in office before the general election and I hope he finds the job interesting and a challenge. I hope he will be able to make a constructive contribution. The winning candidate secured less than 6 per cent of the eligible vote. That has to be a concern. But that is no reflection on Mr Joughin whatsoever.’

The Isle of Man, it seems, is a nation of tea lovers!

This is according to Mark Davison who with partner Jason Larrosa, is expanding the island’s ‘first dedicated tea shop’ to meet spiralling demand from customers.

‘We have been overwhelmed at the support we have had since we opened The Tea Junction in May but it’s meant that we have had to turn down bookings, especially at the weekends,’ says Mark, who was previously IT manager at law firm Appleby for 15 years.

The Tea Junction in Castle Street, Douglas is now expanding into the ground floor of the Chocolate Box but at the same time retaining its original seating arrangement on the first floor.

‘We will now be able to cater for up to 55 diners and keep up with customer demand,’ said Mark.

‘At the same time we are taking the opportunity to expand our menu slightly in readiness for winter with the likes of porridge, baked potatoes, bagels etc.’

When it comes to customer demand for tea then English Breakfast is way ahead of the runners up which are the flavoured black and green teas.

Mark said: ‘Sales have also increased for our packaged loose leaf teas while the demand for cakes has meant that our pastry chef is now full-time. Healthy eating has also had an impact with customers turning to freshly prepared salads.’

He added: ‘In the near future we would like to trial opening in the evenings so we can offer theatre goers a place to meet before enjoying a show at the Gaiety Theatre.

‘Apart from the 22 loose leaf teas which are available we also do a full range of Barista coffees along with our infused gins, other spirits and wines; there is something for everyone, whatever the palate.

‘In opening the Tea Junction six months ago our objective was to create a unique setting in the heart of Douglas and we like to think we have achieved that.

‘The business has exceeded all expectations. Neither Jason nor I had any experience in the catering industry and looking back it was a real risk to leave a well paid job to go into the unknown.

‘There are definitely no regrets and we are delighted to have had 106 Trip Advisor reviews (91 excellent and 12 very good) which has kept us at the number one spot for places to eat in Douglas.’

Stephen Oates donated to £570 to M.E. Support (IoM) after completing the Tough Mann Challenge in two hours and 23 minutes.

M.E. Support (IOM) supports people suffering from M.E. (Myalgic Encephalomylitis) or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

This is a serious long term neurological disease which typically affects highly motivated fit young adults.

In its most serious form, it leaves people house bound or bed ridden for many years.

Stephen said: ‘When we first moved over to the island my mother was branded lazy or accused of having “Yuppie Flu”. It’s good that ME is recognised a lot sooner now but I also understand the problems of support.’

The Bath and Bottle cocktail bar in Victoria Street in Douglas has launched a new cocktail with part of the proceeds going to Manx Cancer Help.

The £8 cocktail is made up of whiskey, lemon, honey, ginger and herbs, and £1 from the sale of each can, called ‘Mann-Up’, will be donated to Manx Cancer Help’s ‘Mann Up for November’ campaign.

The ‘Mann Up for November’ campaign asks people to grow moustaches or beards throughout November and raise sponsorship money for the charity.

The charity would like to see photographic evidence of people’s efforts during the hairiest month of the year, and is inviting everyone to share photos of their facial fuzz on its Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages, accompanied by the hashtag #MannUp.

Participants are welcome to raise funds via a JustGiving page or sponsorship forms which can be requested from Manx Cancer Help, or by donating directly to www.manxcancerhelp.org.

Planning consent has been given for American coffee chain Starbucks to set up an outlet in Douglas.

Crema Limited has been given planning approval to convert retail premises on the corner of Victoria Street and Duke Street into a coffee shop.

The building was previously home to Harmony Homes and the Java Lounge, and before that Gelling’s.

It is only a few yards down Victoria Street from rival chain Coffee Republic and not far from Costa on Strand Street.

Planners approved the application (15/01029/GB), which includes blocking up the existing entrance door and replacing it with a new one, subject to certain conditions.

No customers can be served, or remain within the building, outside 7am to 7pm on weekdays, 8am to 7pm on Saturdays or 9am to 6pm on Sundays.

Crema Ltd, based in Strand Street, Douglas, has also applied for planning consent to install illuminated Starbucks signs on the front, side and corner of the building (15/01152/D).

It has also applied for approval for outdoor seating areas on Duke Street and Victoria Street.

Rumours have been circulating for over a year that Starbucks was planning to set up shop in the island.

Confirmation finally came last month when the planning application for the illuminated signage was submitted.

The Chief Minister has branded a private members’ bill to give communities a greater say in planning policy ‘a Nimbys’ charter’.

He said Malew and Santon MHK Graham Cregeen’s bill was ‘one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation the Keys have discussed in a long time’.

Mr Cregeen, who was given leave to introduce his bill by 12 votes to 10 in the House of Keys last week, argued that there had been many situations where planning has been forced on communities.

He told MHKs: ‘People are fed up of having planning done to them. They want to have their say in what they want our communities to look like.

‘Neighbourhood planning gives communities direct power to develop a shared vision for their neighbourhood and shape the development and growth of their local area. They are able to choose where they want homes, shops, offices to be built, have their say on what the new building should look like and what infrastructure should be provided.’

But Chief Minister Allan Bell told the Examiner: ‘We have worked over the last year to develop a new economic strategy with proposals to cut through red tape and stimulate more economic growth. Part of that strategy is growing the economically active population to counterbalance the ageing demographic and bring sustainability to state pension provision.

‘The proposals contained in this private members’ bill will inhibit our ability to develop the island in terms of new housing. They are counter to everything we have tried to do. It’s one of the most dangerous pieces of legislation the Keys have discussed in a long time. It’s a Nimbys’ charter.’

He said the proposals for communities to draw up a neighbourhood plan and secure the consent of local people in a referendum were ‘hopelessly unrealistic’ in a small jurisdiction.

In the Keys last week, Mr Cregeen insisted his bill did not mean having multiple planning authorities. He said he had spoken to two of the major builders in the island and the Construction Forum and had not had any objections so far. He promised there would be full consultation with developers and local authorities.

But Environment Minister Richard Ronan MHK said he sometimes wondered whether he was sitting in the national parliament ‘or in the village of Royston Vasey watching a sketch of the League of Gentlemen – local plans for local people’.

He added: ‘These proposals are ill thought out and lack any detail aside from basically copying a system which has only been partially rolled out across England with a population of 54 million, unlike our population of 86,000.’

The acronym Nimby stands for ‘not in my back yard’.

Douglas Council says its tenants shouldn’t face an increase in rent this year.

It is to recommend to the Department of Infrastructure that there be no increase in social housing rents for the 2016-2017 financial year.

Tthe department, which makes the decision, sought local authorities’ views on proposed rent increases for public sector housing and said that the introduction of means-tested rents would be deferred until a cross-governmental means-testing policy had been identified.

Housing committee chairman Councillor David Ashford said: ‘Over the past five years there has been an accumulative rise in social housing rents amounting to some 42 per cent.

‘That, combined with changes in the benefit systems which has led to some payments not covering the full amount of rent, has resulted in some tenants experiencing genuine financial hardship.

‘The council has long been a proponent of means-tested rents in order that the most vulnerable are protected and those who can afford more pay more of a market rate.

‘Regrettably the Department of Infrastructure’s current stance does not support the council’s view, so at present we have no mechanism for off-setting the very real financial problems caused by steep rent rises some of our tenants are facing. What’s more, those problems are compounded by changes to the points system and to the criteria for benefit eligibility.

‘Were the department to apply a further, say 5 per cent, rent increase for 2016-2017 many of our tenants either on fixed incomes or affected by the benefit changes would find it even harder to manage than they already are.

‘Means-tested rents would be the solution, but as the department has yet to introduce such a policy, the council is recommending that there be no rent rise for the coming financial year.

‘Many tenants are already struggling to balance their household budgets and the council believes no caring society today should count among its community public sector housing tenants faced with the agonising decision: “heat or eat?”’

Council leader Councillor David Christian said: ‘As the island’s largest housing authority, with a streamlined and experienced housing service, the council has long maintained it is sufficiently well resourced to manage its own housing stock and ultimately to set its own rent levels.

‘But that day has yet to come and so the council, sensitive to the financial pressures being placed on some of its tenants in the absence of a rents means-testing policy, is seeking to work in partnership with the department to reach an equitable outcome. The council is firmly of the opinion that the solution, if only in the short term, is that rents be frozen for the coming financial year.’

The Isle of Man’s role as an offshore finance centre will come under the spotlight on television following a Welsh town’s experiment in how to avoid paying UK tax.

Independent traders in Crickhowell, led by the salmon smokery, the local coffee shop, the adventure clothes shop, the optician, the book shop and the bakery, adopted practices used by multi-national giants such as Google and Starbucks in a protest bid to move their entire town ‘offshore’.

Shopkeepers in the Powys market town submitted their own DIY tax plan to UK tax authorities, copying offshore arrangements used by global brands such as Caffé Nero, which critics claim has not paid corporation tax in the UK since 2008 despite recording sales worth £1.2bn.

A BBC2 documentary following Crickhowell’s tax rebellion show four of the traders visiting the Isle of Man, where a parent company of Caffé Nero is based.

They say other towns in the UK could follow their example – and their aim is to force Treasury to crack down on loopholes that allow multinationals to pay little or no corporation tax.

Exact details of the tax avoidance scheme have been kept under wraps but is said to involve shifting intangible assets to the Isle of Man and setting up a trading arm in the Netherlands.

Chief Minister Allan Bell MHK insists the island does not encourage aggressive tax planning.

Jo Carthew, who runs Crickhowell’s Black Mountain Smokery, said: ‘We were shocked to discover that the revenue generated by hard-working employees in these British high street chains isn’t declared. We do want to pay our taxes because we all use local schools and hospitals but we want a change in the law so everyone pays their fair share.

‘Until now, these complicated offshore tricks have only been open to big companies who can afford the lawyers’ fees. But we’ve put our heads together and worked out a way to mimic them.’

She added: ‘It’s a threat to the government because if they don’t act this could be rolled out to every town. Everything we have proposed is legal.’

Local baker Steve Askew said the traders never intended to put their tax plan into practice but use it as a way of embarrassing the UK government and big businesses into taking action.

He said: ‘Any right thinking person accepts we have to pay taxes. When people can’t accept is the injustice.’

Russian-born Irena Kovaleva of Crickhowell Optometrists, who has lived in Wales for 15 years, said she had embarked on the project out of curiosity. ‘Why is the government not doing more?’ she asked.

HMRC has responded to Crickhowell’s initiative by pointing out that extra funding has been made available to crack down on multinational tax avoidance. UK Chancellor George Osborne has pledged to introduce a Google Tax designed to discourage large companies diverting profits out of the UK to avoid tax.

Chief Minister Allan Bell said: ‘The Isle of Man has been very closely following international standards to prevent aggressive tax avoidance and evasion.

‘We work closely with the UK tax authorities and no way encourage this type of behaviour.

‘The Isle of Man economy pumps billions of pounds into the UK through the City of London and indeed wider with, for instance, investment in Merseyside through Manx companies like Peel Holdings.’

The BBC2 documentary The Town that Went Offshore, presented by Heydon Prowse, co-creator of BBC3 series

The Revolution will be Televised, is due to be screened next year.

The user names of online gamers could say more about their personalities than they realised, according to researchers.

Psychologists at the University of York discovered that those using profanity in their choice of pseudonym might exhibit anti-social behaviour when interacting with other players.

The researchers, who studied the records of people playing the battle game League of Legends, say their findings could provide evidence of autism, sociopathy or addictive personality.

The developer of League of Legends, Riot Games, provided 500,000 data points for the analysis. The anonymised data contained user names, information on the in-game behaviour of players and the reaction of other gamers – the latter from the post-match ‘Honour’ and ‘Report’ feedback each player can file. The study is the first to use this method to examine player interaction in a multiplayer online battle arena game.

Prof Alex Wade, who led the research, said: “We found that people who have anti-social names tend to behave in an anti-social way within the game. Younger people behave poorly and older people less so.

“This data is like a window on individual players’ personalities so we believe that we might be able to use video games as a way of testing people’s personalities.”

PhD student Athanasios Kokkinakis added: “We think this is just the tip of the iceberg – these massive datasets offer an unprecedented tool for studying human psychology across the globe.”

Firefighters tackled a blaze at Douglas’s main bus depot last night.

They were called at about 10.20pm to a report of smoke billowing from the roof of the facility Bank Circus, Douglas.

The report came from a bus driver noticed smoke coming from the vent situated on the roof.

Acting Leading Firefighter Gareth Gawne, instructed his staff to find the boiler room of the premise and to isolate any heating systems that were switched on.

His initial thoughts were that the smoke appeared to be coming from the flue on the roof with his suspicions being that it was a fire contained within the metal flue itself.

Once the boilers were isolated the smoke issuing from the flue reduced considerably so the aerial ladder latform was used to investigate more closely the roof area and the flue.

Using a thermal imaging camera the firefighters confirmed that the fire was put out and that the cause appeared to have been a build-up of soot within the flue which had ignited.

The area of fire was contained within the flue and no other area of the roof had been involved.

An internal inspection of the roof void was also undertakento ensure that that there had been no breakthrough from the flue and that the roof void was clear of any signs of combustion.

A driver who attempted to perform a three-point turn in front of an on-coming motorcycle has been found guilty by a jury of causing death by careless driving.

The jury of five women and two men took less than a day to decide James Ricketts from Derbyshire was guilty of the offence.

Neil Walker, a 43-year-old joiner and retained fireman from Ramsey was riding his motorcycle north on the Laxey coast road when the accident happened near to the Bulgham Rocks on August 6 last year.

Ricketts is due to be sentenced later.

A food business development manager has been appointed with a remit to open doors to new markets for Manx produce.

Andrew Lees, who takes up his post this month, was formerly manager of the Tesco store in Douglas – which still does not stock Manx meat.

Tesco stopped selling Manx meat in 2012 after it raised concerns about auditing standards and the physical state of the Meat Plant at Tromode.

Eleven months later, the supermarket giant gave approval to stock Manx meat again. But within six weeks, Isle of Manx Meats said it was ‘unsustainable’ to continue supplying the store due to the small volumes involved and substantial bespoke costs of preparation.

Environment, Food and Agriculture Minister Richard Ronan MHK said Manx meat would return to Tesco ‘as and when the standards they require are met’.

He said: ‘There are standards to meet and we have to meet them. They want their food packaged to a certain standard. We want to get Manx produce on supermarket shelves in other areas too and we are not just talking about supermarkets.

‘I know the Meat Plant has been going through a period of change. They are certainly much more focused now and more efficient.’

Mr Ronan said the appointment of a food business development manager will be vital to the growth of the food and drink sector.

He will play a key role in delivering ‘Food Matters’, the strategy to grow the value of the Isle of Man food and drink industry by £50m over the next decade.

The strategy, unanimously approved by Tynwald, sets out how the industry will innovate, diversify and be more competitive, with the supply chain strengthened.

Mr Lees worked for supermarket giant Tesco for 27 years, during which he oversaw the opening and refitting of several stores. He managed the Douglas store for six years.

Mr Ronan said: ‘Andrew’s appointment is an important milestone as we strive to ensure Isle of Man food and drink makes an even greater contribution to the economy.

‘Andrew recognises the importance of the relationship between producers, retailers and customers and how local food helps our economy.

‘He will help us grow Isle of Man food and drink by using his experience in developing new markets. He will assist producers by helping them build relationships with retailers, wholesalers and the hospitality sector, on and off the island.’

Andrew said: ‘I am looking forward to working with some of the most innovative food producers I have ever seen, as well as retailers and wholesalers who actively support and encourage local sourcing.’

Rushen Twirlers were delighted to receive a donation of £500 which will help them to buy tracksuits and other equipment.

The donation to the baton twirling group came courtesy of Union Mills-based First care, whose director Tracey Hudson said: ‘We recognise the fantastic opportunities afforded throught children’s activities such as the Rushen Twirlers and their involvement within the community.’

Hansard International, the island based long term savings and investments provider which is part of the FTSE listed Hansard Global plc group, has made a number of key appointments.

The idea is to support its core strategic objective to ‘build long-term relationships with independent financial advisors (IFAs)’.

The appointments build on the momentum of the significant work that has been achieved by global sales and marketing director Graham Morrall and his team in securing terms of business with over 100 new IFAs in the past three years. Hansard has looked to experience in introducing five new faces to its sales and marketing team, bringing a wealth of industry experience to support its’ existing and future IFA relationships.

l Isle of Man based Norrie Little, sales development manager said: ‘Before deciding to join Hansard I was at Zurich International for 21 years, during which time I held a number of senior management positions within operations, propositions, sales and finance, including a two-year period living and working in Hong Kong. I have been appointed to the role of sales development manager to support Hansard’s desire to grow our relationships with our IFAs over the long-term, expand into new territories and to maximise the value of our existing customer base.’

l Ed Alderson, sales development manager (Latin America) said: ‘I have recently moved from Friends Provident International where I joined the industry in 2003.

‘After working across a number of operational roles, I joined the sales team in February 2008, working with distribution partners across a wide number of regions, with a primary focus on developing business relationships in Latin America since June 2014.

‘Having joined Hansard as sales development manager for Latin America, my role will focus on nurturing new and existing distribution partners across Central and South America from a base in our Isle of Man head office, I will be travelling to the region on a regular basis to discuss our current proposition and establish new opportunities.’

l Michael Wrigley, head of sales (South East Asia)said: ‘I moved to Hansard International from Standard Life International, where I was sales director responsible for IFA distribution in Singapore.

‘I’ve been in the life insurance industry for 18 years and was previously head of expat sales for Zurich International in Singapore and also managed the North East Asia region whilst based in Hong Kong. I started my career with Royal Skandia (now OMI) based in the Isle of Man.

‘I’ve been brought in to expand Hansard’s IFA business through my existing networks by increasing focus on Hansard’s product proposition and ensuring high quality service delivery to our partners.’

l Island based Maria Santodomingo Lorente, account executive, existing business said:’Prior to joining Hansard I was at Friends Provident International from 2008 working as part of the Latin American team before moving into sales operations as a proactive sales support for Latin America. I went on to join Hansard in 2013 as relationship manager and recently started within Hansard development team as account executive for existing business with the main desire to grow our existing business, develop Hansard as a whole and support the company with their future business plans.’

l Tommy So, head of business development (North East Asia) said: ‘I was previously the senior sales manager at Zurich International Life in Hong Kong for almost six years with strong focus on IFA distribution and other strategic projects including fund propositions and marketing events. Most recently I was vice president at Superfund Financial in Hong Kong, an Austrian based CTA fund manager, responsible for business development in Hong Kong.’

Pictured is Sarah Radcliffe from Hospice’s fundraising department with Mark Reynolds of egaming company Newfield Ltd.

The local company and many of its staff enjoyed a lovely golf day recently at Douglas Golf Club raising funds for Hospice Isle of Man.

The shotgun start was at 1.30pm with two of the Hospice volunteers taking part.

There were prizes for various parts of the competitions. All competitors received a goody bag from the company, which raised £2,190 for Hospice.

The new Baillie Scott wing of the Isle of Man College threw its doors open to visitors recently to show off its new facilities.

Among the guests at the open afternoon was Education Minister Tim Crookall who said the new facilities would mean the next generation of craftsmen would be even better equipped for the workplace.

‘Encouraging more young people down the route of vocational qualifications, and learning a trade, will reduce unemployment, with the obvious economic advantages,’ he said.

The first stage of the £4.9 million investment saw the old water treatment works on Glencrutchery Road converted into a new centre for engineering and motor engineering.

This vacated enough space in the main building to accommodate plumbing, painting and decorating, joinery, electrical installation and bricklaying trainees all together in a new bespoke teaching area as part of phase two of the scheme.

The new area has facilities to simulate real building sites, industrial workplaces and houses for students to practise on. Previously training in this area was distributed across three sites.

Mr Crookall welcomed guests from the construction industry for the tour of the new teaching area which is used by full-time trainees as well as those completing apprenticeships and working part time and pupils from secondary schools who are studying for both vocational and academic qualifications. The investment in the new wing means more pre-apprenticeship trainees and school pupils can be accommodated.

In addition, the improved facilities mean the college will continue to offer oil and gas installation training and assessment, promoting best practice in line with latest legislation requiring oil and gas installers to be registered.

Mr Crookall told visitors: ‘A high quality built environment boosts the reputation of the island as a place to live and do business and reinforces the message that we have a thriving economy.’

He added: ‘The workshops will also allow new environmental technology to be incorporated into the curriculum for plumbing and electrical installation students.’

The College used the creation of the facilities as a ‘real life classroom’ for those learning their trade, the Minister went on, with students contributing their skills where appropriate.

The building is named after Mackay Hugh Baillie Scott (1865-1945), the acclaimed architect who studied at the Isle of Man School of Art.

Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne has agreed to publish an apology written by him to the clerk of Onchan Commissioners over the wording of a controversial advice note.

The apology makes it clear that an investigation by his department found no major wrong-doings by Onchan Commissioners.

Onchan MHK David Quirk is demanding answers about the private and confidential advice note, written in January last year to the then DoI Minister David Cretney by the department’s chief executive Nick Black.

The note followed an investigation into the closure of the squash courts at Onchan Park, which shut in 2010 when the lease was awarded to a dance school.

Onchan Commissioners insist the matter is now closed. But Mr Quirk, acting on behalf of constituent Rae Hamilton, who claims there was a conflict of interest, has written a series of letters demanding answers.

The commissioners are taking legal advice over those letters, with claims that their contents are ‘disrespectful, abusive, threatening and exceeded the power of the MHK’.

The 2014 advice note concluded, under a section relating to the allegation of ‘major wrongdoings’, that the awarding of the lease had been ‘disorganised’, the tender process ‘poorly conceived’ and there were concerns about confidentiality.

In January this year, Infrastructure Minister Phil Gawne MHK wrote to commissioners’ clerk Malcolm Hulme apologising for the use of the words ‘major wrong-doings’.

A copy of the letter, heavily redacted, has now been supplied to the Examiner.

It states that Mr Cretney, while ‘fundamentally disagreeing that there was any breach by Onchan District Commissioners to discharge its function’, had made an attempt to bring closure to the matter by asking the DoI to undertake an independent review.

Mr Gawne wrote: ‘I will place on record that I agree with former Minister Cretney that this was the right course of action for the department to take.’

He said he understood the department sought not to involve the commissioners in the investigation process in order to conclude matters more swiftly.

But the use of the term ‘major wrong-doings’ had failed to bring a swift conclusion – and instead unduly contributed to the protracted letter writing.

Mr Gawne said the term ‘major wrong-doings’ was intended to simply paraphrase the words used by the complainant.

‘It is clear that the department had not established that there had been any major wrong-doings by the commissioners,’ the Minister wrote.

He concluded: ‘The department was seeking to act with the best intentions of both itself and the commissioners in an attempt to bring a swift conclusion to this matter.

‘I do accept however that this has not happened and that the insertion of the words “major wrong-doings” into the advice note has unduly contributed to the protracted letter writing received both by the department and the commissioners since the advice note was prepared. To that end, I apologise on behalf of the department.’

An ambitious plan to build a five-bedroom house on the site of the disused swimming pool at Traie Meanagh in Port Erin gained the cautious support of the local authority last week.

The plan (15/01138/A) by Steve Bradshaw is to demolish the existing structures and construct a new retaining wall and platform to support the residential house.

The former swimming pool has been derelict since 1981 and has become an eye sore attracting much criticism. Attempts to develop it - latterly as a hotel and marine haven -have not reached fruition.

Last week, commissioners’ clerk Jason Roberts said: ‘Residents have voiced concerns about lighting along the footpath (that it would be too instrusive). A key aspect is the development does require parking, within the application at the top of the broughs there are parking spaces. Also the public right of way needs lighting. There are instabilities (of the bank) that need to be checked.

‘The application says it is an “in principle” application, planning said it’s detailed so is not “in principle”.’

Phil Crellin said: ‘I have concerns about the logistics and legal constraints we might have to enter into. Regarding the footpath, someone is spending millions of pounds and then decídes the footpath is private, I want a cast iron agreement that’s not going to happen.’
He added he would like to see a ‘detailed construction plan and how will they protect the path while they construct the building. I want details about the stability of the footpath and drive for the moving of materials down to the site and how they are going to do that. They plan to crane it in, can Traie Meanagh Drive hold that? And residents do not want that (a crane) there for months. We also need more detail about the proposed car parking and how they will work that.’

Commissioners’ chairman Nick Watterson joked: ‘How do we collect the bins? In a force 10 in February?

He added: ‘It’s great if all these things were right, we could end up with a feature building that could become a tourist attraction itself, something you wonder at.’

Mr Crellin said: ‘There seem to be concerns. We are not objecting to the style and mass of the building but we want more detail and assurances before it goes ahead, they could build it and we find the footpath is closed for two years.’

He proposed they raise no objection to the building but request a building report and guarantees in advance; he was seconded by Barbara Guy.

The needs of the Crown Depenencies should be considered in the debate over the UK’s referendum on EU membershio.

That’s the message from Chief Minister Allan Bell who said the Crown Dependencies must not be considered ‘collatoral damage’.

He said the Manx government is keeping a close watch on the debate about the UK’s future relationship with the EU and confirmed work is already well underway to assess the potential implications for the island if the UK referendum results in a vote to leave the EU.

The Isle of Man sits outside the EU but its ‘Protocol 3’ agreement, negotiated via the UK, allows free trade in agricultural and manufactured products.

Mr Bell said as we are not part of the UK nor of the EU we cannot expect to be included in the referendum.

UK Prime Minister David Cameron last week issued a shopping list of four demands for reform of the EU. Mr Bell said there was no question that the EU had to change but the relationship between it and the Isle of Man ‘on the whole has been beneficial’.

He said: ‘We are remaining vigilant in terms of the progress of this debate and any potential impact on the Isle of Man.’

Mr Bell said government was looking at possible effects of a UK exit on the different sectors of the island’s economy, public services and legal and constitutional matters. ‘Our initial assessment will be completed before spring, and the Council of Ministers has agreed that the report should be made public. A more detailed impact assessment can only be undertaken once we know what the UK’s new relationship with the EU might be.’

The Manx Independent’s lead story today is about fears that people might be leaving the island because of the extra charges that most people face.

Also on page one is the story that Tynwald members will have to pay to park outside work in central Douglas.

This weeks paper also includes:

Defendant treated insomnia with cannabis

Jail for man who lay in the road

Island remembers terror attack victims

Total bill for the TT World Series

The latest concerns about the state of the Castle Mona Hotel

A look forward to tonight’s Isle of Man Newspapers Awards for Excellence

Community service after ABH attack

Man found guilty of careless driving after causing death

Police heard drink driver crsh

Local authority powerless to act against derelict properties

Quirk faces questions about Manx Gas charges

Picture special at the Ramsey Christmas lights switch on

An app that can tell you all about the coast from the Sound to Port St Mary

Our Memory Lane feature looks at Willston School as it celebrates its 60th birthday. Do you recognised anyone in the photos?

Bernard Moffatt talks about the Isle of Man’s ‘make-believe independence’ in this week’s column

Rushen Players to stage award-winning play

Isle of Man Symphony Orchestra to play popular programme at Villa

A funny Nativity play in Ballabeg

Review of Stewart Francis’s show

The latest from the island’s musicv scene in Steve Leach’s Manx Sound Exchange

Nicola Tooms talks about learning Manx

Pullyman’s 100th column

Taster sessions in ‘walking netball’

Two pages of What’s On

Your seven-day television guide

Two pages of readers’ photos

Jamie McCanney’s Enduro victory - we hope!

Bronze for cross country star Gail Griffiths

David Higgins in Wales Rally GB

A look forward to the weekend sport

The paper is in the shops now.

The paper is in the shops now.