Temporary parking plan at Summerland site rejected

Proposals to use the site of the Summerland fire disaster as a temporary car park have been rejected by planners.

The Department of Infrastructure had proposed that 32 existing parking spaces on the Douglas site, on King Edward Road, could be used for 18 months to tackle a shortage of spaces in the area.

The site was home to the Summerland entertainment complex before a fire claimed the lives of 50 people in August 1973.

Rejecting the proposals, committee member Matthew Warren said he thought it was "insensitive" to propose the site be used for parking temporarily.

"It is scrubland, and will never improve as a temporary car park," he said.

The site has remained empty since 2005 when a replacement entertainment complex was demolished.

In 2019, it was used temporarily for parking until 2020, and has been unused since

Chairman of the committee Rob Callister said the government department had "shot themselves in the foot" by not following government policies, which dictate that planning approval should not be given for brownfield sites to be used as temporary car parks.

Fellow committee member Adele Betteridge said: "The site has been derelict for a long time, I think there could be good usage for parking, but the policy is clear about temporary car parks."

In the planning application the Department had argued that the proposals would enable parking for local businesses, residents and passengers for the horse trams and Manx Electric Railway, as the existing offering in the area was "insufficient".

But the long-term plan was to see development on the site, the application had argued.

However, the planning officer who recommended refusal argued that the plans could have a "detrimental impact" on future uses of the site, and would have an "adverse visual impact."

For several years, campaigners have called for a memorial to be created on the site of the former entertainment complex, rather than the nearby Kaye Memorial Gardens.

The committee unanimously rejected the proposals.

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