'Sad' central government had to step in at Northern Civic Amenity Site

DOI Minister says situation opens up questions about function of local authorities

The infrastructure minister says she finds it 'sad' that her department had to step in at the Northern Civic Amenity Site.

It was set to close in just two weeks' time, citing funding issues associated with Bride Commissioners pulling its financial contributions.

From April, the Department of Infrastructure will take over the facility from the NCAS Committee and — subject to final contract — Ramsey Town Commissioners will operate the site on its behalf.

You can find more details on that HERE.

The Chair of Ramsey Commissioners, Rob Cowell, said he was 'extremely grateful' to the entire northern community for 'seeing the value' of the Northern Civic Amenity Site, but was critical of the input supplied by MHKs in Ramsey and Ayre and Michael.

'We respect local authorities and their ability to run their services. In this case it proves that they're not able to run their service, and the sad consequence of that is it feeds into the discussion about "what are local authorities for, what are their functions and how are they governed?"' - Infrastructure Minister Michelle Haywood.

Minister Michelle Haywood has also refuted suggestions that MHKs 'stepped away' from the situation:

It's understood  Bride Commissioners has agreed to continue paying into the site, though the amount of contribution hasn't yet been disclosed.

You can listen to the full interview with the infrastructure minister via Newscast below: