Summerland site to be sold

After years of trying to find a use for the former Summerland site, the Department of Community, Culture and Leisure is to sell the land.

Two rounds of tendering for the site hasn't produced a scheme which Minister David Cretney says will be value for money, and so the department will apply for planning permission for residential use.

It's a turnaround for the site on King Edward Road, as previously the government had said it would be used for leisure or tourism facilities such as a TT museum, a leisure complex or a hotel.

Mr Cretney says his department will sell the site on the open market without restriction, and planning permission for residential use would add to its value.