‘Westmoreland Village’ development approved despite ongoing resident concerns

Planning committee gives green light to major Douglas scheme, but affordable housing deal is yet to be finalised

A significant housing and regeneration project in Douglas has been approved by the Island’s planning committee, despite continued objections from local residents and unresolved questions over land ownership.

The Westmoreland Village scheme, brought forward by the Manx Development Corporation (MDC), will deliver 133 new homes – including apartments, townhouses, and a senior living block – on the site surrounding Crookall House on Demesne Road.

The proposals also include four commercial units, a new scout hut and community pavilion, as well as the refurbishment and extension of Crookall House for office use.

Planning approval has been granted by a narrow margin, with three committee members voting in favour and two against.

This is the second time the planning application has been approved. It was first given the go-ahead in early 2024, but returned to the committee after technical matters relating to affordable housing, open space provision, and financial contributions towards road maintenance required clarification and formal agreement.

Approval has now been given subject to a legal agreement being signed, which would secure the provision of affordable housing and address complex land ownership issues.

Under the terms of the proposed agreement, MDC has offered to sell the freehold of Block E – a 45-unit section of the site – to Douglas City Council to be converted into public sector housing.

This exceeds the affordable housing requirement of 33.25 units, which was increased to 42.25 units due to a prior housing commitment linked to MDC’s nearby Thie Clag development.

However, Douglas City Council has yet to formally commit to the purchase, and the agreement cannot compel it to do so.

The project is being marketed as ‘Westmoreland Village’, with the aim of creating a neighbourhood where residents’ daily needs can be met locally within a 10-minute journey.

Planners say the scheme is in line with modern principles of sustainable development and will help regenerate a key brownfield site in the Island’s capital.

However, the application continues to face strong opposition from some nearby residents.

Objectors say the scale of the scheme is excessive and warn that it will worsen existing parking problems in the area.

“It is a false premise to assume that people will not have vehicles as specified in the application,” one objector told the committee.

“Vehicles will have to go somewhere and these will spill into areas that are already overflowing.”

Concerns were also raised about the density of the development and the fact that MDC does not currently own all the land included in the proposed site.

Mr Moore, an objector who spoke in person at the hearing, called for the application to be “rejected or at least adjourned”, warning that the development risked being “over-intensive at the heart of the community”.

Planners believe the concerns raised were not new and had already been considered, and maintained that the recommendation to approve subject to the amended conditions should stand.

Committee members stressed that the development cannot proceed unless the conditions set out in the legal agreement are fully satisfied.

These include finalising land access and acquisition arrangements, and formalising the affordable housing provision.

Chair of the Planning Committee, Onchan MHK Rob Callister, was absent from the meeting.

Those with Interested Party Status (IPS) now have the opportunity to appeal the decision.

This marks the second major project set to be undertaken by the Manx Development Corporation, an arms-length government company set up in 2021 to redevelop brownfield sites.

Its first scheme – the £11 million redevelopment of the former Nurses’ Home on Westmoreland Road – was completed and opened earlier this month (May) and named 'Thie Clag', providing 37 energy-efficient apartments.