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Westmoreland Village


0bserver

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4 minutes ago, 0bserver said:

Wouldn't it make more sense to build some key worker accommodation up by the Hospital, maybe on the Ballafletcher sports ground?

There’s already a lot of hospital accommodation there. And there was key worker housing on Strang Close.

The specific brief of MDC  seems to be Brownfield.. There’s a need for a large amount of key worker, social housing, first time buyer housing in town and out of town. Any development should be a mix. 

I think I’d be happy with a location at Westmoreland Village, not so sure about Ballafletcher/Strang. 

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1 hour ago, John Wright said:

There’s already a lot of hospital accommodation there. And there was key worker housing on Strang Close.

The specific brief of MDC  seems to be Brownfield.. There’s a need for a large amount of key worker, social housing, first time buyer housing in town and out of town. Any development should be a mix. 

I think I’d be happy with a location at Westmoreland Village, not so sure about Ballafletcher/Strang. 

Fair points. I hope they just crack on with this and get it built. 

 

 

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3 hours ago, John Wright said:

Does MDC ( or Government for that matter ) own the whole site?

I know they own the Nurses Home, the old school, the old Jane, and I think they may  own the 1930’s detached and two pairs of semidetached on the corner of Westmoreland Road/Kensington Road ( they were built for Doctors at Nobles but I’ve a niggle going on that they got sold off ).

It includes James Caine’s, the warehouse behind, the car repair and tyre place behind that and 40 lock up garages.

John  they are busy  negotiating with the  rest of the property owners on the overall site  ,but I did hear  the 1 st Douglas scout hall was being rebuilt  elsewhere on the site  as part of the development  the james caine and Tyre, and motorcar repair business will need to be relocated , non conforming use with housing , but I cant understand the office  development  part unless it for someone in Government  , it will all come out in the wash ! if not we might see some compulsory purchase orders ,if the developer who ever it is is serious about the scheme 

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2 hours ago, 0bserver said:

Wouldn't it make more sense to build some key worker accommodation up by the Hospital, maybe on the Ballafletcher sports ground?

Yes, which is why they're not. 🤣 Keith Lord must be happy at the unexpected windfall

Unless... it's a public private partnership and KL is the developer. Then DFE grant money could apply. Win win.

Edited by english zloty
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1 hour ago, Omobono said:

John  they are busy  negotiating with the  rest of the property owners on the overall site  ,but I did hear  the 1 st Douglas scout hall was being rebuilt  elsewhere on the site  as part of the development  the james caine and Tyre, and motorcar repair business will need to be relocated , non conforming use with housing , but I cant understand the office  development  part unless it for someone in Government  , it will all come out in the wash ! if not we might see some compulsory purchase orders ,if the developer who ever it is is serious about the scheme 

Perhaps to avoid putting affordable housing on the site. As it is no longer fully residential or by extension residential use. 

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9 minutes ago, english zloty said:

Yes, which is why they're not. 🤣 Keith Lord must be happy at the unexpected windfall

I’m sure there are some who will be jumping up and down in anger, at the thought of property/landowners making money at the expense of the taxpayer. 
 

IOMG/MDC chose to start this development, in the heart of Douglas Town Centre. They could have started at Park Road Site, which is IOMG (taxpayer) owned, so would need to buy additional land. Also there were probably plans for the original development proposed years ago, sheltered accommodation and FTB etc. This site is surrounded by residential properties, nursing homes, shops and takeaways. There is also ex Fairfield School which is ripe for development. I suppose the Westmorland Road scheme is the Guinea pig, and others will follow if this scheme can pass off without delays or over budget. 

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1 minute ago, 2112 said:

I’m sure there are some who will be jumping up and down in anger, at the thought of property/landowners making money at the expense of the taxpayer. 
 

IOMG/MDC chose to start this development, in the heart of Douglas Town Centre. They could have started at Park Road Site, which is IOMG (taxpayer) owned, so would need to buy additional land. Also there were probably plans for the original development proposed years ago, sheltered accommodation and FTB etc. There is also ex Fairfield School which is ripe for development. I suppose the Westmorland Road scheme is the Guinea pig, and others will follow if this scheme can pass off without delays or over budget. 

Like the old Nurses Home you mean? That's going well. Not.

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Just now, english zloty said:

Like the old Nurses Home you mean? That's going well. Not.

You have a point, but unfortunately we don’t get to make the decisions or even influence policy. The Housing Messiah, Minister Thomas is the expert, trumping Professor Ashford, and he is in charge.

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11 minutes ago, english zloty said:

Yes, which is why they're not. 🤣 Keith Lord must be happy at the unexpected windfall

Unless... it's a public private partnership and KL is the developer. Then DFE grant money could apply. Win win.

Well key workers or in fact anyone would probably rather live in town centre where there’s plenty of shops, bars, public transport etc. The hospital site has nothing much nearby & the buses don’t even go there at night once visiting hours finished.

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