Port St Mary Harbour Appeal

[Ripsaw]

PSM's strengths other than being close to the sea are it's proximity to the airport and the Sound and it's (relative) distance from the urban cosmopolitan sprawl that we know as Douglas while being served by half decent connections to the rest of the Island.

 

I was reading a document [edit] earlier this evening in which a selection of businessmen discuss their love for Ramsey, but bemoan the decision to drop the plan for Ramsey Marina and how it would have created a focus point that would have helped inward investment.

 

There is no disputing that developments can have an adverse effect on the enviroment and local wildlife, but if all sides are prepared to listen and talk to eachother then compromises can be found that benefit all interests.

 

The National Geographical Channel show a series called "Megastructures" and I believe that they are showing the documentary next Monday (3rd April) about the building of Palm Islands in Dubai. In the documentary it draws attention (albeit briefly) to the concerns of Enviromentalists, some of the mistakes that manifested themselves during the construction and how they were overcome.

 

One of the worries was the effect on the rich sea life that made scuba diving a big tourism pastime. The developers and the enviromentalist worked to monitor the effects and apart from a couple of potential hiccups, it was found that sea life was thriving.

 

One thing that was done to encourage sea life and give divers another point of interest was to submerge a wrecked ship and a decomissioned fighter jet. The sea life and the divers loved it.

 

The point that I am making is that if heels are dug in and people see things in black and white then all we end up with is what we find typical in many situations... loads of time and money spent by opposite camps standing up for their own corner and not enough compromise and thinking about the bigger picture.

 

I was disappointed to hear that the Marine Research Centre in Port Erin was closing, I would have liked to have seen it not only remain open, but develop and expand into a focus point for more marine tourism and to encourage more locals to be educated about our surroundings and as another place for children to go on school trips.

 

A marina in PSM could have played a part in developing this side of tourism and leisure that IOM Gvt. occasionaly remember to mention in dispatches.

 

We have clean water with good visability down south, warmed by the North Atlantic and largely unaffected by years of sewerage discharge that is further up the coast and pushed northwards by the currents.

 

A new marina could be marketed to attract divers either with their own boats or by setting up charter trips. The idea of man made "reefs" to compliment the natural attractions could give an added angle.

 

A frind once mentioned a "sea life" type tunnel going into the water for those who don't want to bob about on top of the water. Such a suggestion on it's own is doubtful financially, but building a publically accesible "viewing tunnel" into the walls of a marina breakwater could be made feasible and would make a perfect location for the first manmade reef. Without wishing to sound macabre, but the Solway Harvester could have a future giving something back to the sea.

 

The costs to create add-ons don't have to cost the earth, and they can add to the attraction that can have benefit to the Island as a whole.

 

The dificult lies in the vision.

 

Edit: I linked to a document that isn't the one that I wanted to link to, I've lost it

 

The link I originally posted does however include the PSM Marina debate and includes views from both sides:

Clicky Link

[Charles Flynn]

I can't get into a debate now about this as I am away till Monday but I should tell Forum members that the environmentalists felt the Examiner report was biased towards the Business sector and of course it was in this section of the paper it was published. I am reasonably happy with the report but the other environmentalists were not.

 

All the arguments, support and dissent, were heard at the Planning Appeal and the result was an emphatic no to the proposals.

 

It is no good arguing after the event. It is over for now but it may be that in the future some of the ideas on this Forum can be discussed either for PSM or elsewhere.