Tynwald Asked to Approve £10m for Developers

When the cast of Tynwald gathers for its annual Christmas pantomime, members will be asked to grant an initial £10m for a scheme designed to kickstart brownfield site development.

Members will be asked to approve the scheme, which will be administered by the DfE, to encourage the development of brownfield sites.

The gov says that the overarching aim of the Island Infrastructure Scheme is to ‘deliver national economic and social value to unoccupied urban sites, by providing financial support to developers to offset the additional costs faced when redeveloping sites of this nature’.

In essence, companies/people bought sites and the taxpayer is helping them out or else they’d not be able to afford to develop the sites that they bought.

While the DfE’s press release says this is ‘to encourage the development of brownfield sites which are included on the Unoccupied Urban Sites Register’. The actual wording of the scheme can also be used for ‘a site which is not included in the unoccupied urban sites register as may be specified by the department’.

The taxpayer could be funding any of the following:

1. Materials and manual labour costs;
2. Professional fees (for example, architect, mechanical and electrical fees);
3. The cost of hiring specialist equipment (but only from third parties);
4. The provision of specialist services costs;
5. Demolition costs;
6. Government fees (for example, fees payable in relation to planning and building control);
7. The cost of the removal of contaminated land or waste; and
8. Such other costs as may be specified or otherwise considered appropriate by the Department.

Enterprise Minister Lawrie Hooper said: ‘Dialogue with developers indicates that there are a number of barriers to brownfield site development, particularly regarding increased costs associated with issues such as contaminated land, previously developed buildings and broader site preparation. 

‘The historic lack of activity on many of these sites is clearly influenced by the simple fact that the commercial viability simply isn’t there without some additional assistance. By providing a level of assistance to help make the proposals viable, the department aims to secure substantial private sector investment and regeneration, with an overall value to the economy significantly in excess of any grants offered, and importantly to do so in a timely manner for the benefit of the whole community.

‘In the current climate, and with bold ambitions outlined in the economic strategy, incentivising developers through the Island Infrastructure Scheme will help to transform existing fallow sites into buildings which contribute to the economic growth, prosperity, vibrancy and sustainability of the island.’

If approved, the scheme may provide financial assistance of up to 25% of eligible expenditure to developers, by way of a grant and/or loan towards development projects.

If approve (we have a sneaking feeling about how this will go down) with the first round of applications, proposed to run from January to April 1 2023 ‘prioritised and awarded on an assessment criteria to maximise economic outcomes and positive and accelerated regeneration’.

Like many other ideas of this gov, the scheme has not spent six weeks on the increasingly irrelevant Register of Business.