‘Wholly Unacceptable’

A Douglas MHK has blasted the DoI’s response to a Tynwald resolution calling for a new bus terminal in the capital to be a priority.

In July Tynwald supported Joney Faragher’s motion for the department to return with plans by the end of the year.

The actual wording of her motion was: “That Tynwald is of the opinion that the reestablishment of facilities for bus passengers in the island’s capital city is a priority; and that accordingly the Department of Infrastructure should work up a detailed plan of how facilities – including but not limited to: route and timetable information; protection from weather; toilet services; appropriate seating; accessible Wi-Fi, lighting and availability of refreshments – will be provided; and that the Department should submit a report on its plan to Tynwald no later than the last day of December 2023.”

On January 4, (i.e. not by the last day of December 2024) DoI Minister Tim Crookall wrote to members to outline what the DoI had achieved.

He said that the lack of movement by the company which the DoI sold the site to had led to the lack of improved bus facilities.

Mr Crookall said: ‘The Lord Street site was purchased from the Department in May 2020, and has obtained Planning Approval in Detail for a mixed use scheme including the provision of new bus station facilities, which in summary comprised five bus stands, travel information centre, public WC’s and indoor passenger waiting area, and driver’s welfare facilities.

‘As Members will be aware, construction of the approved scheme has yet to commence and the Department is still involved, and will remain so, in relation to achieving the mix of uses and facilities required on the site.’

• That permission, granted in 2019, is believed to have expired.

As part of way to find a ‘short term solution’. Mr Crookall said his department had looked at using the Sea Terminal, but further work was needed to determine whether this was manageable.

He said: ‘Both transport and highways officers have been consulted, but the existing difficult car park entrance and exit points for buses and coaches, and the limited space in which to park and manoeuvre buses in the area whilst managing passenger movements, have excluded this option as being viable. Whilst passenger facilities and comfort are an important consideration, there is a clear requirement that any facilities meet health and safety standards. Without considerable alterations not only to the front of the Sea Terminal but also the highway configuration in this part of Douglas this is unlikely to be achieved.’

And added: ‘Transport officers are, however, currently looking at the possibility of providing a bus stop at the front of the Sea Terminal and are arranging for the testing of bus manoeuvrability on the site. This would enable some services to pick up and/or drop off passengers. Until this testing has been undertaken it is not known if there will be any funding required to accommodate any identified improvements. Again health and safety consideration will be the main factor in determining if this is feasible.’

He concluded by saying that Lord Street ‘remains the best option available’ and that the DoI suggests that it continues to work with the developer.

Responding to this, Ms Faragher said: ‘This letter and its contents are wholly unacceptable.’

She added: ‘Tynwald resolved that this work is a priority. It asked for a detailed plan on how these could be re-established. It finally resolved that a report on this plan should be submitted to Tynwald. This letter does not tick any of those boxes.

‘Can I state for the record that both the general public, and backbench Tynwald members, are becoming increasingly frustrated with government deflecting any attempts to actually move things forward. Once again, what we see here is another ‘we will continue with the status quo’ – that is not what the resolution asked for. It has been decades since we had bus facilities in the island’s capital. It was agreed unanimously by Tynwald that this work is a priority.

‘I am deeply disappointed that this is the result of the resolution I put in, and the enthusiastic debate that members contributed to.’

The Manx Labour Party leader called on the DoI to commit to a detailed report and think again about the delivery of a new bus site.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.