A bold bid by Ramsey Commissioners to extend its boundary over concerns the town has reached capacity has been rejected.

An independent inquiry was held in January over the commissioners’ bid to widen the boundary into neighbouring Garff and Lezayre to accommodate the expected growth.

But the inquiry chairman Peter Taylor has now published his decision and has rejected the proposal.

In the executive summary Mr Taylor said: ‘I have found that Ramsey has sufficient land within its boundaries to accommodate its predicted growth of 500 or so people between 2021 and 2031.

‘I did not have sufficient evidence on the projected growth of Ramsey beyond 2031 and certainly nothing to estimate the population growth up to 2050, the time frame which Ramsey Town Commissioners were asking to be considered in their application.

‘In any event the central government aim is for the infrastructure for a population of 100,000 to be in place by 2037 and the inquiry highlighted that there are infrastructure issues to be addressed in Ramsey.’

The decision by Mr Taylor has been endorsed by the Department of Infrastructure.

Extending the boundary into neighbouring Garff and Lezayre would have represented the first land review in the area for more than 30 years.

The decision has disappointed the commissioners and says the conclusions reached by Mr Taylor ‘differ widely’ with their own.

In a statement, Ramsey Commissioners said: ‘We have received the report for the boundary extension for Ramsey which was heard in January 2024. We are of course very disappointed to learn of the decision.

‘The Chairman of the Inquiry has reached his own conclusions of the projected population increase for the Isle of Man and its subsequent impact on the town of Ramsey.

‘These conclusions differ greatly from the opinions of the Commission and its own conclusions on the future of Ramsey. The Chairman’s conclusion that there is sufficient land within Ramsey for development as a result again differs widely from our own conclusions.

‘This application was made with a view to securing Ramsey for future development, not to play catch up with development as has been the case previously.

‘We would echo the Chairman’s comments for the urgent need for the Isle of Man Government to implement rates reform to ensure fairness for all.’

The commissioners say the decision goes against government plans to increase the island’s population.

The statement goes on to say: ‘We are cognisant of the Island Plan to build our population and indeed the objective assessment of housing needs of May 2024 where towns will need to expand to allow for the extra population.

‘The decline of our application is counter to central Government’s targets and objectives for our Island’s future.

‘Finally we would like to thank all parties concerned in this process.’