The chair of Peel Commissioners has praised its residents for ‘working together well’ during challenges for the local authority in 2023.

At a recent Peel Commissioners meeting, the local authority identified issues and challenges faced throughout the year, such as the planned demolition of the Reayrt Aalin housing estate, getting Men in Sheds ‘off the ground’ and the managing of rates in the town.

Speaking at the meeting, Peel commissioners chair Hazel Hannan said: ‘I think it’s been a fairly good year, and we’ve all been working together for the good of Peel.

‘One of the lowest factors and downsides of this year is having to come to terms with the issues at Reayrt Aalin.’

Earlier this year the local authority confirmed it would be demolishing the housing estate and rebuilding it, an initiative which is set to cost a ‘considerable’ amount of money.

Mrs Hannan said in June this year that the properties on the estate were ‘substandard’ when they were first built, advising the residents of Reayrt Aalin that they’ll have to leave their homes in the next two years.

A total of 36 houses, which were originally built by Dandara in 1992, are due to be knocked down and re-built after the commissioners ruled out spending around £100,000 per property to rectify the issues.

Mrs Hannan continued: ‘It’s a major problem. It’s going to cost considerable sums whether we rebuild or do works on these properties.

‘But I think the main thing is that Peel Town Commissioners is a local government. We all work together for the good of the town, trying to improve things and having the funds to improve things.

‘I also think it’s important that the community comes together to support other groups and service providers, such as market stall holders.

‘A good example is the carnival committee. It has previously been suggested that the carnival should cease, but now a new committee has come forward.

‘We’ve had yarn bombing [the displaying of wooly objects around Peel], while we’ve also had the issue of getting Men in Shed’s off the ground.’

The Men in Sheds charity aims to support the wellbeing of men in the island, and can now be found at the Old Workshop on Derby Road - a building provided by the commissioners for a nominal fee.

Mrs Hannan continued to say that rates in the town have increased. She said: ‘Costs have gone up. We did keep the rates stable for five years and didn’t increase them, but we had to work around that.

‘We’ve also put money into our reserves. We have got some reserves this year, which we’re still talking about how it will be spent. We’ll be coming into the budget season in January when we’ll be putting our budget together for the forthcoming year.’