A housing estate in Crosby is poised for expansion as planners are expected to approve the construction of additional homes.

On Monday, the planning committee will review an application from JM Project Management of Glen Vine to build 18 more houses behind the Co-op in the Crosby Meadows estate (22/00475/B).

A planning officer's report has recommended approval for the latest phase of the scheme.

The application is for 18 houses, five of which will have two bedrooms and will be aimed at first-time buyers.

The remaining houses will be private detached homes and are a mixture of three-bedroom and four-bedroom houses as well as three-bed dormer bungalows.

The initial estate development, made-up of 28 homes, a Costa Coffee and the Co-op shop, was completed in 2021.

But a bid to extend the housing estate was mired in controversy following a high-profile planning gaffe.

A draft area plan for the east of the island, which included Crosby, was first published in 2018 and set out which areas of land in the region could be earmarked for future development.

A field next to the Crosby Meadows estate, heading towards Peel from the Douglas side, was removed from the plan in February 2020 as it was believed there was no need for extra housing in that area.

However, an inaccuracy on the area plan map - later described as a ‘cartographical error’ - meant that the field was mistakenly included in the final Area Plan for the East (APE).

That was approved by Tynwald in November 2020 and subsequently adopted.

In December that year, the developer applied to build another four properties on the land at Crosby Meadows.

That scheme was eventually approved by planners on appeal despite objections as it was too late to make any changes to the APE and attempt to correct the map mistake.

Tynwald Commissioner for Administration Angela Main Thompson launched an investigation into the government error, publishing a critical report into the issue in January 2023.