There were no procedural irregularities with the inquiry into the draft Area Plan for the North and West, the independent planning inspector has concluded.

But in his report, which was published on Thursday, inspector Brian Sims acknowledged there had been ‘significant public concern’ regarding the quality of public consultation on the draft plan.

‘It is evident and understandable that lay people, public representatives and professional consultants alike felt confused by the process and overwhelmed by the volume of evidence and new proposals,’ he said.

The inquiry into the Area Plan was held over seven days in July at Ramsey Masonic Hall and Queen Elizabeth II High School.

It heard oral representations on behalf of 48 individual respondents and organisations and some 110 written submissions were taken into account, alongside the responses to the original public consultation in 2022 and the major changes put forward by the Cabinet Office.

One of the biggest controversies surrounding the Area Plan inquiry involved the last minute addition of proposals to extend the runway at Jurby Airfield as a possible replacement for Ronaldsway at some point in the future.

The planning inspector in his report noted that this had caused ‘strong adverse reaction from the community’, who had been unaware of any such proposal.

Neighbours Fern Callister and Vicki Wade told Media IoM they feared their homes could be demolished to make way for the new runway and said property values could fall and homes become more difficult to sell even if there were no firm proposals yet.

Art therapist Fern said at the time: ‘If these plans happen, and yes it might not go ahead, our house will essentially be worth nothing. We would go into negative equity We will have nothing.’

In the event, the DoI’s airport division decided to remove this from the Area Plan and deal with it by way of a masterplan for Ronaldsway which would recognise the strategic importance of Jurby airfield as a potential airport contingency.

Campaigners against the proposed Sulby Riverside housing scheme for Poyll Dooey, Ramsey, will welcome the inspector’s finding that despite approval in principle being given by the planning committee, on balance he did not consider it appropriate to allocate the site for residential development in the Area Plan..

At the inquiry, developer Baccarat alleged procedural failings. It had submitted a position statement without having registered by the due date. It was subsequently agreed, on the grounds of fairness and flexibility, that the statement would be accepted and Baccarat was able to lead a discussion at the session on infrastructure.

Unfortunately, the publication of the position statement was delayed due to an oversight.

Inspector Mr Sims concluded: ‘There was no procedural irregularity on the part of the inquiry, save for a single oversight which is regretted but which was corrected before the last Inquiry session.

‘Overall, the evidence to the inquiry has been properly received and recorded and the purpose of the inquiry was in no way put at risk as alleged.’

He said it was ‘neither feasible nor accepted practice’, in the island or elsewhere, for the inquiry to allow an open-ended, public consultation ‘free-for-all’.

The inspector said the major changes proposed by the Cabinet Office had been in the public domain since February and there had been reasonable publicity and opportunity for residents to consider and respond to them.

But he acknowledged: ‘The planning system is confusing to many people who are concerned about its implications for their living conditions and livelihoods and some of this concern might better have been allayed by a further pre-inquiry round of public consultation, which would also have simplified both the inquiry itself and this report.’

On balance, he was of the view that the inquiry process itself ultimately provided a public forum sufficient to ensure that all points of view could be aired and taken into account, based on ‘reasonably complete and clear information’.

He concluded that the Cabinet Office may now safely take the draft Area Plan forward to adoption.

The Cabinet Office said it is currently considering the report and may adopt the plan with, or without, modifications. It said any changes will be published and it will seek representations and objections.

The plan will only come into operation if approved by Tynwald.