A date has been set for the official opening of the new leisure and community centre at the Strang in Braddan.

Braddan Parish Commissioners has announced that the multi-million pound facility will be open for visitors from 9am on Monday, January 29.

It was also confirmed that the current Commissioners’ Office, at Close Corran in Union Mills, closed to the public from 11am yesterday (Monday, January 22) as the board relocate to their new office in the Roundhouse.

While the official opening date is now set, some sporting clubs, such as basketball squads and junior football teams, have already been using the sports hall in a phased opening last week.

The Roundhouse scheme, which includes a cafe, playground, sports hall, nursery and health facilities, is £3.4 million over budget and was originally meant to be open and completed in August 2023. Work on the project started in June 2021 and was originally due to cost £6 million. And despite a date being set on its opening, some stumbling blocks still remain.

Concerns have been raised from Manx Care about the access route West Drive on Ballaoates Road with increased on-site traffic on Noble’s Hospital grounds.

Originally a dedicated road to the leisure centre was in a planning application that was approved in May 2023, however financial constraints meant the Commissioners opted to use access through hospital roads. It is now understood that Braddan Commissioners are now having to reinstate their initial plan of a new specific access to the site following these complaints from the Department of Health and Social Care and Manx Care.

But before work on the new route goes out to tender and is constructed, the local authority have worked with Manx Care and Department of Infrastructure’s highway services to determine the best way for visitors to access the facility.

It has been agreed the entrance and access will have directional signage and additional safety measures.

This was necessary for Manx Care who say without these safety measures there is an ‘increased risk of collisions, and potential access problems for emergency vehicles’.

Meanwhile issues have also been raised regarding parking at the facility, with concerns that Roundhouse visitors might take up spots for hospital patients and staff and vice versa. The car park is currently yet to be complete.

The Commissioners say the number of spaces for the car park was determined by a traffic statement submitted with the original planning application, and provides for a steady turnover of users.

It added it will be placing a parking order on the car park to deter people from using it for anything else than attending the facility. This will be overseen by members of staff on a regular basis.