£100m yacht marina plans unveiled for Ramsey

Plans to build a new £100m marina in Ramsey, Isle of Man, have been revealed.

Ramsey Marina Ltd (RML) has stated its intention to create a 400-berth dock, supplemented by residential and commercial units, a hotel and a yacht club near the town’s harbour.

The company believes the development has the potential to transform Ramsey into a “centre of marine excellence” with facilities befitting of “national and international sailing events”.

Town commissioner chairman Andrew Cowie says the marina plan has widespread support, though there are some “technical concerns”.

He noted, “There are some technical concerns with the design and careful consideration needs to be given to the potential loss of the beach space. However, we would hope these concerns can be addressed effectively.”

Manx Wildlife Trust (MWT) said that the area of the supposed development is a marine nature reserve, which provoke “a number of questions” that need to be answered.

Tim Graham, of MWT, said he was “not against developments” but was opposed to “bad developments that impact the environment negatively and leave a lasting legacy that may not be able to be remediated”.

“We will be interested to hear more details on the proposal and their pursuit of environmental standards,” he added.

At this stage no planning application has been made by RML, but the firm hopes to start construction work on the marina, between the harbour entrance and Queen’s Pier, by 2021.

As part of the project, a 350-metre breakwater will be built and sand extracted to reclaim a beach for “residential and leisure” areas.

In a statement, RML stated the marina could generate more than 200 jobs and attract 10,000 visitors a year.

Sign up to our newsletter to get the best of Yachting Pages delivered direct to your inbox every month.

Source: BBC News