Bride Commissioners contribution to Northern Civic Amenity Site revealed

Authority paying significantly less as DOI involvement keeps facility open

The amount being contributed by Bride Commissioners towards the Northern Civic Amenity Site this year has been revealed as £11,900.

That's a decrease of more than £50,000 compared to what the local authority was told to pay before a deal was struck between the north parishes and the Department of Infrastructure.

Bride Commissioners pulled out of the amenity site last year, saying its residents were paying an unfair share of the running costs.

The NCAS looked set to close, however, in March it was announced that the Department of Infrastructure would take over the facility from the NCAS Committee, with Ramsey Town Commissioners operating the site on its behalf.

You can find more on that HERE.

The new contribution represents the share of running costs based on number of properties, of which Bride has the fewest of all the northern parishes at 174, or 2.76 percent.

In 2023/24's Budget, Bride's share of the running costs was calculated at £59,505, and in 2024/25; £65,574.

As Bride's contribution to keep the site running throughout 2025/26 has decreased, it has increased for the other parishes.

The figures below have been provided in response to a Freedom of Information request from Manx Radio:

Graph provided by Bride Commissioners.

'Thank you for helping untangle this mess'

The FOI response also includes emails between the authority's clerk Lisa Sims and the Department of Infrastructure's Deputy Chief Officer Jeffery Robinson.

On 6 March, Mr Robinson asked that the commissioners confirmed by 13 March 2025 that they would be willing to pay the £11,900 contribution, noting all relevant local authorities would need to accept the offer to make the proposal feasible.

If not, the Northern Civic Amenity Site would have closed on 31 March as planned.

In the correspondence, Mrs Sims also makes clear the commissioners' concerns around The Local Government Amendment Bill put forward by Ramsey MHK Lawrie Hooper; in particular a clause which considered whether where a lives on the Isle of Man would impact on the services they can access.

Some local authorities labelled the proposals 'inequitable' and 'scary' whilst also raising concerns about the lack of consultation.

In accepting the offer of a paid contribution to the NCAS, Mrs Sims said the commissioners 'are acutely aware that Mr Hooper will be attempting at all costs to force ratepayers into a position of hugely increased costs if his clause goes through. It is unfortunate that he feels increasing the financial burden of ratepayers at a very strategically difficult time is the way forward. Bride do not.'

Mr Hooper has stated he wants to ensure there is 'parity' of service provision in each constituency, believing there shouldn't be a 'postcode lottery' for people to get what they need.

You can find out more HERE.