Government hoping to lease former supermarket site on Chester Street

It's asking for offers in the region of £287,000 for whole premises per year

Government is looking for someone to take on the former Covid vaccination hub on Chester Street in Douglas.

The site is still known to many as 'the old Safeway', having once been home to the supermarket chain.

Manx Care had to urgently relocate its vaccination operations from there last year because of its suitability to deliver a clinical service.

It had previously cited difficulties heating the building and a lack of staff facilities among its issues.

Now, government is advertising the site with Chapman Chartered Surveyors.

The brochure for the property says it would be possible to create additional pedestrian access openings directly onto Market Street, subject to planning.

It's also said to have potential for a variety of uses, including retail, food retail and leisure, again, subject to planning.

It's asking for proposals to lease the whole or part of the property for a term of years to be agreed.

To rent the ground floor retail space alone would cost £204,830 a year.

To lease the storage unit would be an extra £40,488 on top of that, while it will cost £36,810 per annum for the café and £5,245 for the staff facilities on the first floor.

To rent the whole site will cost £287,373 a year.

The advert also quotes a report from CACI in 2023 that claimed with a GDP of £5.4 billion the Isle of Man boasts a robust and resilient economy.

It adds competitive wages indicate the high disposable income enjoyed by residents, with 86 percent saying they have an excellent quality of life.