Possible Zoning of Land at The Grove Museum, Ramsey: Response to Isle of Man Newspapers

In 1976, the Manx Museum and National Trust (registered Charity 603) purchased the Grove, its contents and adjoining land extending in total to approximately 14 acres.

Neither the Grove nor any of the adjacent land was bequeathed or gifted to the Trust.

The submission to the North and West Area Plan was a first stage to zone two separate areas of land at the Grove for potential development, following which, further evaluation of the options would need to be conducted to determine whether or not disposal of one or both plots should be recommended.

As a Charity, and in the context of a significant and growing operational, conservation and maintenance budget deficit, in addition to seeking an additional grant/support from the Isle of Man Government/Treasury and making efforts to increase commercial and philanthropic income, it has been necessary for Manx National Heritage to consider all options for income generation. The identification of a very small proportion of non-core property as potential sites for disposal was part of this longer-term consideration.

Connie Lovel, Chief Executive, said: “at such an early stage in the process, a prudent approach is being taken by Manx National Heritage. It is not an inevitable conclusion that a final decision would be taken to dispose of both plots of land at the Grove. No decision would be taken by Trustees until a full process had been completed, and at that time Manx National Heritage would then seek to obtain Tynwald approval before permanent disposal of real property, should that situation arise”.

In July 2024, Manx National Heritage published a helpful Q&A document on the website.

https://manxnationalheritage.im/possible-zoning-of-land…/

The two plots of land are not contiguous with The Grove Museum site as they are separated in each case by an adopted highway and any future housing development on this land will not detract from the Museum or adversely impact a visitor’s experience. The land immediately adjacent to the Grove Museum is not being considered for potential disposal.

Any future proposals for developing the sites, should this situation arise, would still require any developer to submit detailed plans with a planning application and the application would then be determined on its merits as part of the normal planning process.

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Notes for editors:

If the new Area Plan for the North and West zones one or both of the fields for future residential development, does this automatically mean that housing will be built on them?
No. It is not necessarily the intention of the Trust to dispose of both sites and any future plans for developing the sites would still require any developer to submit detailed plans with a planning application and the application would then be determined on its merits as part of the normal planning process.

Is MNH planning to carry out the residential development?
No. MNH is undertaking the first stage to zone the land for potential development. In the event that this is achieved MNH will evaluate the options for the two sites, commission outline planning design before determining whether or not disposal of one or both plots to a developer should be recommended.

If MNH wishes to raise funds by selling the sites, why doesn’t the Charity just sell the sites without seeking to change the zoning of the land?
If the adopted Area Plan does zone the land for future residential development, then it will result in an increased land value compared to undesignated land and so it is important that MNH secures as much as possible of any increase in value rather than any third party acquiring the land.

Background

In 1976, the Manx Museum and National Trust purchased the Grove, its contents and adjoining land extending in total to approximately 14 acres from the Estate of Janet and Alice Gibb for £10,000 – see plan below. The Gibb sisters had previously granted an unrestricted option to purchase to the Trust, exercisable on the death of the last surviving sister and the Trust agreed to exercise the option at that time.

For the purposes of creating a museum, the Trust then carried out preparatory work, including the formal accession and documentation of the contents of the house and the provision of interpretation about the history of property, its owners and the objects.

In 1978, the Grove Museum opened to the public and its time capsule of period furniture and possessions provides a fascinating insight into the lives of three generations of a merchant family from Liverpool who made their home there.

Exploring Options

As part of the Public Inquiry for the draft Area Plan for the North and West, MNH has requested consideration be given to the zoning of two outlying fields for future residential development. One field is located to the south of the main Grove Museum site (labelled “C” RR012 on the plan) and is bounded by Richmond Road and Bowring Road and extends to approximately 0.97 acre.

The second field (labelled “B” RR011) is also separated from the Grove site, lying to the east of the main road (A9) leading from Ramsey to Andreas/Bride and extends to approximately 1.99 acres. Full details of each site and the planning rationale for zoning of the sites is included in the separate submissions made by Sarah Corlett, planning consultant, on MNH’s behalf. The timetable for the forthcoming Public Inquiry is in the public domain and the two sites were considered in July 2024 in conjunction with other sites that have been put forward as alternatives or in addition to those currently allocated in the draft Plan.

https://nwinquiry.gov.im/media/t2ujj3ic/firm-programme-v2.pdf

Media contact:

Lynsey Clague

Communications Manager, Manx National Heritage

E-mail: lynsey.clague@mnh.im

Telephone: 01624 648032