Shop closures among concerns in ancient capital

Shop closures among concerns in ancient capital

Patsy Lockerby said a drop in footfall for businesses in Castletown had led to several closures

The growing number of vacant shops, parking provision, and the rising cost of living have been highlighted as concerns for voters in Arbory, Castletown and Malew.

While the constituency extends to include the two parishes, its centre is the ancient capital of the Isle of Man.

Known for its Georgian and Victorian architecture and watched over by the medieval Castle Rushen fortress, Castletown’s town centre has seen worries raised about a sharp fall in the number of shops.

Tearoom owner Patsy Lockerby said the decline in footfall had left small shops and businesses "suffering".

She said: "I'm the only shop open in Malew Street, so that sort of speaks volumes, doesn't it?"

"It's affected the town - people don't bother now, they bypass Castletown. You can't rely on the tourists and coaches coming because there's nothing for them."

She urged the government to take action to support independent businesses in the short term so they can get established in the town centre.

"They need to come up with something that they can afford that would be beneficial to people who want to start a new business," she said.

She said repeated closures of parking in Market Square by the commissioners in previous years were a major factor behind shop closures, because footfall had fallen in recent years.

Barry James said more strategic thought needed to into sorting the town's parking issues

Fellow business owner Barry James said parking in general was one of the biggest problems affecting footfall in the town.

"We've had parking problems – we've got an ageing population as well, a lot of retired people, and accessibility is not good," he said, adding that it also affected coach passengers visiting the area.

"You can't make a car park that's not there, you can't expect people to walk too far either, but there are professionals who spend their time planning and they understand how communities work," he said.

"Rather than small, whimsical changes, you'd think there would be an overall plan for a town and that has to start to with accessibility."

Local resident Maggie Richards also called for action to tackle the falling number of shops, saying: "You see people arrive by coach and they're bussed in and they're saying 'where's the shops?'

"When I first came down here it was thriving, you had different shops and it was lovely, but it's just gone downhill."

She added that rents may be contributing to the decline and said it would "have to come from the government to begin with to help more" for shops to return.

Scott Findlay said wages not keeping pace with inflation was a concern

For Scott Findlay, who runs his own window cleaning firm, the rising cost of living was becoming an increasing problem.

"Everything just seems to have gone up, whereas the inflation in the wages doesn't seem to have gone up the same to capture it.

"It just becomes a bit harder once things get more expensive, and then if you have a bigger family it just becomes even more expensive because there's more of it."

Maureen Sloan said, as a pensioner on a fixed income, her spending on essentials including utilities and rent left her with very little else to spend each month.

She also regretted the lack of choice of Manx produce on the shelves of multinational supermarkets.

Maureen Sloan said the rising cost of living meant her much of her pension went on utilities and rent

The cost of living was also on Lisa Corkill's mind. She described it as "absolutely shocking".

She said the government's position on taxing some benefits was a problem.

"Pensioners certainly shouldn't get taxed, they've worked all their lives and they get taxed on their pension," she said, adding: "I work hard, my partner works hard, and then they tax you on child benefit."

When it comes to voting, she said she felt there was "no point" because "absolutely nothing will change".

Julie Essex and Loraine Sansbury said the need for a replacement high school for the area was an issue for many people

But for first time voter in an Isle of Man election, Julie Essex, the Manx system has been a refreshing change.

"I've lived in a Labour town, so our vote never made a difference because the Labour MP had such a big majority - but here our vote will make a difference," she said.

"And we've never had two votes before, so we really have to think about who we want to vote for."

She and fellow charity shop volunteer Loraine Sansbury both agreed that one of the concerns for many parents was the continuing need for a replacement secondary school for the area, as the existing Castle Rushen High School was now "very old".