Square's permanent winter car ban decision paused

More engagement must take place before a decision can be made on the permanent winter ban of vehicles from a town square, the infrastructure minister has said.

However, Michelle Haywood has asked officers to make an order to permanently pedestrianise Castletown's Market Square in the summer months.

The local authority had requested a year round parking ban to encourage community events, but the new minister has asked for the winter order to be a temporary one for the time being.

Campaigners against pedestrianisation during the colder months said they were "dismayed" the square had not been re-opened for parking.

Castletown Commissioners applied to the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) for a permanent closure of the space all year round in July last year.

The square has been closed to vehicles each summer for the past three years.

Former MHKs for the area Tony Brown and Richard Ronan, along with the former chairman of the commissioners John Cringle, recently organised a public meeting in the town about the closure.

The gathering saw attendees back a motion to lobby the DOI for the traffic order to be revoked amid fears a reduction in parking spaces near local shops would harm trade when the weather was bad in the winter.

In correspondence with Mr Brown, Haywood said Castletown Commissioners had not yet "provided sufficient evidence of support" for a permanent ban all year.

However, the minister said the temporary closure this winter would allow the local authority to develop ideas around the use of the square, continue the engagement process, and evaluate "how to balance the needs and wishes of residents and businesses".

She also said she had urged the commissioners to consider when "they might allow for parking to take place" under the temporary order when the public area was not in use for events or activities.

But the campaigners maintained there was "no logical reason" for the square to remain closed to vehicles until March, and with no events planned for the area at this stage it would "now continue to lie empty" during the winter.

Businesses were "presently suffering loss of business unnecessarily, due to what actually was an unexpected winter closure".

In a statement, the DOI said a temporary traffic regulation order had been put in place for the winter to "maintain flexibility" in allowing or restricting parking and "enabling the board to give the matter more consideration and undertake further assessment of the impact" of a permanent closure during the period.

"Anyone with concerns around the proposals is encouraged to engage constructively with the Commissioners," the statement said.

"Indeed, if data is available that indicates a detrimental impact on the town's businesses or footfall, it should be shared with the Commissioners to support this ongoing process."

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