Injebreck reservoir may look a little low after the prolonged dry spell but there’s no need to panic according to the island’s water and sewerage authority.

Although this photograph taken by reader Nicholas Bradley shows the old bridge, which is usually submerged, a hose pipe ban is not imminent.

A spokesman for the authority said: ‘There really should be no shortage. There is not a hose pipe ban in place at the moment and we are not anticipating imposing one in the foreseeable future.’

She added though there is no cause for concern at present customers should however use water wisely and avoid wasting it.

Current stock levels are Sulby 79 per cent, Clypse 74 per cent, Kerrowdhoo 63 per cent and West Baldwin 75 per cent.

It will be necessary to supplement the supply to the Douglas Water Treatment Works from West Baldwin Reservoir by pumping water from the Sulby Reservoir via the Beinn y Phott pipeline. This procedure has been part of the authority’s contingency plans for many years and is dictated when the level in the West Baldwin Reservoir reaches a certain control value.

Forecaster David Boultbee of the Ronaldsway meteorological office said the dry weather was likely to persist for the next five days or so. After that no forecasts are available as yet, but unsettled weather could be on the horizon some time next week.

Mr Boultbee said monthly rainfall in the first part of the year had been pretty average but the 15-day spell this month without rain had been equalled only four times in the past 70-odd years.

The hamlet of Ardwhallin was flooded to create Injebreck reservoir and remains of buildings can be revealed during exceptionally dry periods.

The planned new shipping line is preparing to begin operations this autumn.

Ellan Vannin Shipping will start freight services in the autumn while passengers will be able to book from December for sailings beginning in April.

Fares are hoped to be around 25 to 30 per cent less than the Steam Packet.

Today’s Manx Independent has the full story and is in shops now.

Elsewhere in today’s paper, we report on the visit of Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond, who said: ‘There is no subtitute for controlling your own finances. The Isle of Man is much further advanced than Scotland – but we intend to catch up very soon indeed!’

Plus there’s news on how there have been 959 referrals to children’s social in care in a single year, how a Port Erin man water ski-ed 31.5 miles home from Northern Ireland for charity, how larch trees are under threat from disease and that the level of the island’s reservoirs are not a cause for concern - yet.

Sport has all the latest news from Bermuda where the Isle of Man currently head the Island Games medal table, while our Island Life entertainment section looks at the Yn Cruinnaght festival, which began last night in Peel and runs until Sunday.

Also, don’t miss an eight-page supplement, Class of 2013, which features souvenir photographs of every Year 6 class in the island as pupils prepare to make the move to secondary school.

The Manx Independent is in shops now.

Residents in the St George’s ward of Douglas will be visiting polling stations to elect a new council member today (Thursday).

Voting will take place at two venues within the ward.

For those within the Ballabrooie and Eastfield area the location is All Saint’s Church hall in Alexander Drive, and for those in the St George’s district it is the St George’s Parish Centre in Upper Church Street.

Polling stations will be open from 8am to 8pm.

Four candidates have declared they are to stand for the seat. They are George Campbell, Kevin Oliphant-Smith, David Buttery and Catherine Corlett.

Mr Campbell, 34, who lives in Westminster Drive in Douglas, is chairman of Isle of Man Special Olympics. He was narrowly defeated in the council elections of 2012.

Mr Oliphant-Smith, 27, lives at Koinney Avenue in Douglas and said he felt young blood was needed on the council. He too has stood unsuccessfully for the council in the past.

Mr Buttery stood twice for the House Keys in 2001 and 2006 but failed to get elected. He lives at Head Road in Douglas.

Mrs Corlett lives in Cronkbourne Road in Douglas.

The seat was previously held by Chris Thomas who was recently elected as MHK for Douglas West, leaving his St George’s Ward council seat vacant.

The successful candidate will join existing councillors for the same ward, Stephen Pitts and Sara Hackman.

An emergency road closure has been put in place due to gas main repairs

The area affected covers Kensington Road, Circular Road and Westmorland Road in Douglas.

Les Able, a spokesman for Manx Gas, said: ‘Repairs are ongoing, Kensington Road itself is closed to buses and we would ask motorists to avoid using Circular Road and Westmorland Road where possible.’

He stressed there was no danger to the public.

Minister for Economic Development, John Shimmin, has said he will ‘fall on his sword’ if an Economic Policy Review Committee finds the Sefton Group government deal was not handled correctly.

Evidence was taken this afternoon from Mr Shimmin, Treasury Minister Eddie Teare and Chief Minister Allan Bell.

Committee chairman Leonard Singer MHK asked: ‘How confident are you that you acted within the rules and regulations?’

Mr Shimmin MHK answered that he could not be confident saying: ‘Out of the three of us I am the most concerned.’

‘I don’t know all the legal nuances. We believed we had the powers, I assumed I had the legal powers in my position as minister and hope I didn’t exceed them.

‘You’ll go through a hundred things though so if I haven’t tripped up somewhere I’ll be amazed, if I have acted inappropriately, I’ll fall on my sword.’

Michael Crowe, the Chamber of Commerce’s new president is typical of the ‘can-do’ attitude of business folk in the island.

Just a fortnight after taking over from Mike Shaw he has hit the ground running.

And like many people involved in the chamber, Mr Crowe puts a lot of voluntary time into the organisation which has more than 300 members island-wide in a whole range of sectors.

He likened it to a case of ‘we are all in this together’ and added: ‘We can’t deny that we are in challenging times.’

Mr Crowe, 44, is a director in the audit and assurance department at BDO at Analyst House, Peel Road, Douglas. It used to be PKF until February when it joined forces with BDO.

He spoke to Business News in his office at BDO shortly after attending a busy chamber meeting. He was also preparing to meet a high-profile party from China.

He has been involved with the chamber for a number of years and since 2004 was treasurer and also a committee member. Sarah Sanders is the chamber’s new treasurer.

He says his job put him in good stead for the challenges ahead as chamber president.

‘As a chartered accountant and auditor, a lot of my job has meant going out andmeeting people and seeing clients in their premises. That has given me a fascinating insight into the economy of the island.

‘I have also found the chamber fascinating because it has exposed me to getting involved in discussions about busines s and the economy of the Isle of Man. The chamber is quite a broad church.

‘Dozens of our members give up their time freely to sit on committees and without them and people volunteering to chair committes and do that work there would not be a Chamber of Commerce.’

Mr Crowe reiterated some of the chamber’s priorities for the coming months: working with government to ensure the workforce is equipped with the skills they need to support the primary sectors of our economy; working to ensure government procurement policy adequately addresses the considerable benefits of keeping their spending on island and maintaining stable transport links.

Issues such as minimum wage, work permits, government spending, town centre planning and economic development are also high on the busy agenda.

Mr Crowe is married to Clare, who teaches PE at Ballakermeen High School. They have a little boy called Alexander who is eight years old.

Mr Crowe was born in Liverpool but moved to the island when he was a small lad.

The family have always lived in Port Erin. ‘We are very happy living down south.’

Mr Crowe’s mother is Pam Crowe who was a prominent politician in the island having been MHK for Rushen and then a member of the Legislative Council. Mr Crowe said his mother now runs a bed and breakfast business in Port Erin. He said he has no plans to go into politics himself.

She says it is an innovative business where women can shop by their body shape.

Laura, 22, said she founded Love My Figure, Love My Fashion after the ideas stemmed from her own experiences.

She said: ‘Having a classic British ‘‘pear’’ shape, I struggled to find clothes to fit my figure, especially with dresses.

‘After speaking to lots of different women, I realised I wasn’t the only one struggling. I needed to be educated in the art of dressing for my body shape.

‘After a lot of research, I put together the basis for Love My Figure, Love My Fashion, a dress shop where anyone, no matter what their body shape, could find the perfect dress and feel a million dollars.’

When you enter the site, you can enter in three simple measurements to find out your body shape.

You are then shown a range of dresses that suit your particular figure.

Twenty-two year old Laura works as a PA to the board of directors at an island corporate service provider.

But she recently set up the new business and is finding more and more of her time is spent involved in it.

She said: ‘Each dress has been carefully handpicked for each body shape.

‘My ethos is about feeling confident and looking good, no matter what your shape. Everybody has a different figure – small or large, curvy or skinny, we want women to love their figures, and find that perfect dress.

‘We’ve spoken to a lot of women, and the feedback was that they find it hard to find the right fit, especially when shopping online.

‘You can’t see what the dress will look like on you, from looking at a straight up and down size 6 catwalk model on your computer screen. It’s not realistic. We are very proud to say that we use ‘‘real’’ everyday women from the Isle of Man, to model our dresses on the website.

‘This way you can see what a dress will really look like, on someone with the same body shape as you’.

Also on the website is a blog section, where women can have a read of the latest fashion tips, dress styles and on trend topics.

Bloggers on the website include professional industry experts and style gurus, as well as everyday fashion lovers.

Laura, who lives in Onchan said: ‘Bringing variety of input on to the website is really important.

‘We encourage our customers to send in snaps of themselves looking fabulous in their new dress, so we can show everyone how great they look!

‘It’s a massive confidence boost.’

Despite only being 22, Laura is remarkably focused and has big plans for the future: ‘This is the next step in online shopping.

‘It’s a tailor-made experience.’

She maintains: ‘Our approach is different. We want customers to love every single dress they buy, we want them to look good, and most importantly, feel good about themselves’.

On top of this, Love My Figure, Love My Fashion is working in conjunction with BEAT, an eating disorder charity in the Isle of Man and United Kingdom.

Laura said: ‘The flip side of being happy with your body is those that really struggle. We have been fundraising for BEAT to give something back. They do a great, much needed job and support over 100,000 people a year with an eating disorder’.

www.lmflmf.co.uk

There are a host of fresh live music ideas coming out of Amber in Douglas, not least the soon to be regular Amber Rocks events, the first of which kicks off next month.

The bar’s credentials as a music venue have been proven over years of battle of the bands and such events, and now it looks like it will have the schedule to match.

DJ Switch came over for a set at the end of June, and last Friday two of the island’s top original bands – Cartesian Jetstream and Post War Stories – staged a show with the funky Ballagroove DJs.

Steve Leach, well-known for occupying the drum stool in several musical incarnations, has been at the heart of the venue’s ambitions.

‘We want to push Amber as THE gig venue,’ he said. ‘The plan is every six to eight weeks to host Amber Rocks, in which we bring an international, national or European band over to the island.

‘It will be a ticketed event starting from £5 onwards and going up as per the band fee, and accommodation.’

With support slots due to be filled by as many local acts as can be crammed into the schedule, Steve’s vision is a ‘mini indoor festival every few weeks.’

The first Amber Rocks is set for August 3, and sees UK band Goldblade coming over; regular performers at major festivals including Glastonbury, Reading, Wickerman and Rebellion, to be supported by Signified, Dusty Plankton and a handful of others between 6pm and 2am. Tickets are £10 at the door or £8 if you send a Facebook message and register to be on the guest list.

Soon after, on August 8, is the first ‘Songs from the Sofa’, with Manx singer-songwriters Matt Creer, Chris Gray, Adam Melvin and Jake Pinnington. £3 admission includes a free CD with a track from each artist.

This weekend sees Amber gigs from Ed Force One on Friday and Buncha Skankers on Saturday.

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The Manx Sound Exchange is Lee Brooks’ ramblings on the rumblings of the island’s music scene and features in the Manx Independent each week. Help support the scene by emailing lee.brooks@newsiom.co.im or calling 695674 with Manx music news, reviews and photos.

There have been 959 referrals in a year to children’s social care, a Tynwald committee heard.

The Social Affairs policy review committee heard evidence from Social Care Minister Chris Robertshaw and department chief executive, Yvette Mellor.

They revealed there had been 959 referrals in a year by Social Services to children’s social care, but only 60 cases of abuse registered.

Committee member Speaker Steve Rodan asked about the large number of referrals, compared to the relatively small number of abuse cases subsequently registered. He pointed out that based on those figures, as only around 1,000 children are born on the island every year, almost every child could be the subject of a referral before the age of 18.

Ms Mellor responded by saying that would assume each referral related to a separate child but this was not the case as some children were the subject of more than one referral, but from different agencies.

Committee chairman Brenda Cannell suggested the figures showed too much of a hands on approach, describing it as Big Brother-like, and asked if the number of individual children referred was available, but Mr Robertshaw said it was not at present.

Mr Rodan then added that child abuse inquiries are proportionately more than in England and that care needed to be taken that there wasn’t a blanket referral policy, needlessly distressing and stigmatising families here. ‘The system is not sufficiently refined or defined in statute,’ he said, adn asked what positive action was being taken to reduce the number of unnecessary referrals.

Mr Robertshaw answered: ‘We have to tread very carefully as any failure could be catastrophic. We have improved our position and I do have confidence in my division. We are nurturing a better understanding of what the agencies should be doing,’ he added.

An independent inspection of the services the island provides for children and young people will get underway in September 2013, conducted by the Scottish Government’s Care Inspectorate with Mr Robertshaw presenting the findings to Tynwald in early 2014.

The stylish contents of a gentleman’s residence go under the hammer in Ramsey next week as more items from the estate of George Daniels are sold off.

More than 200 lots once owned by the eminent horologist who died in October 2011 are being sold at auction.

Murray Keefe of auctioneers Murrays, which is conducting the sale, said the items were from Dr Daniels’ home Riversdale near Ramsey.

The sale will include furniture, carpets, silverware, artwork and a large number of other miscellaneous items.

‘It will be an interesting sale,’ said Mr Keefe.

‘There are good quality pictures, fine wines and furniture from the Georgian and later periods. They are good quality items from a large gentleman’s residence.’

Among the more unusual items in the sale is a stargazer’s chair with a guide price of £300 to £400.

‘It is solid mahogany and a person can lie back on it to gaze up at the stars,’ Mr Keefe said.

Dr Daniels was one of very few watchmakers able to create a complete time piece – case, face and movement – from scratch and was awarded a CBE in the 2010 New Year’s Honours list.

A sale in 2012 of some of the more valuable items in Dr Daniels’ estate raised more than £8m for the George Daniels’ educational trust.

The sale takes place starting at 11am on Friday July 26. Viewing is on the day, prior to the sale, or on the previous day, July 25 at the sale rooms, Poyll Dooey Road, Ramsey.

A group of 15 children from Belarus are visiting the Isle of Man, staying with 14 local families until August 7 as part of a trip arranged by the Friends of Chernobyl’s Children charity.

While here the children will receive dental treatment and visit opticians, as well as enjoy trips to Silverdale Glen, Manx Telecom, Glen Wyllin, Cornaa Trout Hatchery, Laser Blast, the House of Manannan, Mooragh Park and the Ape Mann Adventure Centre.

Norman Rivers, who runs the local branch of the charity, explained how it all came about: ‘I was in the fire brigade and having my retirement party. I’d invited my training officer but was told of a rumour that he might have passed away.

‘Two weeks later I got a call from him, much to my relief, and he told me how much he’d like to visit the island since he hadn’t been here since 1948.

‘When I told him he was welcome to come, he said that the only problem was that he was looking after a little girl from Belarus.

‘I told him that was no problem and to bring her to the island as well and so he did, and that’s what really gave us the idea about getting involved in bringing these children over.’

The charity is for children aged between six and 13 and aims to give children affected by the ongoing fallout of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster in 1986 the opportunity to spend time in a more healthy environment, where they can receive better healthcare and get the chance to take part in activities that they may not be able to back home.

Anyone interested can call Norman Rivers on 477788 or visit the charity website at www.focc.org.uk/Isle_of_Man.html

Onchan Commissioners’ chief executive has described himself as ‘underwhelmed’ by a government report on housing.

Malcolm Hulme said the long awaited report on the Department of Social Care’s housing review seemed to be of little value.

‘In my Authority, if I need to spend more than a few thousand pounds I am required to produce a detailed business case,’ he said. ‘

‘This fact-free report, upon which our MHKs are supposed to decide the future of public housing and sheltered accommodation in the Isle of Man, cost £182,000 and provides no information whatsoever.

‘It is merely an 18-page list of recommendations. How could this possibly be debated in any sensible manner?’ he said.

Commissioners’ chairman Rob Callister also rejected any suggestion that local authorities were receptive to the idea of reducing the current 17 local housing authorities to just four regional ones.

‘Our board has very serious concerns about the proposals that are being forced through by Mr Robertshaw,’ he said.

‘We have had one meeting with Mr Robertshaw, which was in early December 2012. Since then he has refused to meet us and our MHKs.’

Board members have not received any information that demonstrates inefficiencies in the current arrangement, nor any indication that the Minister’s proposals produce any cost savings. Rather, they say, it appears that the proposals add two more layers of bureaucracy to a system that is already working well.

Things are looking ship shape for the planned new freight and ferry service between the Isle of Man and the UK.

Ellan Vannin Shipping line, which is based in Douglas and is part of the shipping management company Sea Alliance IOM, hopes to offer daily freight and passenger services for around 25 to 30 per cent less than the Steam Packet.

Details are still being finalised for the ferry service but the plan is to start taking bookings in December and begin sailings for foot passengers and vehicles to and from Liverpool in April.

The freight service is to begin sailings to Heysham this autumn.

Amanda Buchholz from the company said people seemed to be inspired by the project.

‘Everything is coming together now. There has been a huge interest. We have been overwhelmed with people offering support and lots of people have been looking at our Facebook page.’

The company is buying a boat to operate the freight service and hopes to target a small scale niche market rather than the bulk carrying capacity of rivals like the Steam Packet and Mezeron.

A boat is to be chartered for the ferry service and though the company has a specific vessel in mind did not want to release details about capacity as yet.

‘Many things still have to be worked out and there are still a few areas of red tape to overcome,’ said Mrs Buchholz.

‘But matters should be finalised soon. We hope our service will offer a real benefit to the island.’

Mrs Buchholz said the hope was to operate the passenger service year round but this was still to be finalised and could ultimately depend on demand.

The company announced in June it wanted to start operating another service for the island. Company boss Captain Kurt Buchholz said the plan was to use smaller vessels for freight which could easily be filled and would therefore operate more economically. The plan was not to poach the larger bulk cargoes already carried by existing operators.

He said inquiries among TT visitors this year had also suggested considerable support for an extra ferry service. By using a side-loading vessel which does not require the linkspan, the company can operate between Liverpool or Heysham without being restricted by the user agreement.

An open meeting is to be held at Noble’s Park Pavilion where the public can offer their views and find out more about the new service from the company’s director Kurt Buchholz.

The meeting at the Noble’s Park pavilion is on Friday July 26 starting at 6pm.

An un-named Manx company has been cautioned following damage to birds’ nest during development work, the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture has revealed.

On removing a roof, sparrow nests, which are protected, were disturbed and lost.

The department claims this was the result of not checking prior to work starting and was deemed reckless behaviour.

Advice is being provided and improved procedures are being developed with regard to bats and birds.

In the meantime, developers are requested to review their procedures in the light of this incident, said DEFA.

A former oil company executive who now lectures and writes on ‘geo-political webs’ and the control of global resources will give a talk in Douglas this evening (Saturday).

Speaking at the Empress Hotel at 7pm, Ian R Crane’s talk is entitled ‘Conspiracy Theory or Deep Geopolitics?’, and present his case that the world is truly very different to what we imagine it to be.

Organiser Richard Cox said he met Mr Crane at a British Humanist Association meeting in London, and happened to get speaking to him.

He has some fairly controversial views, though there’s enough sense in his ideas,’ said Mr Cox.

‘I’m hoping to attract a varied crowd of people; people who are both interested in and sceptical of the subjects Ian will be discussing.

‘I hope people attending will stick around for a drink afterwards to carry on the conversation.’

Ex-oilfield executive Mr Crane was one of the first civilians to enter Kuwait after the First Gulf War.

He says that what he saw there so shocked him that he began a long journey to re-evaluate everything he thought he knew about the way the world works.

Following the events of September 11 2001, he began to give public lectures on his research.

In this talk on the Isle of Man, he will discuss the experiences and research that have led him to form his new world perspective, covering such topics as ‘false flag terrorism’, manipulation of the financial markets, genetically modified food and his latest research on the dangers of fracking.

He will ask questions on whether 9/11 was an ‘inside job’, and theories that the 2008 financial crash a manufactured crisis.

His talk will all touch on ideas that pharmaceutical and oil companies suppress medicines and technology that would help humanity, but hurt their profits, and that a corporate oligarchy is the real power behind our seemingly democratic governments

Mr Cox said: ‘Ian’s opinions are controversial and would be labelled by many as “conspiracy theories”.

‘His ideas are that in general people don’t understand what is going on in the world. This lecture is intended to provide an opportunity for residents of the Isle of Man to decide for themselves. Looking through different lenses, you realise different things.

‘Agree or disagree, it will certainly be an interesting and challenging evening for all.’

Tickets for the talk are £8 in advance, or £10 on the door.

They are available from.ianrcrane.com or Richard can be contacted at deepstatenews.blogspot@gmail.com

Richard added that more details, including a video of Mr Crane can be found on his blog page: deepstatenews.blogspot.com/2013/07/conspiracy-theory-or-deep-geopolitics.html

The new councillor for St George’s ward in Douglas is Catherine Corlett who took the seat with a landslide victory in Thursday’s by-election.

Mrs Corlett of Cronkbourne Road beat her nearest rival by nearly 120 votes.

David Buttery polled the second highest number of votes at 156 and George Campbell was in third place with 93.

The youngest candidate, 27-year-old Kevin Oliphant-Smith took 34 votes.

Despite the glorious sunny weather, turn out was low at just 27 per cent representing a total of 560 voters.

There were three spoilt papers and three were rejected because more than one candidate was voted for.

A long-established Douglas gents’ outfitters is to close its doors after nearly 40 years.

Mark Luis Limited, better known by its trading name, Peter Luis, has gone into creditors’ voluntary liquidation, with store manager Mark Edington blaming difficult market conditions.

A creditors’ meeting was held on Wednesday at the St George’s Street offices of chartered accountants Crowe Morgan when the practice’s Amy Slee was appointed liquidator.

Peter Luis has been a familiar name on the corner of Duke Street and Lord Street for many years and in October 2013 it would have celebrated 40 years at this site.

The shop has been in the same family during this time, with Mark and Diane Edington taking over the management in 2006.

Mr Edington said: ‘We are sorry to say that due to difficult market conditions, sales have fallen and we find ourselves in a position whereby the business can no longer continue trading.

‘It is with regret that we have therefore taken the difficult decision to appoint a liquidator.

‘Diane and I wish to thank our customers for their loyalty over the years. The closing down sale has now started and we encourage the local community to support us one last time before we close the doors for the final time.’

Other businesses contained in the Peter Luis building remain very much open, however, including Elle ladies fashions.

A project undertaken by bank workers has transformed the environment at St Mary’s School in Douglas.

It was one of the biggest projects undertaken by staff members of RBS International, under the bank’s ‘Get Your Hands Dirty’ initiative.

The scheme was in two parts and took about a year to complete. Firstly, the plan was to provide and plant out two raised garden beds, one containing herbs and fruit and the other featuring varieties such as lavender and thyme, chosen for their fragrance. Both beds are being maintained by the children.

Second part of the programme involved the construction and painting of a mural on a 20 metres section of bare wall underneath the school’s balcony area. It was decided this should be carried out under the theme of Noah’s Ark.

Designs were produced by the bank staff - notably Leanne Mathews - which were approved by head teacher Tim Short.

Animals such as pandas, zebras, monkeys and tigers then began to make their appearance. When the Bank volunteers had completed the painting, facilities management company Prospero attached the nine separate boards to the wall.

The whole school turned out for the official photo shoot to unveil the project and the starring role - for obvious reasons - was handed to Year 3 pupil Noah Tonks who can be seen in the picture standing proudly alongside the Ark which bears his name.

Mr Short said: ‘This was a major project carried out by the wonderful team at RBS International which has enhanced the school environment tremendously. It was especially nice that virtually all the staff members involved were either parents with children at St Mary’s or were former pupils - some of whom I have not seen for 10 or 12 years.

‘They all worked very hard but I can assure them their efforts are much appreciated. The flower beds are being maintained by the school’s gardening club. The pupils are being encouraged to smell the plants in the fragrant garden while the herbs we grow are already been used by St Mary’s cooking staff.’

The original nomination under the bank scheme came from Melody Potenciano who works in the payments section of RBS International and who has a son at St Mary’s.

She said: ‘We all helped each other and probably the hardest part of the project was the time spent painting the mural.

‘I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who made this project possible. I am so proud and happy for what we have achieved for the school. Thumbs up to everyone concerned for a job well done.’

Although other bank staff also helped out from time to time the bulk of the work was done by Melody Potenciano, Suzanne Fargher, Christopher Clague, Bob Whitcher, Elizabeth Shimmin, Chris Cosgrave, Sabrina Cosgrave and Sarah Dawson.

The principle behind the Get Your Hands Dirty community scheme is that bank staff put forward environmental projects for consideration.

Those chosen receive a donation to get the project off the ground but further developments take place as and when staff have raised sufficient money by their own efforts to carry them out.

Employees are allowed time away from work to undertake the initiative but in reality many also often give up their lunch-breaks and leisure time to progress the work.

A charge of £20 for a tree felling licence will be introduced from August 1.

Tynwald agreed to this administration charge to help to reduce the cost of managing legislation.

Trees are protected under the Tree Preservation Act 1993 and anyone failing to comply with the act can face penalties of up to £20,000. For more information call 801263.

The RBS International group in the Isle of Man encompasses not only RBS International but also the Isle of Man Bank, Coutts, NatWest and Lombard Finance.

They employ 470 staff across the group. Like every other banking organisation they have been affected by tough times and they are responding in a positive manner.

Isle of Man Newspapers Awards for Excellence launched

Island director Bill Shimmins explains: ‘I think we’re in a time of change and change is affecting us all, including the banks. It’s important that we strive for excellence, to help us manage through that change and focus on the fundamentals which is customer service, because our customers are at the forefront of what we do.’

‘As more and more customers are discovering the convenience of online banking, the group has been facilitating this whilst rationalising the number of its branches on the island.’

RBS International Victoria Street and NatWest Prospect Hill branches will merge and from Friday, August 16, Prospect Hill branch will close. The following Monday, the ground floor of the Victoria Street building will open as a full service NatWest branch.

At the same time, the group has invested heavily in internet banking, mobile phone banking and iPad banking apps, which have all been a great success with customers.

‘If our customers are looking for different ways of interacting with the bank rather that the traditional way of going into the branch, then we must react accordingly,’ maintains Bill, adding: ‘All organisations, whether in the public or the private sector, are having to look at the way they do things and make some changes.

‘Ultimately, it’s the way they make those changes and implement them that will ensure how successful those organisations are.’

He believes that currently one of the most important themes for any business is sustainability.

‘Social trends have meant more people connected to the worldwide web, whilst regulatory changes and international developments have meant that consumers perhaps have less free cash,’ he says. ‘It’s an environment which has given organisations in the public and private sector the chance to show how they are adapting to the modern world, whilst continuing to achieve excellence.’

It’s a theme which is also reflected in the aims and ideals of the Awards for Excellence and Bill is proud that RBS International is once more the event’s major sponsor.

‘It reflects our commitment to the local community,’ he explains. ‘The Awards for Excellence is one of 92 events we sponsor through the year, some large, some small. We are very keen to play a part in the community in which we operate.’

He hopes that more local businesses than ever will take up the challenge and enter the Awards:

‘I think they should enter,’ he says. ‘Because it provides recognition for the hard work that they’re doing on the island. It also provides, for the whole team in these organisations not just for the person who heads it, confirmation that they’re respected and valued by the community.’