The Department of Infrastructure says it is now frequently confiscating vehicles which have unpaid fixed penalty fines.

Examples of vehicles taken included:

l One car left for a prolonged period parked in an area that had a ‘16hr in 24hr’ parking restriction. It had several parking tickets.

l One with 10 parking offences and no road tax.

l One with more than 100 outstanding tickets.

Owners can recover their vehicles once a release fee of £108 and storage charges of £12 per day have been paid and once the vehicle is properly taxed and insured and, where relevant, parking fines have been paid.

An MHK says he wants to lift the lid on political dirty tricks in Tynwald after claiming he has been ‘threatened’ by an MLC.

But one MLC has hit back urging Agriculture Minister to name names – and put up or shut up.

Mr Gawne admits he has no proof that an MLC, whom he refuses to name, has been behind a dirty tricks campaign, which he is linking to his recent - unsuccessful - motion to abolish the Legislation Council.

He said his aim was to ‘expose the dirty, nasty, underhand and creepy business some members engage in’.

‘It’s not about being intimidated - I’m not intimidated. I just want to expose that this kind of thing happens in Tynwald.’

Mr Gawne claimed that two weeks ago one MLC told him in the Tynwald members’ room that if he was going to push forward with his private members’ Bill to abolish LegCo then he was going to ‘fight fire with fire’ and ‘throw a lot of c*** in my direction’. There was a threat.’

He said over the course of the following week his department had had to deal with a ‘lot of issues’ including an anonymous letter. ‘It led me to think this was being directed by someone – I could be wrong,’ he said.

He said the anonymous letter about the Countryside Care Scheme had been sent to all Tynwald members and contained ‘wild, dangerous, misleading and inaccurate’ statements.

Alex Downie MLC confirmed he had sent a copy of the anonymous letter to Mr Gawne’s department which he said had been written by a disgruntled farmer. Mr Downie said he had included a covering letter giving his name.

He told the Examiner: ‘He should name and shame - put up or shut up.

‘He’s making allegations about a member and he’s tarring everybody in LegCo with the same brush. This isn’t the way we work in here.

‘I can categorically say to you that I have never ever sent an anonymous letter to anybody. If he has time on his hands to get rid of LegCo he should have time to get on with the things he should be doing in his department.’.

He said that if Mr Gawne had concerns he should take his complaint to the members’ standards committee.

A Castletown man has been committed to the Court of General Gaol Delivery on a murder charge.

Ian Anthony Anderson, who is 45, of Queen Street, is charged with killing Neil Roberts between November 29 and December 30 last year at Queen Street in Castletown.

He is also charged with assaulting Alison Anderson causing actual bodily harm.

No bail application was made and he was remanded in custody. A date is yet to be fixed for the trial.

Ramsey’s Victorian swing bridge could remain closed for this year’s TT in June, after repair work uncovered unexpected problems.

The bridge was closed to pedestrian and vehicle traffic in September last year for repairs which were intitially expected to take three months at a cost of £750,000.

But in December it was announced by the government the work needed to repair the bridge was more extensive than expected and it would remain closed until March.

Now further problems have been found meaning the bridge is likely to remain closed during this year’s TT, and Ramsey Sprint which traditionally takes place on Mooragh Promenade on the Tuesday of race week.

Ports director Ann Reynolds said the current problem stemmed from poor repair work done on the bridge in the late 1980s or early 90s which had used inappropriately sized cogs in the turning mechanism.

Around 20 cogs are affected and if they are put back, the bridge would require further work - costing hundreds of thousands of pounds - in the future.

The more cost-effective option is to modify or replace them now rather than simply reassembling them.

She said they were aware the work could continue during TT and Ramsey Sprint.

Further work to paint the bridge and replace lighting, scheduled for the autumn may now be done during the current closure.

Manx Financial Group PLC, the AIM listed Isle of Man financial services group which includes Conister Bank Limited and Edgewater Associates Limited, reported its annual results for the year ended December 31 2013 today.

Jim Mellon, executive Chairman of Manx Financial, said: ‘I am extremely pleased to report that the Group has returned to net profitability by recording a full year figure of nearly £1.1 million.

‘I would expect this trend of increasing profits to continue in the year to come.’

Conister Bank continues to grow with interest income increasing by 37.8 per cent to £10.8 million, driven by a 44.1 per cent increase in new lending to £55 million. In turn, the net loan book grew by 29.4 per cent to £75.7 million.

This growth has been achieved without compromising credit quality as evidenced by the decrease in impaired loans. Much of this growth has been built on new distribution agreements that the Bank has signed over the last year.

Conister Bank’s managing director, Juan Kelly, said: ‘In line with other jurisdictions, the island’s banking market is undergoing a structural shift.

‘The convergence of financial technology with stronger regulation is helping create a more level playing field in which a challenger bank such as Conister is able to access markets hitherto dominated by the big legacy institutions.

‘We remain committed, where possible, to helping Manx businesses to grow by filling the financing gaps our borrowers are currently experiencing.’

Edgewater Associates, the Group’s local wealth management and general insurance subsidiary, continued its improved financial performance and executive director, Sandra Cardwell, said: ‘We work hard for our customers and invest in our people.

‘Also, being part of a diversified group of companies allows us to draw on experience that is not readily available to other island based independent financial advisors.

‘We are well placed for future growth both organically and by consolidation, providing the right opportunity presents itself.’

Potential students interested in studying with the Open University can learn all about it at an event on Saturday.

It’s taking place at St John’s Mill, Tynwald Mills, St John’s from 11.30am to 4.30pm.

Education advisers and representatives from the student registration service will be on hand to give information and guidance.

They will be able to answer questions on the courses on offer, how learning through the Open University works, and different finance options.

The OU offers a wide range of undergraduate and postgraduate qualifications - degrees, foundation degrees, diplomas and certificates - or standalone modules which can be studied individually and which could earn you credits towards a degree.

It offers about 600 courses which can count towards more than 250 qualifications.

The flexible approach to learning enables students to study from home, work or even on the move, at a time that suits you

Those interested in studying with the Open University who can’t attend the information event can call 0845 300 6090.

The Isle of Man has won praise from a welcome but unlikely corner - Brussels.

Angel Gurria, secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, hailed the island for its action to combat tax evasion during a debate at the European Competition Forum in Brussels.

Mr Gurria spoke up on behalf of the Isle of Man, Jersey and Guernsey in response to a question by Belgian MEP Phillipe Lamberts and highlighted the commitment on tax reform made by the UK and Crown Dependencies at the G8 Summit in Loch Erne last year.

He said: ‘This is a good development although there is still more to do. Some of the problems are not in the islands, but in the “big islands”, in the UK itself and in the US.’

Chief Minister Allan Bell said moves on tax transparency had enhanced our reputation.

He said: ‘This level of recognition reflects the island’s positive leadership on tax transparency and information exchange.’

Ramsey Commissioners have decided not to object to a scheme to build a housing estate of 30 properties on the former gas works site, North Shore Road.

Instead, they will forward their concerns as observations. Those concerns relate to the proposed access onto North Shore Road, inadequate open space, and the environmental implications of the previous use of the area.

The application by Haven Homes Ltd is for demolition of the redundant gas works structures to make space for 30 homes, eight of which would be for first-time buyers.

Following last month’s meeting when it was decided to object to the scheme, lead member for works and development, Graham Jones and the commissioners’ technical officer, Steve Harrison, have met Ashton Lewis and Hugh Logan, from Haven Homes.

Messrs Lewis and Logan assured them that detailed consideration had been given to the layout of the estate prior to the plans being submitted and both the proposed access splays and the proposed amenity space met statutory requirements. In addition, a land contamination report had been submitted. They said it was a very significant investment for the company, which hoped to build up to 100 houses in Ramsey over the next five years.

On this basis, Mr Jones asked his colleagues on the board to reconsider their objection.

Commissioner Richard Radcliffe refused to be swayed. He said: ‘Nothing has changed. In my opinion, the roadway access is woefully inadequate and my concerns about amenity land remain the same.’

Commissioner Sylvia Beattie said she still had strong objections on grounds of access and over-intensive use: ‘There’s already enough properties there,’ she said.

Fellow board member Steven Bevan said he welcomed any development in Ramsey, but this was a busy road at the best of times: ‘The fact it is close to Mooragh Park, which is busy with families, does worry me somewhat,’ he said.

With the exception of Mr Radcliffe, Mrs Beattie, Mr Bevan and board chairman, Nigel Malpass, members agreed to withdraw their objection and make observations instead.

Sixty people attended a Positive Action Group meeting where a working party looking to set up a Manx credit union outlined its case.

The Manx Credit Union Working Party is working with MHKs, the Financial Supervision Commission and government departments to establish the necessary legislative framework.

It is assessing the level of support for setting up a Manx credit union by asking the community to fill in an expression of interest form. And it’s looking for companies and individuals to provide money to get it started.

Working party chairman David Talbot said he was pleased with the level of interest shown, adding presentations will be made to any groups and organisations who want to hear its plans.

A credit union is a financial co-operative owned and controlled by its individual members and provides an alternative to banks. It provides members with accessible savings, low cost loans and other financial services and advice.

Mr Talbot said: ‘Money that comes in stays on the Isle of Man, circulating round the island when it is loaned out. From that point of view it does contribute to the national economy. Money that goes into a bank – who knows where that goes and what it funds?’

Mr Talbot said if 200 people gave £500 ( a total of £100,000), it would provide the money needed for equipment to set it up and working capital.

The working party also outlined its plans at Douglas Town Hall following an invitation from Mayor Carol Malarkey.

They were joined at both meetings by UK Credit Unions Limited operations manager Dawn Vear. In the UK there are about 500 credit unions.

Copies of a leaflet launched by the working party are available from Nadine House, in North Quay, or call 619459.

www.mcu.im

Today (Thursday) will be the 56th anniversary of the Winter Hill air crash in which 35 Manx residents lost their lives on the slopes of Winter Hill, near Horwich in Lancashire.

Douglas Rotary Club has arranged for a short service of remembrance to be held at the Winter Hill Memorial in St John’s Church at 10.30am.

As well as remembering those who lost their lives, their families and friends, thanks will also be given to the residents of Horwich and, in particular, members of the Rotary Club of Horwich who did so much to help in the rescue of survivors and provide comfort and support.

Crash survivor Fred Kennish, a former Douglas mayor who died in 2011 aged 86, spoke to iomtoday on the 50th anniversary of the crash and recalled the events which led to the tragedy: {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/memories-of-winter-hill-crash-survivor-fred-1-2980897|Memories of Winter Hill crash survivor Fred Kennish}

Find out more about the Winter Hill disaster here: {http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/isle-of-man-news/winter-hill-air-crash-50th-anniversary-1-1770399|Winter Hill air crash 50th anniversary}

This was the scene at Laurel Bank, near St John’s, on Tuesday lunchtime.

Police and ambulance attended a road traffic accident at approximately 11.15am and the road was blocked south bound but the north bound carriageway remained open.

A police spokesman said only one vehicle was involved and a male was taken to Noble’s Hospital to be checked over, but was released with no serious injuries.

The vehicle had been travelling towards Glen Helen when the driver lost control.

My status as a media celebrity (Isle of Man only, conditions apply) has led me into many interesting situations. But not, so far, what amounts to serious crime. Art fraud to be exact . . .

In the past I have been asked to take part in recipe books to raise money for a charity. This is easy. If you don’t have a recipe of your own you can borrow one, as a professional compliment, celebrity to celebrity, from a well-known chef.

But it was different when the Isle of Man branch of Victim Support asked me to take part in a fundraising art show by contributing a piece of artwork of my choice. I felt compelled to agree, even though I have no visual art ability whatever. I can barely draw breath.

What I sent in is one of the works now on show in the Palm Court of Tower House in Douglas. It is described as an original framed ink sketch on paper measuring 29.5cmx18.5cm and it is a ‘self portrait’ of my car. It is a side view of my red Mini One convertible speeding along with the hood down and a couple of seagulls above trying to pay tribute to me in the best way they know how.

The show itself opened a week ago and I was at the launch, where I was surprised to be told that all the pictures, including mine, were to be put up for auction on eBay to raise money for the cause. A cold hand fastened around my heart.

It wasn’t my picture at all. I had had it ‘ghosted’ for me by a professional artist.

The auction ended on Sunday and at time of writing I didn’t know if the drawing had been bought. But it seems to me that, if so, the buyer has been the victim of art fraud.

The drawing was done by my friend Peter Hearsey, an artist well-known in the Isle of Man and even more so elsewhere in the world, as official artist to the Goodwood Festival of Speed and especially in America where he is seen as one of the world’s leading automotive artists.

He does paintings of the fine, highly valuable cars owned by wealthy patrons along with many other iconic vehicles.

But Pete has not been given credit for ‘my’ drawing on eBay, and not even in the Palm Court of Tower House in Douglas.

That’s my case, Your Honour. I didn’t really mean to do it. But if I have to go down do you think I could get help from Victim Support? It was all their fault really.

-------------

Back to my statement that in the film ‘Trapeze’ Burt Lancaster got Gina Lollobrigida in the end instead of Tony Curtis.

My Manx Radio broadcasting colleague Ian Cottier asks: ‘Why should any apparently normal male wish to get Tony Curtis (Rock Hudson perhaps) rather than the formidably endowed Gina and which end did he get her in anyway? What were the options open to him, as you might say?’

All right, all right. I admit it. We all do it.

-------------

Two Manx crossword clues. Richard Hetherington sends in, from the Daily Telegraph cryptic: Personal assistant to Isle’s new tavern (3-7) – man-servant. Clive Alford offers, from the Radio Times: Distant sea as well as an island (7) – Andaman.

-------------

The last wacky website. Design firm Speed of Art has www.speedofart.com.

Cat Turner comments on news that the UK Government has granted permits to a fracking firm to start testing on our doorstep

--------------

It was gravely concerning to read, this week, of plans for a UK company to start shale fracking in the Irish Sea.

And these concerns were all the greater because it’s a firm related to accident-prone Cuadrilla that’s been granted the exclusive two-year licences over sections of the seabed.

These licences are provisional, in that Nebula Resources has to prove it has the necessary finance before it can start test-drilling; and that’s a proviso well-worth imposing, since the fracking industry is rife with over-estimates and guesstimates, and has been described by several alanlysts as a ‘massive Ponzi Scheme’.

Nebula is a new company, and it’s been set up by one Dr Chris Cornelius, the founder of the aforementioned Cuadrilla. Dr Cornelius sounded optimistic as he spoke to the BBC about his plans: ‘We’re very comfortable that the resource is there and the numbers are absolutely ginormous. Is any of that exploitable? That’s the billion dollar question and we won’t know that for many years.’

Well, that IS the billion-dollar question; and so far, experience in other countries has shown that the fracking industry has a solid track record of completely over-stating potential gas flows.

You might recall our column last year (‘Sub-Prime Energy’, http://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/columnists/sub-prime-energy-situation-1-5796335), in which we showed that if you get behind the figures – and they’re very uncertain figures – a rather unpalatable picture emerges.

And that’s even before we get to the environmental damage (under a ‘good’ fracking scenario, if such a thing exists), and thence to the potentially shocking outcomes if something goes wrong. Cuadrilla and its associates know all about that – it was their drilling activity that almost certainly caused a number of earthquakes in Lancashire, in 2011, as they themselves have admitted.

Cuadrilla’s still gamely trying to start fracking operations under way in the county, of course, much to the alarm of many of its residents.

Dr Cornelius is well aware that this is a new technology for the UK’s coastal waters, and that it may or may not be profitable; but again, talking to the BBC, he seemed sanguine. He told the BBC: ‘Certainly offshore shale gas is a new concept, and there’s no reason with the UK’s history of offshore development that we can’t develop these resources offshore.’

Others from the scientific community, interviewed for the same piece, were less confident. Professor Richard Davies, director of the Durham Energy Institute and leader of the European fracking research consortium ReFINE, told industry magazine The Engineer: ‘The cost of an offshore well is dramatically higher than an onshore well and shale gas wells produce quite small volumes of gas. The economics of drilling offshore when you’re likely to get less gas don’t stack up.’

Onshore, where there’s at least some experience of the impact of fracking, the process has been linked to water contamination, air pollution, earth tremors, health problems and climate change.

This is why communities across the UK are protesting in the strongest terms about the threat to their lives and livelihoods.

But, and here’s the rub, the pound signs that so often persuade politicians to ignore these issues are largely illusory. Fracking isn’t likely to bring down energy prices, nor can it create sustainable jobs. UK Energy Secretary Ed Davey has said ‘we can’t expect UK shale production alone to have any effect [on gas prices]’.

And leading climate change economist Lord Stern has described claims of fracking cutting gas prices as ‘baseless economics’.

The timelines involved – a decade or more – also mean that fracking operations won’t help keep the lights on in the imminent UK energy crisis. And in any event there’s no guarantee that any gas extracted won’t be exported to the highest bidder – so no energy security there.

If you want to look for experience in the offshore fracking industry, you need to look to the US – it’s an unedifying story.

There’s evidence that the extraction industry has engaged in more than 200 unlicensed fracking activities off the coast of the US (mainly the West Coast), and this with almost no safety or regulatory oversight.

Wastewater, replete with contaminants, is freely released into the sea – there affecting both marine species, and people enjoying leisure pursuits, including fishing.

We’re told that the UK’s offshore fracking industry would be much more responsible, and better regulated.

But that seems hard to believe.

The capital’s high street has ‘a better story to tell’ than its counterparts in most towns in the north of England, according to a doyen of the island’s real estate market.

‘We complain about the retailers that we have but Douglas still has a pretty good offering in terms of multiple traders,’ says Mark Grace, commercial director at Black Grace Cowley.

He also believes Strand Street is suffering fewer 
vacancies than equivalent size towns in the UK. He 
contends that the perception that Douglas is losing an 
inordinate number of 
retailers was seeded when 
the Woolworths outlet shutdown along with hundreds of others in the UK after 
the group went into administration in 2008. The hole left by Woolworths was later in effect filled by the arrival of Dealz.

‘The reality is that those multiple traders [who look 
beyond the island’s demographics to open branches here] do very well,’ Mr Grace told Business News.

‘We are doing deals. In the last quarter of 2013 we let three shops in Strand Street, including to a multiple tenant, Cotton Traders.

‘I don’t think we are ever going to attract the super high-quality, luxury goods retailers but I don’t think the retail story is nearly as bad as some make it out to be.’

He says the facelift Douglas is continuing to undergo is paying dividends.

‘With continuing effort, I think the occupation level in Strand Street will remain pretty good. It is harder to attract [multiple traders] to Castletown, Ramsey and Peel. So we mainly look to 
local traders when shops come up in those areas, but 
. . . there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.’

Mr Grace says that retail rentals across the board in the island have remained reasonably stable since the global financial crisis struck in 2008/09.

‘The top rate is just over £100sq ft for zone-A, which it has been throughout the last five to six-year period. In most high streets in the UK you’d have seen some quite significant fall off.’

In fact, the entire commercial property market in the island has remained fairly stable in the past few years, according to Mr Grace.

‘Commercial property was on a year-on-year improving trajectory right up to 2007-08. We weren’t hit immediately when the UK property market started to suffer.’

The island’s residential property market has borne the brunt of the decline in sales. ‘We talk about the commercial market as a whole but it has a number of dynamics. And even within the different sectors you have submarkets.

‘Even in the last two to three years, when people’s perception was probably that things are pretty slow, we’ve had two speculative office buildings coming out of the ground - St George’s Tower and Quay House. Probably nowhere in the UK, outside of London, have you seen speculative office development, people willing to take the risk to develop. Quay House is full and there are tenants in St George’s Tower.’

Mr Grace says that rental rates and freehold prices have remained fairly constant.

‘What has improved are the sort of incentives that tenants can get in the office market - a tenant might now be able to get double the rent-free period than he would have been able to get in 2007-08.’

Landlords of prime office space in Douglas can charge around £22.50 per square foot.

‘We’ve kept pretty well on a par with northern cities. Where we have fallen away is in terms of the Channel 
Islands [where] rents are well up in the £30s. But hopefully that makes the island more attractive as a location.’

Mr Grace says the Isle of Man was fortunate in that there were no large-scale 
developments under construction when the effects of the global crisis hit the island.

He calculates that around 10 per cent of the island’s one million square feet of office space is now standing empty. ‘It will probably take 12 months for the bit of slack that we do have to be taken up. The incentives that tenants are getting at the moment will probably disappear and we may well then see some new schemes coming on to the market. There is the very real possibility that we will see some growth in rents over the next few years to around the mid-£20s.’

He had closed a rental deal for 3,000 sq ft the day before we met for the interview. However, anyone seeking in excess of 10,000 square feet at the moment would be hard pressed to find it. While banks are contracting, companies in some other sectors are expanding, feeding the need for additional floor space.

‘One of the mainstays of our business for the past two to three years has been the investment market,’ notes Mr Grace.

‘We completed £20 million of investment sales in the last quarter of 2013. We’ve had consistent [investment] sales over the last five years.’

He describes the investors’ appetite for commercial property as a ‘flight to income returns’, in the face of poor interest rates on offer by the banks. Commercial property is achieving returns of 7-9 per cent.

Within the warehouse market there is not much vacant space to be found. Rentals - around £7.50 sq ft is being achieved at the top end - have remained constant.

‘We’ve just done a major pre-let down in Tromode, - probably the largest pre-let industrial premises, 18,000 sq feet, that there’s been in the island in the past 20 years.’

There is keen demand for 1,000sq ft unit.

Mr Grace is hopeful that the government’s ambitions to establish a cluster of biomed manufacturers in the island will be realised.

‘It’s still early days but it certainly seems promising - a niche market like that would be wonderful for the island.

‘It doesn’t take a lot in the commercial market in the 
island to make a big difference. Whether it’s the office, the industrial or the retail market, it only takes half a dozen deals to completely change the outlook.’

Some 54 payments totalling £226,562 were made to Manx Electricity Authority engineers and managers in 2012/13 in performance related pay.

In a written reply to a question from Zac Hall (Onchan), Chief Minister Allan Bell said that MEA had never paid bonuses but did have a performance related pay scheme until 2013 when it was removed by the board.

Mr Bell has previously revealed that £234,762 was paid out in bonuses to government staff last year – nearly £100,000 down on the £330,708 paid out in bonuses in 2010. The Chief Minister said performance related pay had been awarded to personal contract holders at the MEA peaking at £291,288 in 2009-10. No personal contracts have been issued since 2010. Of the £225,562 paid out in 2012-13, £144,337 went to engineers/managers and £82,225 to senior managers.

l What do you think?

newsdesk@newsiom.co.im

Today’s Manx Independent’s front page story is about the sentencing of a knifeman.

The paper also catches up with how the victim is faring.

The Manx Independent also features:

A story about more anger over the toilet tax

A report from the Keys after two government ministers were accused of an attempt to sabotage boundary reform

A feature about a young man who was inspired to volunteer for stem cell donation.

A look at Noble’s Hospital’s waiting times

A call from a British Airways boss to use the London City flight or face losing it

Concern about Cregneash’s church

The Manx Independent also includes your Island Life section, which includes on its front page a preview of the next Christine Wild Theatre School show, a look forward to Shrove Tuesday and the Easter Festival of Plays.

The centre pages include photos taken from a book about Manx architecture.

The paper includes the Isle of Man’s two-page What’s On guide, your seven-day television guide and the 12 pages of sport.

The bigger and brighter Manx Independent is on sale now.

The Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society will be continuing its winter series of monthly lectures this weekend.

Current vice president and 2012-13 president Fiona Gell will give the presidential lecture at the Manx Museum lecture theatre in Douglas at 2.30pm on Saturday (March 1).

The senior marine biodiversity officer of the Fisheries Directorate of the island’s Department of the Environment, Food and Agriculture will take as her topic ‘A Glimpse into the History of the Manx Marine Environment’.

This is something that Fiona has had family knowledge of since her earliest days, long before appointment to her DEFA role in 2004. She grew up in the island into a family with a long history of fishing in the south of the island, and through this she developed her love of life in the island’s seas which makes her such an enthusiastic and engaging speaker on the subject.

At one time she worked at the now sadly defunct Port Erin Marine Laboratory as a lecturer and undertook research into herring – a fish once so important to Manx life that it is mentioned in the ancient ceremonial traditions of Tynwald Day and, in the 18th century, spud and herring was traditionally the Manx national dish.

In charting changes and studying life in the Manx seas, Fiona is following a long tradition.

As early as the 1830s the Manx marine biologist Edward Forbes used his own design of scientific dredge to explore the seabed and discovered many new species in Manx waters, as well as describing the type of seabed. He was particularly interested in the today all-important scallop banks off the island’s shores, which he studies from fishing vessels.

In later times the scientists of Port Erin Marine Laboratory studies the seabed in the south of the island for more than 100 years, discovering vast reefs of horse mussels, rich sandbanks and forests of the seaweed kelp.

Fiona said: ‘Despite over a century of marine biological research in Manx waters, we are still learning about the marine species and habitats of the present day. Significant areas of fish habitat are still being discovered and the abundance and behaviour of many species remain little understood.

‘Historical research and other sources provide us with a tantalising glimpse of the marine environment of the past and help us to understand the heavily modified marine environment we have today.

‘My presentation will highlight some of the major changes we have seen in our marine environment and will consider the implications for marine conservation. I’m going to look at what we know about the Manx marine environment today and then some examples of changes that have taken place through history, and the kind of evidence we can find from scientific and social sources.’

The Irish Sea and the vessels upon it will also be central to the final lecture of the society’s winter series, when on Saturday, April 12, Professor John Walton, editor of the Journal of Tourism History and an expert on the social and cultural history of tourism, will speak on ‘Tourism, the Isle of Man and the Irish Sea Economy in the 19th and 20th centuries’.

For further details of the Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society, visit www.manxantiquarians.com and facebook.com/Isle of Man Natural History and Antiquarian Society

A trio of MHKs in three-seat constituencies were accused of trying to sabotage proposals for parliamentary boundary change – their antics branded a ‘farce’ by one backbencher.

Plans to replace the current mix of one, two and three-seat constituencies with 12 two-seat constituencies moved a step closer after the Representation of the People (Amendment) Bill passed its clauses stage after a three hour debate in the House of Keys.

A raft of amendments had been tabled by Rushen MHKs Juan Watterson and Phil Gawne and Onchan Lib Van MHK Peter Karran.

In 20 pages of tabled amendments Mr Watterson suggested every different type of alternative including four six-seat constituencies, six four-seat, eight three-seat, three eight-seat and even two 12-seat constituencies or 24 members elected on an all-island basis amendments.

Middle MHK Howard Quayle said: ‘I really feel these amendments are all long-grass, wrecking motions. This is a total farce – I’m ashamed by the antics of these members. I blame the Chief Minister for allowing two Ministers too much time to come up with waste and wrecking motions.’

Home Affairs Minister Mr Watterson’s amendments also included provision for the registration of political parties and donations.

He told MHKs: ‘I would like to dispel the myth that I’m seeking to delay the Bill. I want to bring openness and transparency in political parties and donations.’

Mr Watterson said he had set out all the options for members to reflect on and did not intend to dwell on the pros and cons of each alternative. He said three-seat constituencies like Rushen ‘worked well’, while the six four-seat option had been used as a springboard for LegCo reform.

Four six-seat constituencies would give a more regional approach to politics, three eight-seats would essentially mean Douglas, North and South while two 12-seats was something of a ‘wild card which doesn’t ever seem to have been a consideration’.

Mover of the Bill, Health Minister David Anderson said this was attempt to ‘muddy the waters’ and undermine the Bill. He pointed out that a second Bill would shortly go out for consultation on the issue of political party registration.

Chief Minister Allan Bell urged the Keys not be sidetracked by this ‘smokescreen’. He branded it as a ‘red herring’ which was designed to ‘undermine and destroy the 12 two-seat constituency concept’.

He said that one of Mr Gawne’s amendments to consult everybody affected by the boundary changes was in effect a call for a referendum. ‘There’s no other way of looking at it,’ he insisted.

Mr Gawne said he believed six four-seat constituencies was the most sensible way forward but this should be introduced in time for the 2021 general election alongside a single transferable voting system. ‘Please stop questioning my motivation,’ he told MHKs.

KPMG director of tax Greg Jones considers the implications of the 2014 Manx Budget in this special article.

No one really expected fireworks from Treasury Minister Eddie Teare’s 2014 Budget.

With limited scope for material changes to either tax or spending the most we could expect to see were small steps on the way to stabilising the Island’s financial position.

Retention of the personal tax liability cap and the 0/10 company tax regime are integral to the Isle of Man’s tax strategy; rather than tinker with these, the government has chosen instead to concentrate on anti-avoidance measures to protect the island’s tax base.

legislation

Personal service company legislation is already set to come in on April 6, to stop the use of 0 per cent tax companies to shelter employment income, and the main tax story in this Budget was Mr Teare’s proposal to make tax capped individuals commit to paying the cap for five years. (Otherwise, by rolling up income tax-free in a company, you could take several years’ worth of dividends in one fell swoop and only pay one lot of capped tax. Going forward, this will no longer be possible: you will need to pay at least five years’ worth of tax, i.e. £600,000).

Mr Teare had slightly more scope to reduce spending – on paper at least.

The machinery of government incurs a huge annual cost, and the Chief Minister himself has made no secret of his desire to make government leaner and meaner.

It is probably true to say that, if we were starting from scratch, we would not necessarily put in place the government machine we have today, which has evolved over many years of comfortable economic growth.

Mr Teare has resisted the temptation (if indeed there was any) to make swingeing cuts.

steps

What we have seen instead are positive, but very small steps, including centralising catering and caretaking functions, and reducing the government headcount.

It is necessary to look at these measures ‘in the round’, since otherwise they can be misleading: the reduction in back office costs of £3m in 2013/2014 only represents 0.5 per cent of total expenditure, after all, and whilst the number of government departments has been reduced from nine to seven, this is partly counterbalanced by a doubling of expenditure on the Cabinet Office from £13m to £26m! Hopefully, however, the cumulative effect over time of these small steps will be a more material reduction in total expenditure.

dark clouds

The reason I am concerned about this is that there are still a number of dark clouds on the horizon.

First, the FATCA effect is uncertain.

Whilst I do believe that any loss of business likely to be attributable to the introduction of FATCA will be less than was first feared, it is not yet clear what the long term effects will be.

Secondly, we cannot rule out further raids on the common purse constituted by the VAT sharing agreement.

The newly revised arrangement still probably favours the Isle of Man, and one wonders whether the UK Treasury may yet beat a further path to our door with palms outstretched.

Thirdly, the public sector pension deficit seems to be worsening, and the ‘cover’ represented by the Pension Reserve Fund appears to have shrunk from 8.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent.

This is a long term liability which is gradually increasing in significance and, notwithstanding the admirable steps taken a couple of years ago to redress the position (by the creation of the Unified Pension Scheme), I fear it is something which the government may have to turn its attention to again very soon.

If radical measures are needed, there are a couple of alternatives.

review

One of these is a wholesale review of the Public/Social Services and Benefits regime, which I believe is already on the agenda.

Basically, we cannot afford to be a fully fledged welfare state with widespread universal benefits and be a country that prides itself on very low taxes.

Something has to give. We are not a mini version of the UK and may soon have to recognise this.

The other option is privatisation, which has been distinctly lacking from the government’s thinking in recent years. The Post Office and the newly created Manx Utilities Authority must be prime candidates for this.

These would be large steps, but for the moment we must be grateful for small mercies.

Robin Bigland says the Isle of Man has been open for business for more than 36 years since he founded one of the island’s longest established ‘names’ the IOMA Group.

Mr Bigland, 73, is today still very much at the helm as chairman of the enterprising business based in Hope Street, Douglas.

He said he has never looked back since leaving his native Yorkshire to establish the ‘pioneering’ insurance business.

Speaking from his office Mr Bigland said he is proud of the values represented by the IOMA Group which employs 70 people including some who have been there for three decades. Along with this he stressed a ‘strong family ethos.’

Today the group supports an international client base delivering one of the industry’s most comprehensive ranges of insurance and wealth management services.

Mr Bigland was joined in his office by Philip Scales, 64, who has recently been promoted to group chief executive, replacing the former CEO Nigel Wood.

promotions

Business News reported recently on how the IOMA Group has made a number of promotions and appointments to its board with immediate effect.

Recalling the early days Mr Bigland said the island’s finance sector was ‘miniscule’ in those days.

‘I think I’m right in saying that when I first enquired as to the totality of the bank footings on the Isle of Man in 1976 there was £269 million, that was the aggregate sum of all the money deposited in the island.’

But Mr Bigland said he saw an opportunity here. ‘I looked at Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

‘But the Isle of Man had space, it was substantially larger than the other two jurisdictions and it also was relatively, and in fact, totally, in the case of insurance, undeveloped.

‘None of the jurisdictions actually had insurance as part of their fully Government authorised activities.’

Mr Bigland called it an ‘advent’ for the Isle of Man as the climate changed where ‘proper statutory arrangements’ were introduced. And that the Manx Government would be the first so to do.

It meant any company coming here to set up a ‘captive’ insurance business would have the protection of the law, he said.

It meant the island was ‘open for business’ said Mr Bigland, ‘and since then it has very much remained open’.

Since then a ‘considerable number’ of insurance companies have had a presence over here. ‘Although we were pretty much the original we have not changed in that lengthy period of time. In other words we are still very much what we were when we set out.’

locally controlled

Mr Scales agreed and emphasised the point: ‘Locally owned and locally controlled.’

Mr Scales added: ‘And over the years the business has expanded to other areas.’

This included provision of multiple services to the finance industry.

Mr Scales said he joined eight years ago and said the IOMA Group prides itself in its roots in the Isle of Man. ‘We have had the opportunity to grow a successful business but without a head office in any other jurisdiction.’

Mr Scales confirmed the island has always been at the heart of IOMA’s business.

The fairly recent addition of a London office was a ‘good place’ to have a presence.

Mr Bigland was born in Yorkshire in Bolton Abbey in the Yorkshire Dales and is proud of his roots there.

He said he still goes back there to see friends and for a spot of shooting out on the moors. I keep the connections [with Yorkshire] it’s in the blood.’

Mr Scales said there were plans to expand the business, for instance, expanding the client base.

pound a day portfolio

IOMA Group has just launched the ‘Pound a Day Portfolio’ investment platform which is proving popular and Mr Scales said it potentially appeals to everyone.

The service has been developed as the ‘ideal investment platform for investors with a minimum of £25,000 to invest with a management fee of just £1 a day, or £365 for the year.’

Mr Bigland said there was a ‘strong family ethos’ at the company which he was proud to be involved in.

‘The fact that people have stayed here (at IOMA) for 20 and 30 years is very important to us.’

Mr Scales said: ‘IOMA Group has a tremendous opportunity to become the service provider of choice to the insurance and wealth management industries.

‘With our strengthened team and a clear vision, we are perfectly positioned to make this a reality.’

From its inception as a small general insurance company it has grown to assets under management and administration of £5.5bn as at January 2014.