“A Douglas South MHK says it's unfair that the business case for the full reinstatement of the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway is seeing yet more delays.
Back in March, the Department of Infrastructure was tasked with returning to Tynwald this month with plans for the full line.
However, the document has missed the deadline for inclusion on the order paper and subsequently, will not appear on May's 'main' order paper.
Sarah Maltby says she has been told the work is progressing but has not been given any indication on where it is up to.
She has now tabled two questions for next week's House of Keys sitting.”
Listen to Ms. Maltby’s comments HERE
"SARAH MALTBY MHK: Despite what many people might think, this administration actually hasn't discussed the horse trams, and we have been waiting for this business case and waiting for the capital funding request. So this isn't something that we have actually had a say in. And so it kickstarted that. And I think it was a really positive outcome unanimously supported today.
PHIL GAWNE: And that's quite, well, quite surprising to me to learn that this iteration of Tynwald, since the last Key's election, this hasn't been discussed.
SARAH MALTBY MHK: Yeah, it just surprised me too. But I suppose there has been a huge amount of things that we have had to deal with and to get through. You know, it's not been an easy administration, I think. And these sort of things kind of drift along and you kind of assume it's coming. We'll get that resolution. It'll be coming forward. We've been told that by ministers. So it's not as if it's been blindly being led down some sort of garden path there. We have been told it was coming. It just hasn't ever got to the bit. And Mr. Guard made a video. It sparked within me a passion to say, right, this has gone on long enough now.
You really have had as many opportunities as we possibly could afford. We need to bring this into the public domain, because at the moment the public don't think that we care about this. And actually there are members in that court who really care about the heritage on the Isle of Man.
PHIL GAWNE: There was some recognition, perhaps, in the debate that this is not a hard and fast business proposition. The business case isn't about the money. This is a heritage case. Is that fair?
SARAH MALTBY MHK: Yeah, I do think it is fair. It is a heritage case, you know, predominantly. And of course it is. You know, it's the longest running heritage rail horse tramway in the world. You know, it's something that we should be really proud of. And what we need to remember is, is what we value and how people value what our heritage is. People have come from around the world to see this. Our heritage rails on the Island. They really value the Victorian infrastructure that we have here. This is not just something that we like to do because it's nostalgic.
This is something that people really pay good money to come to the island to see. They'll stand in the rain, the wind, the hail. They'll stand there and they'll take their photos, and they'll really appreciate what we have here. And I don't think sometimes that's always fully recognised as being a valuable asset to have."