The Queen's Pier Story .. .. ..

Newsletter-January 2008

The New Year has certainly got off to a good start with the results of the Questionnaire survey on the Queen's Pier of last year coming out so emphatically in favour of Restoration to use. The people of the Isle of Man had been given the opportunity of saying whether or not they wanted their unique Pier repairing or doing away with once and for all. They have confirmed most emphatically, as we knew they would, that they want the pier repairing and re-opening to use. Our long running campaign to get the Manx Government to honour its obligations and repair the Pier has been wholeheartedly embraced by the people of the Isle of Man.

The response level, at 46%, was the best that the Consultants have ever experienced which is another good measure of the affection that we all have for the Queen's Pier.

The actual figures were 38% for the full Heritage restoration and 43% in favour of a less costly repair using modern materials that did not detract from the Victorian appearance of the Pier.

This clearly shows that 81% of our population (that's 56,000 voters) whether 18 or 80, man or woman, want the Pier restored in one way or another.

Both the Friends and the Consultants feel that this result of 81% in favour of re-opening sends a clear and unequivocal signal to Government and Tynwald that they cannot ignore.

The response also clearly demonstrates that the Pier is well loved by the whole population and that Queen's Pier is not just a Ramsey issue but a National one. The "Red Herring" of Option 5 to somehow combine the Pier's repair with a vague and ambitious plan for a new Marina that would take up the whole of South Beach did not really influence the outcome. The Marina idea, it is currently no more than that, would take years to come to fruition and we have already wasted far too many precious years waiting for our Pier to be returned to us. As Michele says, "the real cost of doing nothing is the years of lost opportunity not the money!" The matter has dragged on for far too long and this result shows that even if the Government, through the Department of Transport, have been content to be in breach of Planning law the residents of the Isle of Man most emphatically have not.

I will ask you all to write and remind your MHK's of this shortly before the matter comes before Tynwald. Surely that cannot be very far off given the emphatic "Yes" vote? Or can it?

Other news. Your Committee was re-elected en bloc at last year's AGM and we thank you for your continued confidence. Unfortunately this means that we have the same old Treasurer who now asks that you send in your subs to him at:-

Hon. Treasurer,
Friends of Queen's Pier,
23 Vicarage Park,
Braddan,
Isle of Man,
IM2 2QD

For some time we have been embarrassed by the staleness of our Website due to no committee member having the skills to update it. We have now negotiated a user friendly arrangement with a local expert, David Kinrade, and are working with him on a completely new site. When this is complete we will close down the old site so please make a note of the new address. www.queenspier.org If you did not get our recent announcement about the Questionnaire result this is because your E-Mail details are incorrect in our records. If anyone else would like to use this method of keeping in touch please just E-Mail us on our direct link- queenspier@manx.net

Best Regards,