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Deepwater for Cruise Ships


Manx Bean

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I've been talking to people who already benefit from the cruise ships we get, could be really good for the local economy. If they do it, I'm gertin me a mini bus. Oh it will be great Bee's Tours de Mann, shame the old prison has gone but there is always the flower bed/obstruction slaloms at St Marks and Crosby.

 

Douglas needs a face lift but no one wants to spend any money when there's only a handful of Athol Street workers coming to town each day (to drink coffee apparently). If we had tourists people would make their places look nice to attract the cash, innit?

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Orkney got £4 million into the local economy from cruise passengers

 

With a deepwater ship berth costing in the hundreds of millions I cannot see any way of repaying the cost before the thing wears out

 

To give you an example of a cheaper tourism investment look at Majorca. They had funds available and were considering building yet another marina, instead they invested in making the islands roads cycle friendly by widening some of the main routes and putting a 1.5 meter wide cycleway on one side

The result was a massive uptake in cycle holidays in the spring & autumn when the weather was cool enough

I was there last April and they had 25,000 cyclists a week going through the place, using hotels, cafes, bike hire shops, the airlines & ferries and spending considerably more than a tea & scone day tripper

 

A huge and ongoing return for a modest investment

 

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-30794701

 

 

The estimated economic benefit to Orkney was £7m in 2016, the total cost of their berth was £29m (original in 2002 and then extension in 2013)

 

The deep water berth will not cost "hundreds of millions" and its expected lifespan is 100 years.

 

The £50m includes an estimate for shore-side infrastructure modifications, and is only an estimate based on feasibility study designs, not the final design.

 

As stated, the business case detailing ownership/funding/revenues has to stack up, and this is the next step.

 

If the project gets the go-ahead based on a sound business case, and for whatever reason the assumptions in the business case do not materialise over the longer term, there is still the option to sell the asset, as clearly it is moveable and it has 100 year design life. This also mitigates the financial risk.

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What about Conister rock?

 

ETA Cheekyboy, it's too cold here for cycle lanes and there are too many cars on the road. I have stopped road walking because the car fumes were too much for me and...as an ex-smoker I don't need any more poison in my lungs (lol, did you know I stopped smoking?)

Edited by 2bees
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So Mr Ugland is quoted by Manx Radio as saying a 50 mill investment would pay for itself in 5yrs!

He's also quoted as saying a deepwater cruise berth would bring in an extra 6000 people per year at average spend of 60 squid ???

 

He needs to get his spiel right I think!

 

Or alternatively, IOM Newspapers and Manx Radio should get theirs right... these points are addressed in post #121

Edited by b4mbi
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What about Conister rock?

 

ETA Cheekyboy, it's too cold here for cycle lanes and there are too many cars on the road. I have stopped road walking because the car fumes were too much for me and...as an ex-smoker I don't need any more poison in my lungs (lol, did you know I stopped smoking?)

it's the best way, let everyone know and keep telling them, 'cos you know they will slang thee to death if you ever start again.

 

well done,.

 

don't ever, ever give in

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Hahaha I am truly THE worst, smokers smell, they're drugs addicts, like smack heads only worse because they are addicted to a really shit drug that does nothing :) Like I say, the worst. It's not all negative ofc, I have nagged two people to the point that they are on the book, one has been off the nicotine for 13 days (job done, mostly) and the other is getting the book (and avoiding me because I am a no smoking bore). I will never smoke tobacco again.

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It should be examined and as a joint partnership with private investment. Definitely worth looking at.

Fair enough, but the major risk should be private. And what happens if it gets half built and then the partner does an Enron and goes bust, leaving Douglas as a hole in the ground? Will we have another power station moment and debt to match? Then it would be our luck to get it finished just in time for the arse to drop out of the cruise market.

 

That's why I suggested getting Peel Group to look at it. No chance of it bankrupting THEM at least.

Peel Group don't use their own money. Virtually all of the Salford Media City development came about by grants and prebooked tenants in tbe form of BBC etc. And I suspect Liverpool and Mersey Harbour docks was the same.

Peel Holdings and its major shareholder and island resident John Whittaker wouldn't waste his time on a project like what is being proposed. Living here I'm sure is fine, but investing and putting something back into the community is probably another matter. However I could be proved to be wrong and he could have funded major infrastructure projects on the island, and in particular in and around Castletown and Port Erin.

 

Maybe he would if he thought it was a winner,but winners are winners for a reason!

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How come Orkney Hatston Pier 385 metre cost £8million to construct but over here they are talking £50 million plus? It's also worth noting that Orkney got £3.2million EU funding, and no doubt would have got Westminster and a Scottish Government subsidy as well. Far to many questions need to be answered, I don't trust the Tynpotwalders or so called Shipping Association to come up with answers.

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Well !

Mr/Mrs/Miss IOMSA has already posted on here maybe he and Mark Robertshaw can come on and shoot down all the negative posters , self included?

Edited by homarus
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