Onchan MHK Julie Edge has reignited controversy over the government’s handling of the 2015 Agreement for Lease covering the island’s territorial seabed.
It’s a document Edge says was signed without Tynwald approval and remains hidden from public view.
In her post, Edge says she has now received written confirmation that Tynwald was never asked to approve the Agreement, which was signed with Orsted (then DONG Energy) more than a decade ago.
She tabled a Written Question on June 15 asking the Department of Infrastructure (DoI) what legal authority it relied on and who authorised the deal. The response took over six weeks.
Not Through Tynwald
According to the DoI’s answer, the Department relied on its ownership of the seabed and its belief that it held “the necessary rights, full power and lawful authority” to grant rights over it.
Treasury concurrence was obtained, and the Agreement passed through internal Government committee processes, but not through Tynwald.
The Department maintains that no parliamentary approval was required.
Edge says the Agreement was modelled on the Crown Estate’s UK offshore wind leasing framework and was intended to implement Tynwald’s 2013 decision to explore offshore energy production in Manx waters for export.
However, she notes that no Tynwald‑approved agreement exists to supply electricity to Manx homes.
Hidden Away
Despite its constitutional significance, the Agreement itself has never been published.
Government has stated it was not a constitutionally significant disposal of rights over Manx territorial seas, a claim Edge says cannot be assessed without seeing the document.
She stresses that her concerns are not about opposing renewable energy, but about democratic accountability:
“I am not asking for commercially sensitive information. I am asking what rights were granted, what return is guaranteed to the Manx people, what obligations Government accepted, and what protections exist if conditions are not met.”
Edge says she has used every available route in Tynwald, including a motion, written questions, and presenting Georgina O’Sullivan’s NOT4IOM petition, and pledges to pursue the matter further if re‑elected.
She adds that opposition to the Mooir Vannin project remains strong among constituents: “Our territorial seas belong to the Manx people. Mooir Vannin remains a NO from the residents I am meeting across the island.”
Edge argues that in a functioning democracy, agreements of this scale should be public record, not documents the public must fight to see.
