A senior civil servant felt the DoI failed to support staff during a complaint about an unauthorised patio built in the Laxey River, internal emails reveal.
The email, included in a Tynwald Commissioner for Administration report, shows an officer wrote that “all senior staff within FMD feel unsupported by the department on this and it is currently causing a lot of concern and stress”.
The comments relate to a retrospective planning application for a concrete patio at Victoria Terrace, which protruded into the river. The structure was built without planning permission by the DOI’s Flood Management Division (FMD) during flood alleviation works.
An internal review later found the complaint from a neighbour at Victoria Terrace to be “valid,” criticising FMD for not following planning rules.
The officer claimed a previous Chief Executive Officer had made a “historic” verbal agreement that the patio would be replaced.
Deputy Chief Officer responded by acknowledging that “planning was not in place” and that “the matter could have been managed better,” while confirming they were “pleased with the thorough and professional job” of a subsequent investigation.