Onchan MHK Rob Callister has raised concerns about “significant gaps in the available information” surrounding the Mooir Vannin Offshore Wind Farm proposal.
A public drop-in session will see by No Offshore Turbines 4 IOM put forward its case at the Community Hub on School Road, Onchan, between 3:30pm and 6pm on Tuesday.
Mr Callister said: “Even as an elected Member, there remain significant gaps in the available information, along with a number of unanswered questions.
“At this stage, this prevents me from taking a definitive position either in support of, or in objection to, the application.”
Declined
The MHK said he had made “considerable efforts” to encourage developer Ørsted to also host a drop-in session at the Community Hub on Tuesday afternoon.
He said: “The aim was to provide a balanced opportunity for residents to engage directly with the applicant, while also hearing the concerns raised by No Offshore Turbines 4 IOM. I believe this would have helped many people feel better informed by hearing both sides of the argument.”
However, Ørsted declined the invitation as it claims it would not be appropriate to hold such an event during the ongoing independent public examination under the Marine Infrastructure Management Act 2016 and indicated it was unaware of similar UK projects holding separate drop-in events during this stage.
Mr Callister added: “While I respect Ørsted’s decision, and thank them for taking the time to respond to my calls and messages, I cannot help but feel that a joint session would have been a valuable opportunity for Onchan constituents, and perhaps a missed one.”
He said he would continue pressing for “greater transparency” and for more information to be placed “firmly in the public domain”.