The Standing Orders Committee of Tynwald has published details of requests it received to prevent parliamentary debate on live planning applications.
The information was released in response to a written question from Douglas Central MHK Chris Thomas after he was blocked from seeking reviews into the controversial Westmoreland Village scheme.
In an email from July 2024, Claire Christian, then a member of DEFA asked the Committee to consider the matter.
She said that answering parliamentary questions on planning applications was “difficult to provide an answer to” and that politicians are “incredibly limited on what information they are able to provide”.
The email argued that parliamentary discussions “may have the potential to impact on the lawful governance, processing, consideration and or determination of particular planning applications” and “can prejudice the ability for Minister(s) or members to make a decision at a later date”.
Standing Order
The Committee subsequently developed a proposal to extend the sub judice principle to planning matters. It consulted the Planning and Building Control Directorate in March 2025, which suggested amended wording for the new standing order.
In May 2025, the Chair of the Planning Committee, Rob Callister MHK, contacted the Clerk with a procedural concern about a motion on the June Tynwald agenda regarding the Laxey Wheel visitor centre planning application.
Mr Callister said: “My primary concern lies with the potential precedent this motion could set regarding future planning applications.”
He warned that if constituents are dissatisfied, “it is likely they will reach out to their local MHK to request its removal via Tynwald”.
In his subsequent advice to all members, Clerk of Tynwald Jonathan King confirmed the motion was in order but would be a “declaratory resolution with no legal effect”.
He added that a “self-denying ordinance to that effect, modelled on the familiar sub judice principle, has been under active consideration by the Tynwald Standing Orders Committee since July 2024″.
Despite the Westmoreland Village scheme twice being approved by the planning committee, most recently in May it is still considered to be a live application.
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