Applicant Statement
Re Office and pilot accommodation/leisure facility
4 staff plus Mr & Mrs Moore were accommodated across the office and living areas of the old building before being forced out by the rising damp – especially in the winter – and structural problems in an old building no longer fit for purpose. Mr Moore’s office staff are now working on the ground floor of the main house which is unsustainable long term. Two staff members are in the study, one in the library, Mr Moore has a desk in the lounge and Mrs Moore a desk in the kitchen/family room. One bedroom is being used as a boardroom/video conference room.
If planning were granted the current staff and Mr and Mrs Moore would move to the office space provided in the new building.
Three pilots will need to be accommodated as there are currently no pilots on the island certified to fly the Challenger 300. Three pilots allow for holidays and sickness as two are required at all times in the cockpit. Also, having the pilots living in the accommodation will provide extra security – especially at night – at Meary Voar when my wife and I are off island.
Sustainability link between the new office, pilot accommodation and leisure facility building and the hanger is that if there is no accommodation for pilots then the plane and new hanger will be based in Geneva and Mr & Mrs Moore would relocate to Switzerland and the IOM office staff would be made redundant.
Finally, one of the attractions of moving to Meary Voar was that planning permission had already been established for the flat and office space within the old building.
