Henthorn tables motion to revoke Tynwald ban on debating live planning applications

Garff MHK Richard Henthorn has put down a motion for the November sitting of Tynwald that would scrap a rule barring members from debating planning applications that are still being decided, Isle of Man Today has reported.

Mr Henthorn, who took his seat in the House of Keys on 29 September, is making a fresh attempt to overturn a 2025 amendment to Tynwald’s standing orders. That amendment brought live planning applications within the sub judice restrictions normally used to protect court cases. A move to reverse the change was defeated in July.

According to Isle of Man Today, the rule has kept major schemes such as Ørsted’s Mooir Vannin offshore windfarm and the Westmoreland Village development off the parliamentary agenda.

Speaking against the July motion, Gary Clueit, a member of the Legislative Council, said discussing an application before it was determined could prejudice the outcome. He told members the island was in step with constitutional practice elsewhere in the British Isles, not out of line with it.

Mr Henthorn has since obtained a briefing from the Clerk of Tynwald’s Office on how other parliaments handle live planning cases. Isle of Man Today reported that it indicates sub judice rules are not generally applied to them:

• House of Commons: live applications are not automatically covered, though later court proceedings may be. A minister involved in the decision may be unable to comment, but other MPs can still debate it.
• Judicial review in England: the rule applies once a challenge becomes active, but the Speaker can allow discussion of cases of national importance, with debate confined to general principles if needed.
• Scotland: restrictions generally apply only where legal proceedings are active.
• Wales and Northern Ireland: there is no automatic restriction, although ministers who determine applications or appeals may need to take care over what they say.
• Jersey: the States Assembly’s sub judice rules do not automatically extend to live applications.
• Guernsey: there is no general ban on discussing them.

Ørsted’s Mooir Vannin plan involves about 87 turbines sited six to 12 nautical miles off the east coast. The company puts the financial benefit to the island at around £2bn.

Isle of Man Today reported that the independent panel considering the application is due to send its report and recommendation to the Council of Ministers by early December. Ministers will then have 30 working days to make a decision. The Attorney General has advised that any minister who has already taken a position on the scheme, either way, must declare a conflict and step aside.

Mr Henthorn has also asked for a general debate at the November sitting on the government’s approach to earning revenue from seabed rental. A separate motion calls on the Department of Infrastructure to give Tynwald members the full, unredacted agreement for lease granted to Ørsted in November 2015.