Plan for replacement primary school on vacant site

Plans have been outlined for a two-form primary school to be developed on an empty government site in the Manx capital.

The Department of Education, Sport and Culture (Desc) has set out the proposals for the Park Road site, which formerly housed St Ninian's Lower School, to replace Schoill Yn Jubilee's two sites.

The buildings on site were demolished in 2013, after the opening of the new lower school at Bemahague in Onchan, with the site unused since.

Desc Minister Daphne Caine said the project would deliver a "modern, energy-efficient school that meets community needs".

Currently primary school Scoill Yn Jubilee operates across both Murrays Road and Ballaquayle sites in the centre of Douglas, which were both ageing and required capital investment, it said.

In July, a motion was approved in Tynwald that the Park Road site should be prioritised for re-development, and that a plan should be laid before Tynwald by February 2026.

In its response to the motion, the government said while primary school numbers had declined elsewhere, the centre of Douglas remained stable.

A two-form entry primary school has two classes in each year group, typically accommodating about 350 pupils in total.

The department said the new school would continue to offer that provision, which mirrored the number of places currently also offered at Henry Bloom Noble Primary School ain the capital.

it said that was "necessary to ensure pupils can attend within their own communities".

The House of Keys previously in February 2024 that the Park Road site would not be not big enough for a two-form entry school, however the the department has now said that was not the case.

It said spatial analysis had confirmed that "when the full site is utilised it can accommodate the required school footprint", with external circulation and play areas in line with other urban schools.

Building a school on the Park Road site would free up both the Ballaquayle and Murray's Road sites for residential re-development, it continued.

The department said it would now aim to develop costed proposals, with the concept design due to be completed by November 2026.

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