Bid to protect Laxey Flour Mill with registered building status
BBCA 19th century flour mill in the east of the Isle of Man is being considered for protected status.
Laxey Flour Mills, designed by Robert Casement who was also responsible for the Laxey Wheel, was built in 1860.
Registered building status would recognise the site as a place of architectural or historic interest.
The future of the business was put in doubt last year after the closure of its biggest customer Ramsey Bakery.
That business bought about 90% of the mill's flour, produced from locally grown milling wheat.
The government has committed to continuing to support what is the island's only flour mill while a food security plan is developed, handing the business a £41,000 annual subsidy.
The Proposal to Register notice means the building cannot be altered until a final decision is made.
If added to the register any future alterations could only be carried out with the express permission of the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture.
The four storey building, made from Manx stone, sits at the entrance of the Laxey Glen.
It was originally built to provide flour for bread for the miners and their families in the village at the time.
While the building has remained at the heart of Laxey for 163 years, its structural integrity has been tested a number of times, enduring three major fires.
The worst of the blazes gutted the mill building in 1921, but the screen house survived, and the rest of the mill was rebuilt and opened again three years later.
Written submissions about the application to have the building protected can be made until 8 January.
