The historic Summer Hill stables, home to the trammers of the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway since 1877, have been put up for sale by Douglas Borough Council. Although not an unexpected move it is still disappointing that such an historic building is considered suitable for selling as a development opportunity. Possibly the most shocking aspect of the sale is that the property will be available with vacant possession in early 2017 \u2013 hopefully this means that Isle of Man Railways have alternative arrangements already in hand to home the horses for their next two confirmed seasons of operation.<\/p>\n
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The sale is being conducted by Chapman Chartered Surveyors who say that it is \u201cprime development opportunity in picturesque sea front location\u201d and that the \u201cbuildings may have some potential for conversion and refurbishment\u201d. The Council are not only selling the stables but also three terraced houses and a large paved area with the whole site being approximately 0.4 acres in size. No estimated price is mentioned in the advert.<\/p>\n
For their part the Council have said it is in taxpayers best interests to sell the stables as a significant amount of work is needed to the buildings in the near future. Whatever the reasons for the sale it seems that the Council are wanting to wash their hands of the tramway as quickly as possible and bring a complete end to Corporation interest in the historic tramway.<\/p>\n
It is expected that from 2017 the horses will be housed at Strathallan \u2013 it is understood that the depot building has been transferred into the ownership of the Department of Infrastructure \u2013 although no details of how the depot can and will be changed to house the trammers have been announced. If the horses are to live at the depot you would imagine a significant amount of attention will be needed to the building which is known to not be in the best condition currently. Only time will tell where the horses will be living from 2017 but as and when there are updates we will bring them to you on British Trams Online<\/em>.<\/p>\n Meanwhile this weekend will see the previously announced tram sale with six surplus trams available for pre-registered bidders. Details of the results of this sale will be brought to you as and when they are available.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The historic Summer Hill stables, home to the trammers of the Douglas Bay Horse Tramway since 1877, have been put up for sale by Douglas Borough Council. Although not an unexpected move it is still disappointing that such an historic … Continue reading