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The slipway is designed to allow Ronaldsway Airport's Fire & Rescue Service to operate their rescue launch and is located close to the Airport Fire Station. The slipway's predecessor had reached the end of its design life & was beyond economic repair.
The slipway is located in an ecologically important area, within Langness, Sandwick and Derbyhaven Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) and Bird Sanctuary, and the Langness Marine Nature Reserve (MNR). To adequately take into account potential environmental impacts of this scheme the Department had to undertake a thorough consultation with the DEFA Fisheries and Ecosystem Policy Teams in advance of work starting.
Following advice from DEFA, a representative from The Manx Wildlife Trust was appointed as Ecological Clerk of Works for the scheme. Their role was to provide on-site monitoring and advice to ensure that the ecological footprint of the work and risk of environmental damage was minimised.
Derbyhaven Bay is an area of intertidal mudflat and an extremely important feeding and roosting habitat for migrating and wintering wildfowl and waders. The works have been timed to avoid disturbance during the main migrating and wintering period and bird breeding season, and so was started in August & completed this week.
The new slipway has been relocated away from the previous slipway in order to avoid damage to an area of salt marsh which is a rare habitat on the Isle of Man. The previous slipway has been demolished and the habitat restored back to shingle beach.
Links
ASSIs - https://www.gov.im/protectedsites
