Planning chief Rob Callister lashes out in online rant at female former minister……Blazing quarrel with ex-DoI Michelle Haywood…..He was accused of double standards on planning.
Expose News dives in………
- Angry ‘Chairman Two Rules’ clashes publicly with former minister Michelle Haywood over Summerland site decision
- Haywood blasted refusal of temporary car park plan as ‘total nonsense’
- Critics say Callister is tough on bids that help ‘ordinary punters’ – but soft on favoured developers
- Fresh scrutiny after Lord Street controversy sparked backlash
By Expose News Team
Rob Callister has walked himself into a fresh public row – despite being accused of ‘shooting himself in the foot.’
Former Infrastructure Minister Michelle Haywood got both barrels off the long-serving Manx politician – as accusations of double standards over planning decisions refuse to go away.
The spat erupted after the planning committee, chaired by Callister, rejected a Department of Infrastructure application for a temporary 32-space car park on the former Summerland site.
Haywood criticised the decision, branding it ‘total nonsense’, arguing the vacant land was being left to do nothing when usused space could have provided badly needed parking for residents, businesses and visitors, according to IOM Today.
‘Two Rules’ instantly fired back, insisting decisions were taken properly and in line with planning law and policy – while suggesting critics should think harder before attacking the committee, IOM Today reported.
He wrote on social media: ‘I am disappointed that a former DoI Minister has chosen to criticise, via social media, the Planning Committee’s decision to refuse the application.
‘The application was recommended for refusal by professional planning officers, and that recommendation was fully supported by the Planning Committee at yesterday’s meeting.
‘The refusal was based on five clear and substantive planning reasons. These included that the creation of a temporary car park would be contrary to Council of Ministers policy arising from the Planning System Reform Programme (2016–2021).
‘The proposal also failed to meet the definition of acceptable land use and conflicted with the objectives of the Area Plan for the East.’
But the furious exchange has only intensified questions already swirling around the chairman following Expose News’ earlier investigation, ‘Hypocrisy Row On Planning Boss: Two Rules Rob Under Fire’.
Because some islanders have asked why Callister sounded like a strict guardian of planning policy over Summerland – yet appeared far more flexible when the controversial Lord Street mega-development came before the same committee.
At the Summerland hearing, Callister said he was ‘surprised’ the DoI had lodged an application despite knowing it breached policy, adding they had ‘shot themselves in the foot’, as reported by IOM Today.
Strong words.
Yet when Lord Street came before committee, planning officers had recommended refusal over concerns including the lack of affordable housing, no public open space and clear tensions with planning policy.
Instead of backing refusal, Callister used his casting vote to rescue the scheme, then took the unusual step of personally outlining a route to approval before it was later passed, according to IOM Today’s Lord Street coverage.
Expose News also explored those concerns in ‘WHIFF OF ‘NUDGE, NUDGE! WINK, WINK!’ AROUND LORD STREET, SAYS LOCAL BUSINESSMAN’.
So, when government wanted temporary public parking, the rulebook came crashing down.
When private developers wanted a giant tower block and special treatment, the pages suddenly became rather more elastic, leading to critics labelling him ‘Two Rules Rob’.
One local businessman told Expose News: ‘If the Department asks for something practical to help the public, Rob becomes the policy policeman.
‘If developers want something lucrative, he suddenly becomes Mr Pragmatic.
‘That is why people are looking askance at the inconsistency.’
But our source also pointed out a supposed sub-text in Callister’s ‘hurty’ words hurled at Haywood.
He added: ‘The most telling part of Two Rules’ response was when he emphasised how Michelle had attacked him. He went out of his way to say she did it ‘via social media.’
‘He’s upset because Michelle Haywood chose to blindside him publicly.
‘Not like in the old days, behind closed doors.
‘All the boys sorting it out between themselves.
‘Clearly, Michelle is not clubbable enough.’
The Summerland application was only for 18 months while longer-term plans for the site are worked out.
Supporters said it would ease parking pressure at the northern end of Douglas Promenade and support nearby trade.
But committee members argued temporary parking risked undermining proper redevelopment, as outlined in earlier IOM Today reporting.
That may be a legitimate planning judgment.
What is harder to justify, according to critics, is why one stalled site gets rigid orthodoxy while another gets creative flexibility.
And that is the real damage from the Haywood row, they say.
Because it has dragged into the open, what confused observers have been saying privately for weeks: Callister’s biggest problem is no longer one controversial decision.
