INITIAL discussions over the potential return of a ferry service from west Cumbria to the Isle of Man have been welcomed by business and tourism groups.

Whitehaven and Workington MP Josh MacAlister met with the chief minister of the Isle of Man and his deputy to discuss the plans which are at a very early stage, but Mr MacAlister said he will ‘do what he can’ to deliver it.

West Cumbria is the closest geographical place in England to the Isle of Man, he said, but potential visitors have to travel down to Heysham in Lancashire to catch the nearest ferry.

It is hoped that a new ferry terminal in west Cumbria would help to further boost the tourism sector for both Cumbria and the Lake District alongside the Isle of Man itself.

“It was a real pleasure to meet the chief minister of the Isle of Man government, Alfred Cannan,” said Mr MacAlister.

“We discussed working together to bring back a passenger ferry between west Cumbria and the Isle of Man.

“It was one of the most popular suggestions in the Whitehaven town centre survey I conducted a few months ago and so I’ll do what I can to deliver it.

“We agreed to a follow up meeting bringing together officials and agencies from west Cumbria and the Manx government to explore it further which I’ll be organising this autumn.”

The initial discussions have been welcomed by both Cumbria Tourism and Cumbria Chamber of Commerce.

The chair of Cumbria Chamber of Commerce, Suzanne Caldwell, said: “The Isle of Man is geographically very close to Cumbria and it seems to make sense to have a direct link, which would certainly speed the journey considerably.

“It should be positive in terms of tourism (in both directions) and would also facilitate businesses working together.

“This is something we’ve discussed with the Isle of Man Chamber in the past and would be up for revisiting.”

A spokesperson for Cumbria Tourism said: “Cumbria’s destination management plan, which is a shared plan between Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness councils and both National Parks, seeks to increase the value and share of tourism spend across and Cumbria Tourism is working with partners to explore, develop and support opportunities to achieve this for Cumbria’s coast.

“MD Gill Haigh met with Josh last week and it was one of the projects they discussed and agreed to work together to explore further.”

Locals have also welcomed the idea although some have questioned whether a year round service would be viable.

“I think it's a fabulous idea,” said Ruth Charlton. “Having a regular service possibly wouldn't work as how often would any one family/group of friends want to go or be able to afford to go? But maybe a series of trips would be better.

“Some through the summer then again on lead up to Christmas or Easter? I'd definitely love to go over to the Isle of Man or Northern Ireland for a day trip.

However, some were less positive. “It would never happen,” said Peter Finn. “There are not enough people would use the service, there is restrictions on tide times, so no 'regular' service.

“Any trip to Northern Ireland would take most of the day to get there.

“Nobody from outside of the county will come to west Cumbria, to get to Isle of Man via the awful A66 and A595 farm track when they can go via Heysham.

“Maybe bring back the day/weekend trips to IOM as a one off a few times in summer.”

Talks are currently at a very early stage but more discussions have been planned for later in the year.