Sea Breezes has announced that subsequent to its Detailed Planning Application being turned down by both the UK Inspector and COMIN it will be withdrawing from the project.

Commenting on the decision Hamish Ross, Chairman of Sea Breezes said:

“We considered the former Port Erin Marine Biology Centre to be a real “Centre of Excellence” for the Isle of Man and that its closure in 2006 was a real blow for the Island and Port Erin in particular. In our proposals for the building we sought to continue its maritime links including a new HQ for Sea Breezes Publications Ltd., publishers of the monthly international shipping magazine Sea Breezes, at present printed and published in the Isle of Man. The new Sea Breezes offices would also have housed and displayed the magazine's considerable book and photographic archives. Over the last few years we have committed considerable resources, in both time and money to developing our plans for the building; plans which we felt were appealing, sensitive to the location and past history of the building and which would benefit the local economy.

We felt confident these plans would meet with universal approval as we had discussed them widely, including with local commissioners, ministers and planners. The refusal of our Detailed Planning Application by both the UK Inspector and COMIN came as a considerable shock to our team who have worked hard on getting the project to the stage where the application could be submitted and hopefully approved.

Following the decision by COMIN and in light of the time and money spent to date, it is with regret we have decided that our energy and focus is now better concentrated on finding another location for our Sea Breezes offices.”