Residents and business owners in Onchan have said traffic, tourism and the cost of living are among their key concerns ahead of the 2026 House of Keys election. The constituency has the second largest population on the Isle of Man after Douglas, and sits along the east coast. Sally Hellwich, who runs a family travel business, has lived in Onchan for 30 years.
She said she had 'lived, worked, and breathed Onchan" and was "sad" no candidates had considered tourism as a priority. She said: "I truly believe that tourism underpins the Isle of Man. And if we don't have tourists, we're not generating income for the economy." As a mother, she added that housing was another big concern for younger generations.
She said: "There's not enough access to housing," adding: "Trying to get on the housing ladder now is just ridiculous." For Onchan mum Lara, speeding traffic through the town is a big worry, especially with children walking to school on their own. A rollout of more 20mph zones around the island, including near schools and residential areas, began under the previous administration. The all-island scheme started in Port Erin in 2025 after Tynwald unanimously voted in 2020 to support speed reductions in urban areas.
Expanding further north, the locations were opposed by residents concerned about congestion. Lara also welcomed the introduction of more 20mph zones and said she could not understand why "there was so much resistance to it." She added that in cities like Belfast there are commonly "speed bumps on the road around schools, but they don't have any of that" on the island. Meanwhile, for Onchan business owners Dinko Matevski and Liliya Slavova, the cost of living was their biggest worry.
Originally from Bulgaria, they have lived on the island for more than 14 years and have run a cafe in the town's Village Walk area for the last three. Matevski said rising stock prices were "crazy", adding that "every day our suppliers are coming with new prices and we're trying to survive". Slavova said: "We want to have staff, but we cannot afford it." In the past three years she noticed a change in customer habits too, with people cutting back their orders.
The Isle of Man House of Keys election takes place on 24 September, with polling stations around the island open from 08:00 to . Tell us which stories we should cover on the Isle of Man Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook, external and X, external. House of Keys election contested by 82 candidates Health boss outlines priorities ahead of election Cost of living on many minds ahead of Manx election
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