Douglas Promenade revamp to see further four-month delay

A multimillion-pound promenade revamp on the Isle of Man has suffered a further four-month delay.

The Douglas promenade refurbishment scheme was already six months behind its original completion date of October 2020.

The £25m project will now not be finished until at least August 2021.

Infrastructure minister Ray Harmer said the delay was due to a "revised schedule" designed to cut disruption to seafront firms during the summer.

The new plan will see no works carried out on the landward side of Loch Promenade, where there are a number of hotels, between May and September.

Mr Harmer said the Department of Infrastructure (DOI) had "really taken on board" the comments of businesses.

He said the feedback had been "put into the pot", leading to an extension to the timescale.

He added that the response to the revised schedule of work had been "relatively positive".

Earlier in December, an interest-free loan scheme for seafront businesses in the retail and hospitality sectors was announced.

The roadworks will also be suspended during June's TT races and the horse trams will run on a reduced line in both 2020 and 2021 after 2019's season was cut short to "support the progress" of the scheme.