Second phase of Isle of Man's Queen's Pier restoration to begin

Bays one to four have been completed out of a total 60

Volunteers have been given permission to begin the second phase of works restoring the Isle of Man's Queen's Pier.

It follows the completion of the first stage, bays one to three, last month.

The restoration, set to take 16 years, has been funded by donations and carried out by the Queen's Pier Restoration Trust.

Chairman of the trust Captain Stuart McKenzie said the government had given them a lease to allow work to begin.

As project manager he was among the signatories for the next stage.

Captain McKenzie is chair of the Queen's Pier Restoration Trust, formed in 2016

The lease was also signed by the Department of Infrastructure as owner of the iron pier, however it does not financially contribute.

The next section of works restores bays four to eight.

Captain McKenzie said: "It does mean we can't use a land-based crane, we're going to have to use a telehandler from the beach."

'Community spirit'

Chief Minister Howard Quayle, whose grandfather was once pier master, said it showed "what community spirit can do when everyone pulls together".

"There's a lot of work and I know the price of steel has gone through the roof, so it'll be a hard job for them, but they've done a fantastic job... they've made a big step," he said.

Work is due to commence next week.