No immediate plans for Douglas horse tram track extension

Tynwald must approve any plans to extend the horse tramway to the Sea Terminal

Businesses need a break from construction on Douglas promenade before the horse tramway is extended, the infrastructure minister has said.

Tracks have been laid from the Strathallan terminal to the War Memorial as part of the £26m project to regenerate the capital's seafront.

Plans to continue the line to the Sea Terminal were put on hold in 2021 and now need Tynwald approval to progress.

Tim Crookall said that would not be be brought forward for some time.

He confirmed he would give Tynwald members the option of voting to finish the tramway as originally intended, but said that would happen "a lot later".

Mr Crookall said his immediate focus was on completing the existing scheme, as the businesses in the area wanted "to be able to get on to the promenade and use it without any construction going on".

The horse tramway will run from the Strathallan terminal to the Broadway junction

Although approved in the original scheme, which was backed by the Manx parliament in 2017, the extension from the War Memorial to the Sea Terminal was temporarily shelved last year.

The £1.2m needed for the single-track extension was taken out of the main scheme by the then Infrastructure Minister Tim Baker, who said it would be delivered separately.

Mr Crookall said he could not see any reason why it would not be brought forward for approval at a later stage.

Existing work to finish the current phase of the tramway would continue into February, following delays in the arrival of new rail points from the UK, he said.

There was "very little left to do" before the entire project was completed and the department anticipated all work would be completed before the TT in late May, he added.

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