Douglas North Quay pedestrianised to boost trade during summer

A drop off area will still be available for St Matthew's Church

Part of North Quay in Douglas has been pedestrianised in a bid to draw more people to the area of the Manx capital over summer.

The road will be closed to traffic from Market Hill to Ridgeway Street between 16:30 and 02:00 BST until 30 September.

An earlier closure of 11:30 is also set to be trialled during the TT period between 4 and 12 June.

Councillor Andrew Bentley said feedback had shown a previous traffic ban in the area had seen firms attract more trade.

Mr Bentley told the Local Democracy Reporting Service the closure, which was previously introduced on summer evenings in 2021, worked "much better for the businesses" by allowing pedestrians free access to the area.

He said: "The reports that we got back from the businesses is that they are trading up when it's closed between St Matthew's Church and the old Market Hall.

"You've got a line of restaurants and cafes, you've got a marina, you've got the sun shining, everyone can come down to North Quay and have a great time."

While the earlier closure during the TT period would be a "big change" to previous arrangements, it would allow the council to assess whether it was beneficial to traders.

"We can really see what it looks like when its closed all afternoon when the island's at its busiest, and hopefully a bit more of the TT atmosphere will be down on the quay," he added.