Sea wall scheme part of fight against climate change, minister says

Douglas Promenade is often hit by stormy weather

A project to build a concrete sea wall along Douglas Promenade will be part of the "fight" against rising sea levels, the infrastructure minister has said.

Construction of the 1.2m (4ft) high structure along a 500m (0.3 mile) section of the walkway is due begin in January 2024.

Tim Crookall MHK said the £900,000 scheme, approved in May 2020, would improve flood defences in the area.

Work is expected to be completed by September.

Mr Crookall said he understood concerns about how the wall, which will replace existing railings, might affect views of Douglas Bay but "a wall with gaps in it wouldn't do the same job".

He said the construction would help to prevent damage such as that seen when winds of up to 80mph (128km/h) hit the island during Storm Barra in December 2021.

Sections of the walls were knocked down by high waves and the sunken gardens on promenade were left flooded.

Repairs at the sunken gardens following Storm Barra cost more than £200,000

Work is set to be phased to avoid disruption to events between the Douglas War Memorial and an area opposite the Empress Hotel.

The department had worked alongside the Douglas City Council on the project, and liaised with Royal British Legion on ways the work could be sympathetic to the memorial, Mr Crookall said.

The contractor would "need some working space" but residents would still have use of the Harris Promenade area during the construction, he said.

The new wall, which could be made 0.6m (1.9ft) higher in future to counter rising sea levels, would be constructed in a way that "it can be added to quite easily", the minister said.

He said in future, when finances were available, the wall could be extended along the promenade to further protect the area from debris such as large stones during stormy weather.

Why not follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X? You can also send story ideas to [e-mail]