Sea wall extension plea after gardens damaged

A councillor has urged the government to extend a sea wall after a coastal garden was badly damaged during recent bad weather.

Councillor Natalie Byron-Teare said she was "very disappointed" at the lack of action to extend the sea wall to the end of Douglas Promenade.

She said on-land damage as a result of there being no sea wall was something they would continue to deal with until "central government get that wall built".

The Department of Infrastructure said there were no plans to extend the sea wall in Douglas, which "the council knows".

Councillor Byron-Teare told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "The two ends of the promenade are the worst affected and we're not seeing anything done there, so that's very disappointing".

She said a capital spending programme had been approved for "more modern" replacement storm boards to better defend future weather impacts in the area.

Repairing and rebuilding the garden's wall was a priority, she said.

Built in the 1930s, the Sunken Gardens offered promenade strollers a chance to sit and enjoy the area, sheltered from the sea breeze by tall stone walls.

Since then, the gardens have been exposed and damaged in poor weather, most recently in 2021.

Last year, plans to regenerate the gardens with a skatepark and playground, were approved.

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