Douglas Promenade revamp: Businesses to be offered loans

Businesses affected by the Douglas Promenade refurbishment scheme could benefit from a loan of up to £50,000, the enterprise minister has said.

The Douglas Promenade Support Scheme will offer unsecured interest-free loans repayable after 10 years.

The loans will be available to firms in the retail and hospitality sectors.

Laurence Skelly MHK said the scheme would provide "further necessary financial support" to businesses that have lost trade due to the disruption.

The scheme does not include hotels that do not have a restaurant that is open to the public.

Treasury has set aside £2m for the loans, which will be available from January 2020.

It replaces an emergency grant scheme established in August to help those whose profits had been dented by the works.

Businesses in a designated area along the roadway can apply to the scheme.

Applicants will have to supply a statement confirming the business would continue trading as a going concern, along with a business case for the loan certified by a qualified accountant.

The £25m promenade refurbishment project, which started in November 2018, is now expected to be completed in April 2021, six months later than originally planned.

Giving evidence to a Tynwald committee earlier this year, business owners said it could take firms up to two years to recover from the impact of the disruption.

Speaking in Tynwald, Chris Robertshaw said he had "the gravest possible reservations" over the uptake of the scheme due to its complexity and uncertainty over the timescale of the refurbishment project.

A £450 grant on offer to pay for accountancy fees was not "even remotely close" to what the actual cost would be, he added.

But Mr Skelly said the amount was a "reasonable figure" to cover the costs.