Douglas promenade 'value for money' despite £750k overspend

Plans to refurbish Douglas Promenade are still "value for money" despite a forecast £750,000 overspend, the Manx infrastructure minister said.

Work on the project, due to finish in March, was originally set to cost £25m.

The overspend was announced in last month's budget and will be funded via savings elsewhere in the department.

Tim Baker said the work "needed to be done" and the value would come from having more reliable utilities and a road that was "designed to last".

"Unless you invest in your infrastructure then it starts to fail and creak," he added.

During his budget speech, Treasury Minister Alfred Cannan said there was a risk the scheme would be further delayed without the additional funds.

Work on the two-year project began in 2018 and was originally scheduled to finish in October.

It was pushed back to August 2021 due to multiple delays caused by problems replacing tram tracks and a lack of plans for utility services under the road surface.

The completion date was brought forward in May as restrictions on the location of work over the summer period were lifted during the coronavirus outbreak, though the tram tracks are not due to be finished until 2022.

Douglas East MHK Chris Robertshaw said the Department of Infrastructure's communication of the changes to timings was "quite frankly a shambles, a total and utter shambles".

Mr Baker, who was appointed as infrastructure minister in June, said the "department does struggle with communication" and that it could "always be improved".

He said he was confident the scheme would be finished by the revised deadline.

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