‘A newsletter which stated the horse trams would not be continuing past the war memorial on Douglas promenade was wrong, according to the government. The update on the Douglas promenade refurbishment scheme was issued to subscribers last night and stated that the horse tram track would be ending at the war memorial. However, a Department of Infrastructure spokesman has now insisted that this was “incorrect information”.
He said: “The project has now resumed under a revised schedule taking into account lighter traffic and fewer people using the area. The intention is for the horse tram track to reach Broadway at least by the end of March 2021.The project will then stop, allowing hoteliers and other stakeholders in the tourism sector badly affected by the coronavirus pandemic the opportunity to resume activity free of any disruption caused by the construction scheme. Work required to install the horse tram track further south is planned to be completed in due course.”
No provisional date has been given for when this will be.
The announcement via the newsletter, issued by the government’s My Prom team, led to anger amongst some residents and politicians after a Tynwald motion ordered that the horse trams continue along the entire length of the promenade.
It marks the second time in under a week the government has distanced itself from or corrected an apparent error after the cancellation of the Senior Race Day bank holiday was confirmed on a Tynwald order paper before the government later announced they had moved it to August 28.
Meanwhile, the promised update on the promenade scheme and changes that have been made to it have not yet been released since they were first announced by DoI Minister Ray Harmer on April 30.’