Douglas sunken gardens storm damage repairs to cost £200k

Storm damage repairs at the sunken gardens on Douglas Promenade will cost more than £200,000, the council has revealed.

Sections of the walls were knocked down by high waves as winds of up to 80mph (128km/h) hit the island during Storm Barra in December.

The force of the storm also left gardens flooded and damaged the surface of the children's play area.

Douglas Council has now been told by insurers it can go ahead with repairs.

The authority had been advised to wait for a structural engineer's assessment and a review from an insurance company before starting the work.

Council leader Claire Wells said although the delay had been frustrating it was "all systems go" now the insurance assessment process was complete.

The space around the collapsed walls has remained fenced off with metal barriers put up as a replacement.

Ms Wells said the cost of the repairs could rise further as work also needed to be done to construct flood protection and speed up the replacement of the Loch Promenade play area.

"So overall this is a highly significant investment. We only want to do it once and we want to do it right," she added.

The project would now be put out to tender and it is hoped the rebuild would fit into wider government plans for flood defences.

Why not follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and Twitter? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]