Business owners on Douglas promenade say that work on the road is now putting their livelihoods at risk.

A number spoke to the Manx Independent this week to voice their concerns.

The estimated £21m project to improve the crumbling infrastructure on Douglas’s seafront began earlier this year.

Melody Crosby, owner of the New Manila Thai restaurant on Queen’s Promenade, accepted that work had to be done - but claimed the loss of parking was hitting trade.

Mrs Crosby said that the lack of available parking was having a detrimental impact on her business, particularly on weekday nights with customers having to park and walk some distance from the restaurant.

She added: ’Without the delivery business, we’d be really struggling.

’We’re still busy at weekends as people usually get dropped off or get a taxi down, but on a couple of days this week for example I’ve had four tables in and on another night, just one.

’This is well below our usual for January.

’In December, just after Christmas, we were busy but since the road was dug up and the parking taken away we have been much quieter than usual.

’We are a small business and we rely on the promenade for access and to give people somewhere to park their cars.

’There is no alternative like there is at the other end of the promenade. There should have been a commercial risk assessment done on the impact of this, it’s like they didn’t think about us.’

Mrs Crosby said that the nearest available parking was behind the restaurant on Switzerland Road.

But that is a busy residential street.

She claimed that when she asked the government’s ’My Prom’ team where her customers could park, she was told the nearest parking would be at Strathallan, about 500m away. She said that a customer over the weekend had told her that they had to park at that end of the promenade.

While her delivery business is going well, Mrs Crosby said that collection orders were also proving problematic as customers could not stop outside the restaurant.

She feels that she and her fellow business owners in the area aren’t being listened to by the My Prom team.

She said: ’When I tried to raise my concerns, it felt like they weren’t listening. They offered to show me how great the promenade will look when the work is finished. By then, who knows what the damage to our business will be? The work needs doing, but surely they should be supporting and protecting local businesses while doing it.

’We buy our ingredients locally, for example, our fruit and vegetables come from Robinson’s but even some of our suppliers have said they are struggling to deliver to us because there is nowhere to park the vans without blocking the road or pavement.’

Peter Crossley of Crossley Travel, told the Manx Independent that he too had received the advice to tell people to park on Switzerland Road.

He added: ’January to March are our most busy months and we’re doing fine but the footfall and people parking up and dropping in just isn’t happening.

’We’re doing well on people ringing us up or emailing us and we can book it all from here. However, this could go on for up to two months and the stretch being taken up is about to increase. How can it be business as usual?

’But, we’ll keep going and keep our chins up.’

The owner of pet grooming company Vanity Fur, Sharon Kenny, said the roadworks had affected sales of some of her stock because people couldn’t just park up outside and put the food in the car.

She added: ’My understanding was that they were doing a block at a time and moving on, but that clearly isn’t happening.

’They’re extending the length of the area they’re working on before finishing here. I expected it would affect us for a few weeks and then it would move down the promenade but it won’t and when I asked how long this section would take, the My Prom team said they didn’t know.

’I’m sure it will be really lovely when it’s finished but what do we do until then?’

A government spokesman said: ’There will be some periods of inconvenience for motorists in Douglas while this really important piece of work is carried out. While we accept that parking in other sites is not ideal, it is available but a short distance way and we will be working to find more suitable alternatives moving forward.’