Businesses say they are really suffering with the disruption caused by the Promenade redevelopment scheme.

Business owners outlined their concerns at large sections of road being fenced off, lack of parking, crossing points and disabled access and failures of communication when they gave evidence to a Tynwald scrutiny committee.

Nigel Fogg, of Cunard Hotel Ltd, told the environment and infrastructure policy review committee: ’Communication as far as I’m concerned has been zero’.

Denis Staunton, owner of the Paparazzi restaurant said: ’There needs to be something in place as businesses are suffering. I’m only two weeks into it and I’m down 15 to 20%.’

He said: ’There’s been no communication, absolutely none. I only realised that the road closure was coming in when they put the bollards out along the street. The next thing they put the fencing up. There’s literally about 24 hours’ notice I had.

’Nobody has come to see me. I didn’t realise this was happening so soon, especially in July and August when you’ve got tourists coming to the island and kids off school. Parking in town is normally a nightmare but now it’s even worse.’

Mr Staunton said there were few crossing points and no provision for disabled access. He said an after-wedding party had had to cancel for that reason.

Earlier, Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer said there was ’immense pressure’ to complete the project as soon as possible and keep disruption to a minimum.

He said as part of the contract, the contractors get a £3,000 per day penalty if they are behind schedule and £2,500 a day bonus if the project is completed ahead of time.

This may create tensions between contractors trying to deliver and businesses trying to operate, committee chairman Chris Robertshaw pointed out.

Jeff Robinson, director of highway services, insisted there had been a lot of consultation with organisations like the Chamber of Commerce and Douglas Corporation.

’I believe most of the businesses on the promenade were contacted and many attended presentations and workshops ahead of the project beginning.

’In terms of the impact of businesses we tried to build that as much as we can into the programme.

’Where we’ve not been as successful as we could and should have been in that process we’ve tried to work with the businesses in the best way we can to resolve their problems.’

He said additional parking spaces, motorbike parking and more coach drop-off points and access points had been put in to alleviate problems particularly felt by businesses that rely on passing trade which he said are ’suffering a great deal’.

He said the length of the project in terms of its impact on businesses was unusual and ’taking us into something of an uncomfortable position’.