Part of the boundary wall at St Ninian’s on Ballaquayle Road has been demolished to make way for TT and Festival of Motorcycling parking in Noble’s Park.

The wall was demolished by the Department for Enterprise to create a new vehicular access after concerns were raised during 2018 about the traffic movements around the park.

Cars and bikes wishing to enter into the park have done so this year by travelling along St Ninian’s Road, passing the pavilion and turning into the field through the access gate.

When exiting the park, cars and bikes drive through the middle two football pitches and through the newly created hole in the wall and out past St Ninian’s Court before re-entering the one-way system and heading back down St Ninian’s Road where they can exit on to Dukes Road.

In March, Douglas Council members voted in favour of the plan, including the demolishing of the wall.

It was revealed the Department for Enterprise was covering all the costs of the works. Councillors were also told that the DfE had intended to run the access route the other way, entering past the church and exiting past the pavilion. However, members preferred the current set-up.

The demolished section of wall itself has been left on either side of the gap, hidden behind a TT banner.

A DfE spokesman told the Manx Independent: ’A full consultation process took place with Highways, Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture, Douglas Council, St Ninian’s Court residents, St Ninian’s Church, St Andrew’s Church and government planning.

’The exit was completed as a result of a request from the emergency services and local residents to improve the traffic flow in the area of St Ninian’s Road during TT and FoM.

’The aim was to improve access for the emergency services during the event, stop traffic build-up in St Ninian’s Road due to the two-way traffic at the park entrance, and also to better control visitors parking on the pavements leading up to the churches. This latter issue restricted traffic flow even further during the events.’

There have been no complaints from residents or church-goers since the event started, the spokesman said. The DfE also confirmed it has been agreed with Douglas Council that the exit will remain in place outside of the events with a permanent locked gate in place to prevent vehicles using the opening.

And it is planned to re-build the wall either side of the new gate to make the edges of the opening more in keeping with the rest of the area.