Work to demolish the Royal Hotel in Port Erin has stepped up a gear this week.

The hotel has been gradually dismantled since work began after TT week.

An emergency closure of the upper promenade is in place this week while work continues.

Manx Demolition Ltd issued the emergency road closure last week, which does not require advance notice.

A spokesman said there was a road closure order some weeks ago, but that expired because the sizeable building took longer than anticipated to demolish.

Now they’re at the facade, the wind is blowing debris onto the road so an emergency closure is necessary for everyone’s safety.

The promenade is closed from Maine Road to Rowany Villas to August 13 (or sooner, if demolition is finished earlier) and traffic to and from Bradda is redirected via Ballafesson.

Port Erin Commissioners said they have received several complaints about the last minute nature of the notice but Manx Demolition said safety was the company’s priority and there was ’never a good time’ for it to be closed.

Development company Dandara plans to redevelop the site as flats.

The Port Erin Royal has been disused since 2008 and is now considered by many residents in the village as an eyesore.

Approval was given in October 2016 for the hotel to be replaced with 34 flats, a mixture of two, three and four bedroom properties.

The basement will provide 25 parking spaces with 16 spaces at the rear of the site and four garages alongside Eastfield House.

Dandara commercial director David Thomas said: ’Unfortunately, the demand for this type of hotel property declined significantly over the last two decades.’