Douglas promenade will not be closed completely for the three years that it will take to carry out a multi-million-pound revamp.

The government has submitted ambitious plans for the prom.

But Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer this week sought to give assurances that did not mean it would close for the entire period that work is carried out.

’The promenade will not be closed for the duration of the promenade works and the department has never indicated that it will close the Douglas promenade for three years to facilitate construction,’ he said.

’Indeed, it is expected that two-way traffic will be maintained for as much of the project as possible.’

Mr Harmer admitted that the work would ’undoubtedly’ cause some disruption to traffic, parking and access, but said the Department of Infrastructure had a legal duty to maintain access to properties.

He said the DoI would try to find a ’compromise’ between the desire to complete the project as quickly as possible and trying to reduce the disruption the work would cause.

’Minimising the constraints placed on the contractor undertaking the work will allow faster completion, but will also increase the disruption to day-to-day normal life on the promenade,’ he explained.

The three-year timescale would be re-assessed once a contractor had been appointed to the scheme.

’The ability to deliver this scheme as quickly as possible, while managing the level of disruption to the public and business, will be a critical factor when it comes to awarding this contract,’ Mr Harmer told the House of Keys on Tuesday.

’It is our intention that access to hotels, retail outlets and residential properties will be maintained throughout the scheme.’

He pledged the department would liaise closely with businesses and residents to keep them informed.

Mr Harmer was responding to questions from Bill Shimmins (Middle) who said: ’Potential timesaving initiatives, including one-way traffic routing, should be explored.’

Mr Shimmins also asked whether the Minister would consider suspending the horse trams service, in a bid to speed up the process.

The Minister did not rule out the idea, but added: ’I do not think we will suspend completely over the summer, but whether it is a full summer, that would be one of the considerations as part of the consultation.

A planning application for the £20 million scheme was submitted earlier this month and, if it gets the go ahead, work on the long-awaited promenade revamp is due to begin in September.