The road from Laxey Woollen Mills to Acacia Villa will be closed to through traffic from May 17 as a stretch of river wall is reconstructed as part of the village’s flood protection scheme.

The section of wall which the Department of Infrastructure will be replacing stretches from the bridge opposite the Mill, to where it links up with a lower section of wall which was completed in 2020.

The new wall is designed to offer flood protection for the houses and carriageway on Glen Road, which were some of the most affected in the past major flooding events.

The DoI said the current wall is in poor condition and is not high enough to prevent flooding.

Government have appointed JCK Limited as the principal contractor.

It is expected to be out of the site by the end of September, with all land-based works projected to be completed by mid October.

The DoI said that the work will take place in the river and on the carriageway and is timed to minimise the ecological impact (such as avoiding salmon spawning season) and take advantage of the optimum river working conditions.

The scheme will see the existing wall demolished and replaced with a 1.6 metre high reinforced pre-formed concrete structure, which the DoI says will be substantially stronger than the original.

The road side of the wall will be faced with Manx stone harvested from the demolished wall, which the department says is to ensure that it is in keeping with the existing environment.

In the immediate vicinity of the Laxey Woollen Mills it will be faced on both sides.

The road will be closed to through traffic from the Laxey Woollen Mills to Acacia Villa.

During the road closure access to the Laxey Woollen Mills will be via Captain’s Hill and Church Hill.

The DoI assured that vehicular access for residents inside the closure will be maintained wherever possible, with the direction from which access will be available to change as the scheme progresses.

To facilitate heavy goods traffic to the site, parking will be suspended on the eastern side of the road, from Acacia Villa to the entrance of Laxey Football Club’s car park.

This will be marked by no-waiting cones.

A letter with more details has been delivered to residents in the immediate vicinity.

In other flood defence plans, the Department of Infrastructure has also applied for planning permission to demolish and replace weirs in the Laxey river, which had fallen into disrepair.