Castletown Commissioners’ plans to pedestrianise one of the main roads into the town at weekends have been put on hold.

The local authority received 72 comments on its Facebook page after it announced it was considering the weekend pedestrianisation of Castle Street to enable hospitality businesses to extend into the road with pavement cafes.

The idea was sparked from feedback from feedback from hospitality businesses during the Covid-19 lockdown when social distancing rules were in place.

It has now said it has ’no immediate plans’ to seek approval to pedestrianise the street but may do so if Covid restrictions are reimposed in future.

The initial post said: ’You may have seen that Leonardo’s Restaurant have been able to utilise some car parking spaces in the Chapel Lane Car Park in a similar move.

’We appreciate that it’s June and it’s been pouring with rain for the last 48 hours but we still think that the idea might still have merit on a Saturday afternoon/evening if the sun makes an appearance during July and August. What do you think?’

Hospitality businesses in Castle Street include Leonardo’s and The Tap Room.

Some residents said it was a great idea to encourage people to spend more time in the town and others said the street should be permanently closed to traffic.

But others raised concerns about bus routes, emergency services access and the need to support all businesses in the town, not just in one area.

Former Castletown MHK Tony Brown said: ’Looks like a great idea, but in reality it is a bit impractical.’

Following feedback, the local authority announced last week it had no immediate plans to apply to pedestrianise Castle Street.

But it added: ’The concept has not been discounted should the social distancing situation change in the future.

’For similar reasons we also spoke to the landlords of The Viking and The Sidings about what we could do to provide additional outdoor space.

’Once again the situation changed before anything was implemented but the businesses were positive.’

The commissioners are working on a discussion document to prompt debate on the transport infrastructure within the town.

’We feel that we can do more to assist those who may cycle to work and improve the links between the train station and the town and ensure that facilities are improved for bus users and visitors that arrive by coach - although we are not expecting many this year - and we continue to work with those that are investing in the town,’ it said.