Tynwald will be asked next week to support funding of £20.73m for the Douglas promenades improvement scheme.

A new design has been drawn up for the southern section featuring a roundabout at the Broadway junction and the creation of a cultural area around the Villa Marina and Gaiety.

The northern end (towards Onchan) will be redeveloped on a simple, like-for-like basis.

Reflecting the design principles agreed by Tynwald in January, the scheme features twin horse tram tracks in the centre of the road from Strathallan to Castlemona Avenue, switching to a single track on the seaward side of the road terminating at Peveril Square, near the Sea Terminal.

Total final cost of the scheme, including the money already spent on the completed phase one of the project, works out at about £24.7m.

This is very similar to how much the earlier now-abandoned scheme for the Promenade would have cost - but it includes about £2.2m to £2.3m spent on aborted elements of scrapped earlier designs.

Originally, the horse tram tracks were to be relocated to the side of the road throughout their length. But concern over the loss of parking led to a plan to move them onto the walkway.

That plan, too, was scrapped, as was an ill-judged ’shared space’ design where there were no conventional crossings and cars and pedestrians would have equal right of way.

The new plan, with the horse tramway retained as a double track in the centre of the road in the northern section before switching to the side of the road as a single track, will see much of the echelon and parallel parking maintained.

But some 130 spaces will still be lost, about a fifth of the total, mainly to provide taxi-ranks and bus lay-bys.

The walkway will not be affected at all by the proposals, which also incorporate suggestions made by blind welfare groups who had been very critical of the now-ditched shared space concept.

If Tynwald gives its approval next week, the plan is seek planning approval early next year, with construction to begin in September 2018 and be completed in time for TT 2021.

Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer MHK said: ’The redevelopment of Douglas Promenades has been on the agenda for many years. Now is the time to grasp the nettle. There is public and political appetite for decisive action and I believe the department is offering a solution that will benefit the island for generations to come.’

Of the £18.8m construction costs of the new scheme, some £13.5m are associated with highway and footway improvements and £5.2m are linked to the relocation and replacement of the tram tracks.

During construction, a traffic management plan will be put in place to minimise disruption by maintaining two-way travel wherever practical.

The DoI says it is widely accepted that substantial capital investment in Douglas Promenades is required to address the crumbling infrastructure.

It is one of the island’s busiest and most important strategic routes, with approximately six million vehicle journeys each year, but also the worst in terms of its overall condition, according to highway inspection reports.

As well as reconstructing the 80-year-old highway foundations and drainage, the department’s scheme is intended to act as a catalyst for the future regeneration of the capital.

The DoI is also working in partnership with Douglas Borough Council and the utility providers over the installation of new water and gas mains and improved lighting. Ducting will be provided to avoid the risk of utilities having to excavate the road again in future.

Mr Harmer said: ’The recent resurfacing of the promenade was only ever intended as a short-term fix. The structural integrity of the road is continuing to deteriorate.

’The department’s proposal will not only secure the long-term future of a vital route, it will also support economic investment, make the promenade more accessible and inclusive, and retain and future-proof the tramway.

’The cultural area in particular will give the promenade a much-needed lift and reaffirm its importance as the main gateway to our island.’