A Douglas café has been given the go-ahead to expand its outdoor seating area on the promenade.

Paramount City café, which opened at the end of last year, occupies the ground floor of a building on Queen’s Promenade that was once home to the well-known nightclub of the same name. The club closed permanently in 2011 but had been a popular venue for decades under different names, including Little Caesar’s Nightclub and, earlier still, The Crescent, dating back to the 1940s.

The property was purchased in August 2020 by former Isle of Man TT rider Richard ‘Milky’ Quayle and his wife Lydia, who have since undertaken significant renovations. The couple now live in flats on the upper floors of the building.

The revamped ground floor now houses a coffee bar with an indoor seating area. A raised platform at the rear of the premises is used by Mrs Quayle for her barbering business.

An application submitted earlier this year sought permission to improve the café’s limited outdoor seating by installing decking, removable barriers and lighting on the promenade.

That application has now been approved by the planning committee.

In a written decision, principal planner Chris Balmer said: ‘The proposed decking and removable hoardings are judged to be appropriate to the host building and, as such, the character and appearance of the Douglas Promenades Conservation [Area] is considered to be preserved.

‘It is also judged the character of the conservation area and surrounding townscape would be preserved and respected. The application is therefore judged to be acceptable.’

Permission has also been granted for new signage to be installed at the site.

Mr Quayle is a retired TT rider and remains the last Manxman to win a solo TT race.