A quayside restaurant in Peel has shut for good with its owner blaming spiralling costs and roadworks disruption.

Dining by Chris Franklin on East Quay closed its doors for the final time on Sunday (May 28).

Owner Chris Franklin announced the decision on the restaurant’s Facebook page, saying it ‘had become impossible to continue’.

He posted: ‘Trading has been extremely difficult with both unsustainable costs of produce and rising utilities, both combined with quayside renovations which have deterred attraction to the area of East Quay, Peel.’

The East Quay highway refurbishment began last September and the main section was supposed to have been completed by Easter.

Road resurfacing and the final section of paving were completed ahead of TT.

But work on the section between House of Manannan and the boat park, which is officially part of East Quay but is also known as Station Quay, will resume on June 12.

Business owners affected by the delays have demanded compensation.

Mr Franklin, who took over the restaurant in August last year, told the Examiner earlier this month that his takings were £15,000 to £20,000 down, based on figures from the previous owner.

‘I’m not against the works and I’m not someone who likes to whinge and moan but this is a complete farce, he said.

The restaurateur, who chairs the traders’ group, added: ‘On a sunny day it’s usually vibrant with a lot of passing trade. But it’s completely and utterly empty because the place is a building site.

‘It’s just not good and it’s just not fair.’

Paul Carey and Sons was appointed as the main contractor for the project which runs the whole length of East Quay from the road bridge to the footbridge including Station Place, Weatherglass Corner and a section of Shore Road up to the pumping station.

It has involved the full reconstruction of the road, widened footways and new street lighting installed.

The Department of Infrastructure has listed some of the issues encountered that led to the programmed works being delayed.

It said existing utility services ducts and pipework were unexpectedly found at an unsafe depth and required diverting deeper below the road.

Utility access chambers were substandard and unsafe, and required full or partial reconstruction.

And the installation of new lighting columns and power pedestals had ‘proved more challenging than expected’, the DoI added.

The department insisted that despite the delays, the project costs are expected to remain within budget.

Part of the boat park has been cleared to provide an additional 20 car parking spaces for the summer season.

These can be accessed via the House of Manannan car park.