A section of sea wall in Ramsey was damaged during Storm Emma which also destroyed a large part of an area of special scientific interest.

The damage penetrated an older section of wall on Queen’s Promenade in Ramsey, resulting in undermining of the walkway and its subsequent partial collapse.

Chairman of Ramsey Commissioners Andy Cowie said: ’I was shocked at the extent of the damage caused to the Mooragh promenade.

’Our staff took steps to secure the site immediately to keep our residents safe and contacted the Department of Infrastructure. We have been in close contact with the DoI subsequently and I am pleased that they are taking this damage very seriously.

’The DoI team has already assessed the damage and produced detailed repair plans and I am confident that they will ensure the damage is repaired rapidly, it is also good to see that the section that was repaired previously has withstood the force of the storm successfully.

’We are seeing more frequent weather events on our island and need to consider our future plans to ensure our town has robust protection for the future.’

Following the damage to the section of wall and walkway on Queen’s Promenade, the DoI has opted to replace a 90 metre section of wall, similar to the repair work done in April 2015 that Mr Cowie said survived the recent storm.

It is believed this work will cost the taxpayer about £180,000.

Also damaged was the Mooragh Promenade’s area of special scientific interest (ASSI), which as our pictures show has lost a significant portion of land to the sea.

The ASSI site however, despite being badly damaged by the storm probably helped to protect the surrounding area.

A spokesman for the Manx Wildlife Trust explained: ’Having good condition habitats like Mooragh ASSI can help protect structures, things like salt marsh are natural sea defences and actually decrease the costs and need for hard engineered sea defences.

’Also from some damage the site will recover, its just a question of how healthy it was to start with, the coastal sites are used to storms and inundation, so if they’re good quality, they bounce back.’

This area was designated an ASSI in part due to being the location where the Isle of Man cabbage was first described back in the 1660s by the botanists John Ray.

Storm Emma also led to a surprise discovery in Ramsey, that of a mystery pipeline.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture said: ’We are extremely disappointed that a second chunk of Ramsey Mooragh Shore Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) has been washed away in Storm Emma this past weekend.

’This ASSI is important for its habitats including; vegetated shingle, vegetated strandline, semi-fixed dune and coastal grassland which support several rare or uncommon plants

’We are aware that the DoI will need to make repairs to the prom in the near future and we will be giving consideration to the long term effect of beach dynamics in the area.’