The island’s horse trams will make it to Broadway by Easter 2021, but may only cross over to the war memorial the following year.

Infrastructure Minister Ray Harmer has told Tynwald that his department is working to get the work done before the start of next year’s tourist scheme.

However, as a trade off for getting the roadworks finished, the horse tram rails will not be completed to the Sea Terminal in time.

Mr Harmer said he doesn’t want to be ’putting cones out’ on the promenade during the 2021 tourist season after the promenade scheme and Covid-19 has severely hampered local businesses.

The entire promenade scheme was originally due to be completed by October this year, however this was then pushed back to August 2021 as a series of delays occurred before being brought forward again to Easter 2021.

Mr Harmer confirmed that the horse trams will reach Broadway by March 2021, but crossing the rails over the road to the war memorial, meaning the road would have to be lifted again, may not happen until winter 2021.

He added that the tracks may not then be extended to the Sea Terminal until winter 2022/23. This would mean the entire scheme could drag on for nearly five years since working began in September 2018.

We will have more on this and other Tynwald coverage in Thursday’s Manx Independent.