A Douglas councillor has said a project to encompass the repairs to the sunken gardens but also prepare sea walls for future storms should be implemented.

Storm Barra destroyed the protective sea wall in December of last year, meaning large sections of the area have needed to be cordoned off, including the children’s play park.

Douglas Council lead for regeneration and community, Andrew Bentley, believes the authority should avoid ‘doing the job twice’.

He explained Douglas Council is still waiting on a loss adjuster for the work, for which it’s been waiting since at least January, saying: ‘You’d love it to be resolved more quickly than it has been but the answer is really boring, [we’re waiting for] insurance people.’

Mr Bentley felt more time should be taken to create a larger project that encompasses the repair works but also prepares the promenade for future weather events.

‘I said the day after it happened that we live in a world where the forecasts and design guidance say that storms like this will happen more often and they will be more severe so we need to design for this and we know we’ve got a sea wall going from the Empress to the War Memorial and those sea defences will need to be continued,’ he said.

‘Let’s spend money sensibly and if we’re going to build that wall let’s make sure we’ve considered the sea defence side of things at exactly the same time so we don’t end up doing the job twice.

‘That is a matter that really needs to be discussed between the council’s offices and the offices of the Department of Infrastructure and what they’re planning to do.’

He added: ‘Whether the sea wall would be on the seaward side of the walkway or the land side of the walkway, we don’t know because if it was to go on the far side you’ve got to start asking yourself questions of could we have a few more openings between the walkway and the sunken gardens, do they need to be quite as contained as they are, there’s an opportunity there for a debate to be had, we can have a dream, we could do something really wonderful down there.’

When asked if he was concerned about the danger the collapsed wall presented to the public or the eyesore it was, the councillor said he was sure the authority had assessed the situation appropriately and had taken the necessary precautions.