Douglas Council to give £16,000 to DoI to support public art on promenade sea wall

Local authority says there were plans but it's been omitted from DoI budgets

Douglas Council is pledging £16,000 to support the installation of public artworks to the promenade sea wall. 

It says the Department of Infrastructure had plans in place however the costs of manufacturing and installation were 'omitted' from its funding bid.

The DoI launched a call for submissions and selected three local artists to produce 15 designs celebrating Douglas and the Isle of Man’s heritage.

Council Leader Devon Watson said the sea defence wall is an 'important piece' of infrastructure and the art would help transform it into an attractive public feature.

He added: "Protecting our coastline is essential, not only for today’s residents and businesses, but also for the future development of our seafront and this is another example of the Council working positively with the Department of Infrastructure to deliver improvements for Douglas." 

The local authority says it had agreed to illuminate them as part of the scheme.

It adds that it has 'consistently maintained' that sea defences are fundamental to the long-term future of Douglas Promenade. 

It also says that completing the remaining sections of the scheme will help protect public infrastructure, 'improve resilience' against increasingly severe coastal conditions and support future investment, including the planned enhancement of Marine Gardens.