The DoI Minister has clarified the reasons behind the recent closures of the Lord Street and Summerland sites.
Dr Michelle Haywood confirmed that neither decision was made at a political level.
Regarding Lord Street, Dr. Haywood pointed out that the site is not owned by the DoI and that the owners of the site took the decision to close it.
This decision was taken “as they were aware that it was being used by unauthorised persons parking vehicles in an uncontrolled fashion, on an area which is not a designated car park and that is currently awaiting development”.
On Summerland, Dr Haywood said: “In December 2018, the Department of Infrastructure submitted a planning application for the creation of a temporary works compound to be used for the Douglas Promenade Refurbishment for a period of up to but no longer than 100 weeks; this was approved by Planning in February 2019.”
The approval expired on November 1 2020, and the department later acted to prevent misuse.
Dr. Haywood added: “To prevent ongoing misuse of the site being used to park unwanted and abandoned vehicles, the Department made an operational decision in May 2025 to stop unauthorised access to the site.”
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