Shop closures plague Isle of Man capital

The Isle of Man's capital, Arbory, is facing a severe decline in shops and businesses due to declining trade, parking, and the cost of living.

Business owners are calling for action from the government to help independent businesses get up and running in the town centre.

Patsy Lockerby said: 'I'm the only shop open in Malew Street, so that sort of speaks volumes, doesn't it? '

'It's affected the town - people don't bother now, they bypass Castletown. You can't rely on the tourists and coaches coming because there's nothing for them. '

She called for action from the government to help independent businesses in the short term to get up and running in the town centre.

'They need to come up with something that they can afford that would be beneficial to people who want to start a new business,' she said.

Repeated closures of parking in Market Square by the commissioners in previous years was cited by her as a significant reason for shop closures due to dwindling footfall in recent years.

Barry James said more strategic thought needed to into sorting the town's parking issues

Fellow business owner Barry James agreed that parking in general was one of the biggest issues affecting footfall in the town.

'We've had parking problems – we've got an ageing population as well, a lot of retired people, and accessibility is not good,' he said, adding it was an issue that also affected the coach passengers visiting.

'You can't make a car park that's not there, you can't expect people to walk too far either, but there are professionals who spend their time planning and they understand how communities work,' he said.