'We want more toilets, parking and affordable shops'

Shoppers on the Isle of Man have shared a range of ideas that could help boost visitor numbers to the Manx capital.

In a post on Facebook, Douglas City Centre Management asked people for "one single change" they would like to see as footfall in the area had dropped.

Responses included requests for more parking spaces, improved access to toilets and the introduction of more big-brand names.

City centre manager Oliver Cheshire said the "long term goal" was to understand the issues and "see if it was within our remit" to make improvements.

He confirmed the total number of visitors to Douglas "year-to-date was down 3.6% on the previous year", a trend also being seen city centres across the UK.

Anna-Maria Smith, who lives in Douglas, said that while she "loves to shop local", events such as street markets at the weekend would encourage her to visit more.

Originally from north-east England, she said the city had a "fair selection of shops, but if I miss anything from back home it's those big brands with small prices".

While large retailers such as Tesco, Marks and Spencer and Boots have stores on the island, many popular highstreet clothing and homeware brands seen in the UK do not have outlets.

Father and daughter Brian and Freya Johnson from Ramsey agreed they "don't tend to do a great deal of shopping on the island".

Mr Johnson said: "I tend to wait until I visit the UK because there's more choice".

Miss Johnson said more "middle-of-the road or affordable shops" in the city centre would encourage her to visit more often.

Caroline Wright from Crosby said: "We've seen quite a lot of popular shops close and leave the island, so a few more clothes shops would be nice.

"I already come in very regularly anyways, I don't think I need to be encouraged visit more often."

Mr Cheshire said the team would conduct a further "in-depth survey to drill down into the issues and see what we can do using the support of the Local Economy Strategy".

The 10-year plan to boost footfall and fill empty shops, supported by a new £2.4m town and village centre regeneration fund, was backed by Manx politicians in January.

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