Douglas Travel Forum

Last time I was in Douglas there was talk of booting the shopowners out of the Villa Marina, and replacing them with a medical centre. That’ll be fun, won’t it? Sitting in the Doctor’s surgery feeling grim, with a Robert Plant soundcheck going on next door. Dragging yourself along the Prom in mid-Winter to go to the doctor. Joining the ticket queue, only to find it’s the queue for repeat prescriptions….
Anyway, does anybody know how far they’ve got with this daft idea? Am I still going to be able to buy my gifts & souvenirs in the Villa Marina Arcade this year, or do Pickwick’s now have the monopoly?

Ok, there is still talk and the current lease holders in the Villa Arcade have been given notice to quit some have left others are still there.

I think the souvenir shop is still currently open but I will check at lunch when I go past and for how long no one knows. There are plans to completely refurb the Arcade but nothing has been started as yet. They did say Spring 2006 but I haven't noticed any changes.

THey haven't said anything about a Drs surgery but they have mentioned a performance area, Restaurants and high quality shops. But the planning application was only on a list in January.

To find out other info you can go to iomonline.co.uk, click onnews and then search villa marina arcade this brings up the news articles etc.

Hope this helps.

Ok have had a check and the souvenir shops are still open, so you'll be able to buy the usual there.

Thanks FF.
The shop I was really concerned about was the Fairy shop (Windsor Knot.)
Somebody in the TT Forum told me that the medical centre plans hasd been dropped, but, as you say, there are still plans for refurbishment.
Now, however, the plans seem to include shops.
It always seemed a daft idea to have a surgery in the middle of an entertainment complex; guess the message got through!

Was in there myself today, chatting.
There are plans for shops but the existing tenants won't get first refusal.
Also, rather than conduct the work in Winter and let them open in Summer, they've been told to close for 2-3 years, and will miss the Centenary TT trade.
They're not getting compensation, or alternative accommodation, or assistance - financial or otherwise - to find and/or move into any.
Peter Norris is apparently the only one garanteed to return. Dunno why he's favoured, but it seems unfair on the others.

the arcade has now been knocked down. im not sure what they are doing but its no more.

Its true they have now gone and the whole things looks a right mess. Such a shame they didn't get their act into gear sooner so they could have had things looking nice for the Centenary but typically it didn't happen. Also gone is the site where the former Crescent Lesuire Centre used to be and also the Venue night club in the centre of the prom, again another mess.

It seems that soon the whole promenade will be a row of flats and apartments. Not sure if this is a good thing or not. Of cours eteh Villa site will reopen just modernised but lets wait adn see how it turns out.

The reason they were going to include a medical centre in the Villa complex was that all the building on the front meant that there'd been a population shift, with residential homes where there had once been hotels, and they weren't served by a nearby GP practice. So will they have written into the contracts to build new dwellings that they should incorporate a new medical centre? Maybe, but I suspect not.
The Villa tenants raised the question, why mess the place up for the Centenary? Why not let us have that one last landmark year to trade? But some dipstick in authority declared that the IOM wasn't a "bucket and spade" type of tourist resort, despite,as I've been led to believe,himself having a shop that sold touristy tat, whereas at least one of the Villa shops sold original and quality goods promoting Manx culture. (Plus there was a barber's and a fruit shop.)
Say what you like about Party politics, but whether it's first past the post or PR, at least you get discipline and unity of purpose, unlike the "everyone's an independent" system on the Island which means that in order to achieve anything you have to strike up alliances and cut deals every time.