The man responsible for regeneration in the capital has said there is little the council can do to improve Douglas’s main shopping streets.

On a walk down Castle Street, Strand Street and Duke Street – the capital’s main shopping thoroughfare – shoppers will notice 14 closed premises.

Most recently, the Lexicon, a stalwart of Strand Street for decades, has closed.

Closing down sales are now taking place at Newson’s, the outdoor shop that’s moving out of the town centre and specialising more on work clothes, and Eclipse, a women’s clothing shop.

Councillor Andrew Bentley, the chairman of the regeneration and community committee, told the Examiner: ‘This is a phenomenon that is far from unique to the Isle of Man and far from unique for Douglas.

‘What I see is a combination of four major factors – the growth of internet shopping, the ease with which you can go to a major UK city shopping, the Isle of Man feeling the prevailing trends in the high street and the building of major office blocks.’

The town was hit hard after the collapse of Arcadia early last year, when Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Topman, Topshop and Walli shut.

On a positive note, the biggest shop left vacant – Topshop – now has a new tenant, Mountain Warehouse.

It has moved from smaller premises on Strand Street and leaves another unit unoccupied.

Mr Bentley reflected on the change in shopping habits for not just the island but the whole the British Isles.

‘If you go back to the 90s, comparison shopping (clothes shopping) was considered a leisure activity. You used to see couples wandering up and down the high street wondering what to dress themselves in the following week. That leisure activity now takes place on the sofa with a phone.’

We asked Mr Bentley what the council plans to do about this issue.

‘The council has very limited powers. Aside from events, I’m really not sure there’s a lot we can do,’ he said. ‘The main thrust for us tackling this is town centre management.

‘This summer we had a whole series of events called Summer in the City, and it’s all about generating people in the town centre.’

Mr Bentley also hinted at another issue that has affected more than just Douglas.

‘One developer told me “What you’ve got to understand is the gravitational pull of the city.”

‘If you got to Liverpool One, or you go to the centre of Manchester, they’re absolutely thriving, there is not shortage of people whatsoever, it is the gravitational pull of a day out.’

Mr Bentley preceded to cite decreasing air fares from EasyJet and the ease with which you can go to the rest of the UK from the island as a reason for declining interest from shoppers.

As well as the changing habits of consumers, Mr Bentley cited the number of offices that have moved out of Douglas.

‘We’ve seen major businesses that would have provided lunchtime footfall move out to the countryside.’

A recent example is the Utmost moving from Walpole Avenue to Onchan Head.

While this might be good for businesses moving, it means there is less footfall in the town centre and therefore less trade.

Mr Bentley also said that the cost of getting freight to the island on the Steam Packet hit retailers’ profit margins.

‘The commercial rates of the Steam Packet are so high that they make profit margins so small.’

One big gap in the main area is on Duke Street, where a big development seems to have stopped.

We have tried to get more information from the developers on a number of occasions but haven’t received a response.

However, Mr Bentley has said there is hope.

‘If you look in the last few months in Duke Street, Copenhagen, Pomegranate and Island Travel have filled three empty units, so there is hope. But unless people go there to shop, the shops will continue to close.’