Granting of planning consent for the redevelopment of Port Soderick could pave the way for the reopening of Marine Drive.

The scenic roadway has been closed to through traffic since 1977 due to regular cliff-falls and the high cost of maintenance.

Planning officers are recommending that the reopening of Marine Drive should be considered as part of a national policy for tourism, saying this could boost visitor numbers to Port Soderick.

Marine Drive was originally opened as the route of the Douglas Southern Electric Railway which opened in 1896 and closed in 1939, and never reopened after the war.

The former trackbed was declared unsafe in 1949.

A major project to build a new Marine Drive started in 1960 and took two years to complete.

It cost £240,000 and was the biggest single scheme undertaken by the Highway Board since the war.

Work actually began in 1955 with the closure of the rickety tramway bridges at Wallberry and Horse Leap and the provision of a footpath for pedestrians.

The culvert at Pigeon Stream was filled in and a road built as far at Wallberry.

But the major engineering works starting in 1960 covered the section where the old tramway had to use bridges to span gorges.

A ledge in the sheer cliff was created to support the road and thousands of tonnes of rock were removed by controlled explosions.

The new Marine Drive was officially opened on May 9, 1962, by the then Lieutenant Governor Sir Ronald Garvey.

It complemented the efforts of Douglas Corporation to restore and develop Port Soderick as a popular resort, which was served by buses from Douglas using the scenic coastal route.

But in 1977 the collapse of the roadway at Horse Leap forced the closure of the Marine Drive to traffic.

Forty years on, it remains closed to through traffic, the section between Wallberry and Little Ness gated off and only opened for rallies.

Rock falls continue to be a problem and the dangers of the road were highlighted in January last year when three people were rescued miraculously unharmed when a car plunged over the cliff in bad weather.

Allen Moore, the Mannin branch of the Celtic League’s environmental spokesman said: ’The Isle of Man has more pressing needs for all the money which would be needed to make the Marine Drive safe for through traffic. ’Opening the closed section would make it less safe for people who presently enjoy walking it. Wildlife has flourished along the Marine Drive in the time that part of it has been closed.

’Re-development at Port Soderick doesn’t need the re-opening of the Marine Drive as it is already served by roads.’