A decision to remove parking spaces situated on one of the busiest streets in Douglas has been postponed.

It comes after shocked staff at a deli in Douglas arrived at work on Wednesday to discover that a set of parking spots on Victoria Street had been blocked-off by cones.

In a statement online earlier, Fork It owner Sarah Jones said she was ‘absolutely disgusted’ to discover that the parking spaces were being removed over fears that the area could become too congested when work starts on the new Villier’s Square development nearby.

It is understood that as part of that work, the buses through Loch Promenade will be suspended to allow construction machinery and materials to access the site safely.

As a consequence, all bus services will then be routed through the Victoria Street stop instead.

Contractors NK Construction, who are carrying out work on the Villiers Square, recently applied to the Department of Infrastructure (DoI) for these changes.

That application was subsequently approved by the department.

However, both Fork It and Mannin Barbershop, both of whom are situated on Victoria Street, said they had not been consulted over the plans to remove the spaces.

In a post issued online this morning, Sarah Jones of the Fork It deli said: ‘Imagine our surprise coming in to work this morning to find out the DOI have removed all the parking spaces outside our small business without even consulting us.

‘Fork It will absolutely be affected by not letting customers park outside the shop. It’s absolutely disgusting from the DOI and NK Construction.’

Sarah later told Media Isle of Man that NK Construction’s application to suspend parking on Victoria Street was initially set to be in effect until 2026 - a move she said would put the deli ‘out of business.’

Mannin Barbershop owner Kelly Erdbeer posted her own take on the situation online.

She said: ‘Parking war has restarted between myself [and] Fork It against the DoI and NK Construction.

‘No consultation was given to us to the loss of the disc zone outside our premises for what could be a number of years.

‘To say I’m angry but not surprised is an understatement.

‘This morning has been quite a rollercoaster of emotions. Both our businesses have so far been looked at has insignificant.’

However, by this evening, Fork It issued a fresh post online saying that the DoI had confirmed it would be ‘revoking’ plans to scrap the parking spaces and had apologised over the lack of consultation on the move.

In its own statement, the DoI said that plans to suspend parking on the street have been postponed and that staff will monitor the situation.

A spokesperson for contractors NK Construction confirmed that both Fork It and the Mannin Barbershop were not sent letters informing them of the plans.

‘A letter drop including information relating to the bus stop relocation and the suspension of parking was circulated to surrounding businesses in the vicinity of the Villiers Square site in September,’ said the spokesperson.

‘Regretfully, the two businesses concerned did not receive this correspondence.

‘NK Construction Limited have since met with the affected businesses this morning to review the matter and will discuss the approved bus stop relocation and parking suspension with the appropriate authorities.’

A spokesperson for the DoI said: ‘The Department of Infrastructure has today had a positive meeting with the business in question.

‘The key issue is the long-term suspension of the bus stop on Loch Promenade, as the alternative arrangement is for buses to stop in Victoria Street instead.

‘An agreement has been reached to postpone the suspension of parking on Victoria Street, designed to allow one bus to pass another that is waiting, and monitor the effect this has on congestion in the city centre.

 ‘As background, the Department’s role in matters such as this is to support applicants who wish to make changes to the highway. Applicants are often construction firms that bring a range of benefits to the community and wider economy, including trade for local businesses.

‘The application process includes a requirement that appropriate communication is undertaken by the applicant to inform those affected.

‘The Highway Services division deals with more than 600 applications every year; in addition to roadworks, this total includes requests for filming and a wide range of events, particularly during the spring and summer.

‘It is impractical for the team of two who undertake this work to check whether every business has been informed of forthcoming changes.

‘Instead, they rely on being provided with accurate information.

‘The Department is pleased to continue working with applicants, residents and local businesses to identify compromise and appropriate solutions at all times.’

Earlier this year, a scheme to transform the derelict Villiers Square site on Loch Promenade was unanimously approved by planners. The Tevir Group’s plans will see a mixed-use development comprising of more than 80,000 square feet of retail and leisure space as well as a six-storey, 80-bedroom hotel built at the site.