A £1.83million overhaul of Vittlefields Cross on the outskirts of Newport is being proposed in a bid to tackle what has been identified as the top accident cluster site on the Isle of Wight.
The major junction remodelling scheme has emerged in the Isle of Wight Council’s proposed Local Transport Delivery Plan 2026/27-2029/30, which sets out a programme of transport investment across the Island over the coming years.
Vittlefields Cross in Newport is the junction on Forest Road connecting Forest Road to Yarmouth Road, Whitehouse Road and Betty Haunt Lane. It has been singled out as one of the key road safety projects, with the Council’s detailed delivery programme describing it as a ‘junction remodelling scheme to address the no* 1 accident cluster site on the Island’.
As previously reported by Island Echo in 2019, a woman in her 60’s died and 19 people were injured following a crash involving a double-decker bus and 2 cars at the location of the dangerous crossing.
At the time, the Isle of Wight NHS Trust confirmed that 4 people had been airlifted to mainland hospitals, including Southampton and Brighton.
Following this, the Isle of Wight Council proposed to buy the land in January 2021 after the Isle of Wight coroner said it did not do enough to prevent future deaths, nor significantly improve safety.
In 2023, skid-resistant surfacing was installed, and further work on the new land was set to be completed subject to the purchase process.
The Council previously considered installing traffic lights at the crossroads, after a 7,000-strong petition, but ruled that out, saying it could increase the risk of rear-end shunts.
An Island Roads report said a roundabout would be the best option, bringing what it said would be a 50% drop in accidents at Vittlefields and ‘significantly’ less chance of fatal or serious injury accidents.
Fast-forwarding to 2026, the £1.83 million scheme remains a proposal at this stage and no work has commenced.
The Local Transport Delivery Plan is due to be discussed by members of the Economy, Regeneration, Transport and Infrastructure Committee when they meet at County Hall in Newport on 3rd September.
Councillors are being asked to approve the contents of the 4-year delivery plan and support the continued development and delivery of the projects, programmes and policy initiatives identified within it.
The need for changes at Vittlefields Cross was highlighted and recommended within an annual Network Safety Improvement Report produced by Island Roads, the Isle of Wight’s Highways PFI Service Provider.
The proposed scheme has a total estimated capital cost of £ 1.83 million, with no revenue expenditure listed specifically against the project; the delivery plan allocates monies to be taken from the Integrated Transport Fund.
The wider transport programme is primarily being funded through Government transport funding allocations and related external funding streams. The committee is not being asked to approve additional Isle of Wight Council funding through the Local Transport Delivery Plan report itself.
Although Vittlefields Cross is listed among schemes for 2026/27, the detailed timetable shows that the project is expected to take significantly longer to reach completion.
Development is listed as starting in April 2026 and continuing until April 2027.
Physical delivery is then currently scheduled to start in June 2027, with completion earmarked for March 2029.
As of today (Wednesday), no physical work has commenced at Vittlefields Cross.
Despite the £ 1.83 million price tag and the junction’s identification as the Island’s number 1 accident cluster, exactly what motorists can expect to see at Vittlefields Cross has not yet been revealed in the documents.
The papers describe the project only as ‘junction remodelling’ and do not specify the eventual road layout, nor do they refer to whether the proposals could involve a roundabout, traffic signals or another form of junction redesign.
The proposed scheme forms part of a much wider package of road safety and transport investment being considered by the Council.
A £750,000 remodelling and accessibility scheme for the Fairway/Lake Hill junction is also listed, while future projects include improvements at Westridge Junction and Downend.
Other areas earmarked for investment include highway drainage, speed limit changes, pedestrian crossings, footways, active travel, accessibility, public rights of way, bus services and electric vehicle infrastructure.
It must be noted that even if councillors approve the overall Local Transport Delivery Plan next week, that should not be taken as blanket final approval for every aspect of the Vittlefields Cross scheme.
The Council makes clear that individual projects will still have to pass through the appropriate approval processes where further decisions, consents, consultation or specific budget approvals are required.
That’s a start, the island is years behind the mainland
when it comes to Road Safety.
Speed camera’s should be installed Islandwide.
The ONE thing Lord Sir Sadiq Khan got right was introducing
20mph Londonwide
IT SLOWS MOTORISTS DOWN AND SAVES LIVES.
A free-loading, benefit claiming, half-wit numpty now posting under a different name is still all the things no matter what they call themselves!
20mph is coming for numpties like you.
The Island is not a city. There is not a Londonwide blanket 20mph speed limit. Always a good idea to get your facts in order before hitting your keyboard
20mph is safe countrywide except motorways
50mph.
I am feeling generous
Lol
Remember 20mph is plenty.
If I had a pound every time I drive along a 40mph road
at 38-39mph and I have vehicles nearly touching my bumper
or overtaking in dangerous positions I WOULD BE A MILLIONAIRE
BY CHRISTMAS
MOTORISTS WILL “NEVER” DRIVE SLOW UNLESS THEY ARE
FORCED TO DRIVE SLOW!, HENCE EXCESSIVE FINES AND
EXTRA POINTS ON THEIR LICENCE.
Give it a rest – if you can’t drive to the road conditions hand your license in…The entire country of Wales has shown that 20 IS NOT plenty…Vehicles aren’t designed to go continuously at that speed. Those limits are appropriate in certain spaces i.e by a school but not everywhere. Bad drivers need educating and harsher penalties and punishment.
Don’t be a Numpty all your life even BIRMINGHAM
is introducing 20mph TOTALLY
Only lawless numpties oppose 20mph and speed camera’s
I can only imagine that you are one of those lawless numpties
Bless
Go and live in Birmingham then
No need bring Birmingham to the island.
Well said
2 numpties for the price of one
Who doesn’t love a Bogof!
Waste of money this junction has always been there with few problems years ago, drivers are so inpatient they just cannot wait, people driving now seem to be so angry @ everyone, this is our world now, money should be spent on Forest road that is subsiding, this is more dangerous for drivers as it pulls your cars into the verge, so dangerous for bigger vehicle, surely this should be the priority our roads are breaking all over the island.
Great – the idea of another roundabout that many Islanders don’t know how to use…Traffic lights would be better, give enough signage to show lights ahead and change of layout should decrease so called shunts. But what option is used won’t decrease the poor driving by many that cause the accidents in the first place…
interesting that there is no mention of the work already done (over a year ago) ,to remove the hedge and move the fence-line back to massively improve visibility for the exit of Whitehouse Road. and that since then (AFAIR) there has not been any major incident…(I’m sure IE would know)
Why spend an additional £1.8million of our money, if the work already done has had a significant effect (and possibly achieved the targetted “50% drop in accidents”)…
Widen the road Porchfield side as you come into Newport – there is a large grass verge there so could easily turn into a “slip road” for traffic turning into Whitehouse Rd.
Exiting Whitehouse Rd heading towards Newport – cut the hedge right back, take some of the verge and make that a sweeping curve to Forest Rd.
And as for £1.8m ….absolutely definitely not! IR taking the absolute mick! I work in the construction and engineering industry and have done for 30 years. Those costs are simply fat cats lining their pockets!!!
It needs a roundabout, with Wight Commercials moving in to Burnt House Lane heavy traffic will need that junction even more. Purchase a strip of land from each of the fields on BHL, widen the road properly, put in a proper roundabout, problem solved. Safer, flowing, easy
WTF has that junction got to do with Burnt House Lane ?
Suspect Zog mean Betty Haunt Lane
I expect in time all cars will be tracked by satellite and the appropriate fines dished out for breaking the limit. Would be safer for drivers who drive carefully.
Let’s hope so
THEN THEY CAN CATCH ALL THE B’STARDS
SPEEDING
DRIVING WITH NO MOT
DRIVING WITH NUMBER PLATES IN THEIR WINDOWS
DRIVING WHILST ON THE PHONE
JUMPING RED LIGHTS ETC ETC
HALLELUJAH
Hmmmm.”Carefully”. Would said satellites also track drivers who, in the Island tradition, habitually drive 10mph below the speed limit? It’s also a dangerous practice, considered by many as ‘safer”.
Simple cheaper fix, put two big yellow boxes on the main road approaches to the junction, fit a camera in each, with a big “Flash” light and a 30 mph limit. Sit back and rake in the cash until the drivers are trained via their wallets. Give the money raised to “Dempsey” who do an excellent pot hole fix. They lay in foamed concrete before a top layer on tarmac giving it a proper base rather than booting in cold tar on gravel.
Also place speed cameras islandwide, great way for the
authorities to rake in extra cash.