Residents and businesses in Brading have expressed their anger at an apparent mix up by Island Roads in closing the High Street a day earlier than advised.
Motorists were last night (Thursday) surprised to find the main Ryde to Sandown road was closed, despite signs, letters and press communication stating the closure would not come into force until 19:30 on Friday 8th September. Even the town’s own town council were caught by surprise as they exited a monthly meeting.
Resurfacing works are being undertaken on the High Street between Coach Lane and The Mall as part of the PFI contract. It means drivers face either a 5.5 mile diversion over The Downs or a 11 mile detour through Bembridge and St Helens.
Last night’s unexpected situation was not helped by the closure of Coach Lane and Rowborough Lane; neither road has been advised as being closed during the resurfacing works on the High Street on any day.
Local resident Christopher Offer of Quay Lane has wrote to Councillors to make a formal complaint about the situation, calling for a proper investigation into what went wrong, who was responsible and, if appropriate, any disciplinary action taken.
Mr Offer has claimed that motorists were being directed to park in a private car park owned by The Bugle as there was no where else for the surprised drivers to go. Furthermore, Mr Offer says that he received no communication from Island Roads prior to the work taking place, despite access to his road being completely blocked off.
A spokesperson for Island Roads has today apologised for the mix up:
“We would like to apologise for any inconvenience caused by our work to resurface Brading High Street which began last night (Sept 7), a night earlier than previously communicated to residents.
Article continues below this advertisement “Although our work programme can be subject to change due to a number of reasons, the change affecting the Brading scheme should have been relayed to residents and business. Human error meant this communication did not occur and, we sincerely apologise for this oversight. We are taking steps to ensure that this doesn’t happen in the future.
“We anticipate that the three-night scheme will be completed, weather permitting, on the nights of September 8 and 11 and thank residents for their ongoing patience during these works”.
