Frustration is mounting in Ventnor as Bath Road – 1 of only 2 routes to the seafront – remains closed after 18 months, with business owners and the community concerned they may be facing another Summer season with Bath Road remaining closed.
The road was shut by Island Roads in October 2023 due to a wall collapse that caused debris to spill onto the highway, but efforts to resolve the issue have stalled amid a legal dispute over responsibility. There is still no confirmed date for repairs or reopening.
Local resident Karl Hunter attempted to clear the road with other volunteers back in March but was stopped by a Council officer due to a lack of a permit – despite the officer being described as sympathetic.
A joint statement from the Isle of Wight Council and Island Roads after this community intervention read:
“The closure of Bath Road followed the collapse of a private wall, and it is the responsibility of that private landowner to make the required repairs.”
However, questions have now been raised about the accuracy of that claim.
While the Council previously suggested it was taking legal action to compel the landowner to act, it has since emerged that the reverse is true – the landowner is, in fact, taking Island Roads to court. The appeal, lodged on 22nd April, seeks to overturn a Formal Notice served by Island Roads on 8th April under Section 167 of the Highways Act 1980.
The landowner is understood to have submitted documents arguing the wall in question was built by the Council or its predecessors after the property above was constructed, placing responsibility for repairs on the local authority.
No court date has been set, raising concerns that the road could remain closed throughout the 2025 season and beyond.
David Grocock of the Keep Ventnor Moving group, alongside independent structural engineer Paul Realey of PTR Consulting Engineers, has worked with residents to develop a potential temporary fix. The proposed solution involves bracing the breach to prevent further collapse, with a projected cost of £9,500 +VAT.
Island Roads maintains that:
“Even if debris was cleared away, there remains a risk of a further collapse and until that risk is removed, the road should not be re-opened to the general public.”
Campaigners argue that the economic benefit to local businesses from reopening the road would far outweigh the cost of a temporary solution. They are urging both Island Roads and the Isle of Wight Council to consider the proposal to restore access as soon as possible.
Karl has told Island Echo:
“The handling of Bath Road has highlighted what I believe is a bigger issue. Island Roads are not considering the impact on the community and local businesses in their decision-making processes.
“Island Roads are making decisions that often have a significant impact on local businesses and our daily lives, yet we as Islanders, who are by far the biggest stakeholders, have no say or oversight regarding the decisions that Island Roads make.
“In this instance, if Island Roads had properly considered the economic impact of the closure of Bath Road to local businesses, a temporary low-cost solution could and should have been implemented to keep the road open.
“I would urge the Council and Island Roads to take up this relatively inexpensive solution for the economic benefit to Ventnor Town in these financially difficult times”.
Councillor Ed Blake, who represents Ventnor on the Isle of Wight Council, has said:
“It has been within Cllr Phil Jordan’s gift to sanction works since the collapse of the wall, for the past 18 months.
“The continued lack of leadership is harming Ventnor”.
So that house would have been built WITHOUT a wall around it? Seriously??
Okay, so we tell the landowner that if it’s not ‘his’ wall, we’ll take the whole lot down and every time his soil (or his house) runs onto the road, he will be fined. Or, he can take some responsibility and we all share the costs before they escalate and cause the community he lives in any more trouble. To instantly look at a problem and try to find ways to declare ‘not my fault’ is a very telling way to say ‘I don’t care about anyone else in the community I’ve chosen to live in’.
No leadership from a Council run by alliance that with devolution and deals around which schools stay open or are closed, has voted themselves an indefinite time in office. Island Roads won’t help because they don’t need to and frankly don’t want to, their leadership cares little for the well being of the Island and its residents. The animosity between IR and Phil Jordan is an open secret at Council Hall, and it seems the differences are personal and as a result nothing is getting done. Jordan should give up his role as the cabinet minister for transport. The relationship needs revisiting with IR, and that won’t happen with Jordan in charge, in the meantime all Island residents will suffer..sadly we are stuck with IR for another 14 years, unless Richard Quigley can get the contract nationalised!
No, the animosity arises from a simple fact that the previous administrations sewed us all up like a kipper with the PFI contracts to Islands roads, and now they ‘own’ the roads and Jordan can do nothing about it except keep on paying the bill with our money and getting it in the neck for it. The excess money, which we didn’t realise at the time, comes from add-ons to the original contract. Things like traffic lights, road closures, ridiculous and unnecessary signage charged daily. And you wonder why IR constantly drags its heels? It mires us in legalese as a way of kicking the can down the road which it counts the profits. That same legalese will try to hang on to not be renationalised and will come down to how much we can spend as a singular council (if we DON’T get devolution) on fighting the battle. Quigley can push for nationalisation but even he will be hog-tied in spite of central government agenda…because of the terms of the original contract, the fact that this is not a national contract, and who first signed it. It’s exactly the same argument as the bloke who owns the house at the bend of Bath Rd is using via his legal team.
Good to know, there is a lot of history around this contract and you are right that the PFI has other administrations’ finger prints on it, from memory it was supported by all parties at the time. Absolutely understand the add ons, ridiculous, but then nobody was removed for such a costly mistake, why? I recall Bacon and Stephens having finger prints on it. It remains the case that if Jordan’s relationship is toxic, it makes sense to think about the composition of the team dealing with IR. And yes, understand Quigley can do little at this stage. Let’s hope the badly drafted contract allows for assignment and/ or termination/ buy back if for whatever reason IR goes broke! It sounds as if you know the contract pretty well!
Not specifically, but all PFI contracts are pretty much the same. They wouldn’t be in it for from the goodness of their hearts. It was like vultures…the infrastructure was in need of money, and conservatism saw an opportunity and was promoted…we’ll put money into infrastructure, and as such, retain the infrastructure, and you just pay a monthly fee to us, plus interest. Not included is..X..at whatever price we say. See also NHS. They own the building and equipment, we pay rent and staff. Lightbulbs are something ridiculous like £100 a go. And no, it definitely wasn’t supported by all parties Geoff Brodie (Lumley as was) spoke out against it; it was, yet again, David Pugh’s baby. Same blokie who now has his hands in Wightlink and also helped shoehorn Seely as MP. I’d love to know just how many shares they also own in IR’s (French) holding companies.
Broken Britain
Just like the Undercliff, it will NEVER re-open.