Conservative Councillors have called on the Alliance-led Council to come clean about details surrounding the secret deal struck over the troubled Floating Bridge announced last week, as it emerges 1 of the companies involved has appointed liquidators.
An agreement has been reached in mediation between the Council and the designers and builders of Floating Bridge 6, which has been beset by problems since it entered service in 2017. The final settlement included a non-disclosure agreement meaning the final sum will never be published. The Council have said they will be making no further comment.
It has since emerged that the designers of the floating bridge – Burness Corlett Three Quays (Southampton) Limited – had a liquidator (FRP Advisory Trading Limited) appointed to wind up the company just before entering mediation discussions with the Council on 21st February 2022. There are also unanswered questions about how much the Council have spent on legal fees to reach a settlement.
Conservative Group Leader Councillor Joe Robertson has said:
“The Alliance need to come clean with people. Cabinet Member for Transport Cllr Phil Jordan made an announcement when mediation began back in March of this year but he did not disclose that one of the main parties had a liquidator appointed by its creditors.
“When he reported last week that a deal had been reached and legal issues had been concluded he failed to admit that the designers who are based in the Isle of Man might get away without ever paying a single penny. How much have the Council spent on legal fees pursuing a company undergoing insolvency?
“The Alliance are trying to keep key details of this whole sorry affair, including their own bad decision making, hidden from public scrutiny. They are resorting to smears and deflection rather than openness and transparency.”
Cllr Joe Robertson has gone on to say:
“There is a fundamental question about honesty and competence here. We have the same group of Independent councillors who oversaw the ordering of the faulty floating bridge serving in the heart of the current Alliance Cabinet. Former Council Leaders Stephens and Bacon are now Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for the Council’s legal team respectively. Councillor Jordan was a senior member of their previous Cabinets and is now Cabinet Member for Transport issuing press releases on the floating bridge.
“They are talking about ordering another bridge at taxpayers’ expense but they have refused to admit that past mistakes happened on their watch.
“When the designers presented the technical specification for the bridge back in 2015 they had already declined to file any annual accounts with Companies House for 6 years. Cllr Phil Jordan now says “we need to be sure that whatever is done next is done correctly, professionally and with certainty.” I agree, but the councillors who messed up last time around should not be allowed to have another go at ordering a new floating bridge using public money in the hope they might get it right this time.”
Responding to Councillor Robertson’s statement, Councillor Jordan has said:
“A recent letter to many Island media outlets from Conservative councillor Robertson about the Floating Bridge is littered with misinformation, assumptions and hypocrisy.
“The final settlement included a non-disclosure agreement meaning the final sum will never be published.
“The public are tired of this continual re-adaption of history in an attempt to place blame where no blame lies and to avoid responsibility where responsibility lies. I’m sure the public will make up their own minds about such hypocrisy.
“The Alliance has resolved the commercial dispute allowing us to move forward into finding the best option for the future, including, if appropriate, a new vessel.”
Needs to be a vote of no confidence in this Council, floating bridge, failing schools, unable to recruit staff (having to use agency) dangerous highways, bed blocking after closing care homes, homeless, poverty etc yet we pay higher council tax per head than others?.
I agree wholeheartedly with much of what you say, but you are incorrect in saying “we pay higher council tax per head than others”. That is just plain wrong.
On what planet is a non-disclosure agreement acceptable in circumstances like this and what possible purpose could it serve other than hiding shady practices?
Yet another example of the superb negotiating skills that landed us with the barely floating bridge in the first place.
Any legal experts out there know if there is any way to challenge this fiasco?
What a shambles.. stinks from top to bottom.. smoke and mirrors tactics again.
Mr Jordan – methinks thou dost protest too much – If you, Mr Bacon, Mr Stephens et al have nothing to hide, then tell us what the settlement is.
It’s our money not yours that you’re spending.
You are public servants.
Do your highly paid job and serve the people who pay you.
The good old ‘gone into liquidation’ to avoid paying the bills eh? A bit like up yours john cos we ain’t paying!
Rather than going into liquidation (which is about the only thing Nonfloaty Macredface can manage), maybe the company are taking the micturation instead?
It all has the same whiff as we have been experiencing down at island harbour this week, and the proximity of County Hall to both is alarmingly close.
Maybe we should change the name of Cowes to Bulls’ and leave the last but to the imagination?
Oh well there’s a surprise, Phil Jordan is involved. This fool needs to go and the whole sordid fiasco needs to go public, hasn’t anyone got the balls to release this information. Phil Jordan won’t, probably because he has received a nice pay out for keeping his gob shut. Corruption of the highest order,
that would be the convicted criminal Phil Jordan….
They really need to come clean about this major elephant in the room …
Ooh no sorry they would never do that …
Because they are all unable to know what honesty transparency is ….
Reckon they go to special lessons in being smug lying cheating pillocks…
Our taxes are wasted and services cut , why Because they couldn’t run a P – – – up in a brewery let alone a council !!!!
Waste of space ……
All public office-holders are servants of the public and stewards of public resources.The ethical principles which they’re bound to are selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership. They are accountable to the public for their decisions and actions and must submit themselves to the scrutiny necessary to ensure this. They should act and take decisions in an open and transparent manner. Information should not be withheld from the public unless there are clear and lawful reasons for doing so. So let’s hear the clear and lawful reasons please, IWC.
If they build a tunnel, like was proposed in 1901, there would not be so much wasted money.. the millions that have been spent of ferries for that stretch of water, is unbelievable.. millions and millions… sadly it will continue… millions every year wasted… just on this crossing.. this is 2022…. not 1822.. This council seem to be corrupt, probably every one of them.. If ever I get to vote, I will cross all out, and show NO VOTE, get them all out and start again.
Far deeper than non-disclosure. Secrecy is hiding serious issues and unacceptable that Alliance tries to bury it.
We have the same group of Independent councillors who oversaw the ordering of the faulty floating bridge serving in the heart of the current Alliance Cabinet. Former Council Leaders Stephens and Bacon are now Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for the Council’s legal team respectively. Councillor Jordan was a senior member of their previous Cabinets and is now Cabinet Member for Transport issuing press releases on the floating bridge.
…
if they won’t disclose – then they need to be suspended for creating suspicion that they are hiding something from the taxpayer- no smoke without fire
Someone or a few mates of this person on the council are covering up this person’s absolute cock up of signing off this floating bridge of shite right at the start. Criminal offences have been committed and this needs to be investigated by an independent company. Liars liars pants on fire . Pity the whole island don’t start off a protest where nobody pays their council tax until admittance of guilt is given. Then a set sum of money returned back to all council taxpayers. Disgusting state of affairs. Isle of Wight Council hang your heads in shame.
The chance of the tax payers getting any money back is zero. The council have dragged this on so long they should all resign and have a new election. Marwell Zoo are looking to rehouse
some monkey’s shortly and the Isle of Wight council seem’s ideal.
“The public are tired of this continual re-adaption of history in an attempt to place blame where no blame lies and to avoid responsibility where responsibility lies. I’m sure the public will make up their own minds about such hypocrisy.”
No! We don’t want fancy cover up stories or statements, nor do we want some dinosaur Councillor speaking on our (the public) behalf with out consulting every resident on the island. we want to know the truth!. I’m certain “we the public” want to know how all this was allowed, who messed up and how much of OUR MONEY has been spent on this farce and how much was pockeded, who will be held accountable and what actions will be taken against the people including councillors involved in this farce.
Whilst accepting the obvious, that those immediately responsible for the continuing lack of competence in dealing with the fiasco of the floating bridge, EVERY member of the council who has sat through the ongoing disaster should examine their conscience. It is very easy to spend other peoples’ money. Much of it is hard earned!!!
“The public are tired of this continual re-adaption of history”
Since when was re-adaption a word?
Truly a work class cockup, and with those culpable …hiding in the background .
The council are suggesting that any further discussions on this matter are just digging up the past and that the residents of this island are not interested in knowing what happened at this settlement. Well I am one resident of this island that would like to know. When the alliance took over they made a big claim of being more open and transparent. Where is that openness and transparency now?
This matter must surely be considered as being in the public interest, after all that we have had to put up with in East Cowes.
This ‘non-disclosure’ is there to cover up all the secrecy, lies, back-handers, ‘jobs for mates’ and other badness the Council is given to. It’s OUR MONEY so we NEED TO KNOW!
Maybe an invasion of the next Council Meeting demanding disclosure would have an effect?
This non-disclosure is there to cover up total incompetence
It is the Council Officers that are to blame for this monumental cockup not the Cllrs.