A councillor has slammed the Isle of Wight Council and the Government for not doing enough to save the iconic Military Road after plans to shore up a section were refused last week.
Cllr Nick Stuart, the representative for Brighstone, Calbourne and Shalfleet, said:
“The lack of vision or action to preserve this coastal route by local and national government is heartbreaking.”
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Cllr Stuart was among those on the council’s planning committee to reject Island Roads’ proposals for a 26-metre-long wall with piles drilled 21 metres into the ground between Brook and Hanover Point. He said the plans were deeply and fundamentally flawed as it would damage a nationally important landscape and environment, while only saving the road for a few more years.
He believed it was right to refuse the plans but he still despaired and found it shocking that there was no plan B. Since the refusal, the Isle of Wight Council has said it currently has no plans to secure the road, which in some places is just metres away from the cliff edge.
Work was ongoing, council leader Phil Jordan said, to find a suitable, viable and sustainable option to maintain the road, but there was no timeframe as to when that could be.
Cllr Stuart joined the authority last year and said he had joined a multi-party meeting with local and central government organisations, but it had been “lots of hot air and handwringing” with still no outcome.
The councillor claimed:
“The key point is money, and given central government has spent years reducing support to our council while loading on new responsibilities and time-consuming initiatives, it should cough up the cash now.”
“The road was built to protect the Island and southern England from invasion, now central government seem happy for it to vanish into the waves. Not a great look for global Britain.”
Cllr Stuart also highlighted the Military Road was an attraction for visitors from all around the world but also proved to be a vital route for Islanders.
He said the damage that would be done to the Island’s image and attractiveness in the eyes of tourists should make saving the road a priority, let alone the direct economic and critical impact it would have on locals.
I bet it will go the same way as Niton Undercliff.
it’s shameful
Spent god knows how much changing St Mary’s roundabout for absolutely no reason but cant find the cash for this
There is only one logic answer to “save” the road and that is to move the road inland in a sympathetic way – as was successful achieved on the other side of Compton where the road now twists and turns inland. This adjustment to the road enhances the landscape and makes the driving experience – enjoyed and sold the world over as one of the best driving roads in the UK – even better. The Council should be actively engaging with the landowners and other stakeholders to achieve this.
This the crux of it. But the problem is that the National Trust own a lot of the land and they probably want to see the road disappear.
How very ironic – built to protect the island from invasion and now we have border force, numerous taxpayer funded NGOs and the RNLI facilitating that invasion from Calais at a cost of tens of billions each year to the taxpayer – imagine if that invasion was stopped and a small percentage of the money they have taken from our pockets to fund it all were diverted to saving this road, it would be safe for another hundred years
Take all the traffic lights down that island roads stick up and stop paying them to do not a lot of anything and inject the cash into military road
Bit hypocritical of him. He voted against the Island Roads plans to save the road because he (wrongly) thought another alternative would be on the table. At least that plan would have given them another 7 years to come up with a viable alternative. The wall could always have been removed at a later date. Now it seems the road will disappear before they come up with anything.
Veto the current (and only plans). Declares the road needs saving. Bleats nonsense in an attempt to be seen in a different light. This is the IOW Council doing what they do best. Making things for islanders worse. You really couldn’t make this up, though given the governments history of stripping away everything that was great about the UK and turning it all into a privatised money making cash-cow. When the road collapses, it’ll turn into a long drawn out fiasco costing millions more than necessary, the island will lose, some private companies will get richer and it’ll drag on for such a long time that most of us will lose interest. Action is required now, not later. Sort your &hit out County Hall!
Councillor Nick Stuart – “The lack of vision or action to preserve this coastal route by local and national government is heartbreaking.” Why did he oppose the scheme then?
A few large rocks on the beach would help to preserve it.
Lots of problems and not a single solution between them all. This council are about as much use as a chocolate fireguard.
Only money..they want it for the floating crap..They lost over a hundred and fifty grand just from june ..that could of gone to sorting the road out ,..but ohh no..
One of the most beautiful roads on the island and our hapless council will let it just disappear, this is criminal
Twats all of them..bet they gave themselves an extra wage boost next year over it..
Me thinks that councillor Nick Stuart speaks with forked tongue, key point allegedly is that money given by central govenrment has decreased, damn right it has and you can see why, you kept wasting it, why does the IOW council spend over 20 percent of a not insignificant budget on non core activities,
Bembridge Bernie…yes forked tongue, that’s a prerequisite of being a councillor isn’t it.. all in it just for themselves ..
Wait a sec, don’t we have a leader who is the councillor for transport? Surely this man, who has a wealth of experience, has a solution?
Then again…
This bloody council are happy to have wasted ‘millions’ of our council tax payments on that thing they call the ‘Floating Bridge’ but they are not prepared to protect the Military Road. Another outrageous decision. I really hope something will be done to save the road.