Daylight has revealed the full extent of a major rock collapse that sent tonnes of earth crashing onto Ventnor’s Belgrave Road last night (Friday).
Residents were first alerted to collapse of Windy Corner – as it is known locally – at around 23:00.
Large masses of earth and rubble completely blocked the road, with further debris cascading over the railings and dropping a substantial distance onto Esplanade Road.
Local residents have told Island Echo they heard a massive thud but assumed it was “nothing to worry about”, whilst others have described the situation at Windy Corner prior to the slip as “an accident waiting to happen” stating that “it needed a rock netting like Gills Cliff”.
Island Roads operatives were on scene until around 03:00 this morning (Saturday) securing the scene. It is thought that further assessments will take place in the coming hours.
Belgrave Road is currently closed between Church Street and Park Avenue, whilst Esplanade Road is currently blocked.
UPDATE @ 10:40 – Island Roads have issued the following statement:
Island Roads will continue to monitor this significant rockfall at Belgrave Road and will take all appropriate action to protect the public, extending the current road closure (currently Belgrave Road and Rex Steps) if necessary.
“There will then need to be a detailed assessment of the movement as this area is known to suffer from geological instability.
“Island Roads and the council will then work towards determining what action is required to ensure the safety of the area with the intention of removing the fallen rocks and re-opening the road at the earliest opportunity.
“As always, this will be done when we are sure no further imminent movement is likely at this location.
“We will also be contacting the private owners of the rockface to discuss their role in this process.
“Island Roads has every sympathy with Ventnor residents who once again face inconvenience due to the town’s unique geological features.
“We can assure them we will be working with the council to resolve this issue as soon as possible.”
No doubt they will keep that road closed for ever like Bath Road and Leeson Road.
And again spend tens of thousands of pounds in wages on a lot of Island Road men in orange visibility jackets standing around doing nothing.
Correction – Just read that the Belgrave Rd wall repair cost MILLIONS of pounds and now it’s wrecked again, Would walk down that road almost every day for 2 years and watched many Roads men doing nothing.
Leeson Road is open. Durr
What a shocker, Belgrave Road is sadly
falling apart.
No it isn’t
There will then need to be a detailed assessment of the movement as this area is known to suffer from geological instability. Nothing to do with movement of the area, just a large overhanging rock which gave way.
Ventnor could soon become a candidate for that tv programme ‘The Worlds Most Dangerous Roads’ Only difference, the programme’s rockfalls are usually cleared in an hour or two.