DAYLIGHT REVEALS EXTENT OF ZIG ZAG LANDSLIP – HOUSE CORDONED OFF

Day break has revealed the extent of a landslip that occurred behind a house on Zig Zag Road in Ventnor last night (Friday). As first reported by Island Echo, emergency services rushed to the scene at around 18:45 after receiving reports of ground movement behind the property ‘Tower House’, near the junction with Bellevue Road. Police closed down the area amid fears public safety was at risk, before later scaling down the response. Officers went door to door at properties directly above the slip but no households had to be evacuated. Now, the Isle of Wight Council is to begin assessing the extent of the slip and work out the next steps to be taken. Photographs captured by Island Echo this morning reveal that the landslip is fairly small in scale, but tonnes of earth and rock has fallen into the rear of the family home below. Police have cordoned off Tower House and the road directly outside has been closed, but a public footpath up to Ocean View Road remains open. The local authority has been anticipating such incidents in January and February, as a result of the record-breaking weather seen in October last year. Local residents have raised concerns about the ongoing situation in the town and the risk of being cut off following the major landslide at Bonchurch in December, a fall at Bath Road, the continuous movement of The Grabum and the most recent falls at Gills Cliff and Zig Zag.   A public meeting is to be held at St Catherine’s Church next Thursday at 18:00 to provide an update on the issues at Leeson Road. Zig Zag Road remains closed in both directions to all traffic, as does Gills Cliff Road following yesterday morning’s rock fall. It means the only accessible route in and out of Ventnor is now Ocean View Road/Mitchell Road.