Residents of Ryde’s Bank Gardens have been left isolated following the installation of scaffolding which has blocked their road for the second time this year.
Scaffolding at the entrance to the tight residential street – off High Street – was erected on Monday 9th December, meaning there is no vehicular access – whether that be for property owners, emergency services, waste collection or anything else. Nothing wider than about 1.5m can now access the dead-end road.
Residents were first told about this latest installation just days before, with locals gathering on High Street in attempts to deter those instructed to install the scaffold. But unfortunately for those present, the scaffolding was erected later in the day when the crowds had dispersed.
The structure – put in place by a local contractor on behalf of London-based Strongacre Ltd – all centres around a single building. Located at the bottom of Bank Gardens, the property has planning permission to extend at 2nd floor level. This was first granted to Strongacre in November 2021.
Although some 3 years ago, very little work – if any at all – has actually been carried out on the site with local residents claiming they are able to count the times that builders have been seen on the scaffold on a single hand.
It was back in the Summer that the scaffold was first erected before it was taken down in November, only to now return just weeks later.
Among those affected is 82-year-old Michael Earnshaw, a mobility scooter user who lives in a rented property that he moved into a few years ago.
Speaking to Island Echo, Michael has said:
“I have appointments at St Mary’s Hospital that get cancelled because the Patient Transport Service can’t get to my house. These are major appointments that I need to get to, but it makes it really difficult.
“There are a few other residents in the same situation as me, I think having the scaffolding is too dangerous. What happens in the case of a proper emergency.
“We weren’t given much of a warning last time the scaffolding was put up and we didn’t get much of a warning this time around.”
High Street, between the junctions with Green Street and Hill Street, was closed yesterday afternoon (Monday) causing residents and local businesses to fear a negative impact on the run-up to Christmas. The road has since been reopened but a no-parking suspension has been imposed on the impacted section of High Street, until the scaffolding is removed in January.
Island Roads has been approached for comment
When living in New York there was scaffolding everywhere,
but since moving back to the UK and living on the
Island, I have never seem so much scaffolding
(It is everywhere)
Is the island falling apart!
Yet another pointless and badly written comment
Don’t read what you don’t like.
I am stating the obvious, the island is full of
scaffolding.
Everything would collapse on the island if the
Scaffolding wasn’t holding it up.
Glad I live in a Bungalow
Lol
Building are not held up by scaffolding. Scaffolding is used to access building for maintenance purposes. Without that maintenance they might well fall into disrepair and ultimately collapse.
Of course you do. I would’ve put money on that