All traffic heading in and out of Ventnor will soon have to divert via Whitwell as The Graben is set to be closed for a 2-week period, Island Roads has revealed. Newport Road – 1 of just 2 routes into the town at present – looks set to be closed in both directions for a fortnight, either in June or during the Summer holidays, with a decision still to be made about when is best for the major disruption to occur. At a public meeting last night (Tuesday), the Isle of Wight Council and Island Roads expressed concern about works that need to be carried out by Southern Water to manage their ‘apparatus’ in the road – understood to be drainage. It was explained that the works will take around 2 weeks to complete, but if the apparatus fails before the repair is carried out then emergency works will take ‘a lot longer’. It’s been earmarked for the project to take place during school term time in June, although another option being explored is to wait until the school holidays in August but this would then impact the Summer tourist season. There is a no-win situation with schoolchildren likely having to walk from Lower to Upper Ventnor. 
FURTHER DESPAIR FOR VENTNOR AS THE GRABEN TO CLOSE FOR 2 WEEKS OR LONGER
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Buses, HGV’s and large vans cannot pass on the narrow sections between Whitwell and Godshill. This caused complete chaos last time. Will wide vehicles be diverted (with enforcement) via Niton? Will on-street parking be suspended in Whitwell & Niton? Needs to be as well as on primary routes in Ventnor
I doubt it, they cannot even top vehicles on Double yellow lines.
I was walking my dogs this evening along the revetment in Sandown
saw plod walking past the Pier, and saw 2 plod on cycles cycling past the PIER
Yet they turned a blind eye to the vehicles parked on Double yellow lines
The vehicles do not have blue badges, I don’t think plod know the rules / highway code.
I thought it was funny, earlier on in the day the Councils Gestapo enforcement officer
was slapping tickets on vehicles along the High Street who were obviously parked
longer than an Hour.
YET PARKING ON DOUBLE YELLOW LINES OUTSIDE SANDOWN PIER IS
ACCEPTABLE
Buses will likely terminate in Wroxall. People won’t be happy but it is what it is unfortunately. Perhaps vectis will run a shuttle bus to Ventnor via Godshill and Whitwell.
Island roads should take notes from how the US handles the Francis Scott key bridge collapse, no messing about whilst businesses get strangled.
I think your find it’s not island roads issue it’s the Isle of Wight councils problem bug yet again little knowledge is dangerous with keyboard warriors!!!
Whatever, they are all nerds, need to stop wearing the coffee machine out with all their bullshit meetings
No doubt Island roads is trying to wring every penny out of the council for the repair work
Thats what IWCC get for outsourcing pothole filling and line painting
Look let’s get this straight ventnor and all that area is going to keep moving ..going down to the sea it’s a fact and nothing is going to stop it..it’s sad but true..people are going to have to relocate its inevitable…
Really so you think its going to get better…
Could have been put more tactfully, but alas very true. Throwing billions of pounds at it would only be a sticking plaster make over. It would be like cladding Arch Rock with scaffolding in its final days. Most money will be spent on monitoring equipment that will only have the same effect as the bell calling ‘last orders’. Other than that it’s only patch work to keep the system open for now. It is sad as it affects thousands of peoples lives and way of life. But nature is unstoppable. The Dabell’s realised this at Black Gang and relocated their venture more northwards. Perhaps Ventnor too could have boundaries shifted more inland, to ensure it remains on the maps for future millennia.
Well not billions maybe a few million over a few years…but as you agree with me you cannot stop nature..
If like me you are puzzling where ‘The Graben’ actually is, it doesn’t show on street maps because it is a geological fault that crosses the B3327 Newport Road just north of its junction with Steephill Down Road.
In geological terms, a graben is actually an elongated trough of land produced by subsidence of the earth’s crust between two faults. The graben is sinking while the area above it remains stable and the area below is falling away.
The Island’s infrastructure is crumblling – roads, sewers, sea defences – so the last thing we need is yet more discussion. We need money and action, the two things this government is never going to provide no matter how much Govey talks.
On the plus side, at least Dr Seeley MBE MP wasn’t there.
I get the situation with the Graben and Leeson to some extent and whilst not happy just need patience to let these two play out. The diversion will be a pain but two weeks for the Graben is better than longterm as we’ve seen by Leeson. What I don’t get is Lower Gills Cliff – don’t keep talking about it get on with it. This type of netting is used everywhere and on the continent with much larger cliff faces that this. Bath Road well….if legal proceedings are underway it either belongs to either party so IR clear it up and invoice the land owner if necessary after the resolution of the legal case otherwise its IR mess to clear up anyway…
The graben is always moving and repairs are an ongoing issues each year in order to keep the sewerage and water supply systems functioning.
So when you get to the end of Whitwell road where do you go from there you can’t go down road closed you can’t go up graben closed
You can go down
What is needed is a main route in and out…sort of like Undercliff Drive? Oh that wasn’t needed was it.
Still there is always a railway..oh that wasn’t needed either was it?
Perhaps a ferry from Ryde or Sandown to the pier at Ventnor….oh that wasn’t rebuilt either was it?
It seems to me that this anti- Ventnor attitude has gone on long enough.
Can I just ask that this time we DONT have double decker busses driving up and down Downlands Crescent as our roads haven’t recovered from a couple of days last time it was shut so 2 weeks will destroy it. Just run a mini bus shuttle from Wroxall to upper Ventnor.. simples!
What if there is a problem in Whitwell, could be stranded in Ventnor
If Gills Cliff Road is to remain closed, and people having to go down zigzag road, they need to get that resurfaced it’s horrendous!
Most roads in Ventnor are horrendous because they’ve been badly neglected by Island Roads for over a decade. As a ratepayer to the IoW Council I resent having to deal with Island Roads at all. A case of the tail wagging the dog. As a retired professional engineer Incompetence seems to reign within both the IoW Council and Island Roads and we Island ratepayers are sufferering the consequences.
Its ok they are doing surface dressing…bit of wet tarmak and sprinkle some chippings ..that will sort it out….
The pre-cursor to this current situation was of course set years ago when the Council decided not to re-open Undercliff Road. Closing routes off in and out of a geologically challenged area is a negative strategy but typical of the Councils attitude toward the Islands road network.
There is always the prospect of reinstating the railway, if for nothing else then a lifeline in these circumstances.
If the Graben is closed and the Whitwell route becomes shut for some reason, I predict cannibalism within 1 week. History repeating itself. Arm yourselves with pitchforks and may God help you all.
My concern is for the most vulnerable people who receive care from carers The town is now becoming a non viable area for PAs and Care agencies .Alot of carers have zero travelling time between clients and to get from one client in lower Ventnor to Wroxall could take 25 minutes +.
I know carers who would have to make similar journeys four times a day.
Hope the Council will be prepared if like 4 years ago when a large care company pulled care in Ventnor and a number of very vulnerable people were left without care .
Jane’s fear is well founded and should be explored further. It will have significant ill-effects if left to the last minute.