Gunville residents say they are furious about the lack of action they have seen from the Isle of Wight Council in preventing future flooding to homes in the area. In October 2023, residents in Arthur Moody Drive, Broadwood Lane, Forest Hills, Park Close and Ash Lane had to abandon their homes as flood waters poured in. Since then, some homes have flooded a further 16 times during the Winter months. Some residents who were left homeless by the floods last Winter have only just been able to return home, some 8 months later. Locals say they believe flood water came from the re-diverted flow of water and blocked culverts on land behind their homes, consequently flooding the public highway and entering properties. Now, after several attempts to get the council to take action, residents say they are worried about the prospect of facing another winter unprotected from further flooding. They say it took the local authority 15 weeks and multiple emails to finally agree to a public meeting they had organised. A spokesperson for residents in the area has said:
“It has been very difficult getting the council to do anything. They took a long time to answer the questions put to them, the flood report was continuously delayed and at a public meeting on the 20th May the local authority turned the meeting into an opportunity to talk about a further 149 planned housing development to be built on known flood/marshland in the Broadwood Lane area. “We need the council to take action, but so far in the last eight months, all we have experienced is a lack of support, reticence and apathy towards finding a resolution and offering a permanent long term solution to prevent further flooding. “We have been told by a local authority planning officer that the council has no funding to tackle the issue, but they managed to find money for a costly flood Section 19 report which was basically a cut and paste copy of a 2016 report already in existence that was commissioned by the local authority. “It has been impossible to get the local authority to take responsibility for the flooding on the public highway, they have still not offered even a temporary solution to the flooding issue that has caused thousands of pounds of damage. “We have tried numerous times to engage our local councillor Joe lever who is as apathetic as the local authority, we have had many meetings with Joe who shows little to no interest in speaking and fighting for us despite the environmental issues around flooding and building on a greenfield site. “The only person who has helped our cause without hesitation is Bob Seely who has championed our corner, attended meetings and spoken on our behalf, his support has been invaluable. “We want the local authority, Island roads southern water and the whole community to work together towards a solution. At the moment we are left without a plan and fearful of what the winter will bring. Someone needs to take responsibility for the flooding.
“Gunville residents need elected members to step up and take action to prevent the dreadful flooding they experienced last October from happening again. “I have met with residents, I have seen what the flood waters did to their homes, they deserve better. “As so often is the case with elected members on this council, I am having to step in to do their job for them. I’ve offered to put a series of questions to southern water and Island roads on residents’ behalf and invite them to engage with residents. We need the authorities to work together instead of passing the buck between them”.
Give them a chance it’s not been 4 years yet
Same lack of urgency that the people of Ventnor seem to be getting….
What you expect from this council, not interested except taking more Council Tax to benefit themselves and give family and friends made up jobs etc . Everything,yes everything important and useful takes year’s of emails, meetings, consultants reports etc and often still not done. Under cliff drive,Leeson Road,Monkton Street ( still no one has had any compensation) . Yet if you’re fence is 6″ to high or kid miss a few days of school,or over stay parking,they are onto to you with all sorts of threats.
If the idiots vote for Reform,this Council will soon be gone. However Reform would be disaster for whole country,no NHS,no Universal credit and higher tax
Agreed that Reform is unmitigated disaster, but how will it affect IW Council?
“I am having to step in to do their job for them” What planet does this twerp live on?
yes well – the families that owned that land before it was built on knew full well that it is a flood plain and would not use it for anything other than grazing during the summer months
never mind eh- the modern, dumbos seem to know better about building on these well know flooding areas