A Cowes Town Councillor has urged the Isle of Wight Council to ‘honour the original commitment’ regarding the ongoing consultation about the future of the Cowes Floating Bridge.
“The Isle of Wight Council is currently consulting the public on 3 options for the future of the Cowes–East Cowes floating bridge, one of which is to build a new ferry, the other two being to modify or maintain the current vessel. As someone who has closely followed this issue and serves on Cowes Town Council, I feel compelled to raise a red flag about what’s really happening here and to urge residents to look beyond the consultation’s surface.
“Let’s be clear, in March 2024, the Isle of Wight Council Cabinet formally agreed to replace Floating Bridge 6 (FB6). This decision followed years of frustration, technical failures, operational losses and the ongoing embarrassment of needing a £90,000-a-year push boat just to keep the service compliant with harbour regulations. That Cabinet decision gave residents hope that we’d finally see a proper, long-term solution.
Article continues below this advertisement “So why are we now being asked whether we’d prefer a cheaper fix?
“The consultation, I fear, is a tool being used to justify watering down the original commitment, perhaps because the Council no longer believes it can afford the new ferry, even though funds were supposedly ring-fenced. Rather than being up front with residents, it appears the Council is trying to persuade the public to accept a “phased” repair strategy, patching together various modifications to FB6 in the hope it might perform better.
“But this isn’t just about money. It’s about trust, transparency, and long-term thinking.
“The so-called phased option (flush thrusters, tidal flow reduction, or extra control chains) may be cheaper on paper, but even the Council’s own Options Assessment Report admits it carries uncertainty. It might not work. It might require years of trial and error. It might leave us spending £5 million just to find out that we still need a new ferry. Meanwhile, FB6 continues to age and cost the public purse nearly £1 million a year to run, double the income it generates.
“This is not a strategy. IT IS A GAMBLE. The people of Cowes and East Cowes, along with the island’s economy, are the ones who’ll pay the price if it fails.
Article continues below this advertisement “Let’s not forget what this service is supposed to be, a critical transport link between 2 towns, a support beam for local business, a symbol of modern public infrastructure. It must be reliable, efficient, and future-proofed. We cannot settle for another short-sighted decision just to make the numbers balance on paper.
“The Council may be bound by Treasury rules to consult on all viable options, but the public should be very wary of how the options are being framed. Cheaper doesn’t mean better. Modifying FB6 is not the responsible choice. It is the path of least resistance and likely, the most expensive mistake in the long run.
“I urge the people of Cowes, East Cowes and the wider Island to respond to this consultation with a clear message:
Do the job properly. Honour the original commitment. Replace the floating bridge, don’t repair it.“We’ve seen what happens when poor strategic decisions are made. Let’s not make that mistake again.”
Jock Rafferty
Cowes Town Councillor
Mr Rafferty may not be everyone’s favourite uncle but in this regard he knows whereof he speaks. But apart from harbour considerations:
The A3054 runs through Yarmouth and across the Western Yar, so there is a swing bridge, despite there being zero commercial river traffic..
The A3021 joins the A3020 at the Medina, yet apparently there is no cash to build the equivalent, despite the fact that East and West Cowes are effectively a divided community and commercially inter-dependent.
Where is the Highways Authority in this? Hiding under the table? It’s to be expected that our bold MPs will rattle their cage and shake out the extra money finally to do this job properly! In the meantime, we should reject ALL the Council’s pathetic “options”.
Well said, Jock!
I think you answered your own question, ‘no commercial traffic’…exactly!! How often do you see or hear of the Yarmouth bridge being lifted, because In my 35 years of life on this island I have never even seen it raised. Now how do you think it would work when small boats aswell as alot of commercial traffic goes up and down the river Medina? You will either have a jack log down the river or the cars would never get across. Our council should be held responsible for green lighting this modern piece of crap, how about we cut their wages and take it out of that rather than the people paying even more taxes to cover this wreck!?
Just take a look at the many thousands of bridges in Scotland, of all shapes, types and sizes. We lived next to the Caledonian canal for 3 years and there was a stretch of water about the same size as the medina. It’s was an extremely busy section of the canal with all types of vessels passing through it daily. The way it ran was quite simple; every 30 minutes the bridge raised for a set length of time and both and boats knew the timetable. It was efficient and even if I turned up in a car just when it was about the raise I never waited as long as I do if I just missed the floating bridge, then I drove across in 10 seconds.
Just take a look at the many thousands of bridges in Scotland, of all shapes, types and sizes. We lived next to the Caledonian canal for 3 years and there was a stretch of water about the same size as the medina. It’s was an extremely busy section of the canal with all types of vessels passing through it daily. The way it ran was quite simple; every 30 minutes the bridge raised for a set length of time and both drivers and boat crew knew the timetable. It was efficient and even if I turned up in a car just when it was about the raise I never waited as long as I do if I just missed the floating bridge, then I drove across in 10 seconds.
Oh, for goodness sake!! Just do what they do in Dartmouth, which is a similar location. Build a bloody great raft and rope it to a tug-boat. It has been working fine for decades. If the tug boat breaks down, swap it for another. If the raft is damaged, nail it back together. What’s the problem??