The Isle of Wight Council is looking for a settlement worth millions of pounds after the so-called Floating Bridge ‘fiasco’ brought delays, cancellations and seemingly endless amounts of work on the link between East Cowes and Cowes.
Following the outcome of an independent government review, the Isle of Wight Council finally has the answers it needs to move to mediation, with Floating Bridge 6’s architects and builders.
Inspectors confirmed the troubled Cowes to East Cowes chain ferry, which cost £3.2million, was poorly built and poorly designed.
A date has now been set for mediation after over a year’s worth of delays, due to COVID and further breakdowns.
The council says the parties are expected to meet on 2nd March, when the Isle of Wight Council’s cabinet member for transport and infrastructure is hoping significant compensation will be agreed.
Speaking at the full council meeting on Wednesday, Councillor Phil Jordan, transport lead for the authority, said he would not go into details about the ongoing mediation process, but confirmed County Hall’s claim is in the millions.
East Cowes’s Councillor Karl Love told the meeting he was ‘disgusted’ by the millions of pounds already spent on the vessel.
It is hoped, if a settlement is agreed at mediation, the money will cover the council’s costs for repairs, the loss of service and any other related expenses incurred by the failure of FB6.
Cllr Jordan has not ruled out further legal action if the mediation is not successful in getting a ‘fair and acceptable’ settlement.
While the council waits for the outcome of the mediation, the future of FB6 remains uncertain, although the Alliance administration – whose members were the ones originally involved in commissioning the Floating Bridge – has not ruled out scrapping the vessel and getting a new one.
The Floating Bridge was once again suspended on Friday morning, as previously reported by Island Echo and again on Saturday evening into Sunday morning – the third suspension in January.
although the Alliance administration – whose members were the ones originally involved in commissioning the Floating Bridge
…..
and if this is anything to go by, the entire islands administrative affairs, that they are responsible for will be in just as much of a mess.
Once and if they actually get the money. Council taxpayers will look forward to a rebate. After being charged extra, every year to cover this debacle.
I think we can safely say that no way will we see a penny of our money that has been wasted on this massive pile of junk!!!!!.
And I will say it again mediation is a total waste of time , then we have to wait for the results and hey presto it’s C— ……
WE have been telling them that since it got towed in !!!!
You don’t need to have a degree to know that !!!!!
But March ?
Delaying tactics?
Will this saga ever end?
So they should. This ‘thing’ is not fit for purpose. The designers, engineers who built it, pay up. It’s a disgrace.
Does that mean that us tax payers will be getting tax refunds?? As we have paid for the repairs or will it be going back in their little pot
the Council says Council tax is a property tax ,and does not reflect on any services WHAT a load of S—T
Council getting a refund ? Whose money is it ????
Why wasn’t it designed and built on the Isle of Wight?
Poorly built and poorly designed? But surely it was signed off by a series of public sector bureaucrats (not councillors) who declared it met expectations – it might be a white elephant but let’s not forget the taxpayer funded ‘professional’ people who signed it off
“the Alliance administration – whose members were the ones originally involved in commissioning the Floating Bridge” – really? I think you’ll find it was the previous (Tory) administration who oversaw the specification, design, tendering and build.
Credit where it’s due …
You are wrong, it was the independent administration that was responsible for ordering this piece of junk, probably many of the same people who are running the council again now. Waste of space, the lot of them. No way will we, the taxpayers, see any of the refund, it is time for an underpass to be built there which can be used 24/7 and will not be affected by tides or river traffic.
Yes the council should be compensated for the costs but what about us, the customers that have been inconvenienced by the uncertainty, will it be running today, won’t it. There is also the cost to us in time and money, all that extra petrol we had to buy, the polution we put out adding to the anxiety we have had these past few years.
we will never be compensated the money is always spent elswere may be another wight Elephant
Best park it up the river, turn it into a “one off” Luxury Hotel. No problem, the council will recoup its money in a few years! Say, 100!
Just get on with it for your sake and gods sake ps have you ordered a new one.. might be an idea to have one like the last one that worked1