A parish council has slammed the public engagement and consultation efforts of the organisers of the recently revived Isle of Wight Road Races (IWRR).
The proposed motorcycle event will take place in April next year through Chale, Shorwell, Brighstone and a stretch of the Military Road.
Organisers are planning for between 20,000 and 30,000 spectators per day at the event and say it will produce a traffic management plan to support the numbers.
It is the third attempt to get the event up and running after the Covid pandemic foiled previous plans but has been met with mixed reactions.
A public meeting on the event is taking place today (Thursday) in Brighstone but the efforts have been slammed by councillors as being nothing more than a public relations event.
In a leaflet providing more information about the event, however, IWRR says it is its priority to engage with Island residents to explain what the race is about and to take on board the feedback.
Speaking at a Brighstone Parish Council (BPC) meeting yesterday, Cllr Nick Stuart said they are the only ones who are actually consulting the public.
He said:
“My opinion in their approach is, politely it is lackadaisical and realistically they are trying to obscure what they are doing and hide from as many people as possible.”
BPC is conducting its own survey of village residents, having given out 870 surveys, but chair, Cllr John Cirrone, said there was no advertising of the IWRR consultation and he was concerned there was a lot of people who are completely unaware of the consultation.
He said:
“There has been this complete lack of willingness to distribute properly enough information so everyone is aware of what is proposed.”
Cllr Doug Alldred said the public meeting was not at a helpful time for people who worked, as it starts at 15:00, and seemed it could be more of a presentation than a consultation, where the public could not ask questions.
The parish council has been given the IWRR information leaflet to post on its website, but Cllr Alldred said it should only be posted with a warning the information had not come from them, so the contents may not be entirely accurate.
He said:
“We need to make it very clear it is from the organisers, in their words and it may contain inaccuracies. A lot of their public information has contained things that, unfortunately, are not right.
“We have a duty to make sure what we tell the public is accurate.”
A 6-week consultation is being held by IWRR, which started on August 1, to hear the views and identify the specific needs and concerns of those that will be mainly affected.
More information can be found on its website: iwrr.co.uk
Quote: traffic management plan is what you are worried about. Well what about all the flipping houses you lot are giving permission to build ? No thought about traffic management there and this will be for ever not just a weekend or a few days.
Let the NIMBY’s spout forth once more. No room for reasoned discussions about this; councillors calling them liars already. Best of luck, IWRR, you are going to need it, I’m afraid.
I hope it does, I would love to see this spectacle; and I KNOW it will bring untold benefits, money and jobs to the island.
Oh my I totally agree with
Pat on the back councillor alldred for stating the IWRR leaflet is full of inaccuracies,and the leaflet has nothing to do with the council.Thank goodness for that .we will now get an honest statement not the normal council bullxxxt from the few that will try to do what they want ,not what the majority wants, it’s suggested that there could be upwards of 20,000 spectators for the few days this is on ,they all need somewhere to stay as well as food and drink ,wake up and smell the coffee mr alldred look at all that money coming into the island .
hey it might even help pay for a new floating bridge?
I’m a great m/cycle fan but is this the right choice for a so called green island or is the ” green” just lip service
This could be so good for the island, let’s hope a few moaners dont ruin it for everyone.
Look how they treated the motocross guys. Unfortunately the council and local residents are anti anything around that area. Its a shame as this would bring alot of money and showcase the island
Yes they would stop everything on are island these parish councils are for the rich and don’t care about are island only money .we have had festivals since the late 60s and now that’s wrong they ruined Motorcross and now the try to stop this absolutely discussing ,it’s not a retirement home this island we need young and old as well to keep this island alive, roll on the races
Parish councils are a product of the Victorian age and they should be confined to the dust bin.On the whole they are an une!ected body comprising of busybodies, lunitics and anyone wanting planning permission. Their limit is decided on what flowers to plants out in their hanging baskets. I for one can’t wait to see motor bikes going past Cllr John Cirrone’s house in excess of 150 mph
All it will do is encourage even more idiots on bikes speeding. I am not a nimby as I don’t live that way, but it should no go ahead. Ridiculous idea.
Tell that to the Isle of Man. Ask them if they’d like to scrap the TT Races.
Get a life it’s only a few days
It’s a great shame that both Diamond Races and IWRR didn’t prepare their communications properly and address the foreseeable issues in advance, instead of allowing the NIMBYs and scaremongers the opportunity to spread their disinformation and alarm the communities that will be impacted (mainly positively) by the races. As always it’s the overly vocal minority that grab the headlines and spoil it for the rest.
WHILE I AGREE CONSULTATION IS NEEDED FOR THIS AND EVERY EVENT, AT THE SAME TIME THE I .O.W. HAS TO MOVE WITH THE TIMES AND THE GENERATION PUSHING THE ISLAND FORWARD MUST BE GIVEN A CHANCE
Caps key stuck?
Fair trial? Lynch mob more like!!!
Excellent idea anyone who has been to the Isle of Man knows the benefits of a properly managed event. as soon as the last bike passes the course clearing car goes by and people go about their daily business (and sell space in their gardens for spectators) Great idea!
The island will be stuck forever in Victorian times. Anyone with forward thinking ideas is shut down. This probably won’t go ahead because the organisers will give up and go someplace with less hassle to deal with.
We went to the “consultation”. There was no dialogue, it was just a weak presentation. I asked a local estate agent for his views, he thinks properties along the proposed route will be devalued and already a sale has fallen through due to the threat of the event. There are many more reasons why this should not take place, but, as the proposed organisers say, in “consultation” they do not want to hear arguments for or against. The TT races in the Isle of Man are one thing, a new event on the IOW is a completely different thing. If they want a proper consultation lets have one.