Reinstating the collapsed Undercliff Drive near Ventnor would be ‘foolish’, the Isle of Wight Council leader has said, following a further landslip in the area.
Last weekend, a landslip affected properties on 2 roads in St Lawrence, on Hunts Road and Old Park Road, with cracks appearing on the highway – as revealed by Island Echo.
The roads sit below Undercliff Drive, which itself has been closed for 10 years after a significant landslip destabilised the highway in 2014. In recent years, there have been calls from residents and councillors to open the once-vital route between Niton and St Lawrence, but speaking at the end of last week, Council Leader Phil Jordan said ‘it was a risk too far’. Speaking at Thursday’s cabinet meeting, Cllr Jordan said:
“We have more distressing news of lost properties and lost roads in and around, not strangely, the Undercliff area, “There has been some clamour for some time in rebuilding the Undercliff Drive at considerable millions of pounds. “I do hope those who are asking for that spend of public money — even if we had it — in an area that had just seen a landslip within 50 metres of the Undercliff Drive that has lost properties and road, it is an absolute folly. “It would be a risk too far for this council, this administration and for public money in rebuilding Undercliff Drive.”
The authority was successful in securing £2.1 million from the Department for Transport in 2021 for a shame to reinstate the road but the council said it was not enough money to cover a scheme so used the money elsewhere. Councillor Paul Fuller, the cabinet member for planning and environment, said the council’s hearts go out to all those who have been impacted by the land inability and he hopes they could give them a positive response in the future. He said the council had been concerned the flooding at the end of last year would impact ground stability — which they were seeing play out in St Lawrence — and that the Island has a few more months to get through as the ground is absolutely sodden still.
But hold on,dopey dave stewart said ,it will re open on his watch,oh hold on,he lied,typical tory,would be definitely foolish to re open it considering its always moving,but then again,this council do like wasting money!
Is that the same Cllr Stewart who promised that all schools on the Island would be rated good or outstanding ? Bit of a fantasist really.
“for a shame …….”, surely for a scheme.
And likewise, for ‘inability’ read instability. Proof reading might help.
They have no idea. When I point things out they usually correct them rather than embarrass themselves by printing the comment.
Yet what residents put in place has sorted access for 10yrs . Island Roads created the problem by undertaking works when they were told not to,yet have not been held accountable. Ventnor will be cut off very soon,so what’s Council plan?
What was put in place 10yrs ago is now falling away, go and take a look , there is noting left to rebuild a new road on.
It would be a risk too far for this council well it was on the F/B but did you listen to anybody no you just kept spending money on the damn thing Undercliff Drive it needed professional people to sort out what did you do you got island roads to destroy it we are still waiting for them to finish Wilton Park Road and Atherley Rdin shanklin as they can’t sort out these two roads what made you think they could do undercliff Drive
And yet we still have to keep paying the PFI contract. In no other area of business would it be allowed for shoddy workmanship to charge what they like with absolutely no get out clause. None. They can’t be sacked, they own our roads.
The Council has never been interested in reopening the Undercliff therefore it stands to reason that they will jump on the back of any natural slippage, however relatively distant from the main road it has been, to reinforce their stance. Having cadged £2.1m from the DfT towards a re-opening scheme we find the money has been ‘used elsewhere’ but obviously not towards the efforts to keep Military Road open.
Heads up…IOW council are responsible for roads POLICY, but not the roads themselves. Final say goes to Island Roads, PFI. Basically then, if the shareholders deem it is too costly and eats into their profit…swivel.
Point of info, Island Roads “shareholders” are the French conglomerate Vinci. I can’t imagine there’s a lot of thought given in Paris board rooms to the goings on in St Lawrence.
Undercliff drive or, to use its proper title, the A3055 is not some little B road, it’s a major A road.
Given that they are defined as “major roads intended to provide large-scale transport links within or between areas” it is unlikely to be lawful for the council to just abandon it without special permission from the government.
Whilst I agree that, despite it apparently being standard IWCC policy, throwing away money on a lost cause would be futile, we have not yet exhausted all options.
The time has come to pass this one up the chain and ask the government to provide the funding and expertise needed for this road.
The same applies to the A3055 Leeson road.
Just ignoring it and hoping the problem goes away won’t wash
It may have been designated as an ‘A’ road at some point in the past but it certainly was not originally built as such, it is narrow, winding with stone walls close to the carriageway. The current situation, open for non motorised access is fine, given that the underlying geological formation precludes a rebuild, it’s not being ignored, there is finally an acceptance of geological facts.
Well the only ‘foolish’ issue with this was the council of the day employing a certain company that was on a friendly basis with a certain councilor that had been previously on a friendly basis is Scarborough. (Look it up).
The farce of this will linger long in the memory of ludicrous measures taken by an IOW council alongside the floating farce.Perhaps our council is not capable of looking after our infrastructure at all?
How can the continued closure of an A class road and it’s proposed reinstatement be foolish?What IS foolish is allowing Ventnor to be dangling on the edge of the abyss as regards access, like this.All it takes is a fatal RTA on the Whitwell road, and the Grabban to fail and where is Ventnor then?
Terms that said company imposed means that our council doesn’t have to be capable; it’s not their job or responsibility. Their remit is policy. Procedure is said company’s, of course, if we’d like to up the contract costs they might reconsider? Our grandchildren will still be paying for it when they’re grandparents, mind. See also any road now which isn’t just an icing job. Why would they? Takes dividends from those poor impoverished shareholders! It was a Tory ‘Gotcha’ moment. They no longer have to be actually in power, they’ve already sown us all up. See also health, education, social care anywhere where there’s a need not a want.
They are clueless, no one knows what they are doing,
they could not open a packet of crisps between them,
yet alone open a road.
There are various methods of stabilising slipping embankments, have this option been explored?