The Isle of Wight Council has said that it hopes to complete works at Gills Cliff Road in Ventnor – and finally get the road re-opened – by early August. Gills Cliff Road has been closed for safety reasons since a significant rockfall sent tonnes of debris spilling onto the highway back in February – almost 5 months ago. This has caused complications in moving around the town of Ventnor, especially with the closure of Leeson Road and Bath Road, and more recently the temporary closure of Newport Road. Now, it has been confirmed that local company DDGA has been appointed to deliver the Gills Cliff Road scheme which is hoped will be completed by early August. The forthcoming work will see large sections or the rockface covered by heavy duty steel netting designed to prevent further debris from falling onto the highway. 
The solution has been agreed by Island Roads and the Isle of Wight Council following extensive surveys of the area. One challenge has been to identify areas within the rockface where it is safe to anchor the netting without causing further weaknesses. An Island Roads spokesman has said:
“Since the initial rockfall, we have been working closely with the council to agree a suitable solution that will enable us to safely re-open the road. “I’m pleased to say we have now instructed a local company who have worked extensively in the local area. “It is difficult to give definitive timescales due to factors such as the unstable nature of this site and the need to source bespoke materials but we are all doing our level best to complete the work and re-open the road as soon as we can.”
It’s taken a long time but better safe than sorry
It’s taken a long time to basically get to where we should have been back in February.
Yes, it’s a specialist job that needs bespoke materials but these are things that the Council and Island Roads should already have in their planning. Rock falls are not uncommon here on the island and, although each one is different, the basic principles are the same. As are the specialists who need to deal with them
Obviously they couldn’t have precise details but they should have identified appropriate specialists and have arrangements in place with them to rapidly assess the situation and implement an appropriate solution when rockfalls occur. They should not have needed to spend nearly five months discussing the matter.
Why the delay, surely this can be actioned quicker.
Sloth council= standstill effort
Anyone been to the Alps and see how they net off cliffhangeing rock faces. It’s done within a few days, to keep traffic moving.
Take note councillors.
The island couldn’t even get the Undercliff re-opened after 21 years
Lack of brains seems to be the problem on this Island.