As reported back earlier this month, proposals for the 2014/15 budget reveal the Isle of Wight council are seeking to save £100,000 in 2014/15 by reviewing all charges on the Floating Bridge.
What was not revealed in the paperwork at the time was the introduction of charges for foot passengers. The details came out during last week’s East Cowes Town Council in a report from Cllr Julia Baker-Smith.
Huge maintenance costs
Cllr Julia Baker-Smith was unable to attend the meeting, but her report submitted to the town council read,
The floating bridge is coming to the end of its life with only three or four years remaining at best.
The money for a replacement was not set aside in the previous years so not only do we need to fund a new crossing, but we are also finding maintenance costs increasing with every breakdown costings in the region of £125,000 just to take her out of the water.
I am currently negotiating with officers who are once again proposing a 50p passenger charge in each direction, a prospect I am against, and trying to find innovative ways of funding part of the ongoing costs, such as through use of advertising space.
Not supported by local county councillors
Cllr Luisa Hillard spoke on the issue during the meeting and has since told OnTheWight that she, also, would not support the proposal to introduce charges for foot passengers.
She said,
“We all want to see the future of the Floating Bridge secure, but how we afford this is still under discussion.
“What I am very clear about, is that this service must continue and we must find something in the region of £3 million pounds to achieve this. We are exploring all of the options.”
Chain Ferry versus Floating Bridge
As an aside, it’s surprising to see the floating bridge once again being referred to by officers as the chain ferry.
It has been suggested previously that this tactic – of separating the floating bridge with the A3020 road by attrition – could result in the bridge not having to be considered part of the highway network.
Our understanding is that as a bridge, it falls under different legislation than if a ferry service.
Image: Image of Money under CC BY 2.0
