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East Cowes' Councillors say actions of the Isle of Wight council leadership show "a complete lack of duty of care" and slam them for breaking promises to consult, saying suspension of floating bridge will isolate the two towns.
The Floating Bridge links Cowes and East Cowes, running regularly through the day and much of the evening. It’s sometimes called the Chain Ferry because it pulls itself both sides of the river on a chain.
In March 2016 the Isle of Wight council commissioned a replacement for the Cowes Floating Bridge (which came into service in 1976), with a new one (£3.2m), with an increased capacity.
The Isle of Wight council officially launched the new Floating Bridge in May 2017, having to withdraw it from service within 48 hours as the front of cars were grounding out when driving off, due to the angles of the new setup being wrong.
Below are articles charting the history of the Cowes Floating Bridge.