Yesterday we had the view of councillors attending the meeting. Here follows the view of the leader of Isle of Wight council, Phil Jordan. Ed
The Isle of Wight Council hosted a very productive meeting on Wednesday on the issues and wider impact of the geological fault at the Undercliff.
Numbers of professionals and experts from the community attended alongside the council, Island Roads, the Environment Agency and civil engineering consultants and geologists.
130m borehole
Much agreement was shared by those attending, and it has been decided that one bore hole will descend to a further 20m (to around 130m) to try to capture further geological layers which may indicate deep ground water movement.
There was wide agreement that bore hole monitoring of Leeson Road is imperative and that it should be implemented without further delay to provide important data for the road’s future in the longer term.
De-watering the Undercliff
Discussions were held about a wider scheme for de-watering the Undercliff and meetings with key partners and stakeholders on this will be arranged in the near future.
There was general agreement that the meetings were especially useful and indicated a willingness to engage and hear from community experts and well as share the work already done and that being planned. Keeping the community informed being essential for all concerned and present at the meeting.
Road closure
To carry out the bore hole drilling it is necessary to close the road for the period it takes to undertake the drilling. Concerns have been expressed at the closure, but there is an understanding the data must be obtained through this bore hole approach and general agreement was it must now go ahead urgently to allow for long term opening of the road.
The working size and placement mean that the road cannot be open during drilling work, even on a single file system under lights. It is simply not safe to do so nor is there sufficient space to allow vehicles passage whilst drilling is in progress.
Jordan: Disruption is inevitable
Speaking after the meeting, Councillor Jordan said,
“Whilst I also share deeply the concerns for Ventnor I am encouraged by the agreement of the professionals and the community experts who understand and support the bore hole approach to ensure the future of the road is secured.
“It will be difficult as this is the main route into Ventnor from Shanklin and as with all the works on our roads, disruption is inevitable.
“That said, we have always been committed to ensuring the road can remain open as a vehicular road in the long term and I ask for the residents to show patience and understanding whilst the important work is now carried out. The medium to long term gain for the community will be especially improved for residents and visitors to our Island as a result of these works.
“I would also thank our team of Officers who have worked tirelessly on this issue for the past nine months and have shown great patience and commitment to get us a more permanent solution for Leeson Road under current circumstances”
8-12 weeks
The planned works are due to start next week and could take eight to twelve weeks to complete dependent on the work required to bore to 130m.
To assist with traffic flow elsewhere in Ventnor, parking will be tailored to ensure there are no unnecessary traffic obstructions impacting the town and area. Details of these will be circulated shortly.
Similar, and further, meetings are planned covering a number of specific and general issues in the area.
