“It beggars belief and raises more questions than answers,” Ventnor’s Isle of Wight councillor has said after County Hall’s announcement on Bath Road this week.
Conservative representative Ed Blake said that despite being the “front desk” of the local authority for many people, he was given no forewarning of the update that works are set to begin ‘as soon as possible’ to reopen the key link.
Council reaches agreement with property owner
The road between Ventnor Esplanade and Belgrave Road has been closed since October 2023 after heavy rain caused a privately owned wall to collapse, burying the artery with rubble.
Responsibility for repairing the wall has been disputed between County Hall and a property owner but Councillor Blake said the council’s reaching of an agreement with the proprietor is a “major milestone” and that he has been pushing for mediation for a “long time”.
A council spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) that the authority no longer needs to wait for the outcome of court proceedings to determine ownership and said this ‘important development’ allows it to progress plans to repair the wall and reopen the road.
Councillor blindsided by announcement
Councillor Blake said,
“It kind of makes a mockery of the whole thing if after almost three years they could have just come to that bl**dy conclusion beforehand.
“It beggars belief and raises more questions than answers – bit weird. I’m the front desk of the council to most people and wasn’t ready for my phone to light up yesterday with like 1,000 questions as to what’s going on – I didn’t know what the announcement was until I looked on Facebook.”
Businesses and emergency access affected
The representative for Ventnor and St Lawrence said the closure is having a “direct effect” on businesses in the area with takings down and highlighted the “fragility” of only having Shore Hill and the Cascade Gardens to get down to the beach, voicing concern over emergency services access. He added,
“If that was to close, you’d effectively cut off about 200 odd people from accessing their properties.”
Frustration over communication breakdown
The councillor also expressed frustration about a “lack of communication” which led to action groups being started, freedom of information requests being sent to the council and “endless emails” between people. He said,
“The whole time I’ve said if this was Newport High Street, it would not be allowed to close over a legal dispute.”
Community groups respond
Community campaigners in Ventnor have hailed the Isle of Wight Council’s announcement that works are set to begin ‘as soon as possible’ to reopen Bath Road.
Karl Hunter of the Ventnor Roads Group (VRG) said the ‘welcome news’ is ‘long overdue’ while Keep Ventnor Moving’s (KVM) David Groocock commented that his organisation is ‘pleased’ to read about the update amid a ‘torrid time’ for Esplanade business.
Mr Groocock said,
“This has been a torrid time for businesses down on the Esplanade and despite many pleas to get the road open it remained closed for what will be three summer seasons.
“KVM has been working behind the scenes and has been talking to the property owners where the wall is situated; we do not believe a long, drawn-out court case, which never happens, should have been the reason the road was not cleared.
“The council and Island Roads have a clear legal duty to make sure the highway remains open and should have cleared the road then fought a court case – this would not then have impacted the residents and businesses along the Esplanade.
“We have known for some time that an out of court agreement was being negotiated but this was very much confidential. We did however tell the property owners next door who had no idea what was going on.”
Southgrove Road also progressing
Turning to separate news that full access along the town’s Southgrove Road could be a step closer after a wall collapse more than two years ago, Mr Groocock said it too should never have been closed for so long.
Following completion of a Ground Investigation Report (GIR), the council is now seeking external specialists to design and undertake repairs – the latest development towards the reopening.
He said that KVM will be monitoring response times to highways closures because of collapsed walls or landslips and added that the council must work with property owners before any further problems arise, thus keeping the highway network open.
From the other group, Mr Hunter said,
“This is welcome news, and long overdue. Bath Road has been closed for nearly three years, and business owners in Ventnor have paid the price daily.
“There are lessons to be learned here in how Island Roads and the Isle of Wight Council engage and communicate with the town, because the impact on a tourist town like Ventnor has been too great.
“Island Roads objected to reopening the road even if cleared, citing fears that more debris would come through, yet a simple temporary barrier could have addressed that risk at minimal cost, and indeed no further debris has come through since the initial breach.
“That option wasn’t properly assessed. Island Roads and the Isle of Wight Council are not factoring the cost to businesses into their decision making, and that is exactly one of the things the newly formed VRG will be pushing for going forward.”
The LDRS has asked the Isle of Wight Council further questions relating to the closure and re-opening of Bath Road.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
