This in from the council, in their own words. Ed
The sea wall was severely damaged during a landslip in December 2012 and since then it has continued to move. A footpath that ran along the top of the sea wall has also been closed as a result of the damage.
A full report into the failure of the sea wall, which included possible repair options and costs has since been completed by consultants Mott MacDonald and was put on public display in February this year.
Four options
Four options will now be considered by members. The first would mean effectively leaving the area as it is and not carrying out any remedial works other than to ensure security fencing remains in place to protect the public. However this option is not preferred.
Option two would see works undertaken to try and prevent any further damage to the wall and installing a new pedestrian route which would re-open the link between Totland and Colwell. This option is estimated to cost around £200K with an annual ongoing maintenance cost.
A third option would see a full reconstruction of the wall and footpath, however with no guarantee of attracting a funding contribution towards an estimated cost of over £2 million it is not a preferred option.
The final option would be to ask officers to prepare a more detailed cost for option two as part of the council’s overall flood investigation report. This report is due for publication in July and is looking into the impact of flooding across the Island during the adverse weather over winter. This option is the recommended one.
Cllr Jordan: “We do need to be realistic with future options”
Councillor Phil Jordan is Executive member for public protection and said:
“We do appreciate there is a desire to reinstate the section of the Totland seawall that was damaged. However we do also need to be realistic with future options because the council is under severe financial pressures.
“A repair which allows the reinstatement of the footpath would seem a sensible way forward for the immediate future, but we will need to consider all options carefully and decide which option is best at the Executive next week.”
The meeting of the Executive begins at 6pm on Tuesday 10 June.
Image: © Used with the kind permission of the Isle of Wight council
