During a recent debate about Floating Bridge 6 at the Isle of Wight council Corporate Scrutiny Committee (catch up here), council leader, Dave Stewart, made the following comment,
“We need to dispel this myth that FB6 is not providing a service and isn’t generating income, ‘cos that’s not true.”
The council leader didn’t, however, continue his statement by explaining the size of the losses.
Blues: “A dysfunctional money pit”
Following the meeting, Neil Blues, a spokesperson for the Floating Bridge Engineers’ and Stakeholders’ Group said,
“Floating Bridge 6 has not made a regular monthly ‘profit’ during these last awful four years, even though it does take in some ‘income’ money from tickets from commuters and cars who use it, as Cllr Stewart points to the obvious.
“And, of course, loss-making Floating Bridge 6 has wasted taxpayer money paying for push boats, Jenny boats, countless repairs and replacement of parts, and legal and professional fees.
“Floating Bridge 5 was a good little earner for the Council, and now the new bridge is a dysfunctional money pit.”
Huge losses
The £3.2 million floating bridge project ballooned to £6.4 million by September 2018.
As reported extensively by News OnTheWight during our Deep Dive Series, the costs and losses over 26 months up to September 2020 for FB6 were also eye-watering.
For background, see our archive of over 360 articles relating to the Floating Bridge.
Image: © With kind permission Paul Brown
