Island Roads has come under fire over its refusal of a one-way system for an Isle of Wight road, with a councillor saying it is “another example” of the provider “not giving a jot” what residents think.
The highways service provider and Southern Water’s decision not to make Firestone Copse Road one-way is because such a policy speeds up traffic, with any incident resulting from a driver ignoring it being “considerably more severe” than if the road remained two-way, County Hall said this week.
Road closed in February as diversion route
Island Roads closed Firestone Copse Road in February to stop it being used as a rat run and diversion route while Elenors Grove was turned one-way for major Southern Water works.
Earlier this month, the roads were reopened both ways.
Alliance council leader Phil Jordan read out a response from transport committee chair Julie Jones-Evans to a question on a Firestone Copse Road one-way system from member of the public Mr L. Thomas at last Monday’s Extraordinary Full Council meeting (16th March 2026).
Mr Thomas’s submission said,
“Parish council minutes record that a one-way system for Firestone Copse Road was requested at a stakeholder meeting, but was refused by Island Roads on safety grounds.
“Will the chair of the economy, regeneration, transport and infrastructure committee committee, within seven days, commit to publish (redacted where necessary) the formal recorded assessment and decision record that underpinned that refusal, and the formal recorded assessment and decision record that underpinned the closure of Firestone Copse Road on February 10?”
One-way request refused on safety grounds
Councillor Jones-Evans’s response said,
“In respect of the assessment and decision record for the closure of Firestone Copse Road during the Elenors Grove Southern Water works, the record of decision for diversion routes is the agreed traffic management plan for the works.
“This is publicised on the street using diversion signage and was published in the residents’ letter set out on January 5 to all local residents and stakeholders.
“A traffic management plan does not require public consultation and agreement at a formal meeting. The decision by Southern Water and Island Roads not to make Firestone Copse Road one-way is because creating a one-way road will always increase vehicle speeds.
“And if a driver chooses to ignore the one-way designation, any resulting incident will be considerably more severe than if the road remained open to two-way traffic.”
Mosdell: ‘An absolute load of BS’
Clare Mosdell, Havenstreet and Ashey Very Broad Church representative, said,
“As the ward councillor in that area, and I think Councillor (Ian) Dore will probably feel the same, we both think that’s an absolute load of BS.
“We weren’t asked for our opinion, the parish councillors weren’t.
“And even after we spoke to Island Roads and said this isn’t acceptable then it didn’t go anywhere. This is another example of Island Roads doing what they want and not giving a jot what ward councillors and local residents think.”
County Hall chair, Councillor Dore, said,
“As ward councillor, I would heartily agree with that – they didn’t discuss it with the wards.”
Island Roads defends its approach
An Island Roads spokesperson said,
“The safety of highway users is always a primary consideration when reviewing road closure and diversion arrangements and this applies for both our own works and for the works of utility companies that are submitted to us for coordination and permitting purposes.
“Within a very restricted highway network, it is essential we take steps to manage situations that could endanger road users and that we act in a professional manner that is appropriate to the liabilities that may arise from poor decision making.
“We do not consider that decisions should be driven by local councillor demands without there being a clear process for accountability in the event of incident.
“Whilst we recognise that some decisions on traffic management can be inconvenient, we should never put safety at risk in favour of convenience.”
Southern Water completes works ahead of schedule
They said it will always take the views of residents and councillors into account when planning such requirements and added it was ‘unfortunate’ that the concerned councillors ‘did not come forward’ with their views until after the decisions had been committed and the road was closed.
A spokesperson for Southern Water said,
“We have successfully completed ahead of schedule a project that involved laying around 500m of new water main, along Elenors Grove. The road was reopened on 11th March.
“We have worked closely with Island Roads to minimise the impact, including planning the programme around peak holiday periods and major Island events, and installing additional signage to highlight that businesses remain open.
“These works are part of a wider £5 million investment to improve the resilience of the Isle of Wight’s water supply.
“We know traffic management is frustrating, and our teams are working to complete these essential upgrades as quickly and safely as possible.”
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
