As reported earlier today, the Isle of Wight council may pursue legal action against the company responsible for the technical specification.
The problems that plagued the Cowes floating bridge cost more than £6.4 million according to a report published in November by the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) — which funded the original £3.2 million cost of the bridge.
Additional money spent on the bridge included £500,000 on remedial works and £539,000 on a replacement launch service. A barge is also required to push the bridge against the tide, costing £192 an hour.
IWC: LEP could ask for the money back
The floating bridge is under an extended warranty. If the council did try to return the bridge, it said the LEP could ask for the money back.
Cllr Stewart said:
“We can’t just go giving it back. If you’re sitting on the LEP board what are you going to do with a floating bridge? You wouldn’t accept it.”
Leader: “We could have moved quicker”
When problems with the bridge first came to light, many criticised the council for taking a long time to sort out the issues, and the bridge was taken out of service for weeks at a time.
Cllr Stewart said:
“I’m not going to excuse the council on this, I think we could have moved quicker as the facts unfolded. But we are where we are.”
Pushboat options
Leader of the Isle of Wight council, Cllr Dave Stewart, said the council would cost three different options to reduce the need for the pushboat — including a change to the hydraulic system or installing small side thruster engines on the bridge to push against the tide.
He said,
“The third option is to buy our own pushboat.”
The council also considered buying a passenger launch for times when the bridge was taken out of service.
Noise complaints
Residents on both side of the River Medina have complained about noise — particularly late at night.
Cllr Stewart said the council had already reduced the noise by ten decibels, but work continued to reduce this further.
He said:
“The chains are old, and they are noisy because they are old. They are noisy because there is not enough insulation in the hull of the vessel to reduce that noise. So new chains with insulation will have a positive impact on the noise of the bridge.”
No political oversight
At the time the bridge was designed, the council was run by the Independents, led by Cllr Ian Stephens.
Cllr Stewart said:
“When you agree multi-million pounds into a project, you should have a proper management board overseen by members who can ask questions.
“The questions being asked now should have been asked then.”
Stephens: Officers “the experts”
There was no political oversight of the design, and Cllr Stephens said this was left to the officers, who were the experts.
Cllr Stephens said:
“I don’t think anything I could have done would have added any value. I don’t know about other people.
“You rely on their professional advice.”
He added:
“I think, even with hindsight, we could not have averted any of the issues that came to light.”
More to follow.
See:
- Isle of Wight council finally admit floating bridge did not meet the requirements
- Shop owner blames closure on floating bridge, leader says ‘I haven’t seen Waitrose close’
- ‘Floating Bridge 6 should be scrapped’, say stakeholders
Image: © Karl Love
