It has now been more than a month since the Isle of Wight council instructed Island Roads to close a section of the old A3055 (Undercliff Drive) at the Niton end of St Lawrence.
Residents had been told that the footpath on Undercliff Drive was closed due to ‘asbestos being dumped’ there, but a report seen by News OnTheWight tells a different story.
Following the closure of the path, News OnTheWight had put a number of questions to the Isle of Wight council and despite chasing, five weeks later they have still failed to respond.
People power
This is the section of the road that was patched up by residents one weekend eight months after the failure, and subsequent closure of the road in 2014.
A fortnight after the work was carried out by the land-locked residents, the council closed the road again, claiming it contained asbestos, but wouldn’t tell News OnTheWight what type or how much.
Asbestos report reveals all
In 2015 an independent analysis of material in the patched up road took place. News OnTheWight has seen the report detailing the outcomes of the analysis.
The report reveals that the level of asbestos per 1075g of dry weight material in the two samples that were discovered was 0.07 per cent.
One of the residents who had the samples verified by another Island-based independent source, was told that 1000s of times more asbestos could be found in any old toilet block around the Island, and that as the low level of asbestos found was encased in concrete it caused no harm to the surroundings.
Adopted as a foothpath
After the new section of road was built by Island Roads on the western end of the closure, the old road began being used by pedestrians walking the coastal path as a footpath – given the poor visibility of oncoming traffic on the new section of road.
Resident’s questions remain unanswered
Undercliff Drive resident, Clare Wright, who also wrote to the council’s interim Chief Executive, Wendy Perera, with a series of questions told News OnTheWight that her enquiries has been redirected to the Director of Neighbourhoods, to investigate and respond.
Five weeks on, and she also had not received answers to her questions.
Questions to the council
On 11th October News OnTheWight asked the council the following questions:
- Please could you give the reason for the old section Undercliff Drive west of Woodlands and parallel to the new section of road (2016) being blocked.
- Is it due to the alleged presence of asbestos?
- If so, please state where the asbestos is and what the level of asbestos is.
- If this is the reason for the closure, why has it taken seven years to erect a fixed barrier?
- Will there be signage to make the public aware of this danger?
- If the closure is due to the presence of asbestos, why were the two contracted workers making holes and inserting metal poles in an allegedly contaminated area without any PPE and without any warning to the public passing the area whilst works were in progress on Monday afternoon?
- If the tarmac remains undisturbed, wouldn’t the asbestos be contained and therefore the risks of exposure low?
IWC response
On Tuesday the Isle of Wight finally responded to our questions.
An Isle of Wight council spokesperson told News OnTheWight,
“Residents have recently brought to our attention a number of concerns regarding overgrown vegetation in the repaired section of the Undercliff Drive road.
“Contractors were quickly engaged by the council to tidy up the area and cut the vegetation back to improve the visibility for highway users. This work has exposed the fence which had suffered some minor damage. Repairs to the fence have been completed.
“The council, working with Island Roads, are now considering what additional measures (including additional signage) could be put in place to further improve safety in this area for all road users.
“The access road constructed by residents of Undercliff Drive has been fenced off for several years, primarily due to concerns around building waste which had been illegally dumped in the area during construction and the presence of asbestos that was found within the rubble core of the road construction. It has become evident that part of the fencing has been moved resulting in access to the area being more open. As a result, further work has been undertaken to secure the area.
“At the time of the original closure a ground investigation report was commissioned which recommended the removal of the building material. However, the report made no reference to the practical implications of removal including a potential risk of further ground movement in an unstable area. Accordingly, the area has remained closed off in order to prevent public access. Suitable signage was put up which unfortunately was removed early on by members of the public.
“The technical report relating to the consistency of the illegally dumped building material has been in the public domain for a number of years and can viewed on the council planning portal Ref: P/00405/16 [MCERTS Reports 1/2].”
For a background on Undercliff Drive, see our archive of over 140 articles.
Article edit
20.20pm 16th Nov 2022 – IWC statement added
