More than 25 concerned residents gathered by the ‘road closed’ signs on Leeson Road this afternoon (Wednesday) to promote the launch of a new focus group.
News OnTheWight heard from several of those attending about the difficulties they are experiencing as a result of the closure. Some have experienced increased journey times, others have completely lost access to public transport and feel abandoned.
Mixed views
Some felt the council were being over cautious and that the road should be reopened with traffic lights to cars, pedestrians and cyclists, whilst others agreed the monitoring was vital and the council were right to ensure safety.
Another suggestion was to have a shuttle bus run up to the road closure, allow pedestrians to walk along the section of road that has been closed, and have a shuttle bus meet them on the other side of the closure and take them to Shanklin.
Jump down to the voxpops below to hear what they had to say.
Liaise with the authorities
The gathering was spearheaded by local businessman, David Groocock, who has set up the small working group. It will include local experts (such as those heard in the audience at last week’s public meeting), a town councillor, a business owner and one or two residents from Leeson Road.
He explained that the focus group will listen to the wider views of residents from Ventnor, Whitwell, Wroxall, Shanklin and Niton and then liaise with Isle of Wight council, Island Roads, Southern Vectis etc to seek early interventions to support those impacted by the landslide and subsequent road closure.
Groocock: We have to do something for the residents and businesses
David explained,
“We understand all the risks and hoops they have to go through to make sure it’s safe for the public to use. But as we show an understanding of the situation, we hope the council and Island Roads understand that we have to do something for the residents and businesses.
“We’re not going to sit down quietly and let them get away with it because we need that road open. It is an arterial road to Ventnor and without this road, and if any other road closes then that’s going to really make life very difficult, especially as we’re approaching holiday season, with the extra traffic that will bring as well.”
Fighting for residents and businesses
David explained that a Facebook Group would be set up for residents to share their views and experiences to and people should keep an eye on the Ventnor Noticeboard Facebook Group in the meantime for any updates.
He went on to explain how the town had been impacted for many years by the closure of through traffic to Undercliff Drive, but felt that politics had got in the way of the road being rebuilt.
It was clear that David and others felt this time, faster action is needed to address the impact of any closure.
Blake: ‘Poorly written’ PFI contract
Ed Blake, the Conservative councillor for Ventnor and St Lawrence, was present and addressed the gathering, explaining that additional monitoring equipment was being installed in the next couple of weeks by Island Roads and the council in order to observe the stability of the landslide.
He spoke about how certain planned road closures for vital repairs are being pushed back in order to keep the routes in and out of Ventnor open, but that his understanding of the Highways PFI contract was that if a job is pushed back a certain number of times, Island Roads are able to remove the job from their list. Not something that anyone wanted, so solutions such as overnight work or single file traffic were being considered.
Councillor Blake said he felt the PFI contract was ‘poorly written’ and how important it was for councillors to be able to see a non-redacted version of the contract.
Listen to the voxpops
You can hear from some of those attending today’s gathering by clicking on the play button below.
