Isle of Wight council leader, Phil Jordan, has told OnTheWight that the target date for a “full road opening” of Leeson Road is the end of November 2024.
The road was closed in December 2023 following a catastrophic landslide, considered to be one of the largest recorded on the South Coast of England for more than 100 years.
It resulted in evacuations of 20 properties, some condemned properties, as well as the road between Ventnor and Shanklin being closed for many months, opening for the 2024 summer holidays before closing again in September 2024 for borehole drilling.
Estimated closure period
When the road first re-closed in September 2024, the council estimated it would remain that way for ten to 12 weeks, which takes us to the end of November.
However, the council leader announced around the same time that he’d been told that estimated period of closure had been reduced to around four to six weeks. This clearly didn’t happen as we are now in week nine of the closure.
Issues with equipment and the latest borehole have added to the delays, but the council say everyone is on track to ensure the road is reopened at the end of November.
See drone footage of landslide
Last month the council released aerial drone footage of the landslide area, pointing out that new fissures and cracks have been identified in the cliff face and behind the landslip area – highlighting that further weaknesses have developed since the December 2023 landslip.
With that in mind, many will find it encouraging that Isle of Wight council feels the road can be fully reopened at the end of the month.
