OnTheWight always welcomes a Letter to the Editor to share with our readers – unsurprisingly they don’t always reflect the views of this publication. If you have something you’d like to share, get in touch and of course, your considered comments are welcome below.
This from a reader who would prefer to remain anonymous, Ventnor. Ed
On thinking about the partial collapse of the retaining wall in Belgrave Road, it occurred to me that the road is below an area where a large number of trees were removed in the winter of 2019 by the developers of a site at the top of Grove Road.
This area had the trees removed, I believe, due to the concerns they would undermine the wall.
My concern however is the impact that this large number of trees being removed has had on the ground in an already unstable area of Ventnor.
Roots help to keep the soil stable
I have a masters degree in Building Surveying and the importance of trees and ground stability was something I remember well.
The roots help to keep the soil stable and also absorb large amounts of water.
In my view
I can only imagine that this removal of such a large number of trees has caused additional instability to the soil and also allowed a lot more water than would normally flow, down toward the shore; coupled with the large amount of rainfall, this has made the land where Belgrave Road stands unstable and slippage has occurred.
This water would bypass under the properties on the edge of the road if they are built on solid foundations on stone, and accumulate in the already unstable area on which the road is built.
