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Cllr Joe Robertson, leader of the Conservative Group of councillors, shares this Open Letter to leader of the Isle of Wight council, Lora Peacey-Wilcox
I read with serious concern that a settlement has been reached between the Isle of Wight council and the designers and builders of Floating Bridge 6, but the settlement sum will remain a secret forever. The council says it will be making no further comment.
I am sure I speak for the vast majority of Islanders when I say that this is completely unacceptable. The council is funded by taxpayers’ money – our money – and the defective Floating Bridge cost £3.5 million to buy and millions more trying to make it work properly.
Cover up
You cannot cover up what the council did or did not recover from the builders and designers when it would have been public information if the matter had been allowed to progress to court.
A secret back-room deal with no scrutiny or oversight cannot stand in the way of openness and transparency which you say you stand for.
Ordered by the Independents
The Floating Bridge was ordered by a previous Independent-led council when a number of councillors you have since re-appointed to your own Cabinet were in charge.
Cllr Jonathan Bacon was the council leader and you have appointed him as the Cabinet Member responsible for the council’s legal department.
Cllr Phil Jordan was also in the Cabinet and you have appointed him as Cabinet Member for Transport. You have therefore appointed councillors responsible for ordering the failed bridge to the two key Cabinet roles for settling the mediation and keeping the numbers secret.
A cover-up?
You and some of your colleagues spent four years in opposition blaming the Conservatives for trying to grapple with the problem inherited from Councillors Bacon, Jordan and others.
Is this the Alliance’s big solution we have all been waiting for: a cover-up?
This all looks very grubby
How do we know that the council did not settle for £10 because the fault lay with your Cabinet colleagues that prop up your leadership and not with the designers and builders? How will you cover up the settlement money received in the council’s accounts and budget or is the settlement so small it can be buried in petty cash? This all looks very grubby.
Not another Bridge
I read in the press that Cllr Jordan is now “seriously considering” buying another Floating Bridge with taxpayers’ money. You cannot possibly allow one of the people responsible for this mess to spend more of our money.
We don’t even know how much the botched purchase of the current bridge has cost the taxpayer because the settlement is being concealed from the public. Cllr Jordan got it wrong once and is now keeping the losses secret – please don’t let him have another go.
Saga may be about to get worse
This sorry saga that began with the Independents (now Alliance) is far from over and may be about to get worse.
I look forward to hearing from you as a matter of urgency.
