Isle of Wight councillor for East Cowes, Karl Love, is calling on Red Funnel to “get your act together” and complete the promised work to their terminal.
He told News OnTheWight,
“Our Town is an Island gateway, but not fit for purpose in terms of highway routing, long-stay carpark and residents’ parking.
“Many of our roads are narrow and some do not have pedestrian pavements. This must be addressed for the benefit of the residents who live here and visitors.
“In my view, all Red Funnel seem to be interested in is the bottom line. I want to see an Island gateway and doorway freshly painted looking great and attractive.”
Love: A yard that looks like an unkempt dustbin
The Isle of Wight councillor went on to say,
“Instead we’ve got a yard that looks like an unkempt dustbin. I’ve asked for greenery and smart looking fencing, with signs wishing people a happy visit and then thanking them for visiting on their leaving and what have we got, the unkempt yard is full of weeds and rubbish.
“Enough is enough, this is our town where we live and from which Red Funnel make a handsome profit and it’s time that they invested into making our Island gateway look like a sparkling exciting place to visit.”
Cllr Love says he has asked Red Funnel why they’d not “completed on their obligations” for the creation of a new marshalling yard. He reminds us that Red Funnel appealed against an Isle of Wight council planning officers decision to reject the planning application for the the expansion of the terminal.
“It turns out that despite their clean line drawings and spacious yard the gateway entrance has ended up looking like a refuge tip.”
Love: Operational issues cause mayhem for other local businesses
Cllr Love continued,
“Red Funnel promised to build a large port which would cope when there are inevitable service suspensions and breakdowns.
“When Red Funnel have operational issues it causes mayhem for other local businesses and some of these businesses are multi-million pound businesses. Not only does this create increased pollution, it presents a negative experience for everyone.
“The purpose of the yard expansion is not to cram as many vehicles in as possible, but to be able to cope with their business needs when the service is suspended or issues occur.
“It was a way of trying to support the people of our town, but apparently that’s not as important to them now, who blame the pandemic for their delays.”
Delays to completion of works
In 2018 Red Funnel stated that Phase 2 of their works would be completed by summer 2021.
Cllr Love went on to say,
“Whilst we accept that there might have been some delays, in fact most of the work should’ve been completed prior to the pandemic, so no one can blame what has happened recently on that.
“The temporary exit road leading out of Red Funnel used by cars offloading from the top deck leads through an unsightly yard looking more like something you’d expect to see at a rubbish tip rather than presenting our best image of arrival.”
Love: “Not use East Cowes as its back up car park”
Cllr Love says the exit creates “complete confusion for visitors” as it leads onto a narrow “totally unfit for purpose” road. He goes on to say that whilst the town welcomes business across the Island, it should not impact upon the immediate communities.
He believes Red Funnel should provide the necessary storage for all of their vehicles and “not use East Cowes as its back up car park”.
Cllr Love finished by saying,
“We now also have the new steel fencing been placed around the yard looking ugly and unattractive. Do they really have any intentions of completing the yard when they spend thousands of pounds on a temporary fix?
“The people of our town smell a rat and that’s what’s been reported to me.
“Come on Red Funnel get your act together and complete the promised work to the specifications you forced upon the people of our Town and Island.”
Response from Red Funnel
News OnTheWight put the accusations to Red Funnel on Tuesday. They got back to us this afternoon with this statement.
Fran Collins, CEO Red Funnel said,
“We take our responsibilities as a lifeline operator and Island stakeholder very seriously. We understand and share the frustrations voiced by Cllr Love, particularly regarding the challenges we have all faced due to the unforeseen delays to the road improvement scheme. We’re pleased that we’ve worked in collaboration with the IOW Council and Island Roads throughout to help mitigate the effects as much as possible, but appreciate that at times, traffic delays have occurred.
“We continue to take a proactive approach to working with all local stakeholders and residents and keeping them informed throughout. This has included our regular meetings with the East Cowes Town Council; our continued participation in the East Cowes Waterfront Masterplan Refresh Steering Group; and our support for the IOWC submission for a levelling up grant to enable regeneration in East Cowes. In fact, we’re pleased to able to provide our own match funding of £30,000 for the project which will be contributed to the IOWC to support the Columbine Southern Elevation whether the application is successful or not.
“Our plans to improve our East Cowes terminal haven’t changed and we remain committed to investing in the new infrastructure which we know will enhance both the service we are able to provide, as well as the quality of life for local residents. However, the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that our plans have had to be delayed and we are grateful to the residents of East Cowes for their continued patience. We very much look forward to putting our plans back in motion as soon as circumstances improve.”
