It was dubbed ‘the road to nowhere’ with around 100 homes stuck at the end of the longest cul de sac on the Island.
But today, Godric Road in Newport was finally completed — three years after the first residents moved in.
Diversion via Staplers
The main access road at the Barratt Homes Pan development, the road fell 400 metres short of connecting to St George’s Way.
The road as was – © Google Maps/Streetview
It left residents with no choice but to drive to the Staplers roundabout, just to leave their homes. The road was due to be completed last autumn, but the work was hit by delays.
Barratt accused of contempt
Dubbing it ‘the road to nowhere’, ward member Cllr Geoff Brodie accused Barratt of treating the Isle of Wight Council with contempt and residents shabbily, because they lived in affordable homes.
The council refused to licence Barratt to build anymore homes on the development until the road was completed.
The Pan Meadows project was rated high risk by council auditors.
Contract milestones
Barratt are supposed to pay the council upon completion of each of the three phases however, the contract determines these milestones are based on the number of houses built.
The council will receive no additional money now Godric Road is open.
Brodie: ‘Developer made lives of residents so difficult’
Cllr Geoff Brodie said:
“I am delighted that at last the road has been completed after months of delay. Many of my residents have been stuck at the end of a very long cul-de-sac for more than three years.
“It is a pity that a major developer has made the lives of my residents so difficult for so long.”
Moving to next phase
The road has not yet been adopted by the local authority, so the developer decided when it opened.
Leader of the Isle of Wight council, Cllr Dave Stewart, said:
“While there have been some delays, we made sure its completion was a priority.
“Working in partnership with Barratt Homes, we can now look towards more new homes being built as part of the next phase of the development.”
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which OnTheWight is taking part in. Some additions by OnTheWight.
