Not reinstating a vital route, which collapsed nearly ten years ago, has been “the worst thing” a councillor has seen during his tenure on the Isle of Wight council.
Undercliff Drive, between Niton and St Lawrence, has been shut since February 2014 after significant landslips saw the road become unstable.
Since then, the road has been in limbo, with part being turned into a public foot and cycle path, but facing calls for the council to do something with it.
Speaking at a meeting of the Isle of Wight council’s planning committee last week — where a scheme to stabilise the Military Road was refused — Councillor Matt Price said the situation with Undercliff Drive was crazy and there should have been some solution put in place to save it.
Call for formal decision
Residents have now asked the council to make a formal decision about the future of the road, either saving it like Belgrave Road in Ventnor or officially closing it.
One concerned resident said the ongoing closure of the Undercliff to vehicles is impacting people’s lives and it feels unfair and unreasonable to allow the indecision to be prolonged.
IWC: No definitive plans for the future
An Isle of Wight council spokesperson said it currently has no definitive plans for the future of Undercliff Drive but is investigating options and their implications for keeping the road or formally closing it.
They said this was happening alongside commissioning design works for potential improvements and safety works in Niton, that may be required on the current diversion route.
Requires DfT money
To save the road, the Isle of Wight council has to bid for funding from the Department for Transport, as it could not afford to do so otherwise.
The authority has bid in two previous rounds of funding and while unsuccessful in one, got £2.1 million in 2021 but it was said that was not enough to cover a scheme which would reinstate the road and was used for other highway safety works.
Peace: Proud to have stopped reinstatement
Former ward councillor for St Lawrence, Gary Peace, had campaigned against the reinstatement of the road, previously saying it was inherently unstable and it would continue to collapse.
He said the undercliff is now a paradise walk for cyclists and walkers and should be preserved as just that.
Mr Peace left the authority earlier this week, but claimed one of his achievements was the prevention of a vast waste of money being spent on rebuilding the road.
Stewart’s plan to reopen road
It was the wish of former council leader, Dave Stewart, to reopen the road and a consultation the council undertook in 2019 found 58 per cent of people were in favour of reinstating it, but 40 per cent were against, with the remaining voters neutral.
See News OnTheWight’s extensive archive of articles relating to Undercliff Drive.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
