News reaches VB this afternoon that the long running saga of who is responsible for clearing rotting seaweed out of Ventnor Haven has finally been resolved.
The Isle of Wight council have confirmed that they are legally responsible and from next week will start the process of clearing the rotting seaweed from the Haven.
Cllr Chris Welsford has spent the last three weeks working tirelessly to resolve the situation after the stink re-appeared much to residents’ and visitors’ dismay.
Confusion over who’s responsible?
He told VB that removal of the seaweed, at a cost of £30,000 to the IWC last year, had not been budgeted for this year as it was unclear who was legally responsible.
That has now all been cleared up (excuse the pun) and he was keen to stress that responsibility to keep the Haven clear of rotting seaweed was neither that of Geoff Blake’s Fishery or Sean Streven’s Cheetah Marine.
Cllr Welsford told the Ventnor Town Council meeting on Monday night that there was around 12ft of rotting seaweed in the middle of the Haven, which was not only causing a stinky whiff around town, but also a hazard for young people messing about in the Haven at low tide.
By early next week, that and any other seaweed that enters the Haven over the weekend should be cleared.
Well done Chris, your persistence on this over the last couple of weeks has paid off.
Image: Rotting seaweed: Tim Gage
