Over the last week social distancing white dots have been appearing on the streets of Isle of Wight towns.
Newport was first to receive the dots that have been added to footways (aka pavements), with Cowes and Ryde to follow.
John Corby who lives and works in Cowes was yesterday the subject of a photo circulating on social media, where it showed him jet washing the white dots from the front of his house on Cowes High Street.
Corby: A sign of defiance against a dystopian Orwellian future
News OnTheWight got in touch with Mr Corby to find out his reasons for jet washing the dots. He told us,
“The dots will not save any lives but undoubtedly reduce the vital charm of the high street just when we need to be encouraging people to go shopping again. Basically council sanctioned vandalism projecting an image of fear, the last thing we need right now.
“All I did was remove three dots in front of my house as a sign of defiance against a dystopian Orwellian future which we all seem to be sleepwalking towards.
“The council have informed me that they will repaint the dots but admitted they have no exit strategy for when the 2m guidance is altered or removed altogether.
“The IWC person who rang me also stressed that they thought the dots looked really good but when questioned had to confess they’d never ever run their own business.”
IWC: Not acceptable for residents to remove social distancing markers
A spokesperson for the Isle of Wight council told News OnTheWight,
“It is not acceptable for residents to remove social distancing markers from the public highway. Where this occurs the guidance markers will be reinstated to ensure that we are providing guidance on social distancing as we work to enable a safe reopening of the Island’s high streets.
“To ensure that public spaces that are next to businesses are as safe as possible, temporary changes are needed to be made to the physical environment.
“The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government has provided the Reopening the High Street Safely Fund to assist local authorities with the cost of putting in place additional measures to establish a safe trading environment for businesses and customers, particularly in high streets, through measures that extend to the end of March 2021.
“We are making these changes in line with the Safer Public Places – Urban Centres and Green Spaces guidance.”
Article edit
8.50am 12th June 2020 – Comment from IWC added
Image: © Isle of Wight Council
