News and views

Following my request to Island Roads, they have told me their District Steward and Drainage Engineer investigated the cause of the flooding by the bus stop opposite the hospital. They followed the watercourse to what appears to be a blocked outfall on the prison site. The Drainage Engineer has spoken with the prison site manager who advised that they were aware of the issue and had instructed a drainage contractor to attend, but they had insufficient equipment to rectify the issue so should be re-attending shortly to deal with the blockage. Once the prison site has sorted out the blockage, this should resolve the issue with the gullies slow draining the carriageway surface water. Island Roads also followed up on my…

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Isle of Wight Lib Dem councillors are calling for Isle of Wight Council to continue to support a call for a special act of parliament to tackle the issues facing the Island. This has been an issue spearheaded by Cllr Michael Lilley, who joined the Lib Dem group earlier this year. The following is from Michael as a guest post… _______ Cllr Nick Stuart is putting forward a motion at tomorrow night’s (Wednesday, 15 November) IW Council meeting in support of pursuance of an Island Act. I will be seconding it and voting in favour. Since I was elected as an IW Councillor since 2017, I have every year brought a similar motion and called for specific Island legislation as…

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Yesterday, the Police and Crime Commissioner for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight launched a consultation on how much we are charged for policing. This is known as the Police Precept. The survey is quite short and also asks about residents’ general policing priorities. The consultation closes on 10 December.

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This morning (8 November 2023), the northbound carriageway of Parkhurst Road opposite the hospital flooded. I saw a number of cars which had to slow sharply just after coming through St Mary’s junction. Some naturally changed to the outside lane, but this wasn’t always easy or possible with other traffic coming through on that lane. And, of course, water was being splashed up onto the pavement by the bus stop where passengers would be waiting. I’ve asked Island Roads to let me know what they discover caused the flooding – was there a blockage or was it just that the drains were overwhelmed by rainwater. I’ve also raised how water doesn’t drain away in part of Forest Road and I’ve…

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Flood advice and guidance – IW Council’s contact centre on 01983 823111 and Council website which includes latest updates. Southern Water for anyone whose water goes off and is vulnerable, call 0330 303 0368. Latest flood warnings – Environment Agency website. Sign up to flood warnings on the government website The last few days have seen very heavy rains and immense damage and disruption across the Island. Locally, we’ve seen the awful impact on Hunnyhill Aquatics in particular. I’ve welcomed the call by the leader of Isle of Wight Council, Cllr Phil Jordan, for an urgent review of the actions taken by all those who have a role in responding to the effects of heavy rain and flooding. All staff…

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A planning application has been submitted by Captiva Homes for 203 houses and flats on the Acorn Farm site at Horsebridge Hill. The plans and their many supporting documents are on the council’s planning register webpages. The council’s planning public consultation is under way with a deadline of 3 November 2023. Please note that this is a change on the original date of 20 October 2023. There is also helpful advice on making effective comments. The developer, Captiva Homes, has also set up a web page about their application. This describes the plans as providing: The plans also include a play area, and pedestrian and cycling links connecting the site and Horsebridge Hill to Dodnor Lane. If this application is…

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