St Lawrence councillor, Chris Bonney, last night told the Ventnor Town Council about a new Isle of Wight council consultation taking place over the next three months.

The Draft Shoreline Management Plan 2 is a strategic document setting out policies for the management of the Island’s coastline over the next 20, 50 and 100 years.

The policies also cover the council’s response to coastal flooding and erosion risks.

No active intervention from Ventnor to Totland
What was very worrying last night, was when Cllr Bonney told the meeting that according to the document, one of the suggestions was that no active intervention take place between Ventnor and Totland over the next 100 years.

We’ve yet to go through the document in detail, but you can view it yourselves by visiting the Coastal Wight Website.

Visit the roadshow
The roadshow, which visits Yarmouth, Cowes, Wootton, Ryde and Sandown, was also discussed and it was agreed by councillors that the Winter Gardens would be offered as a venue for those in the south, as the alternative offered to Cllr Bonney was to make an appointment to view the documents at the Coastal Visitor Centre.

It was felt that would not encourage people to engage in the consultation process.

Full details are available on the Coastal Wight Website.

Story in the Isle of Wight News