Following on from our report last week that the Ventnor Town Council were requesting an extension to the deadline for comments on the Shoreline Management Plan, we hear further news today.

Firstly, we hear that the National Association for Local Councils (NALC) are investigating whether they can take legal action to put an injunction on the Isle of Wight council. Their aim is to have the deadline for comments extended by two weeks from 23 October. We’ll let you know once we hear more on that.

Consultation exhibition in Ventnor
We also hear that most of the travelling exhibition for the draft Shoreline Management Plan 2 is now situated in the foyer area of the Winter Gardens, on show for any local residents who did not make it along to any of the other Islandwide consultation days.

Appeal from reader for Islanders to act
In addition, we received an email from a VB reader this afternoon which, given the importance of the subject, we thought we’d share with you. We believe it has been sent widely around the Island, so you may have already seen it and joined the Facebook group mentioned at the bottom.

The Shoreline Management Plan – a roadmap for the Isle of Wight for 100 years and beyond
If you live on the Island this will affect you.

Dear Islander,

The Isle of Wight council is currently completing its Shoreline Management Plan Policy. This policy will determine the maintenance and spending on the entire coast of the Island for the next 20, 50 and 100 years.

No new coastal defences will be allowed to be constructed by private citizens or companies to protect against rising sea levels and changing weather conditions in areas that have not been designated.

The Isle of Wight Council claim that they have conducted an adequate public consultation to decide on the conditions of this policy. Their consultation has totalled 25 hours of exhibiting the draft plan. That is 25 hours throughout the entire Island. The south and south west coast has been effectively unrepresented despite the fact that it is to be all but abandoned to the elements. Although there is an exhibition of the plan in Ventnor, it has so far been hidden in clear sight. Very few people are aware of it’s existence and you can only see it by appointment and a fee of £1.

A new free exhibition has been launched in Ventnor at the Winter Gardens. Open all day, every day from 10am until 10pm. A feedback form is available so that you can comment. The Isle of Wight Council insist on a closing date of Saturday 23rd October. That’s this Saturday.

Ventnor Town Council is trying to get that date extended so that you can have a chance to have your say on this critically important issue, but they hold out little hope against the hubris of the Isle of Wight Council’s executives who know what’s best.

The Shoreline Management Plan will effect you. It will effect your family and children. It will effect the entire future of the Isle of Wight. Go along to the exhibition in Ventnor and have your say.

Please send this message right now to everybody you know who cares about the Isle of Wight.

Join the Facebook Group and help raise awareness for the campaign

Story by Sally Perry on the Ventnor Blog website

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

Running along the southern edge of the Isle of Wight’s downs, Military Road overlooks the stunning emerald sweep of Brighstone Bay.

Thousands of visitors each year glimpse the breathtaking view of the white chalk cliffs, towering out of the sea along the coast to Freshwater.

But the elements are now taking their toll as coastal erosion threatens long stretches of the road.

Campaigners now want the picturesque route saved.

Rapid erosion

While coastal erosion has been affecting Military Road for the last three decades, the process has speeded up considerably in the last few years, including this past winter.

Fresh water coming off the downs has eaten away at the cliffs, creating new chines (valleys) and bringing the cliff edge perilously close to the road.

A tarmac car park has huge ‘bites’ out of it with a jagged line where the land has just fallen away down to the beach below – barriers have gone up to stop cars going over the edge.

The edge of the road itself is so close to the coast now that on one stretch it has been reduced to to one lane.

Not only is Military Road the main route along the south west coast of the island, it is also a major draw for tourists.

Four thousand people are supporting a campaign to lobby the council to stop the road from falling into the sea.

Potential solutions

The Isle of Wight Council has said a permanent solution could cost up to £10m which, in the current times of tight finances, the council insists it cannot afford.

Bypassing the worst spot would cost £500,000 but would only buy a short amount of time as the erosion continues to gnaw into the coastline.

The likely solution is that the middle section will be closed, creating two cul-de-sacs and sending traffic inland through nearby villages like Brook.

These tiny villages could face a fivefold increase in traffic, as traffic from the island’s main south coast road is diverted through the narrow village streets, many of which do not have footpaths.

Brighstone parish councillor David Tolfree said: “It’s totally unsuited to the volume and nature of the traffic – coaches and heavy vehicles. This increase in traffic will basically destroy the village.”

Mr Tolfree insisted the parish council had been “lobbying for years” about the erosion issue and something should have been done before the road reached critical stage.

He said: “This isn’t something new – this has been predicted and it seems there hasn’t been any contingency for this occurrence.”

Council finances

With council finances tight, and no funding from central government, the island’s road authorities say they cannot afford the £10m estimated to keep Military Road open.

Edward Giles, Isle of Wight Council cabinet member for environment and transport, explained gaining planning permission would be a long and costly process, given the land needed for a diversion is owned by the National Trust.

He said: “There are a great deal of difficulties in diverting the road because of the various conservation designations which affect the land.”

Campaigners point to the council recently agreeing a £300 million Private Finance Initiative scheme initiative for the island’s highways. But Mr Giles insisted the scheme is solely for road maintenance and “not available” for diverting roads suffering from erosion.

A public consultation will offer local people the chance to air their opinions before the council’s cabinet decide the fate of Military Road, probably in September.

Mr Giles said: “If we have a dialogue, it would better inform everyone as to what the problems really are.”

Story by Dominic Blake on the BBC website

RISING sea levels over the next 100 years will leave 730 homes and businesses at risk in the Bembridge and St Helens area alone.

And what can be done to protect them from catastrophic flooding are to be detailed at a public exhibition.
Views from residents and key stakeholders have already shaped the draft coastal defence strategy and the Environment Agency and Isle of Wight Council is now seeking comment from residents on the options before they are finalised.

The Eastern Yar draft coastal flood and erosion risk management strategy recommends that Embankment Road, Brading Marshes and the majority of properties at risk should have improved protection from coastal flooding.
It also recognises that securing government funding for building and maintaining crumbling defences cannot be guaranteed.

With rising sea levels there could be 730 homes and businesses at risk over the next 100 years.

Chairman of Bembridge and St Helens Harbour Working Group Arthur Robinson said: “The future plans are vital to the future of Bembridge and St Helens as thriving communities and I would urge as many residents and harbour users as possible to attend the exhibition.

“The sea wall is, in places, in a very poor condition and if it, and the dunes behind it, were breached, the whole harbour could be radically altered to the detriment of the harbour and the two communities of Bembridge and St Helens.

“With rising sea levels, the sea wall will become increasingly vulnerable making vital the Isle of Wight Council’s proposal to maintain it for the next 50 years. Sea level is expected to rise by 1ft in that time.”
l Exhibitions will be held from 2pm to 8pm at Bembridge Village Hall on Wednesday and February 12.

Story in the Isle of Wight County Press