MP Bob Seely has been looking for ways to fund improvements to the A3055 which runs from Ryde, via Ventnor and the Undercliff, along to Freshwater, and encompasses Leeson Road, the Undercliff and the Military Road.
Mr Seely has put forward a number of suggestions in a letter to the Isle of Wight Council to see if money from other projects can be amalgamated into an A3055 fund. He identified three potential sources of income that could be considered.
He said: “I am looking at ways we might be able to free up some funds for improvements to the A3055 so I have written to the council with some suggestions.
“First, the Island has been allocated £13.6 million for the Island Green-Link to enhance travel between Ryde and Yarmouth by improving cycling, walking and bus routes and improving accessibility. Clearly, this is a very important project, and one I and others fought hard to get the funding for, but I have asked the council to look into the possibility, once the key elements of the project have been funded and costed, of allocating any remaining funds for the A3055.
“Second, there may be other projects the council is delivering where some potential savings could be released and allocated to an A3055 fund. I have asked the council to undertake a review of its capital projects to see where there could be potential savings for this purpose.
“Third, we were allocated around £900,000 from the government as our share of HS2 cancellation money. I’m asking whether this could be allocated to an A3055 fund.
“At this stage, I’m just asking what I think are the common-sense questions because we need to consider all the options.”
Mr Seely has also asked the Council if it would be willing to re-open Leeson Road, following calls from residents.
He said: “Ventnor residents and businesses strongly feel that the road should be re-opened, especially now that monitoring is in place.
“If a full re-open is deemed too risky, can you, and Island Roads, please consider a partial re-opening to motorbikes and cars, if not to lorries or buses? I am aware that ground movement is possible, but we now have monitoring in place.”
Mr Seely said he was also concerned about the condition of Ocean View Road, and the amount of traffic travelling through Wroxall.
Ventnor and St Lawrence Councillor, Ed Blake, has also been vocal about the issues.
He said: “I’m pleased that we are another step closer to getting the road reopened, however, it is increasingly frustrating that the proposed timescales are increasing the further down the line we get.
“Initially we were told in the Public Meeting held at St Catherine's Church on the 29 February that the monitoring systems would be installed within a fortnight; eight weeks later they are installed.
“I urge Island Roads to reopen the road with a live monitoring system rigged up to traffic warning devices as soon as possible. This is vital to Ventnor’s residents and businesses, as currently, we cannot get all the traffic needed to service the area through the presently open routes.
“Furthermore, with the continued closure of Lower Gills Cliff Road, all traffic has to use Ocean View Road to access the town. This, with further failures to reopen Bath Road and Southgrove Road, is grinding the area to a halt.
“Ventnor needs to have a good summer season in order to have any chance of surviving the next winter as well as backfill the holes created from the disruption this winter.
“Council officers also alluded to emergency relief funding being made available to businesses in the area that have suffered since December. This needs to be actioned as soon as possible to help lower the ever-growing risk of forced closures and the loss of jobs and livelihoods that would bring.”
