County Hall "Repeating All The Same Mistakes" Says Councillor After Floating Bridge Briefing

The Isle of Wight councillor for East Cowes has hit out at County Hall for “repeating all the same mistakes” with regards to the Floating Bridge.

East Cowes Town Council received a briefing yesterday afternoon which Cllr Love said was not attended by the senior officers responsible for the beleaguered vessel.

Cllr Karl Love said the council’s engaging of engineering and consulting group SYSTRA was “yet another layer of unnecessary cost” in the Floating Bridge Six replacement process and he questioned their appointment.

At a full council meeting at the end of last month, the independent councillor sought answers over the ferry’s future, telling members “not so much as a nut, screw or nail” had been purchased 14 months after the council agreed to embark on a replacement process.

The floating bridge is “losing a million pounds a year and nothing’s happening”, he exasperatedly told the chamber.

Venting his frustrations after yesterday’s briefing, he said:

“The Isle of Wight Council have studied this river crossing to death over the years and little has changed.

“Do officers want SYSTRA to keep studying and planning so they can eventually find a reason not to replace the Floating Bridge while this red tape process eats up all our funding on studies and planning rather than taking the actions our council has agreed and directed officers to follow?”

Cllr Love added that if officers “don’t want to deliver” what Isle of Wight councillors have directed, “they should be replaced”.

On its website, SYSTRA says ‘it supports its clients in all transport infrastructure projects, including airports and ports.

‘Our network of experts, located in all regions of the world, can help you to design and organise airport terminals, model port terminals, carry out environmental studies or provide building expertise.’

The Isle of Wight Council have been contacted for a comment.