"Disruption To People's Livelihoods" - Councillor Speaks Out Over Horsebridge Hill Works

The one-way closure of a key artery on the Isle of Wight has caused or heightened concern over issues such as dangerous driving by a school, potholes, congestion and business costs.

Liberal Democrat councillor Andrew Garratt spoke to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) about problems arising from private utility company Southern Water’s major works on Horsebridge Hill.

The thoroughfare’s three-month one-way system will be in place until 6pm on Friday, April 17 and a long diversion route is currently operating along Forest Road, Whitehouse Road, Rolls Hill and Pallance Road.

Southern Water’s upgrades are being carried out as part of a £5m pipe replacement project which the utility company said will reduce emergency works and water supply interruptions as well as help to cut leakage.

Cllr Garratt’s concerns over the one-way closure come after feedback from residents and his own experience using the route daily for work appointments.

One ongoing issue is vehicles failing to stop at the zebra crossing outside Hunnyhill Primary School and ignoring the school crossing patrol officer which Cllr Garratt said had likely been “made worse” by the diversion due to significantly higher traffic flows.

“That is very worrying – cars should be paying a lot of attention going through there, there are young children crossing that route, they rely on the patrol officer…he does the job very well,” the Parkhurst and Hunnyhill representative said.

The problem has been raised with Southern Water, the Isle of Wight Council and Island Roads, Cllr Garratt said.

Cllr Garratt said it seems one of the warning signs may not be working properly and has asked for this to be checked.

He said:

“Would it not be better to have a traffic light crossing there? A pelican crossing so that there is a very clear indicator that people should stop – red lights, people hopefully do stop at.”

Another worry is extra diversion traffic increasing the risk of potholes.

Cllr Garratt said he had noticed “longitudinal cracks” opening up on Whitehouse Road:

“It has always been prone to that – the subsoil gives way, the top surface then cracks and you get these lengthy cracks which have to be infilled.

“Anybody’s who’s ever hit a pothole knows it can do quite significant damage to suspension, could blow a tyre… if a car blew its tyre on the route it’s going to have to stop and it’s going to add to congestion.”

The councillor said Island Roads had confirmed to him the district steward is driving the route daily to monitor conditions and the FixMyStreet website helps him find out what problems have been reported.

Cases which seem more urgent, Cllr Garratt said he raises directly with Island Roads.

Other causes of disquiet include junction blocking and traffic flow issues causing congestion and frustration, a risk of the diversion route becoming impassable due to flooding or another incident, and local businesses being hit by disruption costs.

Cllr Garratt has responded by asking the highways team if adjustments can be made to traffic-signal phasing to improve flow.

He has discussed the risk of the diversion becoming passable with other councillors, Southern Water and council officers, with scrutiny of the Traffic Management Plan and risk assessment.

As to what can be done to support firms burdened by works, he said they may be able to submit claims for loss of income, under Acts of Parliament.

Pressed on whether Southern Water should provide compensation, Cllr Garratt answered the corporation should if a claim can be evidenced.

He said:

“It would encourage utility companies to think about how quickly they do works, how many crews they can get onto site, to focus their minds – the disruption is more than just to traffic flows…there is this disruption to people’s livelihoods.”