Questions Raised Over 'Absolute Chaos' Of Isle Of Wight Roadworks

Questions have been raised over what has been described as the "absolute chaos" on the Isle of Wight's roads after hundreds of roadworks got underway during the first three months of this year.

Labour councillor Jock Rafferty asked "what went wrong" during a meeting of the Isle of Wight Council's Economy, Regeneration, Transport and Infrastructure Committee (ERTIC) last week, following a presentation from Island Roads.

Jimmy Wells, Network Manager at Island Roads, told councillors that more than 12,000 applications to carry out work on the Island's highways were received during 2025/26, with around 1,000 submitted each month.

Of those, 7,934 permit applications were approved.

Cllr Rafferty said:

"Looking from the general public's point of view, it looks like there's absolute chaos on the Island's roads. Is this as good as it gets? Is it going to get any better?

"Are we going to be expecting this for the next five years?"

Simon Moon, the council's Strategic Director of Community Services, admitted roadworks were a "major issue" for residents, businesses and councillors.

"I've been in post three months now and I'm very clear that roadworks – what's going on is a major issue for residents, businesses and all members of this council. So, it has to improve," he said.

"We have a responsibility as the highway authority, with our partners through Island Roads, to deliver our own works in line with best practice, but also hold utility companies to account.

"Some of my reflections from the first three months are that we're not doing that consistently or strongly enough with some of these utility operators."

Mr Moon said utility companies can often classify work as an emergency, allowing them to access the road network quickly.

However, referring to figures presented by Island Roads, he suggested many of the schemes were urgent rather than genuine emergencies.

"We need to call that out - I don't think we're calling it out," he added.

Mr Moon said more resources and greater pressure would be needed to improve the situation, including "some tough conversations" with utility companies.

He warned that unless those discussions take place, the situation would not improve, describing the current level of disruption as "not acceptable".