By Press Release
The dispute over compensation, claimed by the Isle of Wight Council from the designers and builder of Cowes Floating Bridge, has been settled out of court, although the details remain confidential, with the prospect of a new Floatie now on the table.
Yesterday afternoon, the council released a short statement confirming that agreement had been reached in the long-running saga. It said: “The Isle of Wight Council, Burness Corlett Three Quays (Southampton) Limited and Mainstay Marine Solutions Limited can confirm that a full and final settlement has been reached at mediation to end the legal dispute between the parties relating to Floating Bridge 6.
“It has been agreed that the terms of the settlement should remain confidential, and no party will make any further statement relating to the terms of the settlement agreement.”
The agreement avoids the need for High Court action, which the council was not guaranteed to win and could have cost up to £1 million in legal fees. Following years of talks, the previous Conservative council started pre-action legal steps in September 2020, but no substantive discussions took place until after the Alliance took control of the council in May last year.
The £3.2 million vessel entered service in May 2017, but broke down on its first crossing, and has been plagued with multiple technical issues ever since, frequently taking her out of service, when a passenger-only launch service was provided at significant expense. The frequent failures caused disruption to traffic and severely impacted local businesses on both sides of the river.
As well as the value of the vessel, the legal talks have also covered money lost through repairs, fees and added costs, including the replacement launch. It followed a government report that said the vessel was ‘potentially poorly designed’ with ‘several apparent design’ issues.
Now that the legal issues have been resolved, the Alliance Group is working towards putting a new floating bridge in place to provide a long-term solution to the connection between Cowes and East Cowes.
Cllr Phil Jordan, cabinet member for transport and infrastructure, said: “A new floating bridge is now on the table, but as many people appreciate, there are a number of factors which must be looked into – such as computer modelling of the river and specific engineering audits to include the current status of the chain pits and depths – before we can finalise any viable solution.
“The Alliance is working as quickly as circumstances and process allow, but, above all, we must get this right. We want to work with engineering experts to advise the council professionally and we must, and want to, use Island engineering expertise where possible.”
Floating Bridge 6 will continue in operation whilst the necessary engineering and economic reviews are undertaken and until a new solution is in place. Preparatory work is already in hand and will begin shortly.
Cllr Jordan added: “We need to be sure that whatever is done next is done correctly, professionally and with certainty, ensuring we have a fit-for-purpose floating bridge that will operate efficiently for the next 25 years and more.
“When the Alliance took over the council in May last year, we promised to sort out the floating bridge. We are now finally in a position to deliver on that promise.”
