East Cowes residents trapped in their homes

Some elderly residents in Adelaide Grove, East Cowes, say they have been unable to leave their homes for weeks after work to resurface the road has been beset by delays.

The work was originally due to start on Monday, June 26, and cones were set up on the road to prevent parking. However, the work was cancelled at short notice because the contractors did not have the resources to do the job. The next delay was due to ‘mechanical failure’, then, after starting the work, the contractors discovered a Southern Gas Network leaking mains.

Local councillor, Karl Love, said: “The situation is becoming increasingly unbearable for many residents with some, who cannot walk long distances, trapped in their homes as they are unable to get out and about and go into town.

“The No 5 bus route has been diverted and there is a residential home on the road. Some residents are unable to get out because they rely on the bus. The whole situation is causing distress to them.

“I have also been contacted and told that residents have moved the cones to park outside their homes during the delays, only to get parking tickets.

“On top of this, the remainder of the road has significant sinkage in places, and it was only resurfaced a few years ago. I simply don’t understand why they don’t do all of the necessary work. Doesn’t it make sense to do all of the work in one go, rather than doing bits and pieces of patches, knowing that they will have to come back to do the other bits in the foreseeable future?”

A member of the public commented on Cllr Love’s Facebook page, saying: “The poor people on the No 5 bus route will not be happy as they have had no bus service down Adelaide Grove for weeks.

“The traffic warden has been out ticketing all the cars near the chapel after people had moved the yellow cones to park, as the road works had moved further up Adelaide Grove.”

An Island Roads spokesman yesterday apologised for the inconvenience and told the IW Observer: “The road improvements require deep excavations so stronger foundations can be built, which should reduce the need for future maintenance and associated disruption. However these deep excavations mean a road closure is necessary.

“Unfortunately, on-street car parking makes the diversion too narrow for buses to use. We cannot remove this parking without causing additional inconvenience as spaces are already lost in Adelaide Grove due to work there.

“For reasons including the deeper-than-expected excavation, plant breakdown and the discovery of a gas leak, the project is taking longer than planned. We’re working as hard as we can and hope to complete during the week beginning August 7.”