No Love for Island Roads in East Cowes

The IW councillor for East Cowes has criticised Island Roads after he claimed ‘totally unacceptable and unnecessary work’ was done to the Saunders Way/Whippingham Road roundabout.

Cllr Karl Love said: “This roundabout was an intended planted roundabout full of bird life and it was purpose-built with green environmental elements in mind. It was an effective bird sanctuary.

“Island Roads are tasked to maintain our hedges and highways and paid to conserve. But they have cut it down to destruction when it could have been thinned out to its intended purpose and properly maintained; that’s what they are paid to do.

“They have neglected it for years and if, as they say, it’s unsafe for a highway, because it was overgrown, it’s because they took on the contract to maintain it and have not.

“I’m disgusted, as are many others, watching a service which claims to be about environmental conservation, destroy something which eats up carbon and gives wildlife a secluded home in the middle of a roundabout. The work is totally unacceptable and unnecessary.”

However, Island Roads responded by saying: “The safety of all road users is, of course, our primary concern in managing the highway network across the Island.

“For a roundabout of this size, the national standard recommends that road users can see the whole of the circulatory carriageway. The vegetation restricted the visibility of vehicles using the roundabout, potentially increasing the risk of road user conflict.

“The previous planting for this roundabout was not suitable, as the heights and density of the shrubs limited visibility. The tree planted in the centre was not suitable because it could not be managed to ensure its canopy did not restrict visibility.

“Whilst we appreciate the visual severity of our recent activity, this was an initial measure to undertake works before the bird nesting season began and part of a wider plan to replant the roundabout with more appropriate soft landscaping.

“Once the shrubs are established we will ensure they are maintained at a lower height. We believe our work will improve the visual appearance once the new planting is in place, as well as improve safety.”