Troubled Isle of Wight chain ferry to be replaced
The floating bridge between Cowes and East Cowes has been plagued with issues since its launch in 2017
Isle of Wight council's cabinet unanimously agreed to replace Floating Bridge 6 at a meeting on Thursday.
The authority will work with consultants 3S which recently concluded the current vessel isn't fit for purpose.
Leader of the Council, Councillor Phil Jordan, said:
“We need an operational floating bridge that stops wasting Islanders money on failed fixes and increased costs, not only to help the local community and businesses, but also to provide relief to the Island’s road network.
“We don’t want to waste any more Council money on finding out information we already know. Replacing the floating bridge with one that works is now our clear stated intention.
“A lot of errors were made in early stages of procurement of the last floating bridge. So we can get on with matters, it is important that technical groundwork is undertaken to inform the performance and overall reliability of a new vessel, although, to be clear, the Council is not yet at the stage to vote on any financial models.”
Work carried out in respect of the Floating Bridge over recent years will be used to inform the next stages and will help ensure the necessary work can be streamlined and carried out as quickly and efficiently as possible. This includes work previously undertaken by the consultants 3S, who have supported the recent review and have extensive knowledge of the process and background. 3S positively support the stated aim and project to replace the Floating Bridge.
Councillor Jordan, concluded:
“This decision has been a long time coming and much work has been necessary to get us to this point. There is still much to do but this is a major step. We are pleased that as an Administration the Alliance have been able to fulfil our promise to do this for the benefit of our residents and the economy of the Island.”