In a letter to East Cowes Town Council, the Isle of Wight council’s Chief Executive, John Metcalfe, reveals a date for the return of the Cowes Floating Bridge.
In response to a letter from the town council that called for compensation for East Cowes businesses, Mr Metcalfe writes,
“I am advised that the vessel is expected to be back in service in the week commencing 28 of September.”
No service for nine weeks so far
The bridge has been out of service for nine weeks, after being taken out of service on 14th July 2020 for an anticipated ten days of maintenance work.
Its return was delayed several times before the council admitted they didn’t know when it would return due to a ‘major fault’.
At the end of August a council report laid the blame for the catalogue of floating bridge failures at the feet of the two companies involved in its design and build.
A petition calling for an independent inquiry into the Floating Bridge has attracted over 2,500 signatures.
IWC warned for years
Earlier this week the Floating Bridge Engineers’ and Stakeholders’ Group explained how they have been warning the Isle of Wight council for many years about the ongoing failures of Floating Bridge 6. This was in response to the council leader saying,
“What we did not expect was the catalogue of problems we have since experienced over the subsequent years.”
Source: East Cowes Town Council Website
