With summer rapidly approaching, sometimes stop-start with our weather, we are getting ready to welcome and accommodate our visitors who flock to our Island each year to enjoy the place we all love and call home.

We are unique as one of the UK islands, something we continue to impress upon Government in our ongoing efforts to get funded in a way that addresses the issues facing the Island.

We have been successful in obtaining some specific grant funding recently. Ryde Interchange saw £10m for Ryde, £13.5m for the West Wight to Ryde greenway and £2m for safety works on the Sandown to Blackwater road, for example, but essentially we still need the ongoing, correct funding we believe we have demonstrated to Government is the shortfall needed to equalise our position with similar mainland areas.

I have met with the Minister for Levelling Up, Jacob Young on his recent visit to the Island and continue to re-iterate to Government that we must see additional funding and that we are seeking specific additional help for some of our badly affected coastal areas of the Island, such as Ventnor, with important money to help us get some of the roads open and repaired. 

We are working hard on these issues, and the dramatic effect of the landslides leading to road closures is foremost in my mind and a serious problem we have to find answers for. 

Our communities need our support and although the issues are complicated, and safety and risk are key factors, I am determined to find solutions and address the serious problems we face.

So, I am working towards getting Leeson Road re-opened in some form, maybe single carriageway on lights, as well as Gills Cliff Road without delay and before our visitors arrive in larger numbers.

In a similar way, I am working very hard to find a way to secure the long-term future of the Military Road.

Much work in that regard has already happened but we are determined to find a re-routing solution and all efforts are being directed to that outcome. 

It won’t be quick, or easy, but we must secure this iconic road for our Island serving both residents and visitors alike. 

We are building a business case which we intend to send to the Department of Transport and I will be detailing more of this in the coming months as we finalise our efforts to secure the road for the next 50 years and more.