Undercliff
Defence CommitteeUndercliff
Defence Committee
Undercliff Defence Committee position on transport policy: Statement of UDC Position on Alternatives to the A3055 Realignment and Drainage Scheme
The
primary aims of the Undercliff Defence Committee are to uphold the unique
environmental, cultural and historical interest of the Undercliff, promoting
activities that enhance its character and benefit residents and visitors alike,
including sustainable forms of access, while opposing developments where these
adversely affect the character of the area.
Continued
environmentally responsible access, including by light road vehicles (notably
cars and small minibuses), walkers, cyclists, and small marine craft, is
welcome, as it is important to many of these aims. Heavy vehicular access is
inappropriate between St Lawrence and Niton, both for environmental and
geological reasons, and it is well known that while tourist coaches are
important to the economy of much of the Island, they make no significant
economic contribution locally, having rarely stopped along this section of the
Undercliff Drive even before the 2001 landslip.
We
will therefore continue to campaign to ensure the Undercliff Drive is kept open
for sensible use, both to residents and to the visitor economy. This will also
benefit residents of the current alternative Whitwell Road, which has acted as
the de facto main route since 2001, by taking a share of the strain from
light through-traffic - load-balancing - for as long as this is environmentally
and economically justifiable.
The
Undercliff Defence Committee is aware that viable alternatives to the A3055
realignment and drainage scheme along the Undercliff Drive between St Lawrence
and Niton have been alluded to but inadequately considered in the Isle of Wight
Council's decision to approve the current environmentally and economically
deeply flawed project. These include not only alternative inland routes, but a
less damaging, and much lower cost scheme to repair damage in sections of the
Undercliff Drive route as they arise.
Key
parties, including statutory bodies, agree that in the long term the only
sustainable solution is an inland route, due to rapid coastal retreat and
instability, aggravated by climate change, and to the fact that continued
natural erosion is vital to maintaining the unique character of this section of
coastline.
The
Undercliff Defence Committee believes that in the interim the Undercliff Drive
should be retained as long as possible for light vehicle access and
through-traffic, and calls for proper investigation of solutions that will
enable this. It will campaign for this and for longer-term, sustainable
solutions during discussion of the next Local Transport Plan (LTP2) (2006-2011)
and the Local Development Framework to be introduced by 2007.
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Contact UDC: +44(0)1983 730455; +44(0)1983 856688
Email: post@undercliff.org