Jill Wareham's call to realign Military Road

Jill Wareham, former Liberal Democrat Parliamentary Candidate for the Island, called on the Isle of Wight Cabinet members to agree to realign the Military Road further inland.

The recommendation to Cabinet was to 'retain the road on its current alignment for as long as possible by intercepting groundwater from the adjoining land'.

Jill Wareham commenting on the recommendation ahead of the meeting said "This does not go far enough. The Road should be rerouted slightly inland. This is the most spectacular road on the Island; most publicity for the Isle of Wight shows photos of this part of the Military Road. Tourism is a major part of our economy on the Island. Although I welcome the proposal to divert the underground water to alleviate the cliff falling from the top, work needs to be started immediately on planning to reroute the road and finding funds to do it. Where there is a will there is a way. If the road is not rerouted, the £3.5 million spent on doing the Afton Down part of the road will have been wasted.

"Over three and half thousand people have joined the Facebook group to 'Save the Military Road', 163 have signed the online petition and 446 people have signed the paper petition.

"Seven (Conservative) councillors will be making a decision tonight on the road's future. Most people who responded to the consultation (61%) wanted the Council to construct a new road. The drainage scheme is likely to only give 3 or 4 years life to the road. This isn't good enough.

"The cost to the tourist industry and the local residents has not been measured. The Military Road is so important to the Isle of Wight that we must make every effort to prolong its life. This view is supported by local residents, tourists, the Chamber of Commerce, Town and Parish Councils - the Isle of Wight Councillors must listen to these people who will be most affected by the road closure."