A major and long-awaited scheme to improve ‘deteriorating’ roads around the Isle of Wight’s prison sites is finally due to begin, five years after the council was granted £6.3 million to take control of the estates.
According to the Isle of Wight County Press, work will soon begin on 19 roads across the Camp Hill, Albany and Parkhurst prison sites. The work is expected to address long-standing safety concerns raised by residents and follows a 2021 agreement between the Isle of Wight Council and the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), which saw parts of the roads, footpaths and drainage networks transferred to the local authority.
When the deal was announced, Jeff Manners, who represented Parkhurst for more than 20 years, said the MoJ was using it “as an opportunity to offload a huge liability” and warned the council would be “absolutely stupid to fall for this trick”.
Aside from minor works and street lighting upgrades, progress since 2021 has been slow, prompting criticism from some quarters.
Last July, Cllr Chris Jarman questioned what had happened to the major funding granted by the MoJ.
On this latest announcement, councillor Andrew Garratt, who represents Parkhurst and Hunnyhill, said: “It’s taken a long time and a lot of hard work to get to this point after these roads were transferred from the MoJ to the council.
“So I’m delighted that residents on these roads will finally get better roads and pavements, as well as other work to put right decades of deterioration.
“I look forward to working with the council and Crown Park as these much-needed works get under way, to ensure that residents are involved as much as possible in how they are carried out.”
(Picture: Mapillary)
