‘Multi-million pound’ claim on Cowes Floating Bridge

The Isle of Wight Council is looking for a settlement worth millions of pounds after the so-called Floating Bridge ‘fiasco’ brought delays, cancellations and seemingly endless amounts of work on the link between East Cowes and Cowes.

Following the outcome of an independent government review, the Isle of Wight Council finally has the answers it needs to move to mediation, with Floating Bridge 6’s (FB6) architects and builders.

Inspectors confirmed the troubled Cowes to East Cowes chain ferry, which cost £3.2 million, was poorly built and poorly designed.

A date has now been set for mediation after over a year’s worth of delays, due to Covid and further breakdowns.

The council says the parties are expected to meet on March 2, when the Isle of Wight Council’s cabinet member for transport and infrastructure is hoping significant compensation will be agreed.

Speaking at the full council meeting last night (Wednesday), Cllr Phil Jordan, transport lead for the authority, said he would not go into details about the ongoing mediation process, but confirmed County Hall’s claim is in the millions.

East Cowes’ Cllr Karl Love told the meeting he was ‘disgusted’ by the millions of pounds already spent on the vessel.

It is hoped, if a settlement is agreed at mediation, the money will cover the council’s costs for repairs, the loss of service and any other related expenses incurred by the failure of FB6.

Cllr Jordan has not ruled out further legal action if the mediation is not successful in getting a ‘fair and acceptable’ settlement.

While the council waits for the outcome of the mediation, the future of FB6 remains uncertain, although the Alliance administration has not ruled out scrapping the vessel and getting a new one.

It is currently running smoothly across the River Medina.