THE TROUBLED £3.2 million floating bridge is coming under the scrutiny of a newly formed Stakeholders Review Group.
The Floating Bridge Stakeholders Review Group (FBSRG), made up of residents in Cowes and East Cowes, shop owners, boat owners and other people affected by the bridge’s operation, initially complained to the Local Government Ombudsman (LGO) about the way the Isle of Wight Council was investigating the bridge.
However, the group now feels that the council is involving local people far better and has agreed with the LGO that the council has now taken appropriate action and no further inquiries are necessary.
Cameron Palin from the group said: “We stakeholders are pleased that, since we lodged the formal complaint with the Local Government Ombudsman, we believe that the Council has taken many of the needed actions that we wanted and were necessary to ensure proper scrutiny of the floating bridge.
"As such, we believe that the LGO didn’t really need to investigate further — at this stage — especially if it unnecessarily costs the council more money and officers’ time."
The FBSRG currently is being chaired by two professional engineers and a professional project manager of large-scale engineering contracts, all local residents with no affiliation with the council. 

Anyone is welcome to join the group, which currently has membership solely selected by Cowes and East Cowes community organisers; the council is not involved in the recruitment of membership. To join, email FloatyStakeholders@gmail.com