LETTERS
From Bob Rudge, Calbourne:
TIME, tide and ground water do not hold back from the Military Road. Today there is only 20ft between the road and the landslip and the gap is reducing daily.
With an average loss of some two metres of coast per year, the loss of another section of this wonderful road is inevitable. It happened in 2002 and contractors fixed it for a lifespan of 50 years.
Sometime in the late 1800s it happened and the new section can clearly be seen above Freshwater Bay in the picture (seen, above).
The remains of the original road now end at the chalk cliff edge. The money has always come from somewhere in the past, I’m sure that now will not be an exception.
As consultants say, 'There are no such things as problems; only opportunities.’ Well, they may be right; after all we will be gaining a chine!
From Valerie Ley, Newport:
Island answers?: Having read the article in last week’s County Press (26-02-10), I do hope the council will act quickly to save the Military Road, the views from which are of outstanding natural beauty. People from all over the world come to admire the breath-taking views.
It’s no good waiting for our Island to collapse into the sea, we need to act now, it’s all very well for those few at the top of the tree, so to speak, to say "Let nature take its course", but unless we act now and at tremendous speed, there will be no Island for our children.
How can we tackle the problem? Surely we can protect the base of the cliffs from the battering waves with huge boulders, and what’s wrong with re-cycling hardcore making it into large concrete blocks placed around the cliffs.
People might ask whether it will blend in with the natural beauty, but the natural beauty will be gone forever if we don’t act soon.
Jill Wareham reported five metres in five weeks had fallen away. We must act now to save our Island. When the outer core of the Island has gone the rest will follow at a much faster rate.
I am sure if the County Press asked its readers for ideas they could come up with some good ones.
We have a lot of very intelligent residents on our Island, why not make the most of their skills?