Parish councillors in Chale say they haven’t been properly consulted about the planned Diamond Races TT-style motorcycle event which could be zooming through the village next year.
Now they want an open meeting with the organisers to gather more information.
At a meeting of Chale Parish Council last night (Monday), chair of the council, Cllr Ron Groves, said he had received a lot of feedback about the races and pointed out Chale hosted the longest stretch of the proposed 12.4 mile route not on the Military Road.
Concerns about speeding were among the key issues discussed, including the potential copycat effect the races could have on other ‘boy racers’
Others said speeding through the village and Island-wide had been an issue pre-dating the announcement of the four-day time trial event, modelled on the Isle of Man TTs.
One resident said:
“From an Island point of view, bringing a top-class event is a good thing — I would be in favour of having the event here — but people outside the event treat the roads around here as a racetrack and may encourage more to do so.
"But I think we need to deal with that as a separate issue, irrespective of the event.”
Another said with the speed issues the Island already has, such an event would be inappropriate.
Others, including members of the parish council, were disappointed they had not been consulted about the event which will race past their front doors, before it was announced to the public.
Cllr Dian McWilliam said talks seemed to have been going ahead between the Isle of Wight Council and Diamond Races organisers for the last year but residents were told suddenly via a scant leaflet, leaving them confused and needing more detail.
“We need to know a lot more about this and particularly how it will affect residents on the route,” she said.
Also attending the virtual meeting was chair of Niton and Whitwell Parish Council, Cllr Tim Addison, who has had a previous career in motorsport and who was the organiser of the Sandown Sprint car racing event which was postponed in March due to coronavirus.
He said there were potential plans to have a roadshow-style event in Brighstone to address concerns but road safety awareness would need to be a key part of messaging going forward.
Cllr Addison also said, however, the races would bring investment to the Island outside of the summer months, attracting more visitors.
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