OnTheWight

Earlier today (Tuesday) an incident occured on Ryde Pier, that resulted in a police car crashing through the railings between the vehicle pier and the pedestrian walkway. What police have said It is unclear exactly what happened and OnTheWight has asked the police for more detail. They responded, “We’re currently dealing with a collision on Ryde Pier, which happened at around 10.09am this morning.

The second largest village green in the country could be transferred from the Isle of Wight Council to a new owner. St Helens Village Greens’ future arose at a meeting of the policy, finance and resources committee (PFRC) at County Hall on Thursday (8th October 2026) with a question from Councillor Jonathan Bacon. The Greens are the ‘focal point’ around which the St Helens community has grown over hundreds of years and is common land, according to SHPC.

Traffic, parking and safety concerns have been voiced over plans to house extra Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) facilities at a former Isle of Wight school site. Pan and Barton ward councillor Martin Bower has written to planners on the back of County Hall’s proposal for a link building and associated external works at the old Barton Primary School on Green Street in Newport.

Families looking for something different to do this half term are being invited to step back in time and discover the Isle of Wight’s remarkable prehistoric past at Fort Victoria. The popular sessions, organised by the Isle of Wight Council’s Ranger Service, will give children and adults the chance to explore one of the Island’s most fascinating stretches of coastline.

Island Rivers Partnership launches new grant programme, hosted by Natural Enterprise and funded by Southern Water, to back collaborative river catchment projects. The new fund will support partnership efforts to develop and deliver new river catchment projects, as well as help to coordinate and strengthen projects already underway. Who can apply The fund is open for applications, with £50,000 available until March 2027, or earlier if the funding is fully allocated.

Sandown gets the chance to help shape its bid to become UK Town of Culture 2028 with a day of family entertainment, discovery and community input on Wednesday 21st October 2026. New venue after big top news The event had been due to take place in The Arena big top at Sandham Gardens but, after recent news that the Island-based circus tent would no longer be coming to town, the Tide Turners team have wasted no time in finding a replacement venue.

Work on Medina Healthcare’s new surgery at Riverway House in Newport is now complete, bringing modern new GP facilities a step closer to opening. What has changed at Riverway House The former NatWest building has been refurbished to provide new consultation and treatment rooms, dedicated facilities for services including blood tests, and improved working spaces for the island-based Medina Healthcare team.

RSPCA Isle of Wight and Cats Protection join forces for a Fire Walk Challenge at Robin Hill. Brave supporters from across the Isle of Wight are being invited to take on a fiery challenge this autumn – walking barefoot across red-hot embers to raise vital funds for animals in need. The RSPCA Isle of Wight Fire Walk Challenge 2026 takes place at Robin Hill Adventure Park on Friday 16 October, with participants and supporters able to enter the park free from 3pm.

A community-led project inspired by the Greening Campaign’s Spaces for Nature initiative has seen almost 75 young people from 1st Godshill Scouts build bird boxes to support wildlife across Godshill and the surrounding area. How the project began The project began after Central Rural Ward was selected as a pilot area for the Greening Campaign.

Island Roads will be carrying out major highway improvement work in Tennyson Road, Freshwater, this month. Road closure and weekend reopening The work will involve tackling the underlying ground conditions that have caused the surface to deteriorate over the years. This requires deeper-than-usual excavations, which means that the road will be closed as a through route throughout the project.