OPPOSITION councillors have said the Isle of Wight Council, and its Conservative administration are choosing to 'waste millions' on Floating Bridge 6 (FB6).

The problematic FB6 is back under scrutiny as a council committee will, next week, look at how the vessel was obtained and hear how the legal action is proceeding.

In a report to the committee, council officers found no issues with the way FB6 was procured, tendered and contracted and is asking committee members to agree with their recommendations.

Despite that, local councillors have condemned what they call the council's 'latest attempt to explain what went wrong'.

Cllr Lora Peacey-Wilcox, representative for Cowes Medina, said she has been trying to work with the current leadership and provide 'bulletproof engineering evidence' that the vessel was not fit for purpose.

Instead, she said, the council has 'wasted almost another floating bridge's worth of money on it', still not providing a reliable and frequent service.

East Cowes Town Councillor, Cameron Palin, said the documents just cover 'old ground' and 'repeat the same old story with holes in it'.

He said: "[The documents] do not address why for the last four years the Conservative leadership has chosen to waste millions on this bridge, against engineers’ advice.

"The council appears to have hidden behind a legal case for four years now; We have not heard anywhere in these documents that the council is promising to get full financial compensation, ie the many millions that have been spent on Floating Bridge 6.

"Unless the council gets the millions back, we potentially could be left with a dysfunctional floating bridge and a financial black hole."

Cllr Palin has been calling for a new bridge to be installed, saying people are tired of the council's 'posturing', 'often incorrect excuses' and 'its refusals to have proper unbiased, independent audits' done.

A resolution to the Floating Bridge's problems is part of the legal action, the council has said.

This means the committee will not be able to know more about the council's efforts to resolve the boat's challenges, something officers are asking them to acknowledge.

The latest update to the FB6 situation will be given to the corporate scrutiny committee meeting next Tuesday (March 9).