Part of the prison estate in Newport could be taken over by the Isle of Wight Council so much-needed infrastructure work can go ahead.
The plans, however, do not include the sale of the disused Camp Hill prison.
The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) is looking to transfer the ownership, liabilities and future management of the highways to the council, paying the authority an unknown one-off fee to take it off its hands.
Roads, pavements, grass verges and other amenity areas would be included in the package. It would mean the council would have the cash to bring the areas up to an acceptable, safe standard.
The MOJ has also offered a sum for improving the roads it would keep, as they have been defined as essential for operational reasons.
How much the MOJ is willing to pay the council is unknown as the government department deems it commercially confidential.
The regeneration of the area has stalled on several occasions through a lack of government investment but improvements to the St Mary’s junction were funded and completed with potential housing at Camp Hill in mind. The latest plans for the site proposed turning the area into a garden village, including 1,750 houses, a local centre, healthcare, education and public open spaces.
The bid was unsuccessful because it was considered the infrastructure costs were prohibitive. Larger housing projects on the mainland with lower costs were awarded the funding instead.
While Camp Hill prison is not included in the proposed land transfers, the council has said the offer can be viewed as another step to ‘de-risk’ the site, enabling future negotiations and master planning to take place.
Feedback from residents so far, the council say, has been supportive.
One of the main financial risks, reports say, is the future maintenance costs due to the ‘non-standard construction’ of the road network, which means it is not feasible to bring the whole of the Parkhurst estate up to the standard in the Highways PFI contract.
As the legal negotiations continue, officers say a balance needs to be struck between the potential risks in taking ownership and responsibility against the benefits to residents.
The Isle of Wight Council’s cabinet will make the final decision on the offer from the MOJ at its meeting next week (11th March), in a private session as they will discuss confidential matters.
The decision needs to be made, with land transferred and monies paid, by the MOJ deadline of 31st March.
An Isle of Wight Council spokesperson said:
“The highways and footways are in a poor state of repair and local residents have wanted to see improvements made for some considerable time.
“The council, as highways authority, is better placed to oversee the repairs.”
Money money money the IoW Council new theme song.
Take our extra Council Tax & spend it on yet another whim!
Thought the Council coffers were nearly empty was the excuse for the rise, your thoughts?
Sounds good but the house deeds on the estate house say there is a contribution to be made for the upkeep of roads and public areas. They have not been collected for years probably because little upkeep has been done. Ok if the MOJ gives the roads to the Council but will they then put the costs back to the residents .I would not be surprised to see an attempt to make some more easy money.
Glad, and somewhat amazed, that ‘Healthcare’ actually gets a mention, but of course it did on the Pan extensions and what happened to that ? It’s sorely needed NOW, not after another 1700 houses are built.
Excellent idea. Somewhere to dump floating bridge No. 6.
The residents should think carefully about what they wish. Once the yellow lines are down and parking permits needed it will be too late.
It could become another wonder of the Isle of Wight, a garden village that isn’t – packing nearly 2000 houses in there means an awful lot of high density rabbit hutches and flats, not something commonly seen in villages, let alone garden ones