As part of the recovery plan for the Isle of Wight in wake of COVID-19, the council has released its ‘A Better Island’ strategy — including facing housing challenges and providing improvement schemes for businesses and residents.
The first draft edition of ‘A Better Island’ plan, subject to amendments and consultation from key partners, set out actions the Isle of Wight Council and its partners will take to ‘secure a successful recovery’ from the pandemic, should there be no further major outbreaks.
Some of the proposals include a new Island Card gift card scheme to encourage local shopping, while also creating co-working space for digital companies, the Wight Innovation Hub, alongside the plans for the Branstone Farm rural business hub.
To help the Island’s economy recover, it is proposed to develop skills suitable for the job market, supporting residents into appropriate employment pathways and helping businesses to thrive.
Place recovery focuses on housing challenges, and the supply of workspace as well as improving public areas in towns across the Island to make them accessible for all.
A ‘COVID-proofed’ Island Plan will be revised and published for consultation in 2021.
The council is also hoping to provide 300 affordable housing units, at 60% of the market price with other regeneration schemes at Venture Quays and Newport Harbour also able to provide housing.
As part of the community recovery, effective outbreak control arrangements, such as the test and trace system, sustainable community response and recovery arrangements are key points.
A reconfigured homelessness provision, pencilled in for December 2020, with an assessment hub is part of the action plan, as well as preparation for winter pressures.
The ‘Better Island’ plan focuses on building the Island back better, up to March 2022 – the end of the medium-term – with actions that will be key to recovery, how they will be resourced and how progress will be measured.
In the plan, it says:
“Terms such as returning to ‘business as usual’ or adopting ‘a new normal’, while understandable, are not helpful when considering the Covid-19 pandemic.
“All the plans [the council] had to improve our Island, tackle our challenges and make lives better now need to be sense checked, in some cases these will have gained an increased significance and any original actions may need to be enhanced or accelerated, in other cases the impact of the pandemic may require a significant rethink before resetting the course to take.”
However, the Isle of Wight council has said funding the recovery actions will be challenging as funding from central government to mitigate the worst effects of the pandemic has not been sufficient to cover the shortfall anticipated when addressing the pressures.
These people will ruin the Island with over building. People come here for hols to experience something different from the overbuilt, over populated and oft crime ridden areas in which they live.
Building over green field sites is short sighted and, as CV means many more jobs will be lost along with shops, and the fact many will now work from home, building homes should be on ex never to be used again high streets, and offices, NOT the green lungs of an already over crowded town.
People need space. It is all very well for the wealthy developers, planners, MP etc who have large gardens and homes located in beautiful locations, but the lesser mortals need natural countryside, not some man made manicured ‘park’ which will just be a meeting place for drop outs and alcoholics so as adults, let alone children avoid such.
Great! Any development is better than nothing. This is a step in the right direction.
Nothing like destruction of more green spaces. Wonderful council. Vote them out next year.
Good idea Pepe, but I’m afraid that will not change a thing! All over the U.K., councils and local authorities have been given a plan of what they have to achieve by the government. They cannot wavier from this plan! This plan will also become greener and greener, which on the face of it will seem good. But , when the our green open spaces start to be protected, by restricting access , to preserve nature of course, then the plan for a better island, will need to be scrutinised. But this is only my opinion.
I understand they’ve been forced to build unsustainable number of houses from Westminster (though the extra council tax I’m sure makes their mouth water), but the floating bridge fiasco, the awful, wasteful spending on St. Mary’s “improvements”, the useless Island Roads streets falling apart after 2 years of cheap resurfacing. We need to at least show the council that this is unacceptable.
Yes Pepe I agree with you, we do and they will know, but I feel there’s a lot more coming. Congestion charge, more zone parking charges for house holds, and dare I say this, but I will, charging for the dumping of large electrical items, fridges washing machines etc! I feel that there is going to be a lot of anger in the next couple of years!
Ryde needs to have real countryside for the residents to relax and for children to play and experience nature. Not some man made playground or park, which is just a tacky manicured ‘appeaser’ for the real beauty of fields, hedgerows, trees, and open spaces, which has been stolen from the next generation.
A park with a few smashed benches, and local druggies and drunks loafing around it hardly the same as a walk with parents and a dog through real nature which took thousands of years to create, not a week with a bulldozer and some cheap swings and other play equipment likely to be trashed within weeks.
Bad enough if homes were for just Islanders, but we KNOW the counc will receive payment to take in main land over spill. God help your children’s future here now.
Quite agree, Stichberry. Politicians seem to forget that old saying: “He who pays the piper, calls the tune”.
Start a petition for local businesses to pay above the minimal wage so people have got money to actually spend locally instead of stuggleing to make ends meet!
I’m sure a petition would cut it…
It would:- at the very least some people could shew that they cared, and those on the rough end of working life had some hope of a better future, Miss Reed. Still, if sarcasm regarding working folks’ wages makes you feel better then crack on. Regards, Lady Longdown.
Some of the ‘local business people’ pay cash in hand, which is de-frauding the country of lost taxes, N.I and pensions. And ‘some’ of these very same people are high up in the business association telling ‘others’ how to run a business.
An absolute joke
Dead right, we try to compete with the one you are referring too. No hope as not a level playing field when the opposition can get away with such moves because of who they are in their position in the council.
Other local businesses are not happy about this.
And the public should ask themselves if such does this in a private concern, just what goes on with public money?
No small wonder our council tax increases each year yet we get less in services.
Vote this lot out next time.
There’s only one way to improve public areas in towns – remove the street drinkers and druggies.
Ryde would be a ghost town
If you really want a ”better island” strategy, stop keep taking back handers from the mainland councils to move their lowlife over spill here. They are turnng the place into a cesspit and poisoning every town and village here, and the crime rate is souring.
Response to draft: Move to North Island.
Ah, but that we could, dear sir. However, New Zealand is such a long way off and I fancy neither Southern Vectis or the Chain Ferry is up to the job. We simple bumpkins need better expeditionary instructions from your good self as to how escape. You did well getting off, but maybe ’twas easier when you don’t have six hundred years of family history and tradition in a place, and you just popped across for a bit to see what it was like. Then realised it’s pretty, but not for you. Fair enough. Why continue to comment on the weird politics of the Fraggle Rock of which you freed yourself? Regards, Lady Longdown.
What A shame Lady Dunne standing,
But it is my solemn understanding,
You sell your little house for money,
Take loved possessions as well as your sonny,
Then you move somewhere less demanding.
Regret impossible to take Sonny. Will Cher do? Regards, Lady Longdown.
Or sit there and moan about life all day!
Which most on here do anyway.
More houses roads are at a standstill now .st Mary’s new system won’t help waste of money along with floating bridge .as came up in the 60s a bridge is needed money.wasted on these 2 white elephants might have built a pylon to start a bridge at least islanders could see an improvement in the future
Hope these affordable housing is for island people only
i expect it will be, cannot imagine who’d want to move here – downgrade in every aspect.
Plenty floating over daily would and likely will.
The key to a better Island is better and easier parking for people wanting to spend money in our shops, and not crackpot schemes to reduce that parking for “environmental” reasons, to help the “disabled”, or to provide improvements for cyclists. Let me tell just how little money the last two bring in.
Interesting comments. I agree with you completely about parking. It is a nightmare. What I have a problem with is your disparaging remarks about ‘ Disabled’. You are suggesting that people who are so afflicted don’t bring any money in,how do you work this theory out. I am a disabled pensioner who does not get any fancy benefits, who has served this country in the past and who still does a voluntary job. I spend most of my money with LOCAL businesses , as I get better service.
I’m not a cyclist or a lover of cyclists. but I do know, from observation that they tend to use local shops more than our indiginous population. We need to reduce Business Rates for all small shops, make the conglomerates pay the correct amount of Rates and Taxes, make all councils transparent on how they spend our money, then we might get somewhere.
Expect a wave of these new strategies, changing our life ,little by little, and look out for the key word,which you will here continuously, sustainable, that’s the key word..change is good, but it has to be what the people want, not the authorities!
“with actions that will be key to recovery”
Lock them all up and throw the key away 🙂
Why not allow all those empty shops and hotels in towns become houses and flats. That should go a fair way to helping.
Pointless writing my comments about more of our beautiful Vectis being destroyed by greedy development companies and a corrupt County Council while this hitherto reasonably fair news outlet has an advertisement for more homes for sale/sold at Saint George’s Gate…. You’ve sold out, mate. Saint George’s Gate, Pan ‘Meadows’, Pennyfeathers Pillage or historically important Whitecroft Hospital being called Gatcombe Manor, or something equally pretentious. With respect, Mr. Editor, it’s a step too far. Print this if you dare. Regards, Lady Longdown.
The key to a “better Island” place seldom seen Seeley, head stuck up arse Stewart and all of his council cronies, on the White elephant “floating Mc F… K up, tow it out to sea, and leave it there, right in the middle of the shipping lanes, Brown envelopes do not great life preserves make! And then the Island can re invent itself in peace!.
The key to a better island is to build a bridge to the mainland and scrap the money grabbing ferries !!! Just run a few ferries for the islanders that don’t like change !!