Further details about the latest proposals for the Pennyfeathers site in Ryde have been revealed, including plans for a German supermarket, a drive-thru coffee outlet and an 81-bed hotel. A hybrid planning application is expected to be submitted in September which will seek permission for an initial 108 homes (of which 35% would be affordable), major road improvements and the building of several commercial units, with outline planning for the further phases of the scheme – to be built over a 10-12 year period. In total, 830 homes are set to be built on the empty land off Brading Road and Smallbrook Lane, as reported by Island Echo last week. It can be revealed that the commercial space looks set to be occupied by a discount retailer – which could be Lidl given their 2016 plans – and a drive-thru coffee outlet would be built. A national hotel chain is expected to snap up the 81-bedroom development, adding to the commercial and leisure offering in the Westridge area. 
In terms of the roads… new drawings reveal significant changes to the infrastructure around Westridge Cross, which itself would become a T-junction with the removal of the traffic light controls. It is proposed that part of Great Preston Road would become a cul-de-sac, with traffic instead directed through 2 new roundabouts. The idea of a Brading Boulevard has seemingly been scrapped, with 1 of the roundabouts moved further north from its junction with Cothey Way. Under the new plans, Westridge Garage would not relocate and the 2 houses at Westridge Cross would be sold and occupied, instead of being demolished. It’s said the sale of these 2 properties is likely to be completed within the coming months. 
Beyond the immediate works, outline permission is being sought from the Isle of Wight Council which would include the erection of up to 727 homes, further commercial space next to Busy Bee; 70 properties for care or extra care living; pedestrian access to Smallbrook Station; additional highway infrastructure including internal roads and a bridge over the railway plus formal and informal open space, parks and further biodiversity provision. It has been confirmed by the local authority that they do not require a new school to be built, so instead payments towards education on the Isle of Wight would be made in line with planning policy instead. However, space will be set aside to delivery community facilities such as a community hall, dentist, health hub or sports facilities. Plans for an energy centre have also been scrapped with developers deciding to focus on a mix of solar and thermal panels, coupled with heat pumps.
The previously proposed scheme included a community centre with a polyclinic as a flexible-use building and an adjacent small multi- use games area (MUGA) for activities like five-a-side football or basketball.
Pennyfeathers is seeking the feedback of local residents between now and Friday 26th July. Comments can be given at https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/JLF626R, with further information available on the official website – https://www.pennyfeathers.co.uk/.
The history of Pennyfeathers
For the past 17 years there has been talk of developing a whole new area of Ryde on land off Brading Road, with a formal planning application submitted in 2013 – and refused – before a second application was submitted in 2014. Outline planning permission was eventually granted in 2017 with a reserved matters subsequently application lodged in 2022. But in April 2023 Councillors went against the Council officer’s recommendation of approving the application. It was said at the time that the decision would be taken to the Planning Inspectorate as the outline consent had expired, meaning the developers could not submit another 2nd-stage application in the hopes of gaining consent. Now, more than 12 months on, it appears that costly move hasn’t happened and therefore new plans are being proposed effectively starting the planning process again, which sets the Pennyfeathers scheme back by 10 years.
