The Isle of Wight Council is being urged to keep the loss-making Dinosaur Isle in Sandown, despite the need to shell out nearly £1 million on further repair works.
A report into the options available for Dinosaur Isle said the attraction ‘punches well below its weight in terms of visitor numbers’ but a long-term lack of investment, the COVID-19 pandemic and inefficient marketing have all played a part in the declining visitor numbers.
The lack of visitors has resulted in the authority losing an estimated £417,702 between 2017 and 2023 but it is hoped it would break even this year.
As part of a potential new partnership with the Isle of Wight Council, talks have already taken place with the world-renowned Natural History Museum in London, which could be brought onboard to help manage the Island museum’s important geology and fossil collection and a joint working agreement is being formulated which would benefit both parties.
On the commercial side, the Council has also had initial conversations with Hampshire Cultural Trust, which could help with joint marketing and promotional activities. The partnership with the trust could extend to other culture offers on the Island but with an initial focus on Dinosaur Isle.
At the end of last year, local stakeholders said they would like to see the Island turned into the ‘dinosaur capital of the UK’ and for the collection to be celebrated, invested in and preserved with the vast majority saying it should remain in Sandown but it was essential for the collection to remain in public ownership and they would not like to see Dinosaur Isle sold.
The council has applied to the Arts Council England for £485,000 funding to carry out some of the urgent maintenance works, which would be topped up by £60,000 from existing Council budgets.
It will find out if it was successful in December, giving the authority 7 months to negotiate with partners. It is hoped that the regeneration of Dinosaur Isle would kickstart the investment in the area as it sits in the heart of a proposal to develop the surrounding land as a nature reserve or eco-park.
The Council’s cabinet will discuss the options at its meeting next week. The collection held on the Island is 2nd only in importance to that held by the Natural History Museum itself. The artefacts and specimens, which include the partial fossilised remains of the largest meat-eating dinosaur ever found in Europe, would remain in council ownership and preserved on the Island where many of them were unearthed.
According to Cabinet papers released on Tuesday (2nd May), the authority is also seeking an experienced partner to take on the day to day running of the museum as a commercially operated trust. Initial discussions are underway with the Hampshire Cultural Trust to this end. The Trust currently manages museums and cultural venues for Hampshire County Council and Winchester City Council.
Cabinet members are being asked to approve further negotiations with both potential partners as the Council looks to underline its commitment to securing the long-term sustainability of Dinosaur Isle at Culver Parade and protect its Museum Accreditation.
Councillor Jonathan Bacon, Cabinet member for heritage, said:
“The Island is well known for its wealth of dinosaur fossils and our collection which has national and international significance and is one of the Island’s most important heritage assets. Owning something of such significance brings responsibilities.
“These proposals will help us to meet our obligations by ensuring Dinosaur Isle is a sustainable visitor attraction and we build on the potential that is there, with high standards of curatorial care, underpinned by research and collaboration with national and international partners.
“The proposals also align with feedback received during recent stakeholder events hosted by the council at which retaining Dinosaur Isle in Sandown and operating it as a trust were the preferred options.”
The distinctive giant Pterodactyl building opened its doors in 2001 and is home to more than 30,000 geological specimens, mainly fossils including partial and near complete dinosaur skeletons. Over the past 200 years, a whole menagerie of ancient animals has been found on the Island, from sauropods to theropods, with more species being unearthed on a regular basis.
Councillor Julie Jones-Evans, Cabinet member for regeneration, added:
“The museum sits at the very heart of the Council’s ambition for Yaverland as a whole.
“Achieving a sustainable future for the collection and visitor attraction is paramount, so we can optimise the potential here, with a particular focus on the rich environment.
“Our hope is that this will kick-start wider investment in this area of the Bay, by acting as a potential catalyst for adjoining landowners and businesses.”
Cabinet is due to meet on Thursday 11th May and the reports are available to view here: https://iow.moderngov.co.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=145&MId=1465&Ver=4
when will people wake up and smell the coffee
Sandown is finished
Perhaps the Theme Park should go ahead. Clearly what’s there isn’t working on its own.
That’s our money! Stop bloody wasting it!
There are houses and buildings well over 150yrs old on the Island and still good – yet a building that was supposedly of great design and construction needs a million pound of basic works, after just 22yrs ? , my shed has lasted longer. Maybe same designers etc that did floating bridge?.
Seriously! Apparently we have no money for funding services for mental health older person mental health children,LD support and help, we have a hospital that our population has outgrown roads ,no where for youngster to go to no funding for care homes ,homes for people of all ages on a very low budget and the list goes on ….but hey ho just put bus fares up council tax up parking up……yes Dave I agree STOP wasting our money
Nearly 1 million pound! That’s outrageous. Throwing away our Council Tax contributions. It’s outdated and and needs more thought to bring in the visitors because as it is, it’s just not working but 1 million pounds!!!!!! No.
Not only the dinosaurs with their head in the sand.
When are we going to get a council which is commercially savvy?
We should be proud to have Dinosaur Isle. There are many school parties throughout the year which the kids love and they actually enjoy learning about dinosaurs.
If the council included car parking in the admission fee, and opened on a Sunday, I’m sure more local families would visit more regularly.
This is the most boring tourist attraction on the island
Bulldoze it and re-open the Boating Lake.
Whoever runs Tourism on the Island is fcuking clueless.
The Boating Lake was great.
It’s a loss because Dinosaurs are no longer in fashion.
Sandown is set in an area of outstanding natural beauty, it’s about time
IW Council brought Sandown back to its former glory.
From the old Grand Hotel to Napoleons Reach apartments nr the Pier
there are so many derelict buildings.
Re-claim these buildings and convert them into new homes,
by doing so, new properties will not need to be built on green land.
Dinosaurs will always be in fashion darling!
Why have the council let the repair bill,get so high before they act ??? The town councils on this island are a joke
Totally agree Wolf, waiting till its run down an costs millions to fix, they do that alot!!
I worked for a school for a time, a school party went there for a treat.It was in the early days of the place opening. Unfortunately they said it was very boring, so somewhere along the line they didn’t get things right and get the kids interested. Huge amount has been spent,time to draw the line.
Dinosaur Isle has every attribute it needs to be a major tourist destination – interest, eye-appeal, location, transport, parking, catering. All it needs is efficient management and marketing.
Where is Visit Isle of Wight in all this? Asleep?
What on earth can have gone so wrong with a 22 year old building that it needs £1 million of repairs?
You could probably build it from scratch for a million Pounds and still have cash to spare.
Who did the Council ask for quotes for this work? Did they turn up on a horse? Contractors obviously see the Council as a cash-cow and know they can charge a ridiculous fee and get away with it.
Maybe the Council should be contacting the original builders and/or architects to ask them to explain why, after only 22 years, it requires a million Pounds worth of repairs?
Waste of time keeping it open. There won’t be any tourists to visit it anyway. With the costs of ferry’s to the island, it’s cheaper to go abroad!
Take a look at the Dinosaur Isle website and wonder at the absolute incompetence of the people who are running this council sponsored “attraction”. The website looks like a school project from the early 90s. A total and utter embarrassment. They have obviously not spent a penny of the vast amounts squandered on actual marketing expertise. The place needs to be taken over by professionals and brought into the 21st century. The current management are as fossilized as their boring displays. How can you not make money out of dinosaurs????