Former Island MP Bob Seely has slammed Labour’s new housing targets for the Isle of Wight. A recent article in The Telegraph has reported that Labour wishes to see 1,104 new homes built on the Island, an increase of some 57%. Commenting on the dramatic rise, Bob Seely said:
“News reports show that the Labour Government and Angela Raynor have demanded an extraordinary increase in housing targets for the Isle of Wight. “I am gutted that it is now happening. It is bad news for the long-term future of the Island “We negotiated exceptional circumstances for the Isle of Wight to help us plan better. This has now presumably gone and we are being landed with utterly unachievable targets. “Residents groups with whom I have worked will be worried about the future. “At a time when our own population is declining and our public services are under pressure, this is a dreadful decision. Worse still, we have no means of delivering these sorts of numbers. How on earth will Southern Water, Highways and the NHS cope? “Greenfields around the Freshwater, Totland and elsewhere will go. Newport will expand towards Cowes and East Cowes. Rural areas in the east of the Island will go. “This is the equivalent of two new towns on the Island, a bonaza for developers at the expense of our quality of life, protection of the Island’s nature and the visitor economy. “We needed modest numbers of new housing, built for Islanders, in small-scale developments fitting for the Island. Instead, we are going to get major urban sprawl over the next decade. This is little more than environmental vandalism.”
Ex MP doesn’t have a say in this
No one has a say in this, Herr Starmer has ordained it.
Don’t fret about it because no one is going to build the required affordable homes on the island. Not enough profit in it.
Especially those rip off Captiva trying to con us with affordable houses yea sure.
Labour’s pledge is to build over 5,700 new homes per week! They’ve been in power for 4 weeks and how many new homes have been built? Pie in the sky, I doubt they will even see a quarter of their target being built.
As a private citizen he has the same rights as the rest of us to an opinion.
Except our opinions don’t make a newsworthy story apparently.
I can’t say I really give a sh!t what the sausage eater thinks.
Yes he does. Everyone can voice their opinion.
Maybe if he’d actually done something about the 3000 on the housing register we wouldn’t be in this mess
There are many hardworking local families who will never be able to afford the ‘affordable housing’ here as it is only discounted by 20% .On the IOW Council website the document Housing Affordibility (SPD) adopted Sept 2023 identified 2301 households in need – if you look at the criteria on page 23 of who is eligible to be on this register it is not just IOW households – if you lived here as a child and moved away you are eligible, even ‘any person the Council and the Affordable Housing Provider approve’.
Nonsense. Red Angela is laying the law down countrywide. We will be importing people to live in them, and not just our usual retirees
They will become “our usual”, like anyone else moving here.
What do you mean will be….we already have….in abundance
Such as? The council are in charge of social housing. They said they were borrowing millions to build houses. They built nothing. Cllr Cox, Jordan and Co.
The MP is not responsible for housing, it is the IW Council. Why don’t you ask them?
Why is there so many expecting a free home for life? why aren’t more working? and renting if they cant afford to buy. .Cheap affordable homes to buy is what’s needed for those
Exactly, back in my day I saved up for 6 months before putting a deposit down. Kids these days are so lazy. Affordable housing is for the weak.
Maybe IF you had voted Reform, then they would have done ‘ something’ about the daily hoards filling our country forcing displaced people to find refuge here, thus ruining our Island.
Give it a rest Bob, it’s nothing compared to historic population growth on the island. Just converting the vast number of derelict or struggling hotels would go a long way to meeting this target, and with such a good bus service we should have a lot more car free developments. Encouraging commuting across the Solent would lower fares too
What a refreshingly clear-headed and sane response.
What rubbish! If the council supported tourism instead of obstructing it we Would have fewer empty Hotels. Simple really
will there you go voted him out… sow what you reap
We voted him out because he was a waste of space and consumed far too many half saussages…Our new MPs will stand up for us won’t they…
Not against Red Angela they won’t
The new MP’s are not standing up for us. They have been super quiet on the latest Red Funnel debacle.
Both Island MPs met with the Transport Minister, together, last week about the ferry situation.
And hope they are following Bob Seely’s lead. He had spoken about this on a number of occasions in Parliamentary committees. Early on in the last Parliament he met with the then transport ministers who rebuffed him.
More recently he had researched and consulted on possible ways to handle the situation and had even filed for a bill.
He filed a bill as a last minute measure to try and save his job. Did naff all for all the years he was in charge.
Well not a good start as the first we have heard of this total override of the local plan is from a member of the public….
Don’t bet on it.
“Well there you go. You reap what you sow!”
Is that what you meant?
And you had a vote…..
No one expects the Spanish inquisition…. 🙂
Why is this has been on here? He’s given up the rent on his second home and gone back to the mainland. Just stay away
Shows how out of touch you are. I saw him yesterday
Busking in the street with a Jack Russell.
Just more lies
I believe he’s an islander. His family has quite a history on the island.
‘1,104 new homes built on the Island’
I guess if you voted Labour, you can’t really complain about this, can you?
With a falling birth rate, I wonder where all the new people for these homes are going to be coming from?
It’s been falling since 2010, how many fourteen year olds do you know buying a house?
They will be coming from little rubber dinghies.
Oh no! Is it those scary foreign types again?
….People currently still living with their parents, for example. And when I last looked, people are still wanting children. And some will move over from the mainland.
Indeed, hopefully at some point our blessed IWC will manage to create a bit of economic growth and people coming to the Island will need to live here, while better paid islanders will be better placed to get on the housing ladder. The root of our housing problem is our low income economy.
not from this county (small boats sorry large boats)
I voted Labour. Why would you complain about this? This is a step towards solving the housing crisis. It is a good thing.
Massive building is almost entirely occurring due to an endless supply of people from other countries arriving into the UK both legally and illegally in such huge amounts, the likes we have never seen before.
As yet less have directly arrived here themselves, but many people have and will continue to move here to avoid living amongst them, this adding to pressure on our Island
You ALL had your chance to vote Reform who would have eased the flow, but instead chose the worst party to ease the situation.
So now our Island and country will be ruined, not for a while, but for the rest of time.
The naivety of the electorate is staggering IF they assumed these arrivals would be stopped, let alone removed under a labour Government.
Another Deform Brexiteer winging on.
Yawn. Yawn. Yawn. Yaaaaaawn.
Ah yes, Farage.
Nasty little man using the deaths of 3 little girls to further his political goals.
The real irony is the way the rioters are attacking Mosques and Muslim owned businesses when the animal that killed those little girls has Rwandan parents where 92% of the population are practicing Christians.
The real naivety is in those who think Farage actually cares about anyone but himself.
No your naivety is staggering he was chosen to be put in place and that’s what happened..
Are you the idiot who lives in Ryde!!
Give it a rest, Reform Lost, they have no chance of ever
getting in power.
All the migrants will vote Labour in the future,
so Labour will be in power forever.
Do us all a favour and take a chill pill.
Liebour stink. Why don’t they just concrete over the Island? Bet none of the Liebour big wigs will allow any new build houses in their back yard.
What does our labour mp have to say about this?
Where are the roads, hospitals, schools, doctors, dentists, water, sewerage and jobs going to come from? All of these are already in short supply on the Island. Doubt that Liebour will help with any of these.
From what I can understand schools (which we don’t need) G.P. surgeries, travel links have to be upgraded to match the new number of developments.
Also houses built on green belt have to be a 50% mix of “”affordable”” and social housing. That should be interesting!! No doubt these conditions will be conveniently forgotten by our IW planning dept. and the labour government!!
What does our new Liebour MP in West Wight think of this?
Quigley is silent – as he is in favour of concreting over the island, destroying the natural habitats of wildlife, destroying the greenfields, trees and plant life, as well as increasing pollution, congestion, overcrowding, deterioration of public services, longer queues at the hospital, dentist and all other NHS services, as well as more tailbacks on the roads, more air pollution and more refuse in the tip. This is all due to his blatant refusal to accept the problem is too many people and not too many houses.
Just go Bob. Nobody is interested in what you have to say. Showed that at the ballet box.
Exactly right!
I’m interested! Unlike so many who post, I did actually follow what Bob was trying to do. He wrote an excellent paper about how the IOW could provide the homes needed and was very instrumental in the changed planning rules which were brought in last year and which went through various rounds of consultation prior to approval. I don’t understand how formal regulations can be destroyed at the stroke of a pen by Red Ange. I can’t count the number of times that I warned people that by voting other than Conservative (and I’m not even a Conservative member) – never mind if it was Reform, Green, Lib Dem or ANO – this was going to happen.
We don’t need more homes, we already have them. My kids can move Portsmouth and St Mary’s can keep putting staff in hotels. Please stop.
Read this first, it’s all pie in the sky Labour rubbish https://inews.co.uk/news/thousands-unused-affordable-homes-empty-housing-scandal-3204602?ito=copy-link_share_article-top
More scum shipped here to live in them, as if we haven’t got enough of our own. More free handouts/ benefits for it all, while they rob pensioners of their winter heating allowance, but pay them another £500. Different name worse shit than there ever was.
More snort/swill/ smackheads doing as they like poisoning every town and street while plod lets it happen because they mustn’t upset the do gooders.More people with their quallity of life dross decimated.
The IOW Council’s Housing waiting list is huge and is made up with people who have had an Island residency of at least 5 years. The housing crisis on the Island is largely due to a disproportionate number of Air BnBs. People with means are buying up property for a tax free income stream This is pricing local people out of the housing market and is making longer term rentals scarce. The only people benefitting here are the wealthy oh and the ferry companies as tourists come and go .
Exactly. How about a hefty tax on air bnb homes to get them back into use as housing.
Who cares about you? You did nothing for this island. Loser.
Well we cant see a GP now or a Dentist. The Social Care is gone. No hospital Beds.
Mental Health non existent. Care homes full, respite places unavailable, shortage of Teachers, Police, probably the Fire Service too, cant recruit our own Nurses, Doctors etc etc. Nursery places full to capacity.
What are they doing to this Island.
Do they have any Idea what it is to be living on an Island with LIMITED RESORSES. and SPACE !!
Your question should be ‘do they care’….
All issues created by 14 years of the Tories. Labour have been in power for a month, let’s give them a chance to try and repair the damage shall we?
Primary schools closing because of lack of children..so in future less houses are surely going to be needed. So almost short sighted to build for short term.
The islands population is rising by several thousand a year due to people moving here to retire. Bob is lying ( no surprise there) when he says its falling.
If you can suggest a way to stop geriatric overners moving here then we won’t have to build more houses.
If you can suggest a way to “send them back where they came from” then we can free up homes for locals.
So suggest away.
It rises on average by 200 people per year. Where the hell do you get several thousand from?
You forgot to mention the 5% of residential properties here being second homes (roughly 3,500), and empty for most of the year. Couples here are moving off before they have kids because of lack of housing opportunities, meaning in a few short years the only building will be for care homes for the elderly. Oh, and a bigger crem maybe. Now that’s myopia right there.
Islanders moving to the mainland is a win-win because they will have the chance to reproduce in a less restricted gene pool and we also won’t have to put up with their simple-mindedness.
Return every illegal immigrant back to the place a dna swab shows it belongs.
Then we would not have so many elderly feeling the need to have to escape to places with, thus far fewer, people who share nothing in common with them.
SEE THE REAL REASON why so many people are moving here now.
End the main cause and far fewer elderly British would have the need to escape to this Island
Move them to Pennyfeathers, the island needs to
Diversify.
The island has been behind the times for years.
New homes using brown field sites like all the abandoned hotels in Sandown or empty shops in Newport and Ryde would be great. BUT, knowing Labour’s daft ‘northern townie’ mentality they’ll probably want to build on our beautiful countryside and finish the job started by the ferry companies of ruining the island and it’s economy1
Funny he is getting invol ednow he is no longer MP for tth Island. Should have tried harder when in office!!!!!!!!
I thought our island Labour MP would have been shouting this from the rooftops rather than the residents finding out by local press.
Well, Mr Quigley, what are your views?
He is probably scared to mention it as no way can he now continue to come up with statements that he loves the island…
Might help if the residents paid attention to the daily national news. No need for every MP (or ex MP) in the country to parrot it in words of one syllable with their own skewed narrative then.
If you think the daily national news is indicative of what is really happening in this country, you really do live up to the parody of a ‘Karen”
Too bad you’re not an MP then eh? What are you still doing here?
Who is he? We have moved on.
Bob who?
I now have to add useless text before the advanced intelligence at IE wil recognise a post …
He didn’t step in when they approved plans for 475 houses in ryde which has now seen the council taken to court
The UK electorate voted in the socialists. The UK electorate will get what it deserves.
The large majority didn’t vote Liebore.
The WEF are pulling Starmers strings
The UK voted for Brexit. The Uk electorate will get what it deserves LOL
Lol Labour isn’t socialist, do you see them advocating for the people? They are fighting for the millionaires, same as the Tories.
What was the phrase, again?
Oh yes.
“You lost. Get over it.”
send the overners back to the mainland, plenty of houses to go around, problem solved!
Thanks for that great insight plastic qwerty.
why is Plastic Qwerty pedalling reverse psychology? clever from Plastic Qwerty or is it?
Could be a bit problematic….do we also receive back the thousands from here who’ve moved away because of lack of housing and opportunities?
If Seely is looking for someone to blame, then he should look no further that that great tub of lard, Boris Johnson, who had an 80 seat majority, lied through his teeth about Partygate and Covid, got himself a trophy wife 22 years his junior and worst of all, completely lost any trust he may have had in the electorate. Useless fat Eton mess!
Bob who? Get back under your rock loser.
As predicted. If you voted Labour, its your fault. Mr Seely as the article points out, negotiated an opt out for the Isle of Wight. Mr Quigley has allowed it to be scrapped. I think all 1,104 houses should be built in Quigley’s constituency.
Too true, let’s destroy the west, it is falling into the sea anyway and the ferry is rubbish. already desecrated with Southern Water running open sewer pipes in “an area of outstanding beauty” so a bit more crap won’t hurt.
Anyone seen the West Wight MP in West Wight?
Probably too busy selling fish and chips in Cowes.
Island people want new homes here Bob! This is exactly the sort of out of touch nonsense that is the reason you are a former MP.
Spot on … SOS (aka Sod off Seely )
Thank you Bob for bringing this to our attention.
It appears both of our “elected”MP’s are running scared of spelling out what will be the final nail in the coffin for the Island.
Like many, I guess it may be time for “plan B”. Got my eye on a nice gated community in Virginia Water. I think I’ll rent out my house for the easily obtained £1500 a month for a bit of pin money (don’t really care who pays it, be it the IoW council for housing the culturally enriched or a DFL trying to escape). Labour are going to come for my ‘”riches” as that is the slur they cast on any pensioner who has worked hard all their life and put by for their old age.
I won’t let the door bang me on the ‘rse as I leave – but I will be laughing.
Perhaps if you had achieved anything while you were MP, Mr Seely, this need would not exist. As to whether new homes are needed, perhaps you should ask those trying to get housed. It is all very well having a plan but that is all the Tories did for 14 years – nothing was ever delivered. And while we are on the subject of delivery, what happened to the 40 new hospitas Mr Johnson promised?
More homes so The Labour party can send persons
to the island to fill them
exactly this! more overners inbound!
Yes, it must really irritate them that it is the Isle of Wight.
Build them all on the under-cliff around blackgang fill them with boat people that will be two problems sorted that will not be around for two long
If these dwellings are truly affordable for the homeless on the island, then good thing I say. But if they are 3/4 bedroom for the affluent, developers will only build if they can sell and who will buy them when there are few decent jobs on the iow ? Rayner may well have to pick up a shovel and start building herself.
Should have done more when in power you twat
Good old Labour lets trash everyone’s life
I see they are mostly on the Labour MP’s side of the Island. Karma.
So long as common sense prevails and the infrastructure is put in place like roads, proper drainage etc and the housing is priority for islanders first, not to be filled with yobs from the mainland