A bold vision for a new cultural centre, including a space to keep the Island’s archive material, has been published by the Isle of Wight Council in advance of carrying out a detailed feasibility study on funding and timelines for building the new venue.
The new centre will provide a new purpose-built home for Newport Library and Island archives, integrating vital public services into a new vibrant community space. However, this news would appear to mean that plans to transform Westridge Centre in Ryde into a new record office have been scrapped.
A collection of waterfront and rooftop cafes and an exhibition and performance space will be designed in a bid to make Newport Harbour a fantastic cultural destination.
Positive consultation with the Riverside Centre, which currently occupies part of the proposed site, and the nearby Quay Arts Centre has been a key part of developing the proposed vision, championing a sense of community collaboration. The study will seek to identify how the current Riverside Centre activities can be accommodated in the new facility and, further, how it might complement and add value to the Quay Arts offer.
The proposals are intended to act as a catalyst for the wider housing and commercial improvements set out in the ambitious masterplan for the harbour, scheduled to be considered by the council’s Cabinet in the next few months.
Councillor Julie Jones-Evans, Cabinet member for levelling up, regeneration and business development, welcomed the proposed vision. She said:
“Development of the Island’s cultural economy is a key priority, and we have accelerated the work on the new cultural centre set out in the Newport Harbour masterplan.
“The Island needs bold, ambitious, but also deliverable projects to raise everyone’s confidence and establish the type of modern, high-quality cultural facilities on the Island that people living on the mainland come to expect and islanders deserve.”
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Councillor Jonathan Bacon, Cabinet member for Climate Change, Environment and Heritage, has said:
“The proposed centre will plainly provide an amazing attraction and cultural resource for the Island. Of particular importance will be the fact that it will create a proper facility for both the storage and display of our Island archives, which otherwise are at risk of having to be stored on the mainland, as well a new and improved base for our Library services.
“It must be emphasised that the valuable resource provided by the Riverside Centre is key in the thinking behind this project and the aim is to not just retain but enhance that as part of taking these plans forward.
“This is an exciting development.”
Island MP, Bob Seely, who visited the harbour last week to find out more about the plans, has added:
“I was delighted to hear about the Isle of Wight Council’s exciting and ambitious plans to construct a brand-new arts centre in Newport.
“I am very keen that we enhance our cultural offer on the Island.
“Clearly, there is a lot of work to do before these plans can be realised but I am keen to support them however I can.
“I will be contacting arts ministers and Arts Council England to raise awareness of the council’s plans and to support fundraising efforts when they start.”
So the council have money to burn on this waste of time, with no doubt if it ever happens people will have to pay to access anything. With ol’ sausage Bob onboard it will fail for sure anyway. Another bandwagon Bob, tsk tsk, how about an ORIGINAL idea from you for a change.
Another Arts centre, just what the Island needs.
But its a library and archive? And we only have 1/2 arts centres on the Island?
We cannot afford vanity projects like this while there are people cold and hungry on the IOW. Councillors, get your priorities right. (Hint: that does not mean making yourself look good as number one.)
I welcome this proposal providing the sun is always shining and it is full of beautiful people as depicted in the artists impression.
Hooray oh hang on a minute, this has a whole host of public sector bureaucrats involved, so it will obviously deliver nothing of value to islanders, but you can guarantee there will be an awful lot of new high density flats going up – why don’t they stop wasting taxpayers money and just reprint the artists impressions of all the other ‘vibrant’ plazas they have drawn over recent decades but which have never materialized (though of course the thousands of rabbit hutch houses accompanying them have always managed to appear)
Not getting it, people have no money for food , household bills or Housing . Again like Truss IWC is for the rich middle classes and not for majority of hard working class of the Island who will have to pay more council tax. The IOW should be looking at ways to reduce this crippling tax for so many. Council tax higher than fuel bills and food put together – for what – so IOW council can pay it to companies which make huge profits – eg Amey, Island Road,school academies, Hire centre,Housing Ass, Hampshire police, Hampshire children’s services are but a few.
Well we don’t need new buildings, just use County Hall. At least it will be put to some use, which is more than what could be said of the place now. And the next idea……….
Typical IWC champagne plans, but lager budget .. just more of the same blurb emanating from this flawed council.. backward thinking as always .. the island only attraction now is the forever “ stationary “ FB6
I reckon as long as i have a hole in my back side this will never happen. If it did the Newport chavvy lot will love hanging around there.
Is this being funded with the money they have robbed out of island roads account? Is this why our roads are once again failing?
Millions in ‘jobs for their mates’ ffs.
You can’t polish a turd !
Unbelievable.It’s basically the council spending our money on themselves.What a waste… ‘island archives’… really!! What about affordable housing for the young instead.There are plenty of places on the island with tables and umbrellas they can outside on… with better views.Believe me.It would take a lot more than this to make Newport into a place of cultural interest.!
Yeahhh more art and another cafe.this should bump up tourism
Well done half a sausage. I can see you worked really hard on this……oh wait. You didn’t actually do anything, just grabbed the limelight.
Be better spent on Bridge cross the river
On a positive note though, I suppose with a cultural centre and archive we can go along and look back at what the Island was like before our Council ruined it building thousands of houses and bringing every work-shy, low-life from the mainland here.
You seem very angry Catherine?
We all angry.
i hope sausage bob reads these posts. what an absolute plonker
All very beautiful, but how do they expect elderly library users to be able to access the library? It is a hell of a walk from the town center. It would be far better to open more public toilets and reduce car parking charges and leave sopmething like this to the private sector
I can t believe im reading this ,all that is going on all the people and businesses struggling and they have just found the money to build this. They have cut back on so much and the island looks a mess. I am totally beyond shocked.
It must be time for the autumn full moon. Where has any form of sanity gone? The place is full of mad persons with absolutely no idea what the real world is s about.
They got so much money now as less services and cuts cuts they don’t know what to do with it,I expect there a meeting soon with there pay rises and pensions and to discuss next year council tax increase
Another ‘Vanity Project’ to waste our hard earned money on, for what? The town like many others is dying on its feet the cash would be far better spent trying to revive parts of it and converting any suitable buildings into accommodation.
Newport has always been a shit hole and always will be, sort those drug dealers who get outside Mc Yuck Donald’s and up behind the library around Friday and Saturday, TIME, 8pm onwards.