Major redevelopment plans to restore a dilapidated pier in the West Wight and to build houses on a popular beach have been refused. The Isle of Wight Council has turned down property design company Miles Blamire’s proposals to restore the pier at Fort Victoria and establish an oyster nursery and shellfish processing building, with a food serving hatch. The authority also refused permission for five four-bed houses on the foreshore, which would have been elevated over the shingle. Isle of Wight Council planning officers called the development an ‘intrusion’ into an open space and said it would create urban sprawl. Publishing its decision, the authority said it would fail to preserve the existing character of the area and would constitute an “undesirable form of development”. It said the Grade II listed Fort Victoria should remain the most prominent building on its shoreline and what was proposed would dominate the view from the seaward side. The land is open, tranquil and largely undeveloped, the council said, which would change with the development, giving the perception the beach was off-limits due to private housing. The authority said rather than improving access to the coast, the development would discourage the use of the section of the beach. The council also argued the development would be in an unsustainable location, unconnected to transport options and away from services and facilities. The development was also deemed unacceptable in flood risk terms and the Isle of Wight Council said there are alternative and preferable locations for housing. Plans were first submitted in April 2022 and were scaled back in August 2023. Both sets of plans received more than 150 letters of objection from residents. If the developer wishes to, it can appeal the council’s decision to the Planning Inspectorate.
FORT VICTORIA PIER DEVELOPMENT PLANS REFUSED AFTER COUNCIL DEEM PLANS AN ‘INTRUSION’
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Tbh, with a name like miles it should have been refused anyway,just another greedy second home builder!
Too many greedy builders in the world, they don’t care what they build on.
Great decision, now lets see if money can ‘overturn’ this given the right amount of time and funds.
Seems odd that the planners do their job on single applications, but fail when life changing sums of money are at stake with huge, damaging (for not only the area, but the whole Island’s infrastructure), building projects from the Pinks (Captiva) causing people to ‘wonder’ if it is the ‘odd handshaking connections’ or the fact that due to so much profit being made on large scale projects, does any filter back to those in power.
Seemingly the right decision, as clearly just a ‘ploy’ to get a mansion built in an area with ‘no hope’ of doing so, so throw the plebs the ‘thought’ of business and work, and the Council will ‘bite’.
They didn’t.
YET.
Give more ‘feedback’ and likely it will eventually be passed. You must move in the right circles as well as be well ‘heeled’ don’t you know.
We all see these projects, offer work for min wage staff, and expect us all to be ‘oh so grateful’ for the rich then making millions on ruining OUR Island, just for them to close the business or, more likely turn that too into a home within a few short years, as easy ‘once’ given brown field status.
We are not as thick as you would like us to believe
The government requirement to build new homes is the justification for big projects. However, this requirement has now been modified for the Isle of Wight because we have a shrinking population. Large building projects are more suitable in areas with rapidly growing populations and housing shortages, and where the decent jobs are located. Building more houses on the island would only encourage more second home owners, who would then let them out with Airbnb to avoid paying council tax. They actually only have to list them on Aribnb or another website, and they can actually tell people that the property is not available on the dates they require to avoid letting the property out at all. Obviously, this is a ludicrous system.
They’ll appeal and lose again.
Declined because the development is “an ‘intrusion’ into an open space..it would create urban sprawl” and yet large housing development proposals on greenfield sites are considered by planning officers and put forward with recommendation to approve. The same reasons for refusal given by the Council apply to greenfield sites – flooding, lack of public transport, not in keeping, out of character.IOW Residents will only have confidence in the planning officers and Council when they feel all large scale developments are dealt with fairly and objectively.
That’s the right decision. Might have been acceptable apar tfrom the over-bearing houses, although how you could have an oyster hatchery in that screaming tide I do not know. Shame about the pier, though.
Half of this plot is owned by the family who got 25 years in gaol for drug smuggling. If they are simple fisherman as they claim how can they afford this.?
There is lots of junk dumped on the plot which is an eyesore, the Fort is a historical attraction you would have thought that the owner of the plot would keep it tidy.?
There are still people living in derelict vans in the car park of Fort Victoria. This is owned by the council who turned this development down because it would fail to preserve the existing character of the area. But they will not remove these site dwellers who blight the entire area.!
The land owners are allowed to use land as a pop up campsite for x~number of weeks per year.
Tidy the site and do that.
Obviously no funny hand shakes or brown envelopes have been exchanged.
Great news!! Well done planning dept. Not often we get to say that!!
Planning departments rarely get things wrong working closely to existing laws, its the idiots on the council some of whom are barely literate overturning the experts and deciding they now best
And thats why the isle of wight is stuck in victorian era anytime someone trys to invest unless the council take a back hand ..
Well done to all the objectors to stop this ridiculous idea, so much of these developer groups usually from mainland spoiling our island, there is to much of this going on and we do not have the infrastructure to support all these developments, the island is being ruined by these so called developers and it has to stop
The government should look into all the empty second homes and housing associations should stop moving people over here until all islanders are housed first. We need a new and bigger hospital to support the residents that are already housed,everything is so overstretched something has to give.
Yes well done objectors, just wish we could have had more help stopping Wightcliff Bay Holiday park getting so big. They have spoilt a lovely quiet country area of Hillway Road.
Not worried about “urban sprawl” at places like Branston Farm then.