Traffic orders that will pave the way for plans to revitalise and enhance Newport High Street were approved by senior Isle of Wight councillors earlier this week.
The Newport High Street Heritage Action Zone improvement scheme aims to attract more shoppers into the town centre by making the area more pedestrian-friendly.
The aim is to improve the look and feel of the High Street between St James’ Square and Holyrood Street while making it easier and safer for people to move around on foot or bicycle.
Changes include widening the pavement to provide more space for pedestrians and enhancing the appearance of the area with new paving, planting and seating.
The scheme requires some changes to the parking arrangements in the area and therefore new Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs) to make those changes lawful and enforceable are needed. While some on-street parking will be lost under the plans, alternative parking is available close by.
This includes almost 250 spaces at Sea Street, Lugley Street and Chapel Street/New Street where shoppers and visitors wishing to park for up to 1 hour can park for free.
The TROs have already been out to public consultation with the Isle of Wight Council receiving 32 representations in favour of the changes and 26 against.
Councillor Phil Jordan, Isle of Wight cabinet member for transport and infrastructure said:
“The evidence from schemes on the Island and on the mainland is that when the pedestrian environment is improved, there is an increased footfall in nearby shops.
“The majority of those taking part in the consultation are in favour of the council making the proposed enhancements and we now have an opportunity to work with our partners to further improve Newport town centre.”
Chair of Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council, Andrew Garratt, said:
“Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council is keen to see improvements in Newport town centre that make it safer and more accessible for pedestrians and cyclists, and to allow everyone to enjoy the town’s heritage.
“These proposals will provide more space for pedestrians to sit and to move around safely. Fewer obstacles will mean better accessibility. And more planting will provide a pleasant environment for all against a backdrop of our many listed buildings and monuments.
“Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council is keen that our investment along with others in the Heritage Action Zone is just a start point and so we look forward to working with our partners on achieving further improvements.”
The High Street Heritage Action Zone is funded by Historic England, Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council and the Isle of Wight Council. The partnership was created to deliver a programme of activity to improve the condition of the conservation area and regenerate the town centre.
An extensive programme of engagement has taken place throughout the development of the project, as well as a formal public consultation on the scheme.
This engagement has led to some design changes to respond to feedback, including enhanced provision of parking for disabled people.
What a complete waste of money. Why don’t the ‘Senior’ Councillors understand, widening pavements is not the way to go yet. Initially, the empty shops need to be up and trading again. The only way to encourage new business is to LOWER THE RENT. It’s mind boggling to think wider pavements will improve footfall in the town. Secondly, reduce parking costs in the car parks. This will encourage more people to visit Newport, NOT WIDER PAVEMENTS! They are wasting our Council Tax again!
You can make Newport town centre as beautiful and people friendly as you like. BUT, what is the point with shops not being able to afford the crippling rents and business taxes. Have the council got things the wrong way round?
We need a more diverse affordable shopping experience to draw people in to the town not plant pots. Footfall means nothing without people spending. Oh and how do bikes improve the town experience ? Would love all these ideas to make a difference, cant see it.
Wider pavements?!? We don’t need that, we need closer parking! If I have to walk more than a yard I’m not going to that shop! It’s like the council is trying to kill the high street!
More realistically, if most of the free hour is taken up walking to and from the shops, it isn’t all that useful. Two hours would make more sense, or even, perish the thought, free parking.
While green transport is to be encouraged, bikes are a menace and do not mix well with pedestrians.
Thanks for supporting green transport, very enlightened, but when you say ‘bikes are a menace’ I think what you mean is, SOME bikes are a menace, just as SOME motorists are a menace, or indeed SOME pedestrians are a menace (such as crossing roads without looking, with headphones on and/or looking at phones etc)
But, bikes don’t mix well with cars, buses, lorries or other vehicles either. Which would seem to point the finger at the cyclists being the problem.
Only motor vehicles require separate roads, bikes can use shared paths and kill far less people than cars. 1 mile of highway is a cost of 100 miles of cycling path. Only cars require so much parking space, wasted space and concrete all over. Only reason we need zebra crossings, traffic lights and so many signs is because of motor traffic. Bikes also don’t produce pollution or much noise.
Yeah, bikes are a problem and don’t mix well with noisy, polluting, space-inefficient 2000kg boxes of steel, who knew, lol.
Go away Susan you boring bike obsessed looony,
I cannot drive due to my poor eyesight. Bus will not take me to all the places where I need to go and many roads on the island have no pavement.
But I can bike.
So it’s vital for me that I can go somewhere on a bike and until we figure out an alternative to that, I will have to keep using the bike.
Taxi is not an alternative. That would increase my cost by 10,000x easily.
You’re right that bikes don’t mix well with cars though – we need more safe, separated cycling infrastructure.
When I have a choice I’m never on the road! Cowes to Newport? Red Squirrel all the way! But Newport to Monkey Haven? There’s a scary Staplers Road that I would LOVE not to use but there’s no alternative 🙁
To extend on this – big motor don’t mix well with anything:
A normal pedestrian, a faster jogger, mom with a stroller, a mobility scooter user, a skater, a rollerblader, a horse rider, a kid on a scooter, a racing cyclist, a grandpa on a Dutch bike, kids learning to ride a bike on their quiet residential street suddenly used by a motorist as a shortcut, a mailman on foot and so on.
IOW in many places don’t have pavements at all. And in many places it’s shockingly narrow, prioritising motor thorough traffic rather than life of its residents.
It’s good to see the change.
Also I wouldn’t say bikes are a menace. They are optimal for sub 5k. Netherlands manage just fine and their _drivers_ are more happy than UK ones.
Is that dislike for bikes backed up with data? Like, how many people get killed on the island by car and how many by bikes? Surely current status quo of cars being close to pedestrians is way worse than bikes being close to pedestrians?
Trying yto kill it?
They have killed it already
They think the reason we aren’t shopping in the town centre is narrow pavements?! Not the empty shops, the lack of any enticing reason to shop there? The gangs of roving 13 year olds with nothing better to do? The lack of cover from the sun, rain and wind? The ridiculous parking charges? The recession they insist we aren’t in?
What’s the point of wide pavements when there is nothing to go there for except Poundland and B&M.
So town is dead because people don’t want to pay the ridiculous parking charges to go in there, their solution, make less parking available. Sounds like a smart idea from the council once again!
Councillor Phil Jordan, Isle of Wight cabinet member for transport and infrastructure said: “The evidence from schemes on the Island and on the mainland is that when the pedestrian environment is improved, there is an increased footfall in nearby shops. !!
Footfall will only increase if the shops are open affordable .. you can polish a turd … but it’s still a turd I suppose the Island Special Deal will pay for this .. just another vote grabbing distraction from IWC to get themselves re-elected .. perhaps ??
Jordan is the Muppet who authorised the ridiculous Interchange works
on Ryde Esplanade.
The guy does not have a clue what he is doing.
Well, at least an hour’s free parking will help with encouraging motorists to shop in Newport. Should be an hour’s free parking every where.
Ok, so this sounds very positive and lovely, but unless the cost to lease high street shops goes down, and business rates are reduced on shops further all this effort will be wasted money.
Shoppers need reasons to go to the high street, and shopping wise there are many less reasons in 2023.
Free car parking for an hour will not encourage huge amounts of shoppers, and goes completely against the hike in prices across the island recently… who is thinking these schemes up? …positive as this is…
At this junction I am not convinced the new scheme to help pedestrians and bikes will help people spend more time or money in the area…
Let’s remember we have already lost mainland shops, this seems a bit of horse bolted, now too late…..
correct – I thought about opening up a high street shop, until I realised that I would be working for a greedy council and a greedy landlord that wanted first cut of my revenue, followed by a greedy government that want their cut of my revenue, as well as a further cut of my revenue in payroll taxes/employer NIC. Only after this point, would I actually benefit from my efforts
These leeches are the problem – I would have set up, funded and have in operation several shops by now, but I refuse to commit capital to projects that are just drained by the burdensome, scrounging leeches that are the state and council.
I thought – no, I will keep my money and spend it on myself instead of investing in the high street.
No doubt “islander” has a better way to fund the public realm?
Worth bearing in mind that you don’t get taxed until you have earned.
Interesting that Mr Hunt has been telling us for months that we (HM Gov) can’t afford tax cuts, then suddenly Mr Sunak tells us that we _can_ afford to reduce tax on those already well-off enough to be at risk of Inheritance Tax. Odd, that.
At the same time HM Gov suddenly decides that Pay Review bodies are useful and should be followed, despite previously telling us that their recommendations were just that and could be ignored. So it’s 7-8%, but it has to be found from somebody else’s budget.
Vote Tory – get stiffed.
I guess you don’t work then Helen and are one of these spongers that just live off the backs of others.
how about you cut the bloated benefits budgets, cut the spongers living off the rest of us and cut the taxes to those that actually do work and who do provide the goods and services.
the public realm is just a bunch of sponging deadbeats primarily that could be cut completely.
After the horse has bolted springs to my mind!
Maybe the Senior Councillors should have put this idea forward before granting permission to all the out of town shopping.
You do have to ask if any of these clowns have been down through Newport recently. Umpteen number of shops closed down & very little chance of them being reopened. Internet shopping & covid has hit the retail industry hard. But the granting of permission to build large stores away from the town, drags what foot fall is left, away. So I don’t really see how spending copious amounts of money on removing the parking will help.
Oh yeah of course, the adding of trees & seating for the junkies to accumulate around will enhance things dramatically. Not!
I guess we need wider pavements for people as they get fatter and fatter ?. Let’s pedestrianise Newport, put more electric charging points,more coffee shops and raise business rates and rent – this I’m sure will add maybe a dozen more people who will spend nothing and continue to get ordinary people to shop out of town, where carparking is free.
Council have given planning permission for more large shopping at St George’s,soon even Sports direct and JD will move and McDonald’s close. Town centre will not ever be like was again and Council wasting our Council Tax further. Look at Ryde, millions spent and now place to avoid. Sandown – if they bring in charges for High Street, most businesses along will close.
Hit the nail on the head with the large out of town shopping stores with free car parking.
Do you actually venture to Ryde? Its always busy, Union street has some lovely individual shops, a gorgeous view of the sea and lots of free hour to 4 hour parking, tho i do agree the new interchange is a criminal waste of money and dosnt resemble the original artists impression
I don’t got to Newport to shop as there is not a variety of shops, I prefer to go to Ryde where there are at least a few more choices of shops to look in. This scheme would not entice me to change to Newport. I am sure this money could be put to better use rather than flogging a dead horse. Get the empty shops up and running first to give people a reason to come to Newport. Maybe a large indoor market where small businesses could share the space and costs and showcase their wares might work.
That sounds a real good idea. Planting for the scum to rip out, and seating for them all to sit snorting and swilling. Rip off charges in the alternative car parking areas and yobs riding bikes among pedestrians. Even more shops closing because of rent/rates greed and where do the delivery trucks park to deliver to those shops. More big idea bullshit from the council to gain profit and bugger all thought gone into the ruined lively hoods of those trying to earn one.
This is just another example of the idiocy going on around the Island, the ryde interchange is a total dogs breakfast which was designed by a cretin and approved by idiots.
Who ever thought that feeding large numbers of vehicles leaving the pier straight into a roundabout and worse into a pedestrian crossing, then there is the green cycle track to nowhere which disgorges cyclists into the pedestrian area of the bus station, finally the idiocy of getting rid of the two safe paths which allowed people to cross the dual carriageway safely.
The famous children’s story “the kings new clothes” sums this insanity very well and the time is long overdue to remove the utter incompetents such as Bacon, Ward and Jordan and co
Couldn’t agree more with what Reg says about Ryde.
And to claim that widening pavements and planting will revitalise a city centre is lunacy.
Full pedestrianisation may offer a chance to improve things in the long-term but this ‘tinkering at the edge’ scheme is a waste imo.
Seriously some of these decision makers should be held accountable for their actions. If it has a minimal impact on shopping, they should be gone.
Another progressive idea dressed up as an improvement that will of course make it even worse for those businesses trying to stay afloat in the town under the relentless weight of ‘regeneration’, which always means less parking, more double yellow lines, less convenience and pretty much nothing else – they want you out of your cars and dependent on walking or public transport at every opportunity(all part of the net zero goal of eroding quality of life whilst using the climate as the excuse to do so). Remember they completely killed off the lower high street with their stripy Covid bollards and threats of persecution so they are on a roll now
Yet another complete and utter waste of our money
Sadly i have realised that if it were medically possible to amalgamate the functioning brain cells of our entire council you would still only have a half wit
Close high street completely, it works in Ryde.
And how many empty shops are there
The most practical solution would be to turn most of the empty shops in Newport into accomadation dwellings. Let’s face it. They won’t be used as shops again.
Who thought of this hair brained scheme, it’s a main road for traffic out of Newport. It’s going to lead to loads more accidents
Newport, the capital town of the Isle of Wight that does not have a Post Office.
The same town with huge, empty shops: Poundstretcher, Brighthouse, H&M, Ponden Home, Iceland to name just a few. Firstly need to make Newport a town centre that people want to visit.
Ryde resisted the big mainland stores and has survived in a much better state than Newport.
Did I see an hour’s parking for free? At last, some common sense.
How many free parking spaces, lots for your shopping at Morrissons, Sainsbury, Asda and Lidle guess where we will all be going, like Ryde interchange a complete waste of money.
Its about time something was done about Godshill High Street.
It’s Unsafe as Fcuk.
Make the Road 1 way and install permanent traffic lights either end
and widen the pavements.
Maybe Councillor Jordan should try walking along the
Death Trap himself.
Why do you need wider pavements, when there aren’t enough people to fill the old one’s????????
Surely shop’s would entice people to SHOP???????
You can put lipstick on a pig but it is still a pig !!!!!!!!
i think you need to look at all the shops that you The Council have closed down with high rates. No shops to walk round so No high street it’s a dump a slum it’s had it like the rest of the high streets on this drug ridden slum of an island. we need to vote this council out Now
Unfortunately, too little to late. We no longer need the old type of high street, internet shopping and supermarkets have removed the need to go to the high street to shop. It should be redeveloped into a commercial business centre with offices and business’ alike, perhaps more residential property? Anything would be an improvement on the pound shop hell it has become.