Plans to build houses on Newport’s Seaclose Park have been branded a destructive and unfair by a local councillor.
At a meeting of the Isle of Wight Council’s harbour committee, Cllr Matthew Price, ward representative for Newport North, which includes Seaclose Park and the eastern part of Newport Harbour, disagreed with plans to regenerate the harbour.
Outlined in supplementary planning documents, proposed by the Isle of Wight Council, part of the development of the harbour would include building more than 40 houses on the existing entrance to Seaclose Park, coming off Fairlee Road, and include building on the Fairlee Road Service Station’s site.
Cllr Price said that despite supporting the principles of regenerating the harbour, he had an issue with the proposed housing and lobbied the creators of the masterplan and regeneration team to reconsider. He said:
“My concern is, as the local member, that this is an absolute destruction of Seaclose Park and the ideas I had don’t seem to have been taken into account, in any form of the masterplan and certainly not in the version we would be looking at.”
Cllr Price also had concerns the development on the edge of Fairlee Road could have a negative effect to the Isle of Wight Festival – as proposals include building houses at the entrance to Seaclose Park which is used as the backstage area.
He said perhaps the festival was now more important than ever — following the cancellation of this year’s event, which was supposed to have happened 2 weeks ago, due to COVID-19 fears.
Responding to Cllr Price’s points, Chris Ashman, director of regeneration, said the proposals for Seaclose had been revised at least twice due to community feedback but that the regeneration team were challenged with producing a viable plan that gave the necessary housing opportunities the IW Council’s housing needs strategy requires in Newport. He said:
“The mix between affordable and privately rented properties that make the overall harbour scheme viable and affordable have been very carefully considered.
“The use of that area from Fairlee Road, that comes into Seaclose, was clearly a challenge in the loss of green space and we are anxious to work with local members to ensure the mitigation of that is managed as carefully and considerately as possible.”
Mr Ashman also stressed the urgency of bringing the harbour’s regeneration plan forward to help ensure the harbour stayed working, as maintenance and income challenges mount for the harbour because of the council’s overall financial position. He said:
“The need for the project to create the revenue to sustain the Harbour has become even more urgent and more imperative given the only other sources available are rapidly becoming more difficult by the day.
“The strategy is one for the benefit of the Harbour, Newport and its community as a whole, to make the harbour a better space.”
However, Cllr Price disagreed the regeneration of Seaclose would support the harbour and would just affect residents:
“I don’t think it is fair to even suggest building on Seaclose is going to benefit Newport and its residents.
“It isn’t and what that might bring to the finances to support the harbour in the future flies in the face of what Mr Ashman has just said.
“I have made it clear I am representing Newport North and residents are coming to me with their issues, their concerns and their objections on building on Seaclose Park.
“I cannot get away from feeling it is very unfair to consider allocating part of Seaclose as any part of support for the harbour in the future — it should be looked at in a much wider view of how it will effect Newport, the aesthetics of the biggest park in Newport and how it won’t benefit the local people.
“[The development] has a wider impact – it doesn’t build over the tennis courts, bowls pitch, but it builds right up to it and it changes everything.”
NO MORE HOUSE BUILDING ON THE ISLE OF WIGHT.
Why
They want too stop the building of anymore houses here surely if you keep building it will put all services under strain roads and will more than likely cause flooding if you get rid of all land water when it rains has nowhere to go
You’re all waisting time complaining & protesting , Look what happened at St Mary’s Hospital roundabout , That was & is a waist of money, The Council will get what they want, Look at Pan Meadows roads & parking the size of pavements & pavements the size of roads , They will do won’t they want to.
I agree a bypass would have been better to avoid Coppins bridge which was proposed ages back. Every year during holiday season the roads are so overcrowded its gridlock. The island is being ruined and as long as money is dangled before the Council they will opt for whatever is proposed in the end.
This depends on who got the most money Festival or Council
Good for Matt Price ,I live in the Fairlee area and the last thing that Newport needs is more houses and traffic some times ,no most of the time you what planet some of the people at County Hall are on.
It is bad enough that they are destroying our green fields, now they want to decimate our parks and public open space, probably enjoyed by families who have purchased one of those rabbit hutches they are building these days with very little garden, certainly not enough for kids to kick a ball around in. A travesty if it is allowed to happen. Cllr Matthew Price I am right behind you as will many island residents.
Seaclose is a space for recreation for the people of Newport and other Islanders..Shame on the Isle of Wight Councillors and its officers who wish to take this recreation space away, the area of land at the entrance to Seaclose park ought to be made into a car park and the existing car parks within Seaclose freed up for others recreation users uses. Years ago the IW Council built their planning dept on Seaclose after demolishing the childrens outdoor swimming pool, have you no shame Councillors (call yourselves the voice of the people) if you want to build houses build them on County Hall car park better still knock down that monstrocity called County Hall and build some houses there LEAVE SEACLOSE RECREATION GROUND ALONE
Sad state of affairs if the council can’t come up with a regeneration plan that doesn’t depend on whacking a load of houses on a nearby park. What if the park wasn’t there, what would they do then?
I want to know who will be buying all these new homes? Certainly not Islanders… where would we find that kind of money !
More houses, more houses, oh yes, and even more houses.
When will this stop?
Will it be when there is no land left to build houses on?
There isn’t enough jobs on the Island to enable people to afford buying them.
The views of the Island people are being ignored by the persons taking the decisions, they must be blinkered.
Houses at the entrance to the Park, and a Train Station at the other end.
What next… of dear, no land left for the Festival.
The council got rid of all the boats coming out in the winter by increasing the price so much.