More than 100 members of the local community attended the Medina Yard Regeneration Community Forum and Exhibition, which was held at Cowes Methodist Church on Friday (20th March).
The event was an opportunity to view and discuss the developing proposals for the regeneration of Medina Yard prior to the submission of a planning application next month.
Medina Yard Regeneration will create a distinctive new mixed use, waterfront quarter, with attractive public streets and spaces, which draw on the existing character of Cowes and create strong connections to neighbouring areas including the town centre.
At the exhibition it was said that a marine heritage museum would be developed as part of the overall scheme. At the Medina Yard Community Planning Event held in February 2013, local people expressed the opinion that the heritage of Cowes should be celebrated, and that a new museum on the Waterfront would greatly enhance the overall town centre offer.
As a result of the suggestions, a space for a new Marine Heritage Museum has been identified in Phase One of the development and early discussions are currently taking place with both The Classic Boat Museum and Hammerhead Crane Trust regarding their potential involvement.
Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the much-loved Hammerhead Crane will be retained and refurbished during Phase One of the development. The overall approach to refurbishment will be developed in full consultation with English Heritage and the Isle of Wight Council, who will also advise on issues such as feature lighting and the provision of any associated facilities that allow heritage interpretation by local people and visitors.
In the masterplan of the development, a large area to the south of the site will be maintained specifically for up to10,000 sq m of marine employment businesses that require direct access to the River Medina. To allow for flexibility, three options have been developed for this area including a bespoke shipbuilding facility, a boatyard, and a complex of marine industrial units. The scheme is expected to create an additional 150+ jobs on the site (on top of the up to 250 jobs currently), as well as 80-90 jobs throughout the phased construction.
Charles Campion, Partner at JTP said:
“The participation of local people at the Community Planning Weekend and through the Community Forums has been very important as we have developed viable and sustainable proposals for the regeneration of Medina Yard and its relationship with Cowes.
“We are pleased that so many people came along to the pre-application event to see the latest proposals.”
The JTP-led team is now finalising the proposals for submission to the Isle of Wight Council as a hybrid planning application in April 2015. After the application is submitted, there will be a further exhibition of the submitted proposals, which is provisionally planned for May 2015.
More information and updates can be found at www.medinayardregeneration.co.uk.
