The brakes have been put on plans for new housing in East Cowes as no developer appears to be interested – and that bombshell comes after the Isle of Wight Council spent more than £1.3million buying the land. The Isle of Wight Council has been trying for years to find a partner to develop 2 sites in East Cowes but recent attempts have been ‘unsuccessful’, the authority said. In September 2020, it bought the plots of land making up Venture Quays for £1.3 million. As part of the deal with Homes England, the council has to build homes on land at Maresfield Road Car Park and opposite, which currently houses Island business Teemill. The authority has to have secured planning permission by March 2024 and start development by March 2025 or risk having to sell the land back to the government for £1. The deadlines for the planning permission and development have already been pushed back twice but the council has previously said it can request a change of dates again if needed. 
Speaking at the council’s cabinet meeting last week, Councillor Phil Jordan, the council leader, said the authority was taking it off their work plan as ‘there was no way of moving it forward at this stage’. Cllr Jordan said the council had previously looked for a partner to build care housing on the Maresfield site, but there was no interest in the site. A council spokesperson confirmed they were looking for other options to use the land in line with the conditions set by Homes England. It says it currently has no plans to hand the sites back to the Government body and will review the housing, planning and development conditions once a way forward has been identified. At a previous attempt to find a partner in May 2022, 4 expressions of interest were made. A feasibility study of the site done last year determined it had ‘severe negative viability’ and there was ‘no interest from an affordable housing provider’.
‘NO DEVELOPER INTERESTED’ IN EAST COWES HOUSING SCHEME LEAVING COUNCIL’S PLANS IN LIMBO
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Try a bigger brown envelope then, just like you usually do. So nice of the council to spend £1.3 million on sod all and get nothing back, sunaks army will love to buy this back at a £1, then turn it into an immigration processing station. Seely would “Welcome” that I am sure.
I hear that many renting companies are recently inundated with requests from those from warmer climes who have very recently arrived here.
Soon an office is to be set up to aid these people in securing accommodation and aiding them find work, until they too see an easier way to live without such, as many other such arrivals have discovered, so your jesting may in fact not be so very amusing in a few months time.
The final nail in the coffin for our once lovely Isle imo.
That’s rubbish,they don’t get private rented housing, they don’t get benefits. They do want to work and given over 1million job vacancies and employers struggling to recruit they should be allowed. Many migrants are better educated and commited to improving their futures and want more than many our own benefit claiming lazy lot that can’t even sign on because it’s to far to Newport, can’t afford £2 bus fair due to drink/drugs and contract iPhone 14.
Well done the Isle of Wight Council.
Buy the land with our money BEFORE you have a partner in place.
Total incompetence.
So the council have screwed up yet again, what a surprise.
Life is better now Local Authorities aren’t allowed to build homes themselves.
Agree. They would lose taxpayer money hand over fist. Buy land above market value, build costs well over-budget, and under-sell.
What exactly is the ” severe negative viability ” that is deterring developers ?. I’m sure residents in the area would love to know.
Just shows how IWC can’t be trusted as no one wants to go into partnership or aggreements. The way council works if planning permission applied by developer it would probably be refused.
Oh the PINKS would, IF luxury high end homes were to be built, but not enough money now the housing market has slowed for poor peoples ‘affordable or social abodes’ to make it worth bothering with.
Prob is, high end people don’t wish to live surrounded by trash.
A feasibility study of the site done last year determined it had ‘severe negative viability’ and there was ‘no interest from an affordable housing provider’.
Well, I think this particular quote just about sums up the reality of all of these housing developments and ‘affordable housing’!
No one, developer wise, will risk their capital for so-called affordable housing.
It impacts on the market saleability of the REAL housing development.
If the Council are so determined to build ‘affordable’ housing, why don’t they use the company that the Council set up for building houses?
Oh yes, that’s right, it was all a FRONT to yet again mislead the Council Tax Payers!
Smoke and mirrors is the politest expression I can think of!
I thought the council was skint.
A lowlife infested place.
Need more high end homes to redress the growing amount of universal credit funded , social housing, or benefit funded‘ affordable’ housing schemes.
Circus left the island back in August. Clowns stayed,to run this inept council.
Couldn’t the money be spent that they got to build on brownfield sites.?
Getting rid of that hideous turbine factory manufacturing unbiodegradable,landscape despoiling,bird unfriendly,bogus energy providing, cash cows would be a good move.for housing if it has to happen?
This stupid council frittering away our money as usual. Nobody wants a holiday home in East Cowes.
Queen Vic did.
Oh well at least they are making money from the car park !!!!! ….
Why on earth would anyone want to jump on this bandwagon, when a feasibility study was done last year and determined it had severe negative viability, and there was no interest from an affordable housing provider!!!!!
So does that mean they will sell it to a posh lot of builders?????
Bigger brown envelopes?????
If the Council are really quick they could easily sell this land to all the Tory MPs who are disgustingly cash-rich following all their joint Covid/PPE scams.
Then they could build houses so that when all these Tories loose their seats at the next election they will have somewhere to live. Handy for Waitrose too!
They are finally realising that East Cowes is a sh*t hole
As hostile as l am at this hideous greenfield plundering of lego-hutch monstrosities cropping up by the month,l do think certain styles of houses can actually compliment,to a degree,the landscapes they defile.
The new ones in Gurnard,near the Range shop, are actually very pleasant to the eye but obviously this quality will inevitably come at significant costs so the orange Barratt excressences will be the default model until the island finally resembles Milton-Keynes l guess?
Some gorgeous looking POW hutches in Shalfleet. They really blend in. The developer wants more. Says he wants to leave a local legacy. .
Then there are other opportunistic ‘types’ in and around Wellow about to bing similar love hutches and be in no doubt, by hook or meaningless local survey they will attempt to convince you that there is a local need. Follow the money not the propaganda.
Don’t worry, I’m sure Red Funnel will make good use of it in their grand scheme for East Cowes.