Plans to prioritise housing in Newport and develop sites in Bembridge and Freshwater have been scrapped.
The Isle of Wight Council’s corporate scrutiny committee made its final recommendations to cabinet over the long-awaited draft Island Planning Strategy (DIPS) on Tuesday night.
4 recommendations were approved to put to cabinet later today (Thursday), including protecting the environment by only developing greenfields if it is absolutely necessary and restricting the purchase of new builds as second homes.
The recommendations to remove 300 homes across 4 sites in Bembridge and Freshwater, in order to prioritise partially brownfield sites in Newport, fell on the casting vote of committee chair and left-wing Labour Councillor Richard Quigley, after a 4-4 initial vote.
The Newport sites were at the Harbour, Riverside and Camp Hill.
Bembridge Councillor Joe Robertson said while more houses were proposed for Camp Hill (800) it was still a reduction from the amount in the July 2021 DIPS (1,200) and that the housing sites in his village included were prone to flooding. He argued the housing in Newport would be affordable but those built in Bembridge and Freshwater, while still at a discounted rate, would not be at a price affordable for Islanders.
Councillor Michael Lilley argued against the removal of the sites as affordability was an issue becoming increasingly difficult across the Island.
It was also proposed by Councillor Peter Spink that the council delay, again, approving the DIPS to wait and see whether the new Prime Minister Liz Truss lived up to a promise she made to him about scrapping housing targets through the levelling up bill. He said that a lot of people agree the housing figures included in the DIPS are too high and that if the council pushed through the DIPS now they would be committing the Island to a higher target.
Cllr Spink said the bill would have to be amended by October, so the council should delay the matter until the next full council meeting in November when they would know if Ms Truss fulfilled her promise. He also said the figures could be updated to use the recent census data which could see a change in the proposed level of housing.
Councillors on the committee voted against the deferral, ultimately saying it was a priority to pass the DIPS and that changes to targets and housing sites could be put to the Planning Inspectorate — which would approve the plan — in the consultation period that follows.
Cabinet will decide tonight whether or not the 4 remaining recommendations should be included in the latest DIPS version that is put to full council on 21st September.
Why are the buildings and land opposite Jewsons in Trafalgar road Newport still lying empty for so many years. It is a huge area that should be utilized. It is such an eyesore and terrible waste .
No reason why new builds in Bembridge and Freshwater can’t be made “affordable” in relation to the whole of the Island. Oh yes I forgot!, it might devalue the surrounding property prices. Cllr Robertson don’t you know flooding isn’t restricted only to Bembridge. How about Binstead, Ryde and Seaview?
Is there any particular reason why Island Echo deemed it acceptable to single out Richard Quigley as “left-wing Labour” while not mentioning the political affiliations of Robertson (Conservative), Lilley (Alliance) and Spink (Conservative)?
Quigley is actually about as centrist as as any Labour politician can get. The only true lefty on the Council is Brodie.
And good on him for blocking this elitist move by the despicable Robertson.
What Richard Quigley and the 2 Green Party members of the Alliance tried to block was the level of building affordable rented homes on brownfield sites in Newport and Ryde. The logic that supports such development is that to retain or attract back young Island families you have to put affordable houses close to where the well paid jobs are, that is the Medina Valley.
The developments in Freshwater and Bembridge will yield substantial profits for developers building for the second home and retirement markets for buyers from the North Island, but will not provide relief for the 2,500 family units on the Council’s housing list.
Bembridge needs affordable housing. Bembridge Primary School is under subscribed, not over subscribed as falsley stated by Build a Better Bembridge (should be known as Don’t Build in Bembridge at all) so that could do with an influx of younger residents, otherwise that will disappear. All areas should take their fair share of housing across the island.
Instead of building ugly new houses that look like boxes how about restoring the 1000’s of derelict buildings/houses on the iow
I notice the same article in the CP does not include the “left wing Labour” label for Quigley. As Louise Hill is actually employed by the CP I assume this is the original version and Island Echo has politicised it themselves without changing the accreditation.
This is, absolutely against the terms of the LDR service.
Complaints to the LDR service and ICNN submitted.
No doubt eventually deindustrialise Newport further by building on trading estate land, and further put more nails into the islands economic coffin?
The final nail in the coffin is almost home, Jarman is on the home straight of destroying any future for genuine Islanders in genuine need of both homes and employment. He has somehow managed to shoe horn himself into any position he can throughout the Council and Island in general that allows him to pedal and subsequently enforce his own personal agenda. A man who has not been on the island that long, who lives in a £2m plus home, who only cares for his fellow wealthy retirees, and more important wants to stop anything that would help the general in need population. When will someone with the Council stand up to him, whether it be Councillors or officer’s.
He will be the death of this Island and those who voted him in be careful what you wish for
Councillor Jarman, the ultimately NIMBY, I alright Jack, pull the ladder uo
DIPS seems to be an appropriate term.
https://www.facebook.com/769798199/videos/471985061514507/
How many people have been forced to leave the Island due to the lack of housing delivery, how many of what you call extant permissions will not ever be built, how many more permissions you refer to could not be built because of your various back door methods you instigate to stop development, your only agenda is appease the clones of yourself, ie, moved from mainland, purchased expensive properties to retire in and do not want any Islanders in genuine need anywhere near them. Please just stop all of the pretense, you are the ultimate NIMBY who is doing his best to act as a dictator within the IOW Council. You know there is in excess of 2500 on the housing register, you know you have counted current permissions in your figures that you personally are doing everything possible to stop them ever being built but you are doing this to try and help your argument, you are at best being extremely economic with the truth to the people of the Island. People need to and will see through you in time, just because you and your cronies are constantly campaigning that does not hide the fact that there are a far greater number of residents who genuinly care for the Island and are in need, they are just not retired and spend all their time complaining. Just because you move to the Island it does not give you the right to destroy everything here, retirees along with no new development will only place the island at the bottom of even more tables, even this week we are at the bottom of exam results, no professionals of quality are being encouraged to move here, from the outside it just looks like a dead end move so you cant blame them, this is all part of your plan for the Island, get rid of anyone in need. Stop pedalling false figures, you cannot have it both ways, roll on the next local elections
Shares fare! Why should Bembridge, Seaview and Freshwater be excluded from new builds? Do they not have anyone waiting for affordable homes in these areas? …………. Well of course they do but they don’t want affordable homes built, it might just devalue the area!!!!!! In the residents opinion! More brown envelopes changing hands to keep some areas excluded!!!!!!
I live in Bembridge and it certainly needs affordable housing. The likes of Build a Better Bembridge, that tosspot Robertson and the bigger tosspot Seely all rally round when anything is even proposed. I’d make the likes of Bembridge take it’s fair share of affordable homes. They spout the usual crap… infrastructure, flooding and over subscribed school.
Build a better Bembridge, sustainable Freshwater, 2 of the same, no care for the Island people in need of affordable homes just care about their own home values, Sustainable Freshwater should rename themselves to SUSTAIN MY FRESHWATER HOUSE VALUE