A chair for the Ryde Town Board has been appointed in what is set to be an exciting period of growth and transformation for the town. The newly appointed chair, Steven Holbrook, has hit the ground running to establish a new independent Board that will oversee a £20m Levelling Up funded grant from government. Ryde is one of 75 towns across the UK to benefit from the Government’s new Long-Term Plan for Towns programme. The Chair will act as a champion for Ryde, ensuring the Town Board is community-led and effective at targeting investment which help build a better future for local people. As the decision-making body responsible for leading the development and delivery of the Ryde’s Long- Term Plan, the Board will work closely with local people to identify and unlock investment priorities across the town. Establishing a Board that represents the community and businesses of Ryde, covering the broad themes of safety and security; high streets, heritage and regeneration; and transport and connectivity is a crucial part of accessing the funding. A visit to mark the appointment was made by the Long-Term Plan for Towns Interim Programme Director, Adam Hawksbee, who met with the new Chair as well as local business owners to get a sense of the opportunities and challenges facing Ryde. Steven Holbrook said:
“I’m excited to be leading on this collaborative project that will not only really make a difference to Ryde but also the Island. £20million is a hugely significant amount of government money and we will work hard to maximise its impact. We will be imaginative, with a view to leveraging other funding and creating legacy projects.” “I’m looking forward to engaging with residents and stakeholders to make the absolute best of this exciting opportunity. This is a great moment in history for Ryde town and it’s residents; but it’s a project that will make it a better place not just for the residents but will also see investment that will bring Islanders to Ryde more often, as well as improving one of our gateway destinations for off-Island visitors.”
What a load of olde waffle
You suck… Smith
I could do my Holbrook a favour here. With the 20 million buy bulldozer and flatten Ryde. The place is a dump. You could spend 200 million on the place and it would look no better.
It’s comments like this that show the ignorance and lack of vision of some people who live here, if you think it’s such a dump, why don’t you leave, otherwise why not try to offer constructive criticism instead of negativity. Ryde is not a dump, it just needs people who can see the diamonds in the rough here and not carry on with the same ole thing that’s been the mindset here for so many years. This is a beautiful place to live and it can be amazing but the powers that be haven’t had the vision to manage and implement much needed change and improvement. Rather than tear our lovely town apart be part of the force to build it up.
Build a better Ryde? Toilets??
Go before you leave the house!
STOP MOTORISTS SPEEDING IN RYDE AND SURROUNDING AREAS
Exciting? I’m having difficulty containing myself.
I’m sure Mr Holbrook is excited as he now has a nice new employment package. And this has nothing to do with splashing the cash just before an election.
It’s a volunteer position
So just £266 thousand . You couldn’t repave Ryde high street for that.
Stealing my name again? Just how sad and empty is your life?
Steven Holbrook is a director of Siela Ltd, which is a property development company. Surely, property developers should not serve on town development committees/boards or councils because of obvious conflicts of interest. We all know where the money goes in the end.
And sandown is falling apart
The Interchange was a right balls up and a complete waste of money.
I’m confused again, (normal)… Is that £20 million for Ryde or a 75th of the amount? As £266k might only just cover the townhall restoration. Interesting to note that improvement grants are only issued from the government to independent boards and not local councillors. 🙂
Try filling the empty shops with something other then charity or vap shops!
Tourists love the dinky shops and old buildings. There’s not much wrong with Ryde. It reflects the community and the lack of money but it’s okay. The interchange will be great when it’s finished. Same old moans. Same old people. Maybe add more artwork/murals. I’d like to see flags like Glastonbury festival flags on lampposts. A bit of colour would be great. It’s all a bit beige. How about a rainbow crossing on Union St just to really annoy the usual critics?