More than 20 residents, professionals and community representatives gathered at the Ventnor Town Council offices at the weekend for a constructive workshop exploring ideas for the future of Ventnor Winter Gardens.
Participants worked in a series of smaller discussion groups before coming together to share their thoughts with the wider room. The session was expertly facilitated by a member of the Winter Gardens Steering Group, and was marked by a strong sense of creativity, collaboration and positive energy.
A wide range of ideas was generated for short and long-term uses of the building. Some proposals could potentially be implemented quickly and with relatively little investment, helping to bring activity back to the site soon.
There was a clear consensus that reopening the building for community use as soon as possible would be beneficial for Ventnor, while also recognising the importance of developing a longer-term vision to secure the building’s full regeneration by creating a differentiated destination to help Ventnor win more attention and attract year-round visitors.
It was also agreed that commercially viable proposals and well-funded partnerships are the best way to ensure the community benefits, long into the future, from the presence and the facilities of the Winter Gardens.
All the ideas shared during the workshop have been captured and are now being collated. A consolidated report will then be shared and discussed with the building’s owner, Kevin Sussmilch.
Before the workshop, he expressed his support, receptiveness and interest in hearing more about the ideas generated.
Members of the Steering Group said they were encouraged by both the constructive spirit of the workshop and the willingness of local people to contribute their time and expertise to help shape a positive future for this important Ventnor landmark.
What are these fools playing at?
On 19 January 2026, Island Echo reported that Councillor Blake said an appeal had been made by the owner against the Winter Gardens’ Asset of Community Value (ACV) designation including the right to bid for the building and that whilst the ACV designation remains in place, an appeal against the right to bid was upheld.
He told the meeting:“This has come from a slight disparity between national guidelines and the Isle of Wight Council’s interpretation of those guidelines and therefore the community right to bid for the asset as “members of Ventnor” was rejected.” No surprise there – another cock up by IWC.
What part of that do these people not understand?
Yet at that same meeting, the “spokesperson” for the group demanded : “If he doesn’t want to sell, what does he want to use the building for?” None of your business chum, Sussmilch has NO intention of selling his eyesore back to “the community” – ever! Unless of course he can turn a huge profit on a deal with some mug punter prepared to buy it for a couple of Mil£ or more.
See also https://www.ventnortowncouncil.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/winter_gardens.pdf
Wake up and smell the coffee.
The Ventnor Winter Gardens is a dangerous structure and should be demolished as soon as Sussmilch realises that his £1 pig in a poke is worthless and he is not going to get rich at the expense of the “community”.