The Isle of Wight Council has taken the next step forward in regenerating the county town — by approving the Newport Harbour Masterplan. What can you expect to see and when will it happen?
Dramatic changes are in store for the waterfront and surrounding areas, although you won’t see any changes yet.
Here’s an explainer on everything you need to know about the plans:
What’s happened?
On Thursday (12th November 2020) the Newport Harbour Masterplan was approved by the Isle of Wight Council to become a statutory planning document.
The masterplan has been in the works for almost 3 years since the Regeneration Members’ Board made the decision to create a masterplan in February 2018.
After some more work to understand the flood risk on certain plots involved in the plan, requested by the Environment Agency, the council will formally adopt it.
And what does that mean?
As a statutory planning document, the Newport Harbour Masterplan will form a base, or a guide, for the ideas going forward — something that can be pointed to as a reference in future planning applications but will not be used as an official planning document.
So, what’s the plan?
The Masterplan is a key part of the regeneration of Newport, the Isle of Wight Council has said. It will, the authority hopes, attract more people to the heart of the Island and turn the area into a vibrant social and cultural destination.
What does that include?
Houses; a footbridge over the River Medina connecting Seaclose Park with the other side of Newport; a multi-storey car park to encourage people to walk into the town and park; new commercial and office space; a new gateway to the harbour in Seaclose Park; either a community centre or new hotel on the current County Hall car park and a new focal square.
What about the Riverside Centre?
A couple of options have been suggested for the current community hub including expanding the existing site or building a new cultural venue and destination.
In the final report of the masterplan, the site said only the Old Hall building is ‘potentially of heritage interest’ but the other buildings are not of high quality and sit awkwardly on the site.
Cllr Michael Lilley said the centre was the hub of the voluntary sector for the Isle of Wight and sought reassurance that the voluntary organisations currently based at Riverside will benefit from the regeneration, building on their work. Cllr Dave Stewart, the leader of the council, said he would ensure those groups were looked after.
How many houses are proposed?
Originally more than 260 residential units were planned for the area, with some on both sides of the harbour and on Seaclose Park. Now, following a campaign to remove the houses from the entrance to the park, the total has been taken down to 228 units.
What happened with Seaclose Park?
To fund some aspects of the development, housing was proposed to be built on the entrance to Seaclose Park, on Fairlee Road, ultimately building over the currently still standing Fairlee Road Service Station.
The backlash from the local community saw a petition and campaign launched by local ward representative Cllr Matthew Price, and other Newport councillors, to get rid of the housing. After gaining more than 3,000 signatures, and discussions with relevant parties, the Isle of Wight Council backtracked on the decision.
Although, Cllr Barry Abraham, the Isle of Wight Council’s chief of planning and housing, said other brownfield sites in and around Newport are being looked at to put the housing removed from Seaclose.
Will the development will start now?
No — planning applications will still have to be submitted and approved by the council before the majority of changes can be made around the site.
The development has been planned in 3 phases, which could take up to 15 years to complete once started.
However, the last bits of the masterplan are being ironed out including areas of housing, the flood risk and the approval of a Harbour Revision Order.
What is a Harbour Revision Order, and what’s the problem?
A Harbour Revision Order (HRO) is legislation the Isle of Wight Council has submitted to the Marine and Maritime Organisation (MMO).
The authority is hoping to change the length of lease some of the land in the harbour currently has. At the moment, the maximum term is for 3 years, which constraints the development.
The HRO was submitted in 2017 and the council is still awaiting a response from the MMO.
What is the next step?
Going forward, the Cllr Wayne Whittle, cabinet member for regeneration and business development, has said plots in the masterplan will be ‘actively marketed’ to support the council’s recovery plans.
Government funding will also be sought to help make some of the plots viable and for supporting the wider infrastructure schemes such as the footbridge.
what does it mean – it means…..KERCHING!! payday for the councillors and developers
Having one of the most suspect in charge does not bode well for the honesty, integrity of this huge money making project. I assume the usual developer friends will be tickled PINK, and CAPTIVAted by this ‘surprise’ news.
Vote this council OUT at your next given chance, for they are not as many naive assume them to be.
Excuse issues with cap lock key.
Means they are spending more of our tax payers money.
Remove all vital services just to they can build offices with a view. So while they are sat there doing sweet fanny Adam’s as there is nothing on the island they can then watch the little ducks swim up and down. The Isle of Wight council is one of the most corrupt in the uk and they should be taken to task and current lot kicked out. Damn tori’s
Watch the plans get ‘adjusted’ and pretty much everything other than the unwanted housing be removed. Mark my words.
Akin to allowing one of the Kray brothers to be in charge of huge sums of public money and then to ‘expect because’ they had made a lot of immoral and illegal cash in their private business affairs that by some ‘miracle’, they would then become squeaky clean dealing with millions of our public money.
Truly a terrible choice, and I can only hope that members of the voting public remove this most devious council out at the next given chance.
So it’s just another major housing development then – the rest is bureaucratic exhaust fumes spewed forth to make it look like they are doing something big and important, when all they are doing is looking for the extra cash and the brownie points they’ll get from Whitehall for providing additional housing for the governments immigration programme
Spot on AGAIN Bry.
The truth is quite unpopular here, people ‘in’ such don’t want it told, and those living in a nice bubble, similarly don’t wish to hear unpleasant talk, and would rather believe fibs, so as they can sleep at night.
The Cllr apparently has a ‘contorted willow’ hand made bed, apparently so he can still sleep straight, mind the nose against the ceiling may be a little uncomfortable until all that cash is transferred into family accounts.
Vote it and the rest of them OUT next time around.
Greed has unseated many a person, let’s hope time this is no different.