Thanks to Claire for sharing this latest news. Ed
The Bay Coastal Community Team’s ‘Shaping The Bay’ public consultation is fully under way.
Its ‘What If… ‘postcards, designed by Sandown-based Mooksgoo, have appearing around the Bay over the last couple of weeks, ready for people to draw or write their ideas and aspirations for the future of this fantastic coastal asset. From Culver right round the curve and up to Luccombe, the Bay Coastal Community Team (CCT) would like to have your new views!
Ian Boyd from Arc Consulting, who are looking after the Bay CCT and working with Shanklin, Lake and Sandown councils, explains:
“There are 22,500 What If… postcards – one for everyone in the Bay and 500 more for luck! Schools in Sandown, Lake and Shanklin are already on the case and everyone who made it along to the first of our Campfire Session has filled them in, and now, with the help of the Bay’s libraries, shop owners, cafes and theatres, there should be a card near you ready for drawing, writing, colouring and creating! Once you’ve finished, just drop your card back to the venue ready for us to collect.
“We’ve spread them out, so if you’re picking up a library book or a portion of chips, out for spot of exercise, or early Christmas shopping, you’re sure to find one!
It’s not just about the future of the Bay. One of the things we’re doing is to collate information on The Bay – its history, heritage, wildlife, geography and people. The Bay Book will be a gazetteer of information, organizations, facts and figures that anyone can use to support funding bids, or help with a project or add locality to their marketing.”
He went on to say,
“As you’ll see from the list we’ve started on the back of our postcards, there are masses of natural and built wonders as well as brilliant activities, interesting businesses and a host of fascinating things past and present all in this one area.
“The 5 miles of sand make this one of the longest beaches in the UK;there are 25 churches, a castle lost at sea, cutting edge (literally) technology in the industrial estate and a creative army of small businesses helping to put The Bay, and the Island on the map. So we’re also asking people to share what they love about the Bay and any great news stories that we can celebrate too.”
An additional bit of good news
The CCT scheme is run nationally by the Department for Communities and Local Government and their Whitehall team visited The Bay project two weeks ago.
They were very positive about the will for change evident here from so many local people and local organizations… in fact they like the place so much they’re coming back on their hols!
Shaping the Bay Facebook Page
Virtual What If cards plus a full list of where to pick up the real ones are on the Facebook Page Shaping the Bay or if drawing is not your thing, you can share your ideas and stories with us on the Bayline 07594 214344.
Thanks to all the business owners so far for putting the postcards out for us and also for being full of great ideas and enthusiasm when we visited to drop the cards in.
If any new venues would like to stock the cards too, let the Bay CCT team know by emailing [email protected].
Images: © Ian Boyd
