As you may well have heard, the planning application to redevelop the site of the current Mill Bay was refused at the planning committee last night 7 to 2 (3 abstentions). The reasons given – the Scale, Mass and Height of the building was too great.
Of the many people that we spoke to about this, very few were supportive of the Mill Bay plans, so we’re sure that those people will be wishing a big thanks to all the many people who devoted their personal time to act on their dislike for the plans, including those who turned out at the Ventnor seafront & Newport and Val Taylor and Susan Scoccia.
Some have thought that there’s a strange disconnection between the strength of people’s feelings and their physical attendance at the meetings, but when you consider that the seafront visit was during a weekday morning, and Newport on a weekday afternoon, both of these are difficult times for many people to turn up, due to most people having to be at work!
We heard comments that people were pretty amazed that it was refused – and comments that people power does work.
This is despite what has been reported to us as a general attempt at misinforming people around town – leaving aside the submitted sketches that English Heritage and others found misleading.
We had heard from others that people involved with the scheme had been saying that those against the scheme who turned up to the seafront were booing and hissing at the planning visitors (they weren’t), and a certain local councillor telling people that English Heritage had designed the building! (it’s pretty clear that EH didn’t like it)
Alex Dyke Programme
We understand that all of the radios in town were tuned to the Alex Dyke phone-in yesterday with people having their ears glued to the wireless.
Sadly the phone-in didn’t reflect the opinion of the majority of the town.
Many have commented that it was ‘peculiar’ that the first four callers, and indeed the majority of those who made it onto the air, were for the scheme.
As to why the phone number to call in to comment wasn’t given out during the whole of the phone in, can only be guessed at.
Listening to the programme, it was notable that the people who were against the scheme made comments about the scheme, those against often resorted to attacking Debbie personally.
Hats off to Debbie for going into the studio. It couldn’t have been easy to endure that and put up with Alex Dykes frequent reference to her having ‘only’ lived here for five years. Despite this, she did a Stirling job in getting her points across.
The Future
Those who aren’t intimately involved with the Mill Bay redevelopment, or friends of them, know that any building that attempts to block out the view of Ventnor from the Esplanade, or from the upper parts of town, or the sea cannot be right for town.
In our view, it’s an attempt at wilful vandalism – but on a very large scale.
The developers now have a difficult choice.
If they go to appeal, they risk losing (precedent has already been set with the refusal of Beachlands), potentially stopping any large scale development on the seafront in the future.
They can apply again, but having had permission refused already, they’re in a weaker position.
