This in from the council, in their own words. Ed
Details are due to be agreed on how the Isle of Wight Council will spend a £3.95 million government grant focused on boosting ‘green’ tourism on the Island.
The grant was announced earlier this year, with the council one of the successful bidders for funding from the £560 million Local Sustainable Transport Fund.
Five key elements
The Island bid project is titled ‘Sustainable Access to Tourism’ and features five key elements:
- Public transport hubs at key locations, providing transport and tourism information, as well as walking, cycling and public transport interchange facilities.
- A ‘real time’ islandwide public transport information system on buses, at railway stations and ferry terminals – as well as a mobile phone app.
- Walking and cycling infrastructure improvements, including filling in missing network links, improving access to tourism destinations, providing cycle racks at key destinations.
- Marketing and promotion initiatives to encourage tourists to choose the Island as a ‘green’ holiday destination.
- Project monitoring to ensure all elements are delivered on time and within budget. This is one of the conditions of the government grant.
Delegated decision to be made by Cllr Giles
Cabinet member for highways and transport, Councillor Edward Giles, is being asked to make a delegated decision to approve the elements of the project.
The report he is considering states that the Island benefits from 2.6 million visitors each year, with 16 per cent of all Island jobs directly linked to tourism.
It predicts the project will help to increase ‘green’ visitor numbers while ensuring any improvements are delivered sustainably. Detailed local planning will be discussed with local councillors and town and parish councils.
Council committing £1.25m
The council has made a commitment to contribute £1.25 million in addition to the £3.95 million government grant – taking the total budget for the project to £5.2 million.
Some of the cycling infrastructure schemes forming part of the project will require the acquisition of third party land, and discussions are underway in relation to this.
Among the walking/cycling schemes being proposed are:
- a shared use route from Newport to East Cowes;
- a continuous, mainly off-road route from Newport to Ryde;
- an off-road route from Brading to St Helens;
- the extension and upgrading of the Newport to Sandown route;
- the upgrading of the sunshine trail from Shanklin to Merstone via Wroxall and Godshill.
The cabinet member is also being asked to give delegated authority to the council’s director for economy and environment to bring forward reserve schemes if the budget permits.
Image: sludgegulper under CC BY 2.0
