A multi-million pound wish list of investments has been laid out by the Isle of Wight Council – including 1,500 homes at Camp Hill and the regeneration of Newport Harbour and East Cowes waterfront.
To regenerate the Island, the council has created its Island Investment Plan (IIP) with projects cashing up to more than £322 million.
‘Inspiration Island’
The ‘Inspiration Island’ regeneration strategy has been in action since it was approved in 2019 and through it, the Isle of Wight Council has secured opportunities like Venture Quays, Branstone Farm and Nicholson Road to help fulfil its aims.
Now, with the Covid-19 pandemic set to impact the Island’s economy for a while longer, the council is now setting out its case, through the IIP, for funding to move projects along.
17 ‘key opportunities’
The 17 ‘key opportunities’ the council have put forward for investment to help address local challenges and ‘stimulate economic growth’ costs an estimated £322.25m.
What are the schemes?
- Medina Wharf (£9m) — fix urgent repairs at the Island’s only deep-water wharf
- Kingston Marine Park (£10m) — create water access for the site
- Kingston Wharf (£5m) — redevelop the area to include 3,000sqm of workspace
- Medina Yard (£12m) — 14,500sqm of workspace providing up to 460 jobs in the marine sector
- Zero carbon energy infrastructure (cost unknown) — deliver a Smart Grid electricity network
- West Wight cycle route (£1.5m) — create a dedicated route between Yarmouth and Newport
- Camp Hill (£30m) — 1,500 homes
- East Cowes waterfront (£30m) — Also known as Venture Quays, workspace, housing, a hotel and leisure activities
- Newport Harbour (£100m) — 300 homes and up to 500 jobs as well as other public realm upgrades
- Ryde Interchange and Esplanade (£25m) — improving access to the Island
- High Street regeneration (£2.5m) — improve the quality of town centres and high streets in Ryde, Newport, East Cowes, Shanklin and Sandown
- Small residential sites for housing (£20m) — 200 homes across the sites, potentially including sites in Sandown, Ventnor, Cowes, Newport, Totland and a car park on Shanklin Esplanade, by the Cliff Lift
- Dinosaur Isle (£20m) — expand and develop the tourist attraction
- Centre of Excellence for Digital Skills (£2.75m)
- Nicholson Road (£45m) — extend the business park accommodating 900 new jobs
- Innovation Wight (£5m) — create an innovation hub near the BAE site in Cowes
- Branstone Farm (£4.5m) — rural business park, brewery and homes
Fifth of funding achieved
So far just over a fifth of that funding (£69.1m plus £500,000 a year for Camp Hill) is in place towards the delivery of the projects but council officers say more is needed for every scheme and that financing regeneration plans in an Island context can be challenging due to the additional costs incurred for being on an island.
To get the cash needed, bids will be made to either government schemes, like the Town’s Fund or Levelling Up Fund, or the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership.
Borrow £25m match-funded by Gov
To start and further the projects, the report says the Isle of Wight Council would initially borrow £25 million with a further £25 million coming from the government while more funding streams can be identified.
The council’s cabinet will decide whether to approve the IIP at tonight’s meeting, to be the basis of the funding applications.
More details can be found in the IWC report and appendix.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is part of. Read here to find about more about how that scheme works on the Island. Some alterations and additions may have been made by News OnTheWight. Ed
Image: howardlake under CC BY 2.0
