The Isle of Wight’s countryside could be at increased risk of poor quality greenfield development
unless urgent protections are introduced in upcoming devolution plans, CPRE Isle of Wight has
warned.
In its official response to the Government’s consultation on a new Mayoral Combined County
Authority (MCCA) for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, the charity urges ministers to grant the Island “exceptional status” to protect its planning independence.
Concern about “sweeping powers”
Under current proposals, a regional mayor could hold sweeping powers over housing targets and strategic planning. CPRE argues this could lead to housing numbers being dictated from the Mainland — with little regard for the Island’s environmental or infrastructure limitations.
CPRE has consistently highlighted the Island’s exceptional circumstances. In 2019, it commissioned groundbreaking expert analysis from independent demographers, showing that government population forecasts for the Island were flawed. This helped win important bespoke protections for the Island under the previous Conservative Government’s Planning framework.
Wellby: This devolution deal must not become a backdoor to Mainland-driven development
Ian Wellby, Treasurer of the Isle of Wight CPRE, said,
“We’ve long argued that the Isle of Wight deserves a distinct planning approach.
“This devolution deal must not become a backdoor to Mainland-driven development that threatens our landscapes, wildlife, and communities and fails to reflect true local need.
“For Isle of Wight at least, so called ‘devolution’ in fact represents a centralisation of our existing strategic planning powers and our ability to decide how many homes we build on the Island.
“We cannot give any power away to a Mayor representing a largely Mainland constituency to make these decision with Government at the expense of the Island.”
News shared by Ian in his own words. Ed
