There has been a lot of talk recently about future plans for Dinosaur Isle and the wider Culver Parade area.
The Isle of Wight council’s cabinet recently voted to take a fresh look at the plans, saying they had heard that the interested party in a new dinosaur-themed attraction on Culver Parade, Dinosaurier Park International, was about to walk away from investing in the Island.
The council are now seeking a new site for the attraction, which, if it goes ahead, could also include the new British Dinosaur Museum.
Consortium “pleased with the new initiative”
At the recent Corporate Scrutiny Committee Cllr Jonathan Bacon (Alliance) said he’d been “having very good conversations” with those involved after Cllr Ian Ward (Con) accused him of not speaking to the ‘Dinosaur Isle Museum Trust’.
Following the meeting, Dr Jeremy Lockwood (pictured above), chair of the Dinosaur Isle Group, told News OnTheWight,
“The consortium is pleased with the new initiative that the council is taking and will do everything it can to support it.”
Who are in the Consortium?
As reported in July, the Consortium is composed of a partnership between an Island resident association called the Dinosaur Isle Group, who will form a Charitable Trust, and Dinosaurier Park International – an established company, with extensive experience in developing, building, and operating Dinosaur Parks and Dinosaur Museums at an international level.
What is the British Dinosaur Museum?
The British Dinosaur Museum will be run on a not-for-profit basis by a Charitable Trust, alongside a Dinosaur Park created by the consortium partners, who will set up a UK-based company to run it.
They say that together, they will secure the long-term financial viability of the Island’s internationally important fossil collection in a new, fully accredited museum with significantly extended science and research activities.
Lockwood: This is a once in a lifetime opportunity
In July this year Dr Jeremy Lockwood announced the consortium’s plans. He said,
“The Isle of Wight is Europe’s premier dinosaur hotspot, with amazing new discoveries regularly being found under our feet. We literally walk on dinosaurs.
“We can make our Cretaceous Coast as famous as the Jurassic Coast, protecting the Island’s heritage, providing education and ensuring that Sandown becomes a major national tourist destination.
“We are living in a golden age of dinosaurs, and this is a once in a lifetime opportunity.”
Dr Lockwood tells News OnTheWight that the only thing that has changed since their announcement in July is the location of the new venture.
Asked whether Dinosaur Isle Museum will definitely move location, Cllr Jonathan Bacon told News OnTheWight,
“There is no fixed intention. The aim is to preserve and enhance the collection. That might happen in another location it might happen in the existing location. It is too early to say. One should not assume that the park and the Museum must be on the same site.
“The plan the last Administration came up with floundered because everything had to take place at Sandown and there was no proper assessment of land ownership issues and restrictions or of the space required.
“We hope to have a clear plan by January. At the moment there are a lot of strands. The key is to knit them together into something that is viable and which works.”
Article edit
10.45am 22nd Nov 2021 – Additional comment from JB added. In third para ‘will’ changed to ‘could’
