This in from Laura, in her own words, Ed
East Cowes Regeneration, a collection of local organisations working together on the project, is holding a public consultation event at East Cowes Town Hall on Thursday, 28th May and urging local people to come along.
The event, from 10am to 7pm, will give the public a chance to see the aspirational plans and give their feedback on them. Their comments will be used to inform the final drafts, which will be submitted to Isle of Wight Council’s planning committee later in the year.
Multi-million pound investment
Peter Frankum, Director of Masterplanning and Urban Design at Savills, will lead the consultation event. He said:
“These plans represent a huge opportunity to make East Cowes a better place to live, work, travel and do business and it’s vital for us to get the input of local residents to shape them.
“We have already been working in collaboration with stakeholders and experts from a variety of organisations and agencies, which has helped us to address a range of issues from traffic to town centre dwell time. We are looking forward to sharing our latest draft proposals with local people and using their feedback to fine tune our final plans.”
View the refined plans
Councillor Shirley Smart, Executive member for economy and tourism at the Isle of Wight Council, said:
“Last year the concept designs for the project were shared with a number of groups and residents in East Cowes which helped refine and develop plans for the scheme. This event is an opportunity for residents to view the refined plans and provide feedback on the draft plans that will form part of the project’s planning application.
“This is a terrific opportunity, not just for East Cowes, but for the whole Island as it will create a modern, functional and welcoming gateway for the thousands of visitors who travel between Southampton and Cowes each year – and breathe new life into East Cowes town centre, providing a boost to the local economy.”
Catering for more ferry passengers
Millions of pounds is set to be invested into East Cowes under the East Cowes Regeneration Project, creating a new waterfront and business opportunities, improving road systems and relocating the Red Funnel ferry terminal to an adjacent site that can cater for more passengers.
A significant amount of money would also be spent on a new floating bridge connecting Cowes and East Cowes.
Kevin George, CEO of Red Funnel, said:
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make East Cowes an even better and more connected place. As a business that’s been based right in the heart of the town for 67 years it’s an incredibly exciting time for us. I would urge anyone living or working in East Cowes to come along on May 28 to find out more and be a part of the exciting change that is on the horizon.”
People who are unable to attend the event can view plans at Red Funnel’s East Cowes terminal after May 28 until June 8 and at www.eastcowesregeneration.co.uk.
A dedicated website for the project has been set up to give residents and businesses the latest information and news. It also features a question and answer section, where people can find out commonly asked questions about the project and submit their own to be answered. Visit www.eastcowesregeneration.co.uk to find out more.
