Cllr Joe Robertson responds to the opinion article from Cllr Vix Lowthion published yesterday in which she shared her concerns about the desire for new housebuilding to be moved from Freshwater and Bembridge to Newport. In his own words. Ed
Yesterday the Corporate Scrutiny Committee of the Isle of Wight council were presented with a set of amendments to the Draft Island Planning Strategy which were drawn up by the council’s planning officers.
Those amendments provided for removing the unnecessary allocation of four fields for building over 300 homes on the outskirts of Bembridge and Freshwater.
Green councillors voted against
The fields are currently outside the respective settlement boundaries but were included in the draft Plan published for consultation last year. At least two of the fields are prone to flooding.
When it came to the vote, the two Green Party Councillors voted against the amendments and supported the proposal to increase the Bembridge and Freshwater settlement boundaries to allow for house building on the fields.
Land around County Hall
A second separate amendment to the draft Plan sought to secure a feasibility study for County Hall and surrounding land by Coppins Bridge in Newport to see whether it could be brought forward for redevelopment for affordable housing in the future.
Notwithstanding that the proposals concerned land which is already built on and could have provided mixed retail, affordable rental accommodation and essential services like a doctor’s surgery, the Green Party Councillors also voted against that amendment.
Recommendations amended
Contrary to Vix Lowthion’s claim, there was no proposal to accommodate any housing allocation from Bembridge and Freshwater in the land around County Hall and Coppins Bridge (see the draft text of the amendment at section 7.40, p30).
In any case, as a matter of law, any allocation for a specific number of housing would first have to be consulted on with the residents of Newport and the Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council.
County Hall will never return to pre-Covid capacity
The fact remains that County Hall and its large car park is heavily underused and will never return to capacity post-Covid, however there is no mention of the possibility of redevelopment in the council’s proposed 15 year land strategy.
Furthermore, because the surrounding land is in public ownership, the land could be used to spend some of the council’s budgeted £40 million to build some much needed affordable rental housing which could remain in the public sector in perpetuity to house Island families.
Cross-party talks
While the Green Party’s Vix Lowthion was busy issuing political press statements yesterday accusing me of playing Monopoly with planning, I was working cross-party, including constructive talks with some of the council’s Cabinet, to try and achieve a draft text of the Island Plan Strategy which is greener and crucially, more affordable for Islanders.
Too heavily slanted in favour of greenfield development
The Plan is still too heavily slanted in favour of greenfield development with some suitable brownfield sites omitted from the Plan altogether.
Unfortunately, the Greens have blocked attempts to address this imbalance but have brought forward no amendment ideas of their own.
Overrule the recommendations
I am now appealing to Cllr Paul Fuller and the Cabinet to overrule and bring forward all the recommendations for full council so that we can have the best plan available for those most in need of affordable accommodation which also supports our special biosphere status.
