The Isle of Wight Council has completed the purchase of Venture Quays at East Cowes — securing the future of one of the Island’s most iconic buildings.
The £1.3 million acquisition follows many months of negotiations with Homes England and a Cabinet commitment to purchase the land which includes the historic Columbine site — famous for its huge Union flag doors.
Whittle: Pleased we can now announce this good news
Councillor Wayne Whittle, Cabinet member for regeneration and business development, said:
“This fulfils our commitment to acquire this important asset and will enable us to take forward our plans that support both East Cowes and the wider Island community.
“At a time when we know the Island economy is under pressure, affecting homes and jobs, I am pleased we can now announce this good news.
“It also allows us to progress development of housing for the community in the area and more information on this will follow on this shortly.”
Investing in the prime waterfront site — with its crucial deep water access — will preserve key employment land for the benefit of the Island’s workforce for many years to come.
Stewart: A flagship investment opportunity
Council leader Dave Stewart said:
“The purchase of the Venture Quays sites was a flagship investment opportunity highlighted by Boris Johnson when he visited the Island in 2019.
“Despite the clear economic challenges presented by the pandemic, acquiring these sites will protect Island jobs and preserve marine engineering in this location, as well as provide land for housing on a brownfield site.
“This ambitious project is an excellent example of how the council is helping our economy to recover from the ravages of coronavirus and supporting local business.”
Seely: A very long and bumpy road
Isle of Wight Conservative MP, Bob Seely, said,
“I am delighted that the IW Council has now completed the purchase of Venture Quays and I congratulate members for taking this bold step to acquire key employment land that will help to safeguard Island jobs – despite the financial challenges the council faces.
“It has been a very long and bumpy road we have been fighting the government for two years to get to this point. Their original plan was flawed but we worked hard to ensure Homes England did the right thing by the Island. Working together we secured the site at a price that the Island could justify and I’m pleased the negotiations have concluded in a positive result for Islanders.
“By closing this deal, brownfield land can be brought forward for housing development which negates the need to build on other greenfield sites.
“I look forward to continuing to work with the council to look at other ways we can safeguard jobs and create new opportunities to build affordable homes for Islanders in appropriate places.”
Article edit
3.15pm 11th Sep 2020 – Statement from MP added
News shared by Isle of Wight council press office. Ed
Image: davidcjones under CC BY 2.0
