Residents in East Cowes are being invited to view plans for the regeneration of the area and have their say on how £5.8m Levelling Up funds are spent.
As reported on Thursday, possible scenarios will be on display at the Columbine Building on Saturday (11th December) between 10am-4pm.
Love: Schemes are in the control of people who own the property
Cllr Karl Love, the Isle of Wight councillor for East Cowes went along to look at the plans on display today.
He was keen to point out that the Levelling Up funding is just for the Columbine building, the former barracks and some small public realm work.
He said,
“The £5.8 million Levelling Up funding is only for the Columbine building, the former barracks and some small public realm work.
“All the other items within the plans on show are not included in the current levelling up with scheme.
“In reality these schemes are in the control of people who own the property and as one can see Red Funnel own a significant part of the concept and proposed developments.”
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Love: Missing from the plans
Cllr Love went on to explain,
“What’s missing from these plans, and most importantly, is the highway network traffic flow scheme. There are lots of new plans, but no inclusion of where people are going to park.
“If the plan goes ahead the Red Funnel car park and the Maresfield car park will be lost. Just a few minutes ago the Maresfield car park was full of workers’ vehicles from Wight shipyard and other places.”
Love: Our community voice has never been so important
The councillor encourages residents to view the plans today or tomorrow, adding,
“There is no doubt that we will see some development, but that’s not likely to be in the immediate future. All of this will be subject to proposed planning consents and there will be further opportunity for the community to comment at that time.
“However it is important that people participate in the consultation because that will be used as the evidence base for putting forward any future building designs in those locations.
“Our community voice has never been so important and especially with all the developers now planning to deliver their own proposals for the land in and around East Cowes.”
Where and when
Residents can find out more at the Columbine Building on Saturday 11th December, between 10am and 4pm.
To view the plans and fill in the online consultation you can visit the Website.
