At Monday night’s monthly meeting, the Ventnor Town Council (VTC) voted unanimously to progress negotiations with the Isle of Wight Council on entering into a 25 year lease for the Coastal Centre (also referred to as Salisbury Gardens) in Ventnor.
Readers may remember the latest Forward Plan for the Isle of Wight council includes a listing for consideration of “The Possible Disposal of Salisbury Gardens Under Special Purchaser Arrangements”.
25 year lease to be explored
The negotiations will be subject to a Cabinet decision on 10 September to treat the Ventnor Town Council as a ‘Special Purchaser’. The VTC would not be purchasing the building, instead looking to enter into a 25 year lease with an option to renew.
The report produced by Clerk David Bartlett, embedded below for your convenience, also states it’s anticipated by both Councils that discussions can be completed by the end of the calendar year.
Funding for refurbishment
The paper also revealed that,
A grant of £85,000 has been applied for to this year’s round of the Coastal Communities Fund for the refurbishment of that part of the building that is planned to be developed for business start-ups and small businesses in the creative industries and office based services.
A further application, to the Big Lottery’s Reaching Communities funding stream, is in preparation for that part of the building that is planned to be developed as a community resource base.
This is very promising news for Ventnor and all those who have worked hard to retain the asset for the town rather than be sold on the open market, as the former Isle of Wight council had planned.
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