Campaigners unhappy with the decision made by the Isle of Wight council to choose The Hambrough Group as preferred bidder for the Ventnor Winter Gardens, have started an online petition.
The aim of the petition is to show the council their strength of feeling that the facility should continue to provide access at reasonable cost for local community members and groups. This is something the campaigners are afraid will not happen unless secured now, during the final negotiations between the council and the preferred bidder.
There has been much discussion on the Save The Winter Gardens Facebook group since the preferred bidder decision was made.
Community accessibility important, say council
One recent post contained the email response from John Metcalfe, in which he outlined the criteria used to select the preferred bidder. He highlights the importance of community accessibility, although the public are yet to hear how this will work.
I can advise you that the preferred bidder was selected on the basis that it offered the best proposals for the Winter Gardens against a range of criteria; two of the more important being:-
- Quality of community accessibility to the building (in time and programme offered)
- Deliverability of the proposal as a whole over the medium term (3 – 5 years). and the likely impact of these proposals on the economic well being of Ventnor
Online petition gathering support
The petition, which has gathered (at time of publication) 31 signatures already, is being widely shared across the Facebook network.
It reads …..
We, the undersigned, wish to record our deep and grave concern that the Isle of Wight Council should NOT enter into any final agreement to part with ownership of the Ventnor Winter Gardens without imposing comprehensive binding and long term obligations to guarantee affordable access to and use of the Winter Gardens facilities by local community members and groups.
If you want to sign the petition, pop over the the Website to add your virtual signature.
