Think Isle of Wight and an image of a quiet, scenic place, famed for its yachting, springs to mind. But behind the idyllic facade is an island harbouring 15 council wards that are in the top 20% of deprived areas in the UK. With a population of just 132,000 people, this adds up to a serious situation.
But a multimillion-pound plan, on the same scale as the Thames Gateway regeneration project, to help these deprived areas is about to get under way.
Using £10m of money from the South East England Development Agency and £40m of private investment, the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership, along with SEEDA and the Isle of Wight council, is embarking on major plans to turn round the fortunes of the Cowes Waterfront on the Medina Valley.
“The Medina Valley is one of the main economic areas on the Isle of Wight, so we wanted to look at an initiative that covered three of our main towns: the capital, Newport; East Cowes; and Cowes,” says Mike King, enterprise and investment director with the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership.
The project, which covers around 124 acres of prime waterfront land, will be split into five zones (see map), involving mixed-use developments with hotels, shops and cafés, along with public access areas and dry docks.
Each zone will focus on specific aspects of the overall masterplan, the developments will be built on a combination of used, vacant and derelict land.
The project’s main aim will be to attract employment and investment, raising the island’s profile as well as strengthening “its position as a centre of excellence for the composites and specialist marine sectors,” says the promotional brochure.
It already has the backing of yachtswoman, Ellen MacArthur, who operates her own business, Ellen MacArthur’s Offshore Challenges, from the area.
King says all it took was someone to come up with the development idea to get the ball rolling. That was three years ago, and now the first steps on the road to regeneration are about to be made. A masterplanner for the regeneration of East Cowes is set to be announced in a few weeks’ time.
Peter Cusdin, development projects director for SEEDA, says East Cowes is the biggest area within the regeneration project, so it was “good to start there first”.
“There is around 20 acres of brownfield land beside East Cowes town centre, and the main ferry terminal. It is prime development land that has seen a lot of businesses close, creating unemployment in the town. The masterplan will start looking at how we can redevelop it in the next nine to 12 months,” says Cusdin.
It is estimated that the entire project could take around 10 years to complete. King says: “One thing we want is a perception and image change. We are already getting people saying there’s more of a buzz about the island.”
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The Isle of Wight Economic Partnership has £10m from SEEDA and £40m of private investment to spend |
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The strategic framework for the Medina Valley will be based around five themed zones in an area of around 124 acres of riverside. Developments will be built on a combination of used, vacant and derelict land. Each zone will focus on a particular aspect of the economic mix (see diagram). Zone 1 Town centres, leisure and events: encompassing the town centres of Cowes and East Cowes. Developments will include mixed-use developments, with shops, hotels, residential, and leisure. Schemes will be aimed at strengthening East Cowes town centre Zone 2 Marine industries: will focus on an area upstream of Cowes harbour and the floating bridge. Schemes will create waterfront employment and improve public access to the waterfront Zone 3 Commercial shipping: will focus on the site of two wharves. Developments will include provision of land for boat storage and additional employment Zone 4 Environmental priority: Will take in most of the environmentally sensitive areas of the Medina Valley. The area will not see significant development, but projects will enhance the environmental value and bio-diversity of the river valley and estuary Zone 5 Newport Harbour: the furthest navigable point on the Medina will see a mixed-use quarter and additional berthage |
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Source: Cowes Waterfront Project |
