This week, Isle of Wight Councillors approved the draft Island Planning Strategy (IPS) at the third time of asking but Councillor Joe Robertson, Chairman of the Council’s Corporate Scrutiny Committee, refused to back it. The Plan sets out the Council’s strategic land supply for the next 15 years with an annual housing target of nearly 500 new homes. The Plan, as supported by the majority of Councillors, will go on to the Planning Inspectorate, and if approved, it will replace the current 2012 plan.
Joe has consistently voted against the Plan and set out his reasons why. “Like most people I want to see more genuinely affordable homes for Island families to help cut the housing waiting list. However, I do not believe that the Plan which was presented to us will achieve this. It is a lost opportunity to go further and allocate more brownfield and “greyfield land” for building and scale back the unnecessary greenfield allocations. While the Island is struggling to tackle flooding and sewage spills, with drain infrastructure which cannot cope, its Council has passed a plan to build thousands of new homes on green fields and agricultural land. This is plainly not sensible.”
Joe went on to say, “The issues are so badly misunderstood that the Councillor who is backing court proceedings against the Council to stop building on Westridge Farm in Ryde, voted for the IPS which allocates all of this land for possible development at any time in the next 15 years. The Plan also expands the settlement boundary of Bembridge to allow for 200 extra homes to meet local Island “need”. The first round of 9 houses built on that land are near completion and the first 4 are being marketed at £825,000 - £950,000. It is pure fantasy to think that those houses will provide a home for any Islander in genuine need.”
