The leader of the Isle of Wight Council has hit back at critics over the decision to not prioritise the regeneration of the disused prison, Camp Hill.
The Alliance Administration announced its intentions recently to focus on delivering the three brownfield housing projects it was given nearly £1 million from government to develop, instead of waiting for Camp Hill.
The prison has been empty since 2013 after the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) moved operations elsewhere.
It has since been earmarked as a site for more than 1,000 potential homes by the Isle of Wight Council, included in the draft Island Planning Strategy, despite the council not owning the prison or surrounding land.
The decision to focus on other sites was met with mixed reaction across the Council chamber, including an open letter from Conservative group leader Cllr Joe Robertson urging the cabinet member for housing, Cllr Ian Stephens, to put the prison site ‘back on the agenda’.
However, Cllr Lora Peacey-Wilcox, council leader, said they do not have the time to wait around for the MoJ to decide what they are doing with the site.
The government body is currently reviewing its prison estates but Cllr Peacey-Wilcox said the door is open and the MoJ has their telephone number should they need to contact the council.
Speaking at cabinet last night (Thursday), Cllr Peacey-Wilcox said:
“My priority was not to deal with probabilities but actual real things we could change.
“Dealing with the probability of if or not or when the MoJ makes its decision is not something I have time for nor our staff.”
Having received £950,000 to develop three brownfield sites for housing on the Island, Cllr Peacey-Wilcox said she did not want to return the money so would prioritise that instead.
She said:
“We have not completely written off Camp Hill but we need to hone in on what we can achieve, not dreams.”
Cllr Ian Stephens said he can understand frustrations, but if Camp Hill becomes available he was sure the council will make a united decision to move forward to see what can be done.
The three sites the council will be able to develop are the former Island Learning Centre, in Lake; Thompson House in Gatcombe and the former Weston Academy in Totland, providing around 70 homes across all the sites.
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