The Isle of Wight Council is proposing to lower the housing target on the Island by nearly a quarter — delivering more than 7,000 homes over the next 15 years as opposed to 9,600.
As Isle of Wight Radio first and exclusively reported, new controversial Government housing reforms could see more than 1,000 new homes built on the Isle of Wight under the Government's new Standard Method.
Now, in the latest draft of the Island Planning Strategy, 73 allocated sites for housing have been removed, when compared to the previous version published in 2018.
Feedback from the 2018 plans was said to be ‘overwhelmingly’ opposed to the number of new houses planned — 641 houses a year, a total of 9,615 over 15 years — due to a lack of capacity to deliver the government’s housing target.
The government’s housing target for the Island has risen further to 668 new homes a year for the next 15 years but that has been deemed not realistic, nor deliverable.
Instead, in an effort to beat the government’s new planning bill which could see the Island’s target rise to over 1,000 homes a year, the council is proposing to take the latest draft strategy out to consultation and start the process of formally adopting it.
In the time between the two draft plans, evidence has been gathered, which the council says provides a clear indication the Island has a reduced ability to deliver the homes.
The latest plan is suggesting 7,290 over the 15 year period between 2023 and 2038 — just 486 homes a year — a reduction of 24 per cent.
Every area on the Island has lost allocated sites and, as a result, housing numbers, with some areas slashed in half.
Here is what is now allocated for each area:
- West Wight: 255 houses over six sites (down 297)
- West Medina: 869 houses over six sites ( down 109)
- Newport: 2,410 houses over 11 sites (down 1,285)
- East Medina: 315 houses over four sites (down 139)
- Ryde: 852 houses over seven sites (down 586)
- The Bay: 311 houses over seven sites (down 528)
Some of the sites in the 2018 plan, gone from the 2021 revised version include:
- 880 homes at New Fairlee Farm, Newport
- 99 houses at the Follyworks, Whippingham
- 20 houses on the St Thomas Car Park, Ryde
- 80 homes on Upton Road, Ryde
- 100 houses on Guildford Park Caravan Site and Fakenham Farm, St Helens
- 125 homes on Perowne Way, Sandown
- 15 homes at the former Flamingo Park, Seaview
Other allocated sites have either shrunk or, in some cases, increased:
- Westridge Farm / West Acre Park – 555 to 474 homes
- Land by the Football Club, Camp Road, Freshwater – 150 to 90 homes
- Somerton Farm, Newport Road, Cowes – 80 to 130 homes
- Land at Horsebridge Hill and Acorn Farm – 375 to 115 homes
- Land at Noke Common – 180 to 100 homes
- Scotland Farm and Tresslewood Care Village, Godshill – 30 to 100 homes
Sites allocated in the plan, either existing or new, include:
- 50 houses at Birch Close, Freshwater
- 50 houses at the former Polars Residential Home, Newport
- 175 houses on land by Carisbrooke College
- 250 houses at Newport Harbour
- 1,200 houses at Camp Hill Prison
- 125 homes on Crossways, East Cowes
- 150 houses on land off Broadwood Lane, Newport
- 225 homes on land by Sylvan Drive, Newport
- 84 homes at the former Sandham School
- 535 homes at Medina Yard, Cowes
- 146 homes at the former Somerton Reservoir, Newport Road
The council’s cabinet will decide next week whether to start the consultation, which would run from the end of July to September, to gather residents’ thoughts.
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