By Carole Dennett
Long-promised improvements to the East Cowes sea front are under threat – but the IW Council says no final decisions have been made.
Last February, original ideas to transform Albany Green on the Esplanade were downgraded to more modest ones. Budget pressures on the £5.8 million levelling up grant were blamed, which includes work on the Columbine building and Victoria Barracks. The concept, which included a viewing platform, steps down to the sea, a viewing jetty and a cafe, with exhibition space, were reduced to an amphitheatre-style event space, gardens and public toilets being re-opened. The changes were made as the original budget of £778,000 was slashed to £600,000. Planning permission was obtained the work was due to start this month.
Now it seems plans will be downgraded again, after the government refused a request for the Levelling Up grant to take account of inflationary pressures of up to 25 per cent.
In a statement to East Cowes Town Council (ECTC), the IW Council said it is having to “value engineer” the project to “protect as many deliverables as possible within constrained budgets.”
The statement also details unexpected problems with Southern Water, which has withdrawn written permission for the work. The company now says that exclusion zones are needed around rising mains and sewers on the site. Two high-voltage cables running underground across the site have also been discovered. The statement says: “The scheme will require a review and redesign with non-intrusive surface works.”
Structural defects discovered in the Under the Prom structure, requiring further investigations, will also affect the work.
However, the IW Council’s statement says that no decisions have been taken “on the reallocation of funds within the overall Venture Quays programme.”
The news has been met with anger by local councillor, Karl Love, who said: “East Cowes residents have been betrayed again.
“Over the years there have been many promises of ambitious projects following costly public consultations which have never been delivered.
“I want to know why it is always the public realm that comes at the back of the queue, and why the East Cowes community always seems to be last in line when it comes to the delivery of publicly-funded projects.”
A further war of words has broken out about MP, Bob Seely’s involvement, who spoke about the issue last Friday, at the funeral of former IW and ECTC councillor, Margaret Webster. Two councillors say he raised the issue in the crematorium as they queued to pay their respects to the family, saying there was “No money left” for the community element of the project, adding “What would you rather see happen? Would you rather have more jobs for your town or that green bit of land?”
Green Party councillor, and parliamentary candidate for the West Wight, Cameron Palin, said: “As we said our last farewells to our colleague, the last thing you expect is for the MP to drop a political bombshell.
“These comments came completely at the wrong time and, as far as we can ascertain, are untrue. Colleagues at the IW Council know the importance of the community element of this project.”
Mr Seely claimed he was asked about the project “either before or after the service.” He said: “I replied that it was progressing, but we were trying to ensure all funding. I felt it was reasonable to provide a response. Many other attendees were engaged in informal chat, which is common on such occasions.
“I am disappointed that Cllr Palin has sought to make political capital in such a tawdry way.”
The IW Observer has asked the IW Council for further details about the current budget and plans for the public realm element of the site.