By Carole Dennett
Plans for Ryde Neighbourhood Board (RNB) to rush through a controversial decision on purchasing Ryde Town Hall have been postponed, after the IW Observer raised concerns about the timing and the lack of information available ahead of two meetings scheduled for early May – including an Extraordinary General Meeting set for polling day.
RNB was established to administer £19 1/2 million awarded to Ryde under the government’s Pride in Place programme, with the town receiving the funds over ten years. In December, the IW Observer reported concerns about a lack of transparency over who would ultimately own Ryde Town Hall if RNB purchased it. Although it was publicly stated that the decision would be made through an open and transparent process, internal documents showed that Ryde Revival CIC had already been identified as the intended beneficiary. It was also proposed that the board use public money to underwrite a £25,000 deposit enabling Ryde Revival to sign legal documents related to the purchase of the building.
In the latest development, RNB had arranged a board meeting for May 1 and an extraordinary meeting for May 7, to make a decision on whether to buy the near‑derelict Town Hall for £600,000. However, the owner, Ken Gladdis – who purchased the building for £300,000 in 2013 – refused access to anyone connected with the board, including surveyors. This meant no condition survey or updated valuation could be carried out. The most recent valuation, completed in 2020 by Gully Howard, put the building at £200,000, and no significant work has been undertaken since.
Concerns were first raised in early April about whether it was appropriate to push the decision through during the pre‑election period when politically controversial decisions should not be made. However, the decision to postpone both meetings until after the elections – when further information, including financial and other potential liabilities for any purchaser, should be available – was only taken on Wednesday after the IW Observer submitted detailed questions.
In response to our enquiries, an Isle of Wight Council spokesman confirmed it had not seen a comprehensive business plan for the building’s future, and that any proposal would need to demonstrate sound financial management to protect public funds. The council also confirmed it could consider providing interim funding if RNB decided to purchase the building, but such support would be subject to conditions and require approval from its senior finance officer.
It was also confirmed that, on March 9, the council’s Monitoring Officer, who advises on legal issues, ruled that the authority should not publish material “promoting the work of the Board” during the pre‑election period. Despite this, notices for the two meetings in May appeared on the council’s website.
In a statement, RNB said its position remained that it wished to help bring the Town Hall back into community use, but only with full information and proper safeguards for public money. The statement added that discussions will resume after the election period, once all necessary information has been gathered.
East Wight MP, Joe Robertson, said: “It is entirely right that Ryde Neighbourhood Board, which is supported by Isle of Wight Council staff, is not meeting to make contentious decisions about spending public money during the election campaign. There are councillors and candidates that sit on RNB, and the IW Council should not be facilitating political decisions while there is an election on. I am quite astonished the Council got so far as publishing meeting papers and scheduling an extra meeting to make a decision about purchasing Ryde Town Hall on May 7, which is election day.
“The Neighbourhood Board continues to struggle with leadership and governance issues, and Ryde residents are understandably frustrated.”
