5. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

The outstanding quality of Ryde’s ecology, arts pedigree and built heritage is the raw material for enterprise. As assets for a year-round visitor economy, as a priority pathway for national and regional investment in the emerging green economy, as opportunities for new creative industry, as ‘pull’ for new business location, and as a source of new specialist training and skills development, these natural and cultural resources have the power to build sustainability.

Creating and supplying these opportunities so that they are accessible and relevant to the most deprived and disadvantaged communities requires a strongly localized approach utilizing a patchwork of neighbourhood sites that integrate with centres of public and voluntary intervention.