dates for your diary

Every Tuesday until the end of March 2023

Warm Hub at Whippingham Community Centre from 11am – 3.30pm. If you are an ‘over 60’ and living locally drop in for a light lunch of homemade soup and roll followed by tea/coffee and biscuits for just £2. After lunch you can either just sit and chat, play cards or other board games. You’ll be in a warm place with likeminded people. Call Dawn on 07717018131 for more information.

Sunday 5th March – Preloved Indoor Market at Binstead Community Centre, from 1pm – 2.30pm. Preloved sale for everything you need from pregnancy to 5 yrs. Clothes, equipment, toys, books and more. Free entry for buyers.

Monday 6th March - Isle of Wight Family History Society open meeting. The history of tuberculosis on the Isle of Wight – talk by Dr Paul Bingham at Arreton Community Hall, Main Road, Arreton. Doors open 2pm talk starts 2:15pm. Members of the Isle of Wight FHS £1; non-members £2. Everyone welcome.

Saturday 11th March – Newchurch Drama Group Spring Quiz at All Saints Church Hall, Newport from 7pm – 10pm. £6 per person. Maximum of 4 in a team. This is a fun, friendly quiz with prizes for the winning team. Raffle on the night but bring your own refreshments. Call 07811 690462 to book your table.

Sunday 12th March - Charity Antiques and Collectors Fair (in support of the MNDA) at Northwood House, Cowes from 10am – 4pm. Visitors can expect to find a great variety of local antique and collectable traders in the function rooms of Northwood House. Refreshments, tea, cakes and sandwiches available all through the day for exhibitors and visitors. Admission is £3 per adult or £5.00 per couple on the gate, with accompanied children free.

Saturday 25th March – Spring Coffee Morning at East Cowes Methodist Church at 10am. Various stalls and raffle. 12 noon soup and pudding lunch.

Saturday 25th & Sunday 26th March - The Island Car Centre Sandown Sprint will return to Culver Parade. The Sandown Sprint will involve 100 cars competing on a specially constructed circuit, at Sandown’s Culver Parade, with the start in Fort Street and finishing in Yaverland. Once again, overall spectator numbers will be limited, so motor racing fans are advised to book early. The cost of admission has been held at £10 per adult, with concessions. Further details on the Sandown Sprint and tickets for the event can be found via the website isleofwightspeedtrials.co.uk

Sunday 26th March – Isle of Wight Spring Boat Jumble at Northwood Park, Cowes from 10am – 3pm. Entry is free for buyers on foot, but a parking fee of £2 per car will be requested for buyers using the event field to park. Tea, coffee, cakes and hot refreshments will be available on the show field, with toilets available in the Northwood Park next to the tennis courts. All proceeds go to Northwood House Charitable Trust for ongoing restoration works and community projects in Northwood Park.

If you are organising a community event please feel free to email the information to islandmagazines@gmail.com and details will be shared in the ‘Dates for your Diary’ section was correct at time of print but could be subject to change at any time.

Email: karl.love@iow.gov.uk Facebook: Cllr Karl Love

This month I met with Terry Norton Deputy Police & Crime Commissioner for our Island to discuss areas of Island issues including the arsonist incidents which occurred recently in East Cowes. We talked about the levels of policing, officers on the ground, and the use of the police precept increases to our tax. I communicated that I would expect to see more police on our streets and PCSO as the tax increase amounts to 50 additional Officers across the area. Mr Norton informed me that a new Police Station was to be opened on the High Street in Cowes and he hoped that would help provide increased access to the public and some reassurance. I wanted Mr Norton to understand that Island people were generally paid less in wages than people on the mainland and that Island people experienced additional costs because of the water which separates us from the mainland. I also expressed that a previous Police and Crime Commissioner had their deputy based on the Island which was helpful and reassuring. Was this not a positive thing for the commissioner to consider so to reassure our local people and reengage in positive discussions with the police? It was a helpful discussion, and I was able to raise several issues with him but only time will tell if any changes occur.

Red Funnel are in regular communication with the Town Council, and we are still waiting, at this time of writing, confirmation of their yard plans and the times scales for them to make good on their promises to develop the vehicle yard and the new terminal building. It’s been quite a long time now since they first submitted and were granted their planning permissions and we are all getting tired of waiting for their proposed actions. I and other councillors have engaged with Red Funnel and as the summer approaches I am concerned about the Highway issues and all the current delays for breakdowns of the ferries.

Planning news. There have been a number of Planning Applications made in recent weeks for our town of East Cowes. The 5G mast application for York Avenue adjacent to the road and Play area has been recommended for refusal by IWC Planning Service after many objections were received about it. We understand that the developers of Norris Castle have submitted an amendment to their highway’s application leading from the esplanade. They simply press ahead in the face of huge opposition to their plans. However, there are so many unpalatable things listed in the online objections and contained in their application it’s difficult to know where to start in commenting about it. East Cowes Town Council took professional advice about the planning application, and nothing has changed in their application. As time marches on and no action takes place in bringing the application forward, one wonders if it will ever be resolved.

Not to be confused with the Norris Castle application, but just as important, is another controversial application involving a part of the historic landscapes and green open spaces of East Cowes. This Application is brought forward on behalf of the Sisters Of Christ at the former Convent on land adjacent to the Holy Cross School. The Application is for 25 houses in a green field. This is the last remaining parcel of land which the Sisters maintain control over having moved out some 6 years ago. The field is locally known as the ‘snake field’ for that reason. It is full of incredibly rare creatures including stoats, red squirrels, snakes, owls, bats and newts and used by badgers. It also contains a commemoration tree. The application would reduce the size of the school parking area and is located on Millfield Avenue directly in sight of the Grade two listed buildings of the

News Report from Cllr Karl Love continued

Castle Cow and Millfield House. All the new development plan has done is create a tiny bit of extra green to appease the Millfield House heritage aspect, which it does not in my view. It’s the destruction of a green field full of rare creatures and that is one of the most important elements in my view. Access is proposed via the incredibly dangerous narrow twisty corner of Old Road which has no pavements. The previous application was rejected by both the Town Council and Planning Authority. There were 8 listed reasons. I am bitterly disappointed with the Sisters Of Christ and their compassion for the residents who they lived side by side for many years and the ecology and environment which they cared for so lovingly. It seems they have forgotten the importance of their parishioners and there has been no attempt to accommodate or even engage with the people of our town and community. They are clearly looking at the land values as opposed to the spirit of the community. I also note how the application of Norris Castle developers, seeks to rip away by separating the beautiful Spring Hill House from its outstanding landscapes overlooking the Solent and West Cowes from the Spring Hill House former convent. They now form a part of the plan for Norris Castle no longer being attached to the Convent house and we have no idea what the developers intend to do with the Spring Hill House. In my view nothing has changed with the application to build these 25 houses or for the Norris Castle application. You can find the details for applications for Millfield Ave (22/01051/OUT) comments to be submitted by 17th March to Stuart VanCuylenburg. And Norris Castle (21/02437/ FUL) to Sarah Wilkinson. You can also write to the Planning Officer at Sea Close with your comments quoting the reference numbers here.

One might be interested to learn that the owner of the former derelict doctor’s surgery in York Avenue is in fact Robin Hamilton. The ‘Overage’ of this building, which was a condition of the sale of the property, runs out in 2026. An ‘Overage’ is a condition placed on its sale and basically requires the Buyer of the property to pay extra, if and when certain events happen. I’m hoping that this building might be developed very soon and cleaned up. In the meantime, I will make a request to our Planning Team that the building be cleaned up as it is not a welcoming attraction to our Island for arriving holiday visitors or our town residents.

In other News the town council.

The Town Council has agreed to invest in our young people by placing a new football pitch with goal posts and pitch markings on the Victoria Recreation Ground. This will help promote competitive sports and encourage young peoples personal development. While those using the pitch learn and develop sporting interest, we can all enjoy the sporting successes they achieve. It’s a new facility for local young people which can be developed and be extended for the better use of the open green spaces.

Planning is taking place to celebrate the Coronation and East Cowes never fails to deliver on matters of our heritage connections to Royalty. Let’s just hope the weather is kind to us. There will be more news in the next edition of the planned events.

There is a small landslip developing in the esplanade woodland area, but it looks like it will not impact on the works recently undertaken along the Esplanade regeneration. Please take great care when walking in that area.

I’m looking forward to the improving weather and wish you all well for a busy year.