PAPER E

1

Welcome and Introductions – All

2

Apologies – JJ-E (Chair)

Apologies were received Zoe Thompson and Martin Gibson (IWC)

3

Declarations of Interest – JJ-E (Chair)

None declared.

4

Minutes of the Last Meeting held on 23 January 2023 – JW (Chair)

Amendments Needed:

Point 6; Updates – Should say – RTC now have a Place Neighbourhood and Planning Committee

Point 6; Responses – Allan Bridges rather than Alan Bridges Point 7; Responses – JK should be JW

Point 10; Questions – JK should be JW

Point 11; Public Realm Work – SDS should be SUDS

Action – AA to make amendments

Once amendments made minutes agreed

5

Terms of Reference

CA no feedback as such, but would want to point out that there is something that needs to be included (that has worked in other areas) is a Wider Forum

at area level, to engage with local businesses and community – to be added

as a paragraph, after the composition of this group, explaining about the establishment and operation of a community and business forum. The forum would happen once a quarter and organised by the Area Manager (Pete Fellows)

JJ-E gave an example of a recent Newport forum on Cost of Living – inclusive of ASDA, Morrisons, Businesses; she added that it’s well worth it in terms of the community voice.

Individual member groups will email information to the other core 6 members of the RRWG when someone resigns and provide an update regarding their replacement within 10 working days.

It was also agreed to observe and uphold the group’s existing ToR, including circulating draft minutes and replying to any member emails within 10 working days.

Members should be kept fully updated by email between the bi-monthly meeting of any significant meetings undertaken by committee members relating to projects on the watch list.

The next annual review should be conducted at the July 2023 meeting. The 2022 annual review kept being brought back to the bi-monthly meetings but was never carried out until the March ’23 meeting! This length of delay should not be allowed to happen again. It’s not professional and bad practise.

Action – AA agreed to work alongside JW to get minutes circulated sooner and the TOR updated

6

Ryde Place Plan (Cllr Simon Cook)

Updates:

Place Plan Group met for the first time in a while wk beginning 13/3/23 and the discussion was mainly about the best way forward on governance and structures due to the size of the project it may be helpful to have a community forum. However this is still in discussion stage as looking at re-organising various committees and structures across the council and will be discussing this further at a strategy meeting due to take place this week

The place plan is currently in a state of flux and we have accepted that the Esplanade is a primary area of focus for us, but we are very keen to increase community input

Action – SC to bring update to either the next meeting or the one after Background of Place Plan given by CA for new members

7

Area Manager Report – Pete Fellows

Nothing substantial to report as new to the role but familiarising self with people, places and projects, attending meetings with Ryde Town Council. Understanding where the opportunities and challenges are.

Comments

HK - How are you finding the split with Newport and Ryde, is it manageable? PF – It will be an as and when needed, and pretty balanced though currently spending more time in Ryde

8

Ryde Interchange (David Newton)

Highways & CycleWays

• Cycle-track very close to being finished

• Were close to finishing the highways works but have hit a slight delay due to finding uncharted utilities but still hoping for a Mid-May completion

• Planters are near completion

• Paving is coming on at a pace

• Managed to secure some community safety funding to encourage walking in that area

• Hoping to get the buses using that area by mid-April

  
  

  The Pier (The Walkway)

• Works are nearing completion.

• 100% of the ironwork has been stripped down

• 75% of capping has been added so far to that to raise the level up

• Wooden beams have been added

• Starting to lay the boards for the walkway and that should be completed by the end of the week

• Hoping to complete this part by end of June

  
  

  Railway Station

• Works are going well

• Works are continuing in the vacant building (previously used as a ticket office)

• The strip-out works have started in the public toilets will be a priority and hoping for works to be completed by the end of May 2023

• Hoping to complete this whole work by end of July

  
  

  Questions/Comments

• HK – Great to see the progress that is being made, however the planters are not fit for purpose as they were concreted in and they have no drainage. Rubble is also still in them – DN is having continuing

conversations regarding this but they are the responsibility of Island Roads and they have contracted Groundsell

• JW wanted confirmation regarding the upkeep of the planters and DN confirmed that there conversations are on-going but it’s for a 17-year upkeep plan

• CA wanted clarification in terms of how communication of the project is explained and DN confirmed that he sent frequent milestone updates to the local council and to this group, alongside the wider community

• MR queried the width of the roundabout and was it suitable for coaches – DN confirmed that as far as he was aware that was fine

• PJ wanted to confirm that out of all the other UK-wide DFT projects, this one is way ahead of the all the others and that the DFT have extended this for another year to enable the other projects to complete.

• DN confirmed that they are applying for Co-mobility Accreditation UK, for the transport hub – looks like we will get Gold standard (there are only two others in the country)

• PJ confirmed that Solent transport are working on a partnership with Portsmouth, Southampton and Isle of Wight and working on a single ticketing scheme (MASS) there will be an app to be able to download and hopefully that will come in September/October to also include the scooters and bikes

9

Ryde Esplanade (Chris Ashman)

WSP draft report has been circulated to the full town council PF is organising a public event

HK made the suggestion for the event – having a Marquee and a sausage sizzle down on Western Gardens and making it a fun event – it would need be really clear in its message of what it actually is – so people are aware that it is a consultation.

10

Ryde East Developments (Chris Ashman)

Background

• This is in relation to Ryde East and the proposed developments in and around that area, residential and employment and also the development for the Business Park at Nicholson Road.

  
  

  Updates

• Reserved Matters is happening for Pennyfeathers - 21/3/2023

• West Acre – Environmental Habitat – going to planning committee 21/03/2023

  
  

  Questions/Comments

• Concerns raised due to the conflicting plans, junctions – DW reassured the group that the Highways Authority has drawn up schemes to meet the needs of the pressures from the combined applications and cost of those schemes and that determines the contributions required by the

developers

ACTION – CA to invite a colleague from the planning department to help explain how phasing/conflicts/landownership are resolved

11

HAZ Update (Email Update from Martin)

Public Realm Work

• In detailed design phase

• New visuals will be produced soon to show how the street is expected to look

• Isle of Wight Council have included the project in a bid for funding in to active travel England, an additional £700,000 from that, if successful will be able to include the completion of the whole of the High Street works, otherwise they will be delivered in phases – HAZ budget as phase 1

  
  

  Shop Front Grant Scheme

• First shop front grant has been made, will be 2-3 months before work is visible due to off-site work first (building shop fronts)

• 2 further shop fronts are in tendering process at the moment

  
  

  Further HAZ update

• Grace’s bakery – Access & Licence issues

12

Department Project Update (Chris Ashman)

Background

• This is for a Department store that was successful in getting a £2 Million Grant of Arts Council DCMS funding under cultural development fund to create a new arts space for the Island (not just Ryde)

• Major refurbishment of the building, making it safe, compliant

• This is led by an organisation called Shapemakers (a cultural regeneration organisation). They are very good at making things but not renevotating buildings so they sought support from IWC, due to the scale but also to act as an accountable body for them

• There is a project steering group, which updates to this group

  
  

  Where we are currently

• Currently in design stage

• Expect to go out to tender in May for the contractor

• All money must be spent by March 2025, project to be completed by June 2024 -

• Isle of Wight Council is the grant recipient body and so evaluations need to be completed – PF will complete some baseline evaluations prior to work starting (people’s perceptions) and this evaluation will then be done when the work is completed

• Partnership agreement has now been signed off

• Lease agreement is also complete and this is for 50 years

Action – CA to talk to project board in terms of where they are going to go while the works are being carried out

13

RTC Updates (Cllr Simon Cook)

• Network Ryde – Work to start in April 2023 at St Thomas’s Church

• Recent discovery at the church of an 11th Century Font

• Vectis Hall progress continues

• There will be a town hall trust to move that project forward and is currently with the charity commission

• Having a strategy day on 22nd March to discuss and prioritise projects

• Harbour is a progressing well

14

RBA Update (Rob)

• A new committee is currently in progress

15

Ryde Society (Helen Keogan)

• Lively public meeting on Monday 27th, presentations from a number of speakers

• HK has been invited to Westminster with the Levelling-Up Heritage High Streets APPG for HAZ updates

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting is scheduled to take place on Monday 22nd May 2023 at 6pm at RTC offices in Lind Street.