Isle of Wight Council decision on East Cowes homes delayed

Campaigners staged a protest over Red Funnels' plans earlier

An initial decision on whether to approve the compulsory purchase of properties on the Isle of Wight to make way for a £500m regeneration project has been put off until the new year.

Red Funnel wants to demolish an area in East Cowes to enlarge its terminal, but some owners have refused to sell up.

Campaigners staged a protest over the plans earlier.

Isle of Wight Council deferred the decision until January when a planning application is due to be heard.

The local authority had the option of agreeing the use of Compulsory Purchase Order (CPOs), in principle, subject to a further report going before councillors.

Members could have also rejected the plan altogether.

Red Funnel wants to redevelop the site in East Cowes to enlarge its terminal

The ferry company has asked for the CPOs to demolish industrial units at Venture Quays and properties along Dover Road.

But the council said it was putting off the decision because it did not want to pre-empt the planning application and wanted to listen to the concerns of residents and businesses.

Red Funnel said: "We are obviously disappointed as the regeneration project is a once in a lifetime opportunity for East Cowes and the Isle of Wight.

"We are continuing to work hard to get to the right conclusion for everyone concerned."

It admitted the redevelopment was an "emotive subject".

It added: "As a business, we are passionate about the Isle of Wight and in particular improving the ferry service to residents and visitors.

"As in all major developments, there are difficult choices and decisions to be made."

It said it had made multiple offers to the owners of all of the properties "well above the market value".

But Dover Road resident John Shaw said: "Both offers were within a few thousand pounds of each other, and all their offers keep referring to the market value of our house, which isn't the issue.

"We don't want to move out of East Cowes because all our life is in East Cowes."