Ventnor Harbour

The project to build Ventnor Harbour, which forms part of a holistic strategy to generate a sustainable economic growth for Ventnor, is an exciting development for the seaside town. Single Regeneration Budget funding, administered through the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership, is helping to create jobs and encourage tourism.

The Harbour at Ventnor is part of a larger project to regenerate the whole Eastern Esplanade. SRB funding totalling £1.3 million was put together with investment from the Private Sector (Southern Water invested £10million as part of their clean water programme) and the Public Sector (IW Council invested £125,000 and MAFF £375,000) in order to improve the seafront area and make it a place where people will want to be.

When the project was first proposed there were four key points outlining the benefits that a new harbour would provide:

• It would allow for the launching and disembarkation of sailing, pleasure-boating and angling trips
• Views of the spectacular Undercliff coastline can again be seen from the seaward side, something that had been lost since the demise of the pier
• Significant improvement in handling facilities for local shellfish industry – and as the boats no longer need to use the beach to land on – the safety of bathers is further assured
• It creates a valuable community asset and an inherent tourist attraction - the project provides Ventnor with the only landing point in South Wight which makes Ventnor an ideal launch-pad for sailing trips to France.

In order to qualify for the Government’s SRB funding, there is a series of criteria that the Ventnor Harbour project had to fit a certain number of.

• Enhance employment prospects
• Encourage sustainable economic growth
• Protect and improve the environment
• Enhance quality of life

The huge ‘rock arms’ that create the integral boundaries of the harbour cost a total of £1.625 million. Of the £1.3 million SRB funding that was allocated to the harbour project, £1.12million was earmarked for direct construction costs and a further £180,000 was designated for consultants’ fees and technical studies.

Although SRB funding is now finished, the Isle of Wight Economic Partnership still has a multitude of other regeneration programmes that are actively improving the ability of the Island to create employment and raise the quality of Island facilities for Island people.