A Call to scrap the Conservancy Zone for Sandown which inhibits planning and development

Over the last twenty years Sandown has fallen into disrepair and dereliction, with numerous sites left in an awful state.

Most of  these sites have at one time or another failed in planning applications due to the restrictive nature of the Conservation Zone set up in Towns decades ago to protect tourism and character of our towns.

Tourism to the Island has changed dramatically since that time and we no longer need to protect building specifically designed for tourism, e.g old hotels.  The Conservation Zone makes in nearly impossible to change the use of these buildings or redevelope the site

We call upon Isle of Wight Council to revisit the issue of Town Conservation, to rewrite the policy to protect character where possible, but to also allow for easier change of use and development of delelict sites.