THE latest version of the Isle of Wight Council's 'planning bible' has been pulled from consideration while further issues are resolved.

The Draft Island Planning Strategy (DIPS) has been in the works behind the scenes of the Isle of Wight Council for many years now as the current plan is outdated.

Last year, the DIPS underwent another round of consultation, this time under the Alliance administration, where more than 2,800 comments were received.

The comments were taken into consideration and a number of changes were proposed around affordable housing, holiday lets and even a revision to the proposed housing targets the council has to build.

Now though, after it was tabled to go out to consultation one last time before being submitted to the Secretary of State for scrutiny, the timeline has been paused.

  • You can view the latest version of the plan HERE.

The DIPS was due to be discussed at three Isle of Wight Council meetings in the next two weeks but two of those have since been cancelled.

The corporate scrutiny committee met last night (Tuesday) where an explanation was given by cabinet member for planning, Cllr Paul Fuller.

He said after a lot of engagement with members in the last few weeks, it became apparent on Monday more work needed to be done to ensure the proposals were properly talked about as not everyone was satisfied.

The suggestion of a delay came forward, Cllr Fuller said, due to some upcoming potential government changes.

In the summer, the government is set to release a planning white paper and potentially change the National Planning Policy Framework which could have implications for the council.

Cllr Fuller confirmed the DIPS had been delayed indefinitely but shared concerns with the committee that the longer the plan was delayed, the longer the council had no teeth to fight contentious planning applications and the Island is opened up to development in a way the council cannot control.

Read more about the DIPS and related planning issues here: