Island Life Magazine Ltd June/July 2013 | Page 136

ANDREW TURNER MP Isle of Wight MP ANDREW TURNER The Riverside Centre, The Town Quay, Newport IW Tel: [phone] [email protected] www.islandmp.org Agreement in nick of time We have many wonderful visitor attractions on the Isle of Wight, not least of which is the elegant and historic Osborne House. It was built in 1847 as a family home for Queen Victoria, Prince Albert and their children, by London architect Thomas Cubitt, who was also responsible for the front facade of Buckingham Palace. Parts of this historic building, as many will recall, were formerly used as a convalescent home. The Osborne Estate Acts of 1902 and 1914 restricted its use to retired officers of the armed services and senior civil servants. Sadly as new legislation required upgraded facilities, maintenance costs increased and the number of residents reduced, the retirement home became unviable. Eventually, amid much local controversy, the King Edward VII Retirement Home closed 13 years ago. However, the legislation remained that meant parts of the building could only be used to benefit former armed services officers and senior civil servants – which severely limited what English Heritage could do. The buildings have remained unused now for 13 years and seeing them standing empty was very sad. English Heritage has been working for a long time to try and find a new use for the buildings, they have explored several possibilities which have been discounted and have carefully consulted local people to seek their views on the future of the 136 www.visitislandlife.com former convalescent home. I have also been working hard with English Heritage to find a way for them to move forward - it is much harder to get such legislation repealed than most people would think! However, in May last year the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill provided an opportunity to remove the restrictions which have so hampered English Heritage and I am delighted that the Bill finally passed into law in April. This legislation also included many controversial measures relating to competition law and for nine days it passed back and forth between the House of Commons and the House of Lords in what is called parliamentary ping-pong. Agreement on the controversial content of the Bill was reached in the nick of time. If the two Houses had not reached a compromise the whole Bill would have been dropped – including the parts that have freed up the use of Osborne House. English Heritage is now actively looking to bring this part of the house back to life and will be taking the views and thoughts of the local community into account when considering future plans. If you have any thoughts on possible uses that would both benefit the Island and contribute to the visitor experience at Osborne please do write to me at the Riverside Centre in Newport and I will pass your suggestions on to English Heritage. I know that many people are looking forward to seeing these historic buildings restored to their former glory and serving a useful purpose. I certainly am!