The Isle of Wight Planning Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday in favour of approving Aria Resorts' plans, with conditions...

but, after impassioned speeches by local residents, County Cllr Reg Barry and Parish Cllr Michael Ward, 8 out of 10 of the Committee voted to reject the 'tree-houses' that were planned for the beach.  This petition made a massive difference to the outcome.

Chris Legge summed it up:-

“I, and the over 5,000 locals, tourists and mainland visitors who have signed the petition, ask you to protect this place - for wildlife, for our grandchildren and for the long term benefit of sustainable tourism on the Isle of Wight in line with the Island Plan.”

A week ago everyone I spoke to thought that the development of the beach and the woods was inevitable, so this is a huge victory for the power of people coming together and standing up for what they care about.  Thank you all for everything you have done to sign, share and promote this petition, and thanks to the amazing team of people who have been working together to make this petition possible.

We are not declaring victory or closing the petition - Aria Resorts may well appeal the decision or reapply for the tree-houses, and our concerns about the wider ecology and density of the development remain.  We will see what happens, but they have up to six weeks to appeal the decision.  We will keep you all up to date but please contact me directly if you would like to help us continue to provide a robust defence of this wonderful place.

This petition has shown how much people love Priory (do take a moment to read the many wonderful comments!), and has given some great publicity for the new owners' greatest asset... so I hope Aria Resorts will want to work alongside the people that know and love this place best to preserve it.  As Clllr Reg Barry said in his speech to the committee

'What could be better for the residents staying at the hotel than to walk through unspoilt woods to an unspoilt Priory Bay.'

Many of us know that 'getting cold' time on Priory when the sun is dropping and sunlight dapples through the trees across the beach, and you try to position yourself between the rising tide and last rays of sunlight...  The tree-houses would have cast huge leering shadows across the beach, changing its charachter forever.

We are not 'out of the woods' yet, but for now Priory Bay, and everyone who loves it, can breathe a little easier.

Heartfelt thanks for all your support,

Charity

PS A version of this was sent out on Tuesday but I'm sorry that many people didn't receive it - so here it is again!

PPS Please keep encouraging people to sign the petition, if they are having trouble, the site is best supported by Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome.  Thank you!