Concerns over plans for green campus

Fears are growing over a flagship council project at the Port of Ramsgate

Transcript

00:00A multi-million pound project to bring training, education and business opportunities in the

00:04maritime sector to Ramsgate. The Green Campus has £6 million worth of levelling up funding

00:10from the government. But there are now concerns that the building might sit empty with no

00:16public sector match funding so far, which was meant to be part of the bid.

00:22Neither you or I would go and sign a contract with a building company to come and make structural

00:28changes to our houses without actually having an idea of what those changes might be. And

00:33that's part of the frustration many of us have. Out of a budget of £50 million, at

00:37the moment we're looking at an empty tin shed with solar panels on the roof. I don't want

00:43to see us disadvantaged, I want to see £50 million spent to this community's advantage.

00:48It's understood the council will construct two blocks, with a third available for a maritime-related

00:53business. It's expected that a planning application will be submitted in the next few weeks, giving

00:58residents more of an idea what the building will look like. But the local Regeneration

01:02Alliance says the project has a serious flaw. It doesn't have a business plan.

01:08In truth, I don't understand what the problem is, because it seems to me to be self-evident

01:12that you don't go and invest in something unless you know what the return on the investment

01:18is going to be. So, it's not build it and they'll come. It's build it and provide a

01:24complete management infrastructure to enable their businesses to grow and the hub as a

01:29whole to grow. So, what we miss at the moment in all of the data that I've seen so far is

01:36there actually is no business plan. In a statement, the local authority says

01:41they've had significant interest in the opportunity, which will contribute to match funding for

01:46the Green Campus programme. The council remains committed to engagement and collaboration

01:51with the local community, and I hope it will create a positive narrative that highlights

01:57the opportunities available in Ramsgate. Money from the government's levelling up fund

02:02is time limited, so the district council has to spend it by March 2026. The authority is

02:08now looking for a contractor to construct the site.

02:12Gabriel Morris, in Ramsgate.