PLANS to transform Cowes into a centre of excellence for world yachting could be sunk if deep-water harbours are not provided for boatbuilders in the scheme.

That's the message of a hard-hitting report by the town's harbour commissioners which follows the publication of plans for a multi-million-pound yachting village at Peter Harrison's GBR Challenge site.

Commissioners say that planned developments at GBR and the boatyards at Souters and Samuel Whites are at "arguably the most important" site within the harbour estuary.

But in a report to be presented to Cowes Town Council, the Project Cowes steering group and the Island's Council, commissioners say that plans to redevelop the site must recognise that it is the only "deep water" facility - which would be essential to commercial boatbuilders - in the harbour.

Commissioners are calling for the development of a centre of marine excellence in Cowes which would include facilities for boatbuilders, marine engineers and other marine support companies.

But they say they have yet to see evidence of any such proposals in multi-millionaire Harrison's plans for the area.

In the report commissioners argue that if marine service employment land, or future opportunity was lost at land owned by the Harrison Trust, it should be provided at another acceptable site.

The report goes on: "Cowes Harbour Commission have made this commitment with Shepards Wharf and would anticipate this would be a planning condition on both the Shepards Wharf and Medina Village site.

"This provision would no doubt be essential for the future viability of companies like Souters and the smaller specialist marine employment companies currently operating from the site.

"Cowes has to remain an active, vibrant, working and leisure port with good marine service infrastructure if it is to maintain its position as the home of world yachting.

"The challenge to Cowes is to develop these facilities building on the inherent strengths of the harbour and town and not become a boat park harbour or just a suburb of Solent City."

A spokesman for the Medina Yachting Village, Charles St George, said: "We haven't yet seen the Cowes Harbour Commissioners' detailed comments but we will consider their views very carefully during this pre-planning application phase of public consultation.

"The existing deep-water frontages on this site are currently in private commercial use. Both options for future development of the site create the opportunity to bring this deep-water frontage into wider public use. Peter Harrison's objective has always been to use this site as the permanent base for future GBR challenges and, hopefully, to bring the America's Cup back to Cowes and the Isle of Wight.

"But there is no way that this site, in isolation, could possibly provide all the facilities necessary to host the America's Cup.