A four and half hour Cabinet meeting of the Isle of Wight council was held tonight, which saw one cut after another being voted through by the seven members.
The final decision on the proposals will, we’re told, be made by the full council in February, but based on past performance, it’s very rare for the Conservative majority to vote against the Cabinet’s wishes.
Very little on the Island will be unaffected after the proposed cuts, from library services to Wightbus, tourist information centres to firestations and beach lifeguards.
All tourist information centres to close
The proposal to close all tourist information centres on the Isle of Wight from 31st March 2011 was voted through.
It was argued by leader of the council, Cllr David Pugh, that 44% of users are Islanders and that “People are booking over the Internet”.
Wave goodbye to Blue Flag beaches
If the full council agree in February, all funding for beach lifeguards will cease from 31 March 2011, saving the council £100,000.
Town and Parish councils will be expected to cover the cost of lifeguards on their beaches. Obviously this will affect Blue Flag status for any beaches that have worked hard to achieve it.
Cllr Welsford argued that a senior Coastguard (he is a voluntary Coastguard himself) had informed him that 100 life-threatening incidents could have taken place in the Bay Area alone this year had it not been for the cover of lifeguards.
RNLI are apparently now out of the picture for this contract, wanting £100,000 for their services.
Wightbus to go
Almost four hours in and councillors voted to cease Wightbus from 31 August 2011, saving the council £75,000 in 2011/12 and £150,000 in a full year.
Firestations on hold
New firestations at Ventnor and Newport will be put on hold, with a saving of £220,000 in 2011/12 and £500,000 in 2012/13.
Many more services were voted out by seven members of the Cabinet.
Read the live coverage for a full report of what was said.
Image: Laurel Fan under CC BY 2.0
