Good news for town and parish councils around the Island. This in from the council in their own words. Ed
Parish and town councils are set to be offered a share of £250,000 by the Isle of Wight Council to fund grassroots initiatives to boost the Island’s economy.
Details of the proposed Economic Improvement Fund have been outlined by Isle of Wight Council leader Councillor David Pugh in a letter to the clerks of all of the Island’s 33 parish and town councils.
Proposal to be considered by Cabinet
The proposal will be considered by the Isle of Wight Council’s Cabinet when it meets on 13 December to review the latest financial position and plan its 2012/13 budget strategy.
The budget papers published today outline where the council will spend its budget next year – including nearly £90 million that will support its corporate priorities such as supporting older and vulnerable residents and raising educational standards – and also how it intends to save an additional £3.8 million next year.
New ways of boosting the economy
In his letter to town and parish councils, Councillor Pugh said that the tough decisions taken to find required savings in 2011/12 had given the council the flexibility to explore new ways of boosting the economy in the coming years.
However he also stated that the Isle of Wight Council was not in a position to reinstate revenue funding for various services, as it cannot increase its ongoing spending commitments when its overall funding base is due to reduce further.
Expecting to achieve a sizeable net saving
Councillor Pugh said, “As a result of the rigorous financial controls we have implemented, we are expecting to achieve a sizeable net saving in the current financial year.
“This is to be welcomed as such savings within the Isle of Wight Council not only ensure we are well placed to tackle the financial challenges of future years, but also allows us to look at how we can use these remaining resources from the current year to support one-off initiatives that will benefit our Island community. The Economic Investment Fund is one such initiative.”
Pump-prime initiatives
The aim is to allocate the funds to parish and town councils to pump-prime initiatives that had been agreed locally.
The only stipulation is that the schemes should support the economic wellbeing of the local area and that they must be match-funded – therefore potentially doubling the overall value of the investment to £500,000.
Improve the economic vitality of communities across the Island
Councillor Pugh went on to say, “I would like to encourage all town and parish councils to take advantage of this opportunity and work with us to help improve the economic vitality of communities across the Island. Parishes are well placed to have a good understanding of what possible initiatives in their respective areas could contribute to economic improvement.
“Even small things, such as improving public realm, information and signage can assist the visitor economy, by making our towns and villages more attractive and accessible to potential visitors. While the money available will not deliver large scale initiatives, we hope that is will go some way to helping the economies and the environments in these areas and act as a catalyst for further improvements and prosperity.
“This has been a tough year but the decisions we have taken have put us on a sound footing to meet the challenges ahead. The council continues to spend more money on its priority areas and the Economic Improvement Fund will help finance a new set of priorities determined at parish and town council level.”
Paper 7 (embedded below for your convenience) provides full details of funding per town and parish council.
Image: Kevin Dooley under CC BY 2.0
