The costs associated with keeping Ventnor’s beaches clean will be raised at tonight’s (Monday) Ventnor town council meeting.
As part of the Isle of Wight council’s budget setting in February this year, funding for a number of discretionary services was axed in an attempt to fill a £28m budget gap over the next three years.
It’s been recently confirmed to Ventnor Town council that funding for cleaning of Ventnor’s beaches will cease from 31st March 2015.
Other town and parish councils around the Island with beaches that are currently cleaned and funded by the Isle of Wight council will, no doubt, be facing similar problems.
Cleaning Ventnor’s beaches
The annual cost for cleaning Ventnor, Bonchurch, Orchard Bay and Steephill Cove beaches is £23,417.
Councillors won’t be asked to make a decision tonight on whether they’d agree to fund the beach cleaning from 2015 onwards, as further information is needed, but it’s thought some of that will be available at a focus group meeting with Isle of Wight council on 15 July.
Members of the public are welcome to attend the meeting which takes place at St Margaret’s Hall, Lowtherville Road starting at 7pm.
Image: Simon Haytack under CC BY 2.0
