Ward councillors for Ventnor, Susan Scoccia and Chris Welsford have both produced annual reports for the last year. Chris’ follows below. Ed
The last year has proved to be one of the most challenging and important years in Ventnor’s recent history. I was extremely proud to have played my part in helping Ventnor Town Council to move forward positively to become a functional and efficient council capable of meeting the challenges of the coming years.
An important element of this was the decision, which I fully supported, for the Town Council to stop managing the Winter Gardens and facilitate its transfer to a well respected local entrepreneur, capable of giving the building and its community focused facilities the future it deserves.
I commend the current Town Council for taking this important decision, something previous Town Councils have been unable to achieve.
Where this was an historic and positive action, the same cannot be said of the Isle of Wight Council’s decision to implement what may well be the deepest and most stringent cuts of any local authority in the country.
Alternative budget proposed
As residents will know I have opposed most of the cuts on the grounds that there was an alternative. Together with my colleagues in the Independent Group at County Hall, I helped create an imaginative, balanced and lawful budget alternative that would have ensured that Public Toilets, Libraries, Lifeguards and many other important public services could be saved without the need for members of the public to volunteer as unpaid council workers.
It is deeply regrettable that members of the ruling Conservative group did not support our budget proposals and now seek to discredit these plans.
Deemed lawful and balanced by Section 151 Officer
I can tell you that our proposals were checked by the County Council’s Section 151 officer who is responsible for County finance. He was, and remains, happy that our proposals are workable, lawful and balanced.
It is for this reason that I have not been out there organising gangs of residents as volunteers to try and put right the wrongs inflicted on us by the ruling Conservative Group. If members of the public are keen to volunteer then I am sure that the Conservatives will be only too pleased to organise them accordingly. For my part I intend to stick to my principles. These cuts reflect a set of priorities that are damaging to the interests of Ventnor and its residents.
Support Bonchurch residents on toilet petition
However I am very pleased to offer my full support to residents in Bonchurch who have done a fantastic job in organising a petition with more than 1000 names calling on the Isle of Wight council to reconsider the closure of the vital public toilets at Monks Bay.
I am looking forward to accompanying them when they deliver this message on Wednesday to the cabinet member Cllr Giles, who is responsible for these closures.
Of course, Bonchurch toilets are not the only ones to be closed. I continue to call upon the ruling group to reconsider their counterproductive decision which can only lead to public health issues and great inconvenience for residents, businesses and visitors.
Worked hard to save library
Earlier in the year I was very pleased to support residents who worked so hard to oppose the unjustifiable attack on our much loved public library. This resulted in a better outcome than might otherwise have been the case which goes to show that it is worth fighting these decisions. That fight continues in the high court and hopefully there will be more good news in due course.
Loss of lifeguards a great concern
The loss of our lifeguard service is of particular concern to me and I will be bringing forward a plan in the months to come, to try and reverse this pointless cut. With the cost of a single fatality well in excess of £1m and the cost of the service only £120,000 per annum, this is a cut that could cost us dear both in terms of money and lives.
As a county councillor I am privileged to be able to speak at meetings of the Isle of Wight Council and I will continue to oppose the Conservative ruling group when they make, what I consider to be highly political attacks on our town’s well-being.
Support move of fire control centre
I am also prepared to offer my support when their proposals make sense. Sadly this is not a frequent occurrence but recently I was able to support the proposed move of the Fire and Rescue Control to Surrey.
Whilst I acknowledge that this is not a popular proposal, I have carefully reviewed the report and feel that it is not the threat to public safety that opponents make it out to be. I have great confidence in our Chief Fire Officer Paul Street. As an Islander and a firefighter of many years, he would not propose anything that would be detrimental to the well-being of Islanders and our visitors.
He has made a convincing argument to relocate the Fire and Rescue control to an authority better able to provide the modern technology needed to run the facility. Surprisingly, I believe that this difficult decision should actually help the IW Fire and Rescue Service remain in the control of the Isle of Wight Council. The loss of our Fire and Rescue services to another county was the greater risk and it takes foresight to recognise this.
Speaking on behalf of residents at Planning Committee
As a county councillor I am often required to get involved with planning decisions, helping to ensure that unpopular plans are not agreed without proper scrutiny. It was my pleasure to be able to speak against the application to turn 1a Church Street into yet another estate agency.
The current shop is a credit to our town and its closure would be a serious loss to us all. Ventnor’s diverse range of shops, cafes and other attractions must be preserved and built upon. I will do all I can to help that process.
I have also been working to encourage Tesco to move forward with their plans to develop the site that they occupy in the High Street. I was pleased when they agreed to beautify the site; less happy when the building partially collapsed. I will continue with my efforts to prevent this building from remaining a blot on our High Street. A nice new shop would be a welcome addition to our town but the current situation is not acceptable.
Fighting for second ATM in town
An important project that I will continue to work on is the securing of another ATM for the town. It was satisfying to be able to work with the Town Council to place a cash machine at the Winter Gardens but very disappointing to see the plans for another more substantial unit in the High Street fall down at the last hurdle. This is an important issue for Ventnor and we should all work together to achieve it.
On a more positive note, I managed to secure additional parking spaces in the Wheelers Bay car park.
Finally I would like to thank all those people who continue to support me and my views. I believe that it is a privilege to be elected and I will continue to do my best to represent the residents of Ventnor East robustly and honestly.
