A 45 per cent council tax precept rise for residents of the Isle of Wight’s county town has been agreed by its council as part of a budget to deliver “very good services” and become an “ambitious” local authority.
Seven Newport and Carisbrooke community councillors (NCCC) voted for a £1.22 million budget including £72,500 in grants, £36,500 on an environment officer and £259,000 in staff costs, under its administration and communication provisions.
Two voted against
Two councillors voted against the budget: Matthew Price and Tamsin Verrinder, the latter of whom sighed during the vote before saying “it’s too much”.
Spending plans
Spending plans also include £8,000 for poverty alleviation support, £25,000 for planning enforcement assistance and £19,000 for Summer Fayre 2026.
The precept for Band D council taxpayers now amounts to £145.45 per year, up from £100.27 in 2025/26.
Proposal to reset
At the council’s Monday evening meeting (9th February), Chair of NCCC’s finance committee Councillor Andrew Garratt said,
“I’ve been one of those councillors who’ve voted for a lower (precept) uplift year on year, particularly in those years where inflation was headlining at a very high amount.
“We as a council held our money down. But things move on. Did we want to continue to manage a decline, because inflation alone eats into what we can afford or did we need to reset ourselves, knowing that the things we already deliver and aim to deliver are important to the people of Newport and Carisbrooke?
“I think finance committee has taken that decision to propose we reset ourselves. Otherwise, we’re aiming for a false economy…managing decline, not looking after our assets…staff, our buildings, the green areas – everything we do.”
Later in the evening, he said many local organisations would benefit from the council’s grants which include £20,000 for the Newport Youth Cafe – Revive, £10,000 for the Isle of Wight Youth Trust and £2,000 for the Pan Together money management advice service.
Councillor Garratt said,
“We are going to be delivering very good services, either ourselves or through grants. We do wish to be an ambitious council, and we’ve shown we are prepared to do so but in a financially sensible way.”
A draft budget set out in a paper signed by Councillor Garratt was amended during the meeting, with changes including the removal of £50,000 for Victoria Recreation Ground improvement work and £5,000 from the Shaping Newport project as well as adding £45,290 in funding to youth provision.
Pan and Barton county councillor Geoff Brodie previously criticised NCCC’s draft budget plans, saying the council seems to have “forgotten that times are still very hard for most residents, particularly mine in the most hard-pressed area of the Island”.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
