Cllrs Luisa Hillard (East Cowes) and Julia Baker-Smith (Whippingham and Osborne) are at risk of losing the support of their constituents, says fellow town councillor, Peter Lloyd.
Speaking at last week’s East Cowes town council meeting on the proposed introduction of pedestrian charges on the Cowes Floating bridge, Mr Lloyd said the two Island Independent councillors should insist on a separate vote for the floating bridge item at Wednesday’s IWC budget meeting.
Cllrs must insist on a separate vote
In response to a question due to be asked at Wednesday’s meeting by resident Sarah Dover, Peter commented to OnTheWight yesterday,
“I would like to see a separate vote take place for the proposed floating bridge charges.
“As I have said publicly, the two ward members for East Cowes and Whippingham and Osborne will vote for the budget as a whole, which would mean that they have voted in favour of the introduction of pedestrian charges on the floating bridge.
“This action could and would lose them votes.”
Hillard: Will support the budget as a whole
On Monday, Cllr Hillard posted the following message to her Facebook profile,
“My intention is that I will vote against charges if this can be considered as a separate item, but if not I will support the Budget as a whole because it contains many other important issues that need to be passed for the financial sustainability of the whole Island.”
71% of those surveyed are against charges
As part of the public consultation carried out last year, 71% of those surveyed said they thought pedestrian charges should not be introduced.
As has been reported before, the floating bridge currently makes a profit of somewhere between £140,000-£250,000 per annum and is not paid for through council tax.
John Metcalfe, Head of Economy and Tourism at IWC, has stated in his paper that charges collected from vehicles using the bridge pay for the running costs of the service, as well as making a profit that goes towards other council services such as paying for beach cleaning or school crossing patrols.
Labour against pedestrian charges
Labour councillors, Geoff Lumley and Alan Hollands have proposed an amendment to Wednesday’s budget, suggesting the IWC scrap plans to continue investment in Visit Isle of Wight this coming year and instead, amongst other items, ensure foot passengers can still travel for free on the floating bridge.
Image: © With kind permission of Allan Marsh
