As we were unable to attend Ryde’s special precept meeting last week, many thanks to VB reader, Mick Lyons for sending in his report. Ed
Thursday last week saw a meeting of Ryde Town Council (RTC) take place at the George Street Centre, attended by about 100 residents.
Several residents called for the Town Council to fund the Waterside Pool, Life Guards, Tourist Information Centres and even the old Ryde Town Hall.
Others said that for many hard pressed residents of Ryde on low or fixed incomes, any increase would be hard to find coming on top of petrol increases, the VAT rise and with the prospect of pay freezes and redundancies on the Isle of Wight.
Most at meeting in favour of rise
A show of hands at the end of the meeting saw most people at the meeting in favour of a rise in the precept from the current £22.97 to as much as £64 per year (Band D).
It was pointed out that this was not necessarily a representative sample and Ryde Town Council are still seeking the views of residents.
Contact Ryde Town Council to put your views or speak to your Ryde Town Councillors.
The next year’s precept will be formally discussed at the next full Ryde Town Council meeting on 7th February.
