Coastal erosion - Isle of Wight

The future of the coastal protection team

We’ve been contacted by Cllr Chris Welsford about the contents of this article, which contained a press release he issued.

He tells us that Isle of Wight officers Stuart Love and Davina Fiore have written to the Island Independent accusing them of issuing a press release that was ‘inaccurate and misleading’.

While we are investigating these allegations, the main content of this article will remain suspended. – Ed


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Cynic
20, November 2014 7:39 pm

“He said he was seriously concerned that council “would be brought into disrepute if we were asked to elect a chair who is responsible for tourism who has clearly a serious pecuniary interest in matters relating to tourism”.

This suggestion was met with vocal objection by most members of the opposition party.”

(Guffaw!)

kittywillow
Reply to  Cynic
21, November 2014 5:15 pm

Could this be the same Councillor Stubbings who has apparently never raised objections to Ventnor Town Council Planning Committee being chaired by someone who has a building company?

tryme
20, November 2014 10:46 pm

I wonder if it is a sign of Cllr Stephens having a magnanimous or pragmatic outlook, simply seeing Jon Gilbey as the best man for the job, and/or saw him as having been led up the garden path and deserving of another chance ….?

Also seems odd on the face of it that Ian Ward didn’t allow Cllr Stubbings to voice another nomination….

phil jordan
20, November 2014 11:12 pm

Tryme: It was not the first time we have seen some curious chairmanship of this Council… I am sure Jon will do well in this role….he is a good man and much to give in terms of his commitments. I honestly do not think Jon supports conservative values and ideals…He was not excluded from our administration nor from our group…I think the door is wide open for… Read more »

tryme
Reply to  phil jordan
20, November 2014 11:18 pm

I’m relieved to hear that about Jon Gilbey, and happy to accept your view of him.

Geoff Lumley
21, November 2014 10:29 am

Re. “Let’s hope the council can get on with business now……to discuss policy and issues that affect the entire Island.” I would have thought that Childrens Safeguarding progress, future expenditure on Cowes Enterprise College, and a motion on developing an integrated transport system (no matter how unlikely) were all matters that widely effected the Island ? All were on Wednesday’s Full Council agenda, but there has been… Read more »

tryme
Reply to  Geoff Lumley
21, November 2014 10:41 am

Geoff, perhaps people tend to confuse topics of discussion here with a full account of what’s actually going on in Council, but OTW isn’t intended to be some kind of Island Hansard! Are you in favour of live-streaming of public Council meetings, as in Hampshire and many other LAs? As an example, I hadn’t realised you’d made Scrutiny meetings more user-friendly, and I’d certainly want to tune… Read more »

tryme
Reply to  tryme
21, November 2014 11:54 am

Geoff, Cllr Jordan posted last night that he personally is in favour, in principle. If you would like to see his post, and also my posts in which I put some info about other LAs live-streaming, ‘Search’ OTW with ‘November Executive’, and the article may be top of the list. Scroll down about the first 9 or 10 posts and then you will see what I mean.… Read more »

Geoff Lumley
Reply to  tryme
23, November 2014 11:36 am

I am in favour. I have nothing to hide.

tryme
Reply to  Geoff Lumley
23, November 2014 11:57 am

Thanks Geoff. I think you and your Labour colleague would only gain, and by the sound of it the way you are heading Scrutiny would draw in and impress viewers.

Pernille
Reply to  Sally Perry
21, November 2014 3:18 pm

Ha! I see the article about the steam trains probably reveals the real reason Geoff Lumley was upset you hadn’t got around to writing the report up yet ;-)

tryme
21, November 2014 2:21 pm

Was it councillors who were being referred to at the end of the article above, as in “several months of poorly attended meetings”? If so we might need an explanation, if it was over and above what is reasonable and expected absence during June-Sept holiday period. That’s another thing that would show up on live-streaming, when I’m sure a Chair could explain why it was, if councillors… Read more »

tryme
Reply to  Sally Perry
21, November 2014 2:43 pm

Oh I see, I get now why someone said they didn’t know why changing the name meant Conservatives would now attend. Any group that doesn’t owes the public an explanation, I think, rather than regarding it as a private game held in the privacy of County Hall. Thanks Sally.

mike starke
21, November 2014 5:17 pm

Is the Jon Gilbey now holding the Environment and Transport Select Committee chairmanship the same Jon Gilbey who pleaded to be let off his (paid for) councillor duties for a few months in the tourist season to run his caff? May we be assured the poor chap has enough time to devote to the wide-ranging and important portfolio of Environment and Transport, given the demands of his… Read more »

mike starke
21, November 2014 5:27 pm

Oh, and – of course – the burning question of the day that justifies my OAP membership of the NUJ (and that no media person appears to have asked) is:

Da-da!

Who was Steve Stubbings desperate to get voted in to the E&T job? And why?

Perhaps the mysterious steve s will grace OTW’s columns with a response.

retired Hack
Reply to  mike starke
21, November 2014 6:48 pm

Having read Phil Jordan’s comment above, I deduce that the Indies had been prepared to let Gilbey have the position as some kind of olive branch; but that Geoff Lumley’s last-minute revelation that Gilbey, Priest and Chapman had attended the Conservative Group’s pre-meeting was the last straw for some of them – as it would have been for me.

Steve s
Reply to  mike starke
22, November 2014 8:06 am

Mysterious, Mike?
I was hoping for an opportunity to nominate Stuart Hutchinson.

tryme
21, November 2014 7:32 pm

As I said at the time, I think it’s worth remembering that Gilbey was inexperienced in dealing with the media and seems to have sought advice (or been bombarded with it, for all we know)) from Stuart Love, the Alistair Campbell of the previous administration. SL’s approach may have overriden Gilbey’s own instincts. The question over private/delegated certainly brought down the full weight of OTW. Gilbey will… Read more »

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