News shared by the Isle of Wight Conservative Group of councillors, in their own words. Ed
The 18-strong Conservative Group at County Hall has today (21st February) unveiled its proposed amendments to the Alliance administration’s plans for the Isle of Wight Council’s 2022/23 budget.
Following the publication of the Alliance’s budget proposals on 2nd February – and the subsequent decision of the Cabinet to recommend them to Full Council – the Conservatives are now setting out how they would seek to amend the plans to strengthen and enhance what is currently proposed.
In particular, the Conservatives will be urging Full Council on Wednesday to back their plans for further increasing the investment in affordable housing, exploring brownfield site opportunities, improving public rights of way, allocating funds to plant trees and enhancing service levels in key areas which interface with the public.
Robertson: Some areas of Alliance budget lack ambition
Cllr Joe Robertson, Leader of the Conservative Group at County Hall, said,
“In overall terms, we welcome the Alliance’s proposed budget. Unlike the approach taken in pre-2017 independent budgets, it does not seek to use general reserves for ongoing expenditure, and is focused on ensuring that the Council lives within its means. I welcome Cllr Jarman’s direct engagement with me and senior Conservative colleagues prior to finalising and publishing his budget. It gave us the opportunity to explain and provide context to previous decisions and promote collaborative working.
“Although this is in many respects a continuity budget, there are some areas which lack ambition and leave scope for improvement. We have looked at this from a constructive perspective, by seeking to build on what the Alliance has put forward. For example, we welcome the proposed £25 million drawdown facility to fund affordable homes, but the Council needs to go further. We would expand this to £40 million, given the increasing housing crisis on the Island.
“We also want to see the aspirational commitment to prioritising brownfield sites translate into reality, and that is why we are proposing to allocate £60,000 for an independent review of available sites. Newport, in particular, has a lot to offer on this front and the Council should be open to looking at its own sites (alongside others in the public sector, including Camp Hill), and how these could be accelerated to bring forward much needed housing for Islanders and drive local regeneration. This should be the priority rather than rehashing plans to put housing on Seaclose Park which should be dropped without further delay.
“We believe that these housing related aspects, along with other elements of our proposed amendments, are worthy of consideration. If these are accepted, we anticipate being in a position to back, rather than oppose, the Alliance budget (as amended).”
Quirk: We can go further
Cllr Chris Quirk, Conservative Group Finance Spokesman, added,
“With some 40 per cent of the savings outlined in the Alliance’s budget emanating from the previous Conservative administration’s preparatory work, this is a budget which provides continuity and stability at a time when it is needed most. But we should not accept these plans as good enough; we can go further, and hope that all 39 councillors will consider our amendments with an open mind.
“In particular, we are keen to ensure that important areas of front-facing council services are improved not diminished. The Alliance’s proposal to reduce staffing in the call centre would be a retrograde step, and would cause the same problems that arose prior to 2017 when the previous independent administration made similar cuts. We must not return to that. Many residents rely on contacting the Council by phone, and we are proposing to remove the £25,000 cut.
“In addition, we are proposing to ringfence £200,000 of the staffing contingency for additional staffing in the Council’s Planning Department, to (a) tackle the growing backlog of applications, (b) more effectively resource enforcement, and (c) support ambitious affordable housebuilding plans. Planning directly affects residents’ lives, and we must do all we can to ensure this service area is as effective as possible.”
Protecting rights of way and greenfield sites
Other areas that the Conservatives are focusing on in their budget amendments include:
- Allocating £500,000 to restore access paths to Island beaches, and to restore footpaths, bridleways and rights of way; and
- Providing £500,000 for planting trees and restoring hedgerows on Council-owned land not suitable for housing. This will also help protect valuable greenfield from speculative development longer-term.
Scrutinise Wightcare fees
In addition, the Conservatives are proposing that the Policy and Scrutiny Committee for Health and Social Care should be invited to examine the impact of increased charges for Wightcare before any future significant increases are implemented.
Full details of the proposed Conservative budget amendments can be found embedded below.
