At Monday night’s Ventnor Town Council (VTC) meeting (now held on the third Monday of the month) councillors heard a report from the town clerk, David Bartlett regarding the future of the paddling pool.
Local council take on costs
As readers will remember, back in November the Isle of Wight council said they could no longer afford to maintain the Island’s paddling pools and would be looking to other bodies (such as town councils) to take over the maintenance costs.
Ventnor Town Council was the first to step forward and declare that they would not allow the iconic paddling pool to disappear and agreed they would take on the maintenance costs.
Sponsorship offered and accepted
At Monday night’s meeting, David reported that John Perrett, who owned the local Spar shop, wished to make a contribution of £1,000 towards this year’s maintenance costs.
He said he was driven to making the contribution, “because we think it admirable that the Town Council has taken on responsibility for painting and maintaining the pool.”
It’s not clear whether this is an annual sponsorship or just a one-off, but it was welcomed by the VTC.
The detail of exact signage to go by the pool, as suggested by Mr Perrett to reflect his part-sponsorship of the running costs, would be finalised at a later stage.
Lease being drafted
In his report, David Bartlett also confirmed that he’d met with Alex Minns, Strategic Manager Leisure, Leisure & Public Spaces at the Isle of Wight council to discuss the handover.
A long lease is being drafted and David told members in his report that he’d asked for it include a break clause.
An informal understanding is in place, he said, that the VTC could take over responsibility of the paddling pool by Easter, regardless of whether the legal paperwork had been completed.
