Councillors have hit out at a bid to make Newport a city, saying they fear it would make the Isle of Wight a ‘laughing stock’.
Others, however, say it would add variety to the type of cities the UK has and not conform to a strict ideal.
Proposed by Mountjoy and Shide councillor, Martin Oliver
Put forward by Mountjoy and Shide councillor, Martin Oliver, a motion seeks approval for the Isle of Wight Council to enter a bid, in honour of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, to make the county town of the Island a city.
As part of the jubilee celebrations next year, towns across the UK are vying in a civic honours competition to be named a city by the Queen herself.
The motion was pushed from the full council meeting in July to the cabinet meeting today (Thursday) for consideration as it involves potential expenditure.
The cabinet has been recommended to approve the motion and it has the support of Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council.
Discussions at Scrutiny committee
However, members of the corporate scrutiny committee felt differently (See News OnTheWight’s live coverage of the meeting).
Cllr Richard Quigley said reading the mood music of the Island, it looked like ‘they were trying to push water up a hill with a fork when they decide on things like this’.
If it was a good thing he would be in favour of it, he said, but the Island has so many problems and pressing work to do on the Island the council was in danger of doing itself some harm.
Medland: Feared the Island would be a laughing stock
Cllr John Medland said he supported the council with its decision but feared the Island would be a laughing stock on this one.
Cllr Medland suggested Newport revert back to its town status instead of embarking on the strange idea.
Isle of Wight Association of Local Councils representative, Cllr Cameron Palin, said the bid was not a priority of the people and made the point tourists visit the Island to get away from the city.
Despite that, Cllr Chris Quirk said if the city status were to be awarded to Newport, more investment opportunities could be unlocked.
Robertson: Cites are varied
Cllr Joe Robertson said he supported it but without any strength although he thought councillors were viewing the definition of a city as something stereotypical.
He said,
“There is great variety of what a city is. St David’s in Wales is some 15 times smaller than Newport.
“The definition of a city is a varied thing and I do not think we should be seeking to make a bid simply on a definition of what it looks like.
“Let’s add variety to what our cities are instead of conforming to a certain role.”
The motion, if approved by cabinet, will come to full council next week, where councillors will be able to vote to create the bid, in time for it to be submitted by the December deadline.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is part of. Read here to find about more about how that scheme works on the Island. Some alterations and additions may have been made by News OnTheWight. Ed
