BBC Radio Solent ran a couple of features on the Riverside Centre saga yesterday.
As readers will remember, the Riverside Centre Ltd (RCL), the body that provides services from the centre, is at loggerheads with the Isle of Wight council, who say RCL owe £250,000 in unpaid rent and other costs.
The Riverside Centre say the rent should have been written off against the transport costs RCL provides for its users and indeed VentnorBlog has seen an email from Steve Beynon back in October 2010 to Richard Priest, Manager for RCL stating that RCL should not have been invoiced for rent and that it would be rescinded. The council have since said they’re planning to increase the rental on the centre by possibly doubling it.
Mediation versus Arbitration
What seems to be the sticking point in this dispute at the moment is that the council are insisting on arbitration rather than mediation to resolve the issues.
The difference between the two methods of dispute resolution is that arbitration is a more expensive option and once a decision is ruled, it becomes legally binding.
Mediation on the other hand, is seen to be a more transparent and flexible approach and is the method preferred by RCL.
Cllr Mazillius threatens Riverside Centre Ltd
There are two segments on Julian Clegg’s programme, the second, which is one hour and 43 minutes in, hears Cllr Roger Mazillius make a very clear threat to the RCL.
He said, “Our dispute is with Riverside Centre Ltd, the company that provides services from the Riverside Centre, should this dispute not in fact be resolved, in our opinion there is every likelihood that these services which we do value highly, will be taken on and perhaps, even enhanced, by another voluntary or community sector partner.”
Listen again
Reporter Nicola Murray does a good job of simplifying the rather complicated dispute. Listen for yourselves on the BBC iPlayer and use the slider to skip to the preferred sections. First section is 43 minutes into the programme.
