This in from Ryde Town Council – Ed.
If you’re a Ryde or Binstead resident, please come along to the Town Council’s meeting tonight (Thursday).
It’s not the normal monthly meeting, but a special one to hear from you how much you want to spend in attempts to keep services open in Ryde, such as the Waterside Pool, lifeguards on the beach, the Tourist Information Centre, and the toilets at the Binstead Rest Garden.
There are also great uncertainties about the Carnival Learning Centre and general Youth Services in Ryde.
Funding due to cease
Funding for these services is due to cease at the end of March, following the IWC Cabinet recommendations, which are virtually certain to be rubber-stamped in February.
Although there are moves afoot to form a community group to run the Waterside Pool, it will still need funding in the short term.
7 o’clock tonight
The meeting starts at 7 o’clock tonight, in the George Street Centre [the Baptist Church] in George Street, Ryde. The Town Council will be there to LISTEN to you – it’s your money.
1p for the toilets
It would cost something like 87p a week extra [for a Band D property] to keep all these services going, with some money left over. The Binstead toilets would only be 1p a week – if they close, you won’t be able to have “¦.!
Please note: the idea of the meeting is to get a sense of residents’ feelings regarding the effect of proposed IWC service cuts.
Listening
We are there to listen – it is NOT the appropriate time or place to vent our feelings against, or stick up for, the ruling group, their policies, or the coalition Government.
Whatever we think about the rights or wrongs, we have to be prepared for the worst-case scenario – we don’t have the luxury of time.
We have to set the precept at Full Council on 7th February, as IWC need it before their decision-making meeting on the 23rd.
