Ventnor really did itself proud yesterday (Wednesday) when BBC South Today and BBC Radio Solent visited the town on the south of the Isle of Wight to soak up the community spirit it’s well known for.
Faced with having to organise the event at short notice, Ventnor’s community stepped up to the plate and truly delivered.
Buzzing with activity
The green outside Salisbury Gardens (the old Coastal Visitor’s Centre, now successfully managed by the Ventnor Town council) was buzzing with activity from early afternoon onwards.
A total of 55 stalls had been set up, showcasing the community services offered to the residents of the town. There was live music, food and drink and plenty of activities for all.
Residents shared their thoughts
The BBC brought their bus along and residents popped in throughout the day to record what they felt was special about the town.
As well as residents’ views being shared on the programme, the Ventnor Theatre Group, Ventnor Country Market and the Skatepark were all featured positively.
BBC South Today covers a massive area including Hampshire, West Sussex, much of Dorset and Berkshire and parts of Surrey and Wiltshire. It also covers most of Oxfordshire, eastern Gloucestershire, western Buckinghamshire and southern Northamptonshire.
Ventnor delivered
Mayor of Ventnor, Jason Mack, told OnTheWight,
“This is what happens when the community comes together.”
“When you have a tier of local Government that works with people, rather than delivering to people, that to me is exactly why yesterday was such a success.
“Given our last five years of community development work, we were pretty confident that Ventnor would come out and deliver – and it did – and we look for that to continue.”
Ventnor a “trailblazer”
During the feature on BBC South Today, Asheem Singh of the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations said that “Better services come from a partnership between government and local community” and went on to add that “Ventnor is a trailblazing example”.
He said that communities are now taking charge due to austerity and cuts from government, adding,
“There are things that we value that make live worth living that contribute to the fabric of community life and you are the people that can recognise this, not government, not the man in Whitehall, but people on the ground, so run with it, go for it.”
Watch again
If you missed the live feature on BBC South Today last night, you can watch again up until 7pm tonight via the iPlayer.
Jump to ten minutes in to see the feature on Ventnor and it’s wonderful community
Presenter, Sally Taylor, said Ventnor was truly a “town of ambition”.
Well done everyone involved with organising the event, you really did the town proud.
