Concerns about how Isle of Wight taxpayers’ money would be spent have temporarily silenced plans for a town crier in Ventnor.
Instead of making a final decision last night (Monday), Ventnor Town Council (VTC) will now ask residents if they think ‘oyez, oyez, oyezs’ should ring through the town.
Watkins: Town criers are big crowd drawers
Councillor John Watkins put the idea forward, saying town criers were big crowd drawers.
He argued it would be beneficial to have one to make weekly community announcements and suggested holding a competition to fill the voluntary, honorary position.
Expenses for uniform
Though unpaid, the proposal was for the council to pay for the crier’s uniform, but Councillor Watkins said he had been unable to find out how exactly how much that would cost, only receiving rough estimates.
A report prepared for the meeting said it could be up to £200, but Councillor Watkins told fellow councillors it could instead be £2,000 for high-quality garments.
He said there were cheaper options, but then it would ‘look cheap’ and £200 would be ‘unrealistic’.
Logan: £2,000 too much to spend
Councillor Dave Logan said he would have been comfortable with a spend of £200 but £2,000 was rather different, and it would be worth finding out how much the council would be willing to spend.
Councillor Phil Warren suggested consulting residents to see if Ventnorians would actually like to have a town crier.
He said,
“Maybe residents don’t want a town crier, particularly if they feel there is a cost involved and that investment could be better made elsewhere.”
Cooper: A fantastic idea, but must have residents’ feedback
Mayor Steve Cooper said he thought it would be a fantastic idea and could see a lot of uses for a town crier, but recognised the importance of residents’ feedback.
Councillor Cooper said the matter would be discussed at a later meeting.
There are currently no town criers on the Island.
This article is from the BBC’s LDRS (Local Democracy Reporter Service) scheme, which News OnTheWight is taking part in. Some alterations and additions may have been made by OnTheWight. Ed
Image: gawler_history under CC BY 2.0
