Ventnor Town Council (VTC) held their budget/precept meeting last night.
The meeting started with Ventnor’s Mayor, Cllr Debby Robinson, welcoming Carol Jones, the new Ventnor East town councillor to the VTC.
A public question at the beginning of the meeting by Brian Lucas, queried the £59,000 item listed on the budget spreadsheet for ‘Winter Gardens Subsidy’.
Clerk explains Winter Gardens’ costs
The town clerk, David Bartlett, explained this was made up of three elements. £35,000 was the cost of closing the Winter Gardens (WG), paying out redundancies etc. £20,000 made up the repayment of the Moulson Coors loan which was instigated back in 2007. The last £4,000 related to contracts for tills that needed to be settled.
It was mentioned later in the meeting by Cllr Robinson that lots of items are still coming out of the woodwork from the days of the previous administration with no paper trails, hence the need to include a £10,000 contingency in next year’s budget.
Budget reduced, but not as much as they’d like
Cllr Robinson explained that the budget did not include as much of a reduction as the VTC had hoped, but that the VTC were still bearing the responsibility of debts, unfortunate contracts and the closure of the WG.
She went on to say that they had tightened other areas to a certain degree and that staffing would be lower due to the lack of burden of the WG.
True costs of running Winter Gardens
Cllr Harry Rees explained that in no time prior to the current administration had the true cost of running the Winter Gardens been revealed. He went on to say that the time of the town clerk dealing with WG matters amounted to £27,000 (it was not made clear whether this was a over an extended period of time or yearly).
He expressed his best wishes for those looking to take over running of the WG, but warned that they should be aware of the hidden costs when preparing their business plans.
Reserves boosted this year
Cllr Robinson told the VTC that £15,000 reserves had been allocated for the forthcoming year, stating that reserves had been dangerously low in the past and it was essential that the VTC had substantial reserves.
She went onto the propose that the budget for £135,000 be accepted by the VTC with the annual precept for a band D council tax payer being £48.79 for 2011/12.
All councillors, Robinson, George, Stubbings, Toogood, Mack, Jones and Rees voted to accept the budget.
More public questions were raised at the end of the meeting.
Why drop local grant allocation?
Ventnor resident, Rob Chuter questioned why no provision had been given for local grant, going on to say that local agencies were being squeezed nationally as well as locally.
Cllr Robinson replied that grants can only be awarded to registered charities or organisations able to show at least one year’s accounts and that no grants had been given out under that criteria last year.
Mr Chuter argued that grants weren’t awarded because the provision had not been advertised.
Benches and shelters need attention
Bonchurch resident, Maureen Cawley asked for an assurance that money would be spent on seats and shelters around the town, which she claimed had been neglected for the last two years.
Cllr Stubbings confirmed that £1,400 budget allocation had been given to benches and that it would be used if needed.
Cllr Jason Mack was now in charge of benches and would deal with any queries.
What are plans for the Green Town?
Evelyn Knowles asked about the £1,000 allocation in the budget for ‘Green Town’.
Cllr Robinson replied that although there were not fixed ideas on what this would be spent on yet, the VTC was committed to becoming an official ‘Green Town’ and welcomed ideas from the Ventnor residents.
“Destination Ventnor needed now more than ever”
Bonchurch resident, Brian Lucas asked, as there would be less toilets and attractions (WG) in Ventnor, what was happening about the ‘Destination Ventnor’ plans mentioned at last year’s Annual Town Meeting.
Cllr Robinson explained that any profile-raising would need funding and it had not been budgeted for the forthcoming year, but would be considered in 2012/13.
She went on to say that 2011/12 would be concentrated on smartening up the town and the town councillors would be able to get on with the job of looking after the interests of the town rather than being guardians of the WG.
Isle of Arts and NatWest Games coming to Ventnor
Cllr George mentioned the forthcoming Isle of Arts Festival, the possibility of the NatWest Island Games volleyball preliminaries taking place at Ventnor Middle school and a cycling road race through the centre of Ventnor (as part of the NW Island Games).
However, on the subject of the poor condition of the roads, he said he “wouldn’t want to push a bath chair around Ventnor”.
What about 20mph through town?
Mr Lucas also asked what’d happened to plans for a 20mph speed limit through Ventnor town centre.
Cllr George replied that county councillor for the ward, Chris Welsford, had been in discussion with the Isle of Wight council and that the reduced speed limit seemed unlikely to be adopted.
Annual Ventnor Fell Run
Mrs Cawley asked whether any alternative arrangements had been made for the Annual Fell Run.
This prestigious event has been held in Ventnor for the last 16 years and the WG was previously used as a base for the runners and organisers for the two-day event.
Cllr Stubbings confirmed that the town clerk would contact Ryde Harriers to advise of WG closure and offer any assistance they could.
Will VTC support threatened toilets?
We asked whether, following the approved budget cuts by the IW Council, the VTC would be taking on any of the surplus toilets.
Cllr Rees reminded all that the public meeting had voted against the VTC taking on responsibility for the toilets, so they would not be doing so.
Cllr Stubbings confirmed that someone had expressed an interest in taking over Steephill Cove toilets.
The next meeting would take place on 14th March at Ventnor Community Early Years Centre (formerly St Margaret’s School).
The full details of the forthcoming budget can be found on the VTC Website (PDF).
Road closure?
We understand that the road between the junction of Gills Cliff Road and Ocean View Road and Down Lane will be closed during that period, so will advise is any change is made to the venue.
