News and views

The Isle of Wight Council has now confirmed it has reached agreement with the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) which will allow the council to make improvements on the prison estates. Since my election in 2017, I have worked with residents to lobby the Ministry of Justice as the estates had deteriorated for over twenty years. For example, in some roads, no streetlights work and there are bad potholes in many roads and pavements. We had made some progress ourselves in lobbying the MOJ. For example, a number of streetlights were repaired and replaced last year. So I am very pleased that discussions between the Ministry of Justice and the council has led to this agreement as, hopefully, it will take…

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I’ve reported this litter in Heytesbury Road and Hunnyhill which I spotted this morning as I walked into town. I did this via Island Roads’ ‘Report it online’ page on their website. It’s easy to do and I encourage residents to use it. Island Roads even rang me up within ten minutes to confirm the locations. Litter is an ongoing problem in the area. It’s not helped by the strong winds we get which blow bins over, and spreading the contents widely.

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On one of my recent daily walks I noticed these noisy ironworks in Parkhurst Road, near the junction with Partridge Road. They’ve come loose before and with lots of traffic going over them the rattling is annoying to residents, especially over night. I reported to Island Roads and they’ve confirmed that work will be done to re-seat the cover.

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I noticed – and a couple of residents also brought to my attention – this patch of water emerging from the surface of Worsley Road. I reported to Southern Water who were on site today. Hopefully they’ll find the cause and it won’t be too difficult to fix.

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Just under four years ago I was elected to both Isle of Wight Council and Newport & Carisbrooke Community Council. I am standing for re-election to both councils for the new ward of Parkhurst & Hunnyhill. This extends the current Parkhurst ward southwards to Vicarage Walk and Hunnycross Way. Because of the Covid pandemic, these are still worrying times. I shall, of course, be following the government guidance on campaigning. I look forward to engaging with residents in the coming weeks about the issues affecting our community. Please get in touch if you have questions to ask or views to raise you can contact me.

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Last Thursday, the Isle of Wight Council’s Cabinet discussed the Ministry of Justice offer for improvements on the prison estates. The discussion was in confidential session. However, the minutes are now public. This is what the minutes show: Decision: That further negotiations with the Ministry of Justice be undertaken, with a view to the acquisition of the relevant land on acceptable terms. Minutes: After a lengthy discussion, members believed that further confirmation about how the most significant risks associated with the proposal would be appropriately mitigated in the terms proposed, with the final decision being taken by the Director of Regeneration and Director of Finance, together with the Cabinet members for Regeneration and Business Development, Corporate Resources and Infrastructure and…

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