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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Transport. The wording of the recommendation was amended from that in the report.
It’s good that the negotiations are continuing. But it’s vital that the chance to get improvements doesn’t slip away.
If agreement is reached, two things must be a priority:
I’ve continued to press these points with Cabinet members and council officers.
Today, I went for a walk along Forest Road into Parkhurst Forest.
I spotted a few issues which I have reported:
Yesterday, I saw that litter was again accumulating in the subway at St Mary’s junction. I’ve also reported this to Island Roads.
UPDATES 16 March 2021
Island Roads confirmed that the manhole cover has been scheduled for action. They have also swept the pedestrian subway.
Roads, pavements, and streetlights on the prison estates could be in line for much needed repair if an offer by the Ministry of Justice is taken up by Isle of Wight Council.
A report going to the council’s Cabinet on Thursday, 11 March 2021 (pdf document), has the details.
However, a lot of this is in confidential appendices, including a map of which roads are affected. I believe this map should be published so residents know if their road will get improvements.
The way the houses on the estates were sold in the 1980s means many residents have rights and responsibilities over parts of the roads. It’s not clear from the public part of the report what improvements will be made in these roads and what help will be offered to the residents affected. This needs to be made public.
When I campaigned for election in 2017, I gave a commitment to speak up for residents to try to get improvements to the estates. I have done so ever since, including meetings with the Island’s MP and going up to London to meet with an MoJ civil servant.
Late last year, it was clear that progress was being made with the replacement and repair of several street lights on the estates.
This new offer goes much further. It may not be perfect but I believe the council must accept it so that at least some roads will get much-needed improvements. From what residents tell me, a major priority is to get working street lights across the estates. In a survey I carried out before the pandemic at least 45 were not working or faulty. There are also many roads and pavements which are hazardous and need to be made safe.
If you are a resident on one of the prison estates, please get in touch with the questions that you want answered. I will take up these up with the council’s Cabinet before they make their decision.
A budget amendment from the Isle of Wight Council’s Liberal Democrat group once again aims to enhance local communities, boost local entrepreneurial spirit, and back initiatives that tackle the climate emergency.
The Covid pandemic has meant this has been an extremely hard year for all Islanders. The council’s top priority has rightly been on the public health response to the pandemic and on supporting local communities.
The Lib Dem budget amendment again shows there is a better approach than the one being taken by the Conservative administration when delivering its usual day-to-day services.
Just over two months from now, Islanders will go to the polls to elect a new Isle of Wight Council. Our amendment highlights the priorities of a future Lib Dem led council – enhancing Island communities, boosting the Island economy, and playing our part in tackling the climate emergency.
As we recommended last year, the Lib Dems would set up a major Climate Emergency Initiatives Fund following the Council’s cross-party declaration of a climate emergency in July 2019.
The Lib Dems believe that the best decision-making comes when working in partnership. Our town, community and parish councils are closest to our communities. Our Community Public Realm Fund proposal would go to joint initiatives with these councils and others that enhance community life.
The Covid pandemic has seen exceptional work done by Island community and voluntary groups. We propose setting up a Community Resilience Transformation fund to make sure that we capture best practice in partnership and community work.
Under the Conservatives the Island’s library service has suffered many cuts. The Lib Dems believe our libraries have an important role at the heart of our communities and so we would reverse the cuts proposed by the Conservatives.
The Covid pandemic has taken its toll on Island businesses and jobs. We would provide extra support for those looking to found and grow new businesses with a dedicated Enterprise Fund.
We would provide for free 30-minute parking in Newport, in line with the motion backed by Isle of Wight councillors in November 2020 aiming to bring back retail vibrancy to our county town as we emerge from the pandemic. We would also not go ahead with doubling the overnight car parking charge.
The Conservatives have targeted two Island attractions for cuts in opening hours – Newport Roman Villa and Dinosaur Isle. We would not go ahead with these cuts. As lockdown eases and when people can visit attractions, maximising opening hours should be a priority.
The Conservatives propose raising more money from a massive 7 per cent increase in crematorium and cemeteries’ fees. We would limit the increase to 2 per cent, broadly in line with projections for inflation.
“Our plans are consistent with proposals we have been putting forward year after year. They are also financially sound. We would redirect about £600,000 that the Conservative leadership wants to put into the ‘Transformation Reserve’, which already has a healthy balance. We would also reallocate the £300,000 set aside for two speed cameras, allowing money to be spent more broadly on supporting our local economy, and on joint initiatives with parish, community, and town councils.
“Above all our budget amendment is underpinned by the liberal principles set out in our party’s constitution:
to build and safeguard a fair, free and open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no one shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.
The figures for the Lib Dem budget proposals are set out below.
If you live in one of the roads around the prisons you should have got a leaflet from Isle of Wight Council about an inspection to be carried out of roads, footways, street lighting, signage and trees that are close to the highway.
The inspection is being carried out because the council is in discussions with the Ministry of Justice about potential improvement works to these estates. Unlike most roads on the Island, the roads around the prisons are unadopted roads which are not part of the council’s responsibility to maintain.
Since I was elected as councillor in 2017, I have pressed the Ministry of Justice to take action on the estates. Last year some progress was made when a small number of streetlights were either repaired or replaced.
So I’m hoping that the discussions with the council and MoJ do lead to agreement and that after very many years of neglect the roads, pavements and streetlights etc will be brought up to a proper standard.
The council’s leaflet asks residents to raise any questions with them using the email address regeneration@iow.gov.uk.
If you do email the council and want to copy me in using andrew.garratt@iow.gov.uk that would be very helpful in making sure I know what issues you have raised.
You can also call me on 524623 if you would like to discuss this. I’m very happy to pass on residents’ views for them if you don’t want to email the council directly.
Island Roads are asking for feedback on a range of services they carry out on behalf of Isle of Wight Council.
The annual survey is online and has twelve short questions. They ask residents to rank performance on things like road repairs, street lighting, and verge cutting. Each question has a box in which you can add further views.
As it’s a short survey it doesn’t cover everything but it’s a useful way of drawing attention to problems.
When I filled it out I included my concerns about how new road surfaces seem to crack up soon after. We’ve seen that in Noke Common, for example. I’ve also highlighted the need for street cleaning to be more frequent in trouble spots where litter and rubbish gather.