Surgeries:
11-11:30am, Friday 6th January, Gurnard Press,
Worsley Road, Gurnard.
12:30-1pm, Thursday 12th
January, The Woodvale, Princes Esplanade, Gurnard.
11:30-12:30pm, Wednesday 18th January, Eegon’s, 72 High Street, Cowes. (NEW TIME!!)
11:30-12:30pm, Wednesday 18th January, Eegon’s, 72 High Street, Cowes. (NEW TIME!!)
3-3:30pm, Wednesday 18th January, Cowes
Enterprise College, Crossfield Avenue, Cowes. (CANCELLED)*
11-11:30am, Friday 20th January, Eegon’s, 72
High Street, Cowes. (CANCELLED)*
6-6:30pm, Thursday 26th January, The Portland,
Worsley Road, Gurnard.
11-11:30am, Friday 3rd February, Gurnard
Press, Worsley Road, Gurnard.
* These dates have been cancelled owing to unforeseen circumstances within the Council's Executive.
* These dates have been cancelled owing to unforeseen circumstances within the Council's Executive.
Christmas
Tree Collections.
Amey are once again collecting Christmas
Trees. Trees will be collected in the
same way as Garden Waste and can be booked online, or can be booked by calling
01983 823777. Should residents wish to
take advantage of this, a clear three working days prior to Recycling (Green
Bin) Collection Days is required. Please
can it be noted, that if a tree is larger than 7ft, residents are asked to
ensure that trees are cut in to manageable sections. This service will operate until
27th January 2017.
Churchill Road.
Over the Christmas period I was kept busy
dealing with calls in response to a potential developer speaking to Churchill
Road residents about expressing an initial interest in purchasing land to
develop between Churchill Road and Westwood Close.
This I understand is a speculative exercise,
and when approached, I informed them that I had no issues in principle subject to
gaining support from neighbours…
Subsequently, I am hoping to convene a
meeting with residents in the coming weeks.
The
Range.
The
Range has slightly stalled on site due to an enforcement issue concerning the
bund at the rear. This had to be
resolved contractually prior to the end user taking over the building.
I
am reliably informed that this matter has been dealt with and works are being
undertaken into reduce the impact of the bund on the surrounding trees and
landscape.
In
the meantime, ancillary applications for both the café and garden centre have
been revised and approved.
Executive Position.
My
workload has increased following Cllr Jordan stepping down from the Council’s
Executive last month. New
responsibilities are depicted with in italics below.
Areas
I now take responsibility for includes:
·
The
Environment (including, Rights Of Way, Areas Of Outstanding Natural Beauty, The
Countryside and The Rural Economy, Public Spaces, Public Realm, Beaches, Public
Slipways, Beach Huts and Allotments, Flood Defence, Coastal Erosion, Agriculture, Fisheries, Land and Marine Based
Environmental Designations.
·
Fire
and Community Safety (Including Fire, Fire
Prevention, Road Safety, Environmental Health, Trading Standards, Food Safety,
Licensing), Police liaison and
liaison with all Emergency Services.
·
Local
Engagement (Liaison with Town and Parish Councils- Esp. regarding the
transferral of services)
Areas
that I no longer take responsibility for is:
·
Waste
and Recycling.
Because
I’m based in County Hall (much more than I want), I’ve been holding more surgeries
since December. In addition, I’ve been catching up with a large number of
residents through home visits during weekends.
Isle of Wight Council
Budget 2017/8.
The
Isle of Wight Council are consulting on 2017/8’s challenging Budget. This
is available in hard copy form from libraries, and can be found at: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/budget_2017-18. The consultation continues
until Monday 23rd
January, whilst a
public meeting also takes place, 7pm Monday 16th January at Medina Theatre.
Debt Advice.
At this time of year, I receive a
number of calls from residents concerning debt. From feedback received, support
from National Debtline (Tel: 0808 808 4000
or visit www.nationaldebtline.org), and the
Citizens Advice Bureau (Tel: 0300 330 1313, or visit: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/debt-and-money/help-with-debt/)
This service is free
and I know is considered invaluable for those that are suffering with the onset
of winter bills.
Trading Standards: Loft insulation fraud
victims to be compensated.
Victims of fraudsters, who targeted
vulnerable older people with loft insulation spray they didn’t need, will be
compensated after a partnership investigation by both the Isle of Wight Council
and Hampshire and Dorset Council trading standards services.
Under the company names Energy Foam Seal
Limited and Thermaroof Limited, the fraudsters deliberately cold called elderly
and vulnerable residents across the Isle of Wight, Hampshire and Dorset from
December 2012 to September 2014. They offered to insulate the victims’ lofts
with a spray foam called Icynene. False and misleading claims were made in
order to sell the unnecessary product which was unsuitable for the victims’
roof spaces.
Hampshire Trading Standards led the
investigation with help from Southampton Trading Standards, Isle of Wight
Trading Standards, Dorset Trading Standards, National Trading Standards and the
Tri-Region Scambusters Group.
At Southampton Crown Court:
• Energy Foam Seal Limited and Thermaroof
Limited company director Stephen Rosen, 47, of Wokingham, was sentenced to a 2 year
suspended sentence and 300 hours community service, after pleading guilty to
two offences of participating in a fraudulent business and five offences of
fraud by false representation.
• Energy Foam Seal Limited salesman Gary
Holzman, 41, of Bracknell, was sentenced to an 18 month suspended sentence and
200 hours community service after pleading guilty to eight offences of engaging
in misleading commercial practice.
• Energy Foam Seal Limited company director
James Dellaway, 36, of Bournemouth, was sentenced to a 12-month suspended
sentence and 100 hours community service after pleading guilty to one offence
of engaging in an unfair commercial practice.
Rosen also had £28,554 frozen in his bank
account which will be used to partially compensate 13 victims who suffered a
combined loss of £58,000. A further 19 victims were identified as part of the
investigation, but combined payments of £93,860 were stopped before they were
made.
The offences took place in Cowes, Shanklin,
Newport and Sandown, as well as Botley, Hedge End, Dibden, Portsmouth, Havant
and Waterlooville in Hampshire and Weymouth in Dorset.
Also
this month:
·
Fly
tipping, Overflowing litter bins and dog bins has been reported and action
taken during a seemingly busy December.
If you notice any dog mess which requires clearance or enforcement,
please let me know. Please note that Island
Roads are under contract to cleanse areas where fouling occurs and can be
contacted on 01983 822440. In normal circumstances (from experience) areas can
be cleansed with hours of being reported.
·
Gritting
routes for Cowes West and Gurnard are: Place Road, Tuttons Hill, Worsley Road,
Shore Road, Woodvale Road, Baring Road, Ward Avenue, Park Road and Crossfield
Avenue. If any of these roads are missed
in freezing conditions, please let me know.
·
Following
complaints received, the Tree Officer has visited sites off Woodvale Road and
Place Road following concerns raised over damage to Trees with Protection
Orders on. In both cases, I’ve been
reassured that action taken not affected trees protected.
·
I
am looking forward to meeting up with representatives of Cowes Primary School
in the coming weeks, with a view to improve safety and access to and from the
school.
·
Coring
‘soon to be resurfaced’ roads has taken place during the last few weeks. On
this subject, a number of residents from Pine Tree Close became excited and
asked me to follow up, whether works were imminent… Unfortunately, this did not
prove to be the case as the level of deterioration did not warrant any
commencement before October 2018. Because
of this I will continue to ask that this road is monitored.
·
Clancy
Docwra will be undertaking repairs to Newport Road early in January. I have complained again concerning, how these emergency
utility works coincide with when the Floating Bridge is taken out of service! However, Island Roads believes that operatives
will continue to work throughout the weekend of the 7th/8th
January to ensure Newport Road can reopen in advance of 13th
January.
·
An
appeal has been lodged against a refused planning application for 13 Shore
Road. I have offered assistance to
residents who wish to make comments against the appellant’s representation.
·
I’m
working closely with Age UK who has offered to provide support to Amey and the
Isle of Wight Council giving support to elderly and vulnerable residents.
·
A
Gurnard resident contacted me regarding a telephone call made to them, advising
them that their Credit Card has been compromised. Should any person call you concerning a compromised
credit card, repayment of tax or your computer not working, say nothing. If something sounds too good to be true, then
that is probably because it is!
The BBC is reporting that the current Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Michael Lane, is shelving plans to include the Isle of Wight in the name of the Local Constabulary alongside Hampshire, as is the case in other policing authorities. This is a matter which I look forward to taking up with Mr Lane when I meet with him and Chair of the Police and Crime Panel, Cllr. Dave Stewart
·
I
received a complaint concerning Church Road, Gurnard being completely
obstructed due to the abundance of vehicles attending events on Christmas Eve. Please
note if there are no double yellow lines and your vehicle obstructs traffic movements
vehicles can still be ticketed!
·
I’ve
contacted Island Roads concerning the non-reinstatement of road markings
following resurfacing in Rew Street last year.
Island Roads have advised me that the ‘Industry Standards’ does not
require the markings to be repainted. However, I will be raising exceptional circumstances
following the occurrence of accidents.
·
With
Age UK, I am supporting a resident trying to resolve an issue with their social
landlord.
·
Gurnard’s
Neighbourhood Plan Steering Committee have been advised by Planning Officers
that owing to the forthcoming Local Elections, could result in the referendum
being delayed until September. On this
matter, I intend talking to officers to see what opportunities are available to
fast track any delay. In the meantime, consultation
on the Plan is due to commence on 13th January.
·
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