Surgeries.
10:30-11am;
Thursday 1st September, Gurnard Press, Worsley Road, Gurnard.
6-6:30pm; Monday 5th September, Isle of Wight
Community Club, Park Road, Cowes.
5:30-6pm. Wednesday 14th September, The
Portland, Worsley Road, Gurnard.
10:30-11am, Thursday 22nd September, Coffee
& Chat, All Saints Church, Tuttons Hill, Gurnard.
5:30-6pm. Wednesday 28th September, The
Portland, Worsley Road, Gurnard
4:30-5pm, Monday 3rd October, Cowes Library, Beckford Road, Cowes.
Parkhurst Forest: Poison
Warning!
Calls have been received concerning walked in
Parkhurst Forest being poisoned. This follows
incidents a couple of years ago, where a number of dogs fell ill, following
being walked from Marks Corner.
Please be on your guard! The police has been notified.
In the meantime, all instances should be reported
direct to the police. In the meantime, please let me know if you or somebody
that you experienced similar instances.
Tour Of Britain Cycle
Race.
The Final Stage of the Tour of Britain takes place
on Sunday 11th September. This will
mean that roads throughout the route will be closed for periods during the day.
Locally this will mean that roads in Cowes and
Gurnard from 12:30 until 1:35pm with a rolling closure in place during the
event. The course follows a route from
Rolls Hill, Rew Street, Marsh Road, Solent View Road, Shore Road, Princes
Esplanade, Egypt Esplanade, Queens Road, Castle Hill, Baring Road and Place
Road before heading on to Newport and the finale at the Needles around 2:20pm
For details of timings please visit: https://www.iow.gov.uk/council/OtherServices/Tour-of-Britain/Event
Planning: Gurnard Farm.
Proposals to develop north of Gurnard Farm at Lower
Church Road was turned down by the Planning Inspectorate.
Jet Ski’s.
The anti-social use of jet-ski’s at Gurnard continues
to be reported to the Marine Police, who continue to monitor waters frequented
by bathers. Please note a bye-law exists
which prohibits all ‘personal watercraft’ being used faster than 8 knots and in
depths of less than 2 metres.
Please report incidents to: https://www.hampshire.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/
Following this year’s upturn in use of personal
watercraft at Gurnard, this is an issue that further actions.
Coastal Protection Works, Marsh Cottage.
Work is due to commence this month to undertake work
at Marsh Cottage (the house at the mouth of the Luck!). I have been pre-warned of coastal protection
works due to take place and have received confirmation from the IW Council that
relevant licenses to undertake this work are in place. The owner has advised
that this work is due to be completed before the weather changes in the Autumn.
Freedom of Information Requests.
I am happy sharing any aspect of my work and dealings
I have. Unless confidential (which may not be disclosable under FOI requests),
I am open, transparent and will share information or enquiry to anybody making
a request directly. This I do on a regular
basis, and prevents the time and ordeal of taking matters up on any formal
basis.
Helicopters.
Last
month, low flying helicopters were reported to the Civil Aviation Authority.
Since then, the issue seems resolved. Visit:
https://www.caa.co.uk/our-work/about-us/contact-us/ should you
require further details.
Affordable Housing.
Assuming that this is because I am the Cabinet
Member responsible for Planning and Enforcement, I continue to receive
considerable calls concerning the availability of Affordable and Social
Housing.
This category of housing remains a priority of the
Island Planning Strategy which is due to be considered by Full Council on 20th
September.
Locally, I continue to hear concerns over the extent
of properties being utilised as ‘holiday homes’ by their owners. As yet there are no current legislation that
discourages this. However, I understand that this is something being ‘looked
into’ by government.
Energy
Price Increases.
For up
to date support visit: https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/ and http://www.uswitch.com/ Tel: 0800 688 8557.
Alternatively, talk to the Footprint Trust on 01983 822282 or email: info@footprint-trust.co.uk.
With
the pending energy crisis, I continue to watch with interest preparations being
made by Government and the next PM once appointed. Until a plan is made moving forward, I am
supportive of maintaining the price cap.
Energy Rebates.
I know there has been several calls to Revenue
Services concerning letters that have been sent out concerning energy
rebates. These letters (which are
genuine) have been sent out by Clare Massiter who is the IW Council’s Business
Centre Manager… If in doubt, please call
the IW Council for confirmation.
Tayla Wright.
I met with the family of dancer, Tayla, who
tragically passed away last year and would have celebrated her 15th
Birthday on 10th September. This meeting followed feedback about
discarded cellophane and plastics being left adjoining Tayla’s Bench, adjacent
to the Beach Huts on Gurnard Seafront.
To celebrate Tayla’s life her family has set up a Go
Fund Me site to support those affected.
For details visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-taylas-family-give-her-the-best-send-off
In the meantime, Tayla’s Family
continues to monitor Tayla’s bench.
Pets.
If you need to leave pets at home
when out please ensure that animals are left watered. This follows several complaints of dogs barking
(and other animals making noise) and getting stressed throughout the summer.
Not only can this be upsetting for
the animals concerned, but also for neighbouring residents!
Drought Advice.
Despite recent rainfall, most of
Southern England remains in drought status. I have been advised this is likely
to remain in place until at least October.
In response to this, the following advice has been issued by the Red
Cross:
What can I
do to save water during the drought?
·
Make sure your home is leak-free. Take a reading of your water metre.
Wait 30 minutes without using any water and then take a second reading. If the
reading increases, there’s a leak.
·
Take shorter showers and cut out baths
·
Only use dishwashers and washing machines on ‘light’ cycles
·
Repair dripping faucets by changing washers – one drop per second wastes
2,700 gallons per year.
·
Don’t pour water down the drain if there’s another
use for it, like watering plants. This is called ‘grey water’ and it can also be collected when you take a
shower, brush your teeth or run the tap in the kitchen.
·
Get
a water butt. When it does rain, you’ll have a supply especially for your
garden and car.
Highways Matters.
·
Now
the Bird Nesting Season has ended, overgrown hedgerows can now be dealt
with. I have in recent weeks requested
further action is taken to address overgrown hedges in Baring Road, Place Road
and Tuttons Hill.
·
Repairs
were requested to road surfaces in Rew Street and Baring Road in preparation
for the Tour of Britain.
·
Temporary
repairs were made to the seawall in Queens Road.
·
Concerns
were raised over CCTV that appeared during Cowes Week on Cowes Parade. This was
reported.
·
I
have requested the Environment Officer to visit coastal defence work that
resulted in clothing being damaged.
Local Council Tax Support Consultation
2023/24.
Each year the
council must decide whether to change the local council tax support (LCTS)
scheme for working age applicants in its area.
The changes
will only affect working age claimants who currently receive LCTS or who may
apply in the future.
The locally
agreed changes we are consulting upon do not affect people of pension age. The
LCTS rules for these claimants are set nationally by the government.
With this
consultation we are seeking your views and suggestions to help us design
the scheme for 2023/24. We would like the consultation to be as wide as
possible and invite responses from all interested parties.
To take part visit:
Hedgehog Corner: Feeding
Hedgehogs,
Supplementing a
hedgehog’s natural diet by leaving food and fresh water is a great way to
encourage local hogs into your garden.
If you’re thinking of feeding your local hogs, remember:
·
Leave out foods
like tinned cat or dog food and crushed cat or dog biscuits. If the hedgehog is very young- roughly apple
sized- you’ll need to soak biscuits in water first. You may also get great quality meaty hedgehog
food from wildlife food suppliers!
·
Never feed
hedgehogs milk or bread. Milk can cause
diarrhoea. And bread isn’t very nutritious.
·
Check food &
water bowls each day to top them up with fresh water and food, removing any
food uneaten.
·
Always clean
dishes. Do this outside every day using hot soapy water and rinse well. This helps reduce the risk of spreading
disease between different hedgehogs that might eat from the same dish.
Cabinet Report: Planning and Enforcement.
·
Work continues to get the Island Plan
right before being considered by Full Council on 21st September. During the summer there has been ongoing dialogue
between Councillors and Officers. Key to
these discussions are the potential risks of making changes, and how these
changes could impact upon the soundness of the plan.
·
Posts were advertised to join the Planning
Team. Following positive feedback there will be the appointment of a new Flood
Defence Officer and a new Tree Officer to support the Tree Team. Because of the national shortage of Planning
Officers it continues to be a challenge to recruit staff to join the planning
and enforcement teams.
·
Planning Training took place during
the summer for both myself and members of the Planning Committee. As a result, we had the opportunity to see approved
sites and talk to those involved bringing these to fruition.
·
Following the recent Planning Peer
Review, through a number of meetings held last month I am continuing my work
with Officers and the Planning Chairman to address a number of short term
initiatives which I hope will restore trust in Planning and Enforcement.
·
I am currently supporting local
residents who have expressed two concerns over planning enforcement
issues. Both of which involves the potential
of sites for holiday use.
·
I have been appointed an officer from
the Finance Department to support me with next year’s budget.
Gurnard Parish Council Chairman’s Report.
·
Both with my Councillor hat and
Parish Council Chairman role, ongoing litter on Gurnard Green has been reported
and cleaned by the Senad, the IW Council’s Environment Ofiicer.
·
Last month it was necessary to close
the toilets on Gurnard Green, it is believed this was necessary following
thunderstorms and the fuse box shorting after the event.
·
The Old School Meadow Working Party
met to discuss health and safety matters.
For anybody using the open space, please leave the area as you find it. If there are matters of concern please let
Katie Riley the Parish Clerk know on 07305 013718, otherwise call me or any of Gurnard’s
Parish Councillors.
·
Complaints have been received
concerning cyclists travelling at speed in front of the beach huts. Following this being reported, this continues
to be monitored.
·
I have requested an update from the
IW Council following the publication of the RNLI’s Beach Safety Audit, where it
was intended the IW Council should implement an Action Plan for the Beach. Items being considered will be the use of
Personal Watercraft, Bathing Water cleanliness and water can be monitored in
the long term.
·
I have been contacted concerning the
recent appearance of concrete blocks.
According to some residents and officers this may be as a consequence of
beach levels falling two metres since last winter…
Also
This Month:
·
Because of my workload for this
month, I have now been excused from taking on jury service, which was intended
for the fortnight commencing 5th September. This means my
availability for September has increased.
·
Concerns were raised last month over
the lighting of fires on Gurnard Green and nearby woodland. This has been investigated and signage improved.
·
Following complaints received during
this summer, I continue to monitor toilets in Cowes and Gurnard.
·
I have been asked to support UKSA
over their initiatives supporting young people to become safe seafarers!
·
I received feedback from residents
concerning the implementation of traffic restrictions on Egypt Esplanade.
·
Tree works have taken place at
Gurnard Pines. Although permits were not
required the arboriculturalist has been in dialogue with the IW Council’s Tree
Team.
·
Confusion over road diversion signage
at Woodvale Road and Roundhouse (meaning Gurnard would have been totally
bypassed by vehicular traffic) was reported and swiftly rectified.
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