IW Councillor's Report, November 2022

 

Surgeries.

 

5:30-6pm; Tuesday 1^st November, Isle of Wight Community Club, Park Road, Cowes.

5:30-6pm; Wednesday 9^th November, The Portland, Worsley Road, Gurnard.

11-11:30am, Wednesday 16^th November, The Woodvale, Princes Esplanade, Gurnard.

10:30-11am, Thursday 24^th November, Coffee & Chat at All Saints Church, Tuttons Hill, Gurnard.

11:30-12pm, Thursday 24^th November, Eegon’s Café, 85 High Street, Cowes.

5:30-6pm; Wednesday 30^th November, The Portland, Worsley Road, Gurnard.

 

Cowes Floating Bridge.  

 

An agreement was found by mediators working on behalf of all parties with respect to Cowes Floating Bridge.

 

As a consequence of mediation, it was agreed by all parties in coming to an out of court settlement on the proviso terms of the settlement remain confidential. Although I am not entirely happy with this outcome, this has meant that the matter is resolved and avoids extending any resolution by taking this through the high court with a high risk of adding costs. This resolution allows for work to commence on a connection between Cowes and East Cowes being fit for purpose.

 

Cllr Phil Jordan Cabinet Member for Transport and Infrastructure issued the following statement, going into further details for the IW Observer newspaper see below:

 

“As reported in this very newspaper last week we announced the very good news on the Floating Bridge which finally draws a line under the commercial matters we faced in resolving the problems of the vessel and releases us into a brighter future where we can atlast look at all the options available to us, which includes a new Fb. 

 

For many reasons, we have been stuck in the commercial dispute and unable to look at any options that might otherwise be available, so it was important that we resolve the commercial matters and move the issue forward based on putting into place a reliable and sustainable service and vessel thereafter. 

 

So, let me say from the outset, commercial confidentiality the Non Disclosure Agreement is not an ideal situation for some people.  It flies in the face of openness and transparency and can seem as though there is something to hide.  I personally would prefer for these kinds of matters to beresolved and then information published accordingly.   But I am afraid to say that the commercial world just does not work in that way.  Indeed, in many ways, businesses want to retain their confidentiality and they certainly don’t like information being published that could damage their company reputation. In the commercial sector, NDA’s are a very common occurrence and it is quite usual for commercial disputes to be resolved under non-disclosure agreements. 

 

The commercial dispute over our own Floating Bridge was always going to be difficult to resolve. It was a very complicated case where designer and builder responsibilities were blurred, where one of the two companies went into liquidation prior to Mediation, where insurers then made up three parties who had to agree amongst themselves as well as with the Council, with commercial liability affected by insurance arrangements and with disputed responsibility. 

 

The Council were faced with two distinct choices against this backdrop. One was to enter into Mediation with the other parties to try to negotiate a settlement ofthe dispute.  Mediation is the preferred option of the Courts who can also instruct parties to enter Mediation.  The process is conducted through an intermediary and is confidential and without prejudice to the parties involved.   The details of any Mediation cannot be used subsequently in Court, whatever the outcome of Mediation. Alternatively, the commercial dispute could have been taken to the High Court.  At that point, the Court could have instructed that Mediation has to take place before the case would be heard. The case was complex, complicated, and not without risks.  The timescales to get a case into the High Court are estimated at around three years.  The legal costs of taking the commercial dispute to Court was estimated at £1m and rising, any claims were conditioned by insurance agreements in place and one of the parties is in liquidation, there is no guarantee the case would be won, no guarantee that costs would be awarded and overall, there was a high-risk level of going to Court. 

 

For these reasons, Mediation offered the safest, most prudent route to take and offered better safeguards of the public interest and less financial risks.   It is important to understand that it would not be in the council’s interest to reach a conclusion at mediation that it does not consider to be an appropriate settlement”.

 

Fireworks

 

If you’re having your own firework display, please inform neighbours! As ward Councillor you won’t believe the amount of correspondence I receive about petrified pets at this time of the year…

 

Gurnard Pines Eco Chalets.

 

Proposals for Eco-chalets at Gurnard Pines, are due to go on line for consultation this month.

 

In recent months in preparation for the new application there has continued to be work behind the scenes with dangerous trees and brambles being treated.  In addition, Ecology Reports have been completed and there has been liaison with tree and environment officers

 

Local Shops.

 

I’ve been asked to big-up local shopping and incentivising residents to shop local and try to avoid the internet for this year’s Christmas shopping. Please remember, if locals do not use our local shops these could be lost forever

 

With added energy costs, many local businesses require our communities support more than ever.

 

The worry that I have, is seeing the gradual decline in shops in Cowes and Gurnard (I remember Gurnard having two grocery stores, a newsagents, a post office, a haberdashery and toy shop, a DIY shop, a butchers shop, an antiques shop, several cafes, a milk bar and two pubs!)

 

English Coastal Path.

 

Although the route of the Isle of Wight section of the English Coastal Path lengths 2-10 has been supported by the Secretary of State, with the Planning Inspectorate acting as arbiters on the Fair Balance Test where they consider compensation, human rights, liabilities and ‘needs’ arguments.  To note the Path tends to follow the course of the current Coastal Path.  However, the path generally avoids road walking and follows the Estuary of the River Medina to Newport. 

 

In the meantime negotiations continue with landowners on length 1 between East Cowes and Wootton Bridge.

 

Parking.

 

Top of my list for complaints from residents from last month goes to anti-social parking.

 

Parental parking in Baring Road continues to be an issue, which I am looking forward to discussing with the school’s new head teacher.  With respect to this, Gurnard Parish Council will be considering potential saupport at their meeting on 14^th November as concerns continue to grow regarding bad parking. In the meantime, I have approached IWC Parking Services for improved parking enforcement.

 

I have also received complaints of collisions which have occurred to parked vehicles in Worsley Road.  To note driving away from a traffic incident and not leaving details is illegal under section 170 of the Road Traffic Act.

 

With increased traffic on the road another issue that has been reported, are concerns made over vehicles that park in front and opposite vehicular driveways.  Please be aware of this, as when approached many motorists are unaware of the problems that this can and does occur.

 

Isle of Wight Tourism.

 

In the second Quarter, covering months April to June 2022, it was reported that the Island saw an overall upturn in visitors by 2% to 633,125 visitors using accommodation, as compared to pre-lockdown statistics from the same quarter in 2019.

 

Interestingly the visitor spend increased by 45% with £114 million spent on the Island.  The average spend was £33.25 per day compared to £24.30 in 2019

 

Visitor profiling has seen nearly double the number of visitors from the London area.  Unsurprisingly the numbers of visitors by coach has fallen dramatically from 11% to 3%.

 

The ongoing saga of the Concrete Blocks, Gurnard.

 

Last month, I was excited to report that the mystery of the concrete blocks on the seafront at Gurnard had been resolved following Council Officers reporting that the blocks exposure was as a consequence of beach levels falling following recent storms.

 

Since then locals have reported to me other findings, such as the concrete blocks were remnants of recent groynes created to replace much more robust groynes positioned by Victorians..   

 

Hedgehog Corner:  Do’s and Don'ts  to protect hedgehogs in your garden.

·         Do leave some areas of wilderness where the hedgehogs can snuffle for insects.

·         Do put out water for drinking.

·         Do put out a bowl of dog food or meaty cat food around dusk.

·         Do install, in a quiet part of the garden, a hedgehog house.

·         Do look to see if your hedgehog is limping or appears to be injured, or in late Autumn look out for underweight ‘hogs.

·         Don’t put out bread and milk

·         Don’t pick up fit hedgehogs

·         Don’t leave black sacks lying around.

·         Don’t use slug pellets or other chemicals, they may poison hedgehogs and other animals.

·         Don’t light a bonfire without checking to see if a hedgehog or other wild animal has moved in.

·         Don’t fork over compost heaps in case hedgehogs or other animals have taken up residence.

·         Don’t spray hedgehogs with dog or cat flea sprays. It will be detrimental to the hedgehog.

Planning Applications.

 

If you are intending to submit a Planning Application, although not manatory please talk first to your neighbours beforehand. Understanding the views of your neighbours can be so important when processing any application. In my time as ward Councillor, I know of several instances where an early discussion with next door neighbours could have saved money, time and stress to all parties involved.

 

·          Somerton Farm.

An application has been submitted to develop adjoining Somerton Farm in Northwood (Ref: 22/01720/OUT). The proposal is for 163 dwellings with employment use. The deadline for comments is 4^th November 2022.  For details please visit: https://publicaccess.iow.gov.uk/online-applications/simpleSearchResults.do?action=firstPage.

 

Island Planning Strategy

 

The new Planning Bible for the Island was not accepted by Councillors at Full Council in October.  The reason for this being that many IW Councillors are unhappy with outdated data which Planning Authorities are obliged by Government to use when assessing annual housing figures.  It was felt that figures from 2014 (rather than census data from 2021) should not be used as figures were outdated and should be questioned more fully by both Government and legally through the Council’s legal team.

 

In light of this vote, I continue to work with Councillors to find solutions.  I am taking advantage of the time to see if more can be done to prioritise social housing, which is of real concern to many Councillors.  In addition, further clarity has been sought confirming housing numbers from Planning Consultants and the KC working on the IW Council’s behalf.

 

In the meantime, I remain concerned for the scale of new housing applications given the lack of any up to date plan.

 

Planning Portfolio Update.

 

·         With the recruitment of officers in the Planning Team and Training Events taking place, some of the objectives of the recent Planning Peer Review have now been made.

·         At the recent Planning Services Improvement Steering Group (overseeing Peer Review objectives) stakeholders from Parish Councils, the IW Council’s Planning Committee, officers and the housing sector discussed their respective groups priorities for improving the IW Council’s Planning Service.  As Cabinet member my priorities are 1. Completing the Island Planning Strategy; 2. Improving the Public Perception of Planning and 3. Planning Enforcement.

·         To assist in the issue of backlogs within the Planning Department a new member of staff has been recruited to join the planning team. In the coming weeks the new Enforcement Officer will be supporting Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council who has part funded this officers post.  It is hoped the same model can be rolled out to other Councils who have offered to step up and work with the Planning Department.

·         There continues to be dialogue between officers, the community and planning applicants on major schemes at Norris Castle (East Cowes), Camp Road (Freshwater) and at Pennyfeathers (Ryde).  Two schemes are to be considered for solar farms in Wellow and Wootton, whilst I am looking forward to meeting with stakeholders on the scheme for 57 new dwellings in Bembridge.

·         A Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for Newport will be considered by Cabinet in the coming weeks.

·         I attended a meeting with Niton & Whitwell Council to address perceived non-compliance of planning conditions.  In response to this, issues are being referred to the legal team, with a follow up meeting if required next month. 

·         Planning Committee resolved a deferral in considering a scheme for 11 affordable housing units at Elm Lane, Calbourne.  This followed a recommendation from officers for Refusal.  Elsewhere proposals to build 149 dwellings in Gunville was approved.

 

Solent Forum.

 

·         Microplastics has long been of concern to the Forum. Recently launched is the Solent Plastics Pollution Hub which supports initiatives to address pollution. Visit: http://www.solentforum.org/services/Member_Services/Solent_Plastics_Pollution_Hub/ for further details.

·         A presentation was given on Invasive Species that enter the Solent from cargo vessels and leisure craft entering our ports and marinas.  It was reported that around 10% of invasive species entering the Solent cause problems.  Most notable ‘characters’ are the Asian Date Mussel and the Carbon Sea Squirt. For further details of the world of Invasive Species please visit: https://www.apemltd.com/service/invasive-non-native-species-inns/

·         A presentation was given concerning re-wilding Chichester Harbour. The Group CHAPRON has created a 25 year strategy to a) Reduce Pressures; b) Restore Habitats and c) Realising the benefits of doing so.  The key challenges for CHAPRON is addressing coastal squeeze, decreasing pollutants, improving seagrass and native oyster stocks.  As an aside a local farmer at Thorness is doing similar to reclaim salt marshes by not repairing sea walls..

 

Gurnard Parish Council Update.  

 

·         With Senade our Environment Officer, and with the clerk and Cllr Bugden we met with the cleaning contractor to improve issues raised at the toilets on Gurnard Green.

·         I attended (albeit) briefly the protest event staged by concerned Island Residents on bathing water quality at Gurnard Beach. In response, the Beach Working Party is being formed to address both concerns and priorities in the pending Gurnard Beach Action Plan. Following its second meeting, members of the Group have a site meeting with IWC Officers. Grateful thanks to Councillors who engaged with residents over the new seating during the protest.  The two matters being considered by the Group is beach safety and pollution concerns.

·         I have been approached by a number of residents concerning recent applications and planning enforcement matters.

·         I’m looking forward supporting a resident who has raised a number of environmental concerns with the Parish Council

·         Engagement options are being considered to determine next year’s Parish Council precept for the village. 

·         Gurnard Parish Council has contacted Bob Seely MP to support the Climate and Ecological Bill.

·         Gurnard Parish Council are consulting on next year’s precept.  It is intended to freeze the precept, and take some funds from reserves given the impact that rising costs are having on residents.  

 

Also This month:

 

·         A request was made to remove a discarded mattress from a residential street in Cowes.

·         I have referred complaints concerning a noisy pet to Environmental Health.  Please let me know you have a similar issue.  In the meantime Environmental Health Officers request that noise events are logged by complainants! 

·         Following ongoing issues concerning cold calling, I am working with residents in Cowes to resurrect a Neighbourhood Watch Scheme.  Mindful that parameters are changing, this is an issue that I am taking up with Parish Councillors.  

·         Discussions are underway for local Town and Parish Councils to meet with Cowes Medical Centre as a Cowes Place Plan priority.  This meeting is being arranged by Cowes Town Councillor, Michael Paler.

·         Remembrance Services take place from 10:30am at Northwood Park, Cowes on Sunday 13^th November this is followed by the service at St Mary’s Church.  The service at All Saints Church, Gurnard takes place 3pm! As an aside, apparently the Gurnard Service differs from everywhere else due to Jenny Thomas the Guide Leader many years ago requesting an afternoon service, as she took children horse riding in the morning..  

·         I attended the most recent meeting of the IW AONB Management Committee.

·         Following the resignation of the lovely neighbouring Councillor Steve Hastings, I have been approached residents of Thorness, Porchfield and Calbourne to resolve a number of local issues.

·         Southern Water is to call a follow up meeting with residents. This was initially intended for this month.  Once details are circulated, this will be fedback to my website and to the village noticeboard.