PETTICOAT LANE - PLEASE PROTEST

My parish colleague in Newport, Jackie Hawkins, wants people to send in objections to a proposed footpath diversion of Petticoat Lane, which will allow Sainsbury's supermarket to extend. She tells me,

"This is a beautiful walk enjoyed by many people, as well as being a medieval footpath and very much a part of the history of not just Newport but the Island. Indeed it has been included in the Historic Environment Action Plan, which will form a part of the new Island Plan. It is also seen by Rights of Way as a portal into the countryside.

Petticoat Lane in recent years has already seen many changes detrimental to its character; any more changes and it will be beyond recognition.

Sainsburys would like to make the lane 87 metres longer. They try to justify this by reducing the steepness, but the vast majority of the people who regulary use the lane (many elderly. who live nearby) would rather it is left as it is, with the trees and the sound of birds singing. In fact it wouldn't be a lane any longer, it would be nothing more than a pavement no matter what planting they do. The way Sainsburys will maintain their planting is only for visual benefit and not for the benefit of the many species of birds that live in the lane at the present time. And this at a time when we are seeing a decline in what use to be very common birds such as sparrows, starlings and thrushes - all of which are regulary seen here.

Any divertedfootpath will run alongside the proposed extended Foxes Road. So what is now a safe and clean place away from traffic for children, older people and dog walkers to walk along will become dirty, smelly and noisy.

I urge anyone who cares about any of the issues that I have outlined, or any other that may be of concern to you that may be reasons why Sainsburys should not be granted this diversion order, to please write to Alex Russell, Isle of Wight Council, Rights of Way Officer, The Ventnor Costal Centre. Dudley Road, Ventnor. PO38 1EJ. Email - alex.russell@iow.gov.uk We have 28 days to send in our comments - closing date 16th January.

I would very much appreciate it if people would send me a copy of their comments at hawkinsjackie27@googlemail.com. I am also happy to talk to anyone who would like to ring me for more details on this application (Tel 530378).

If there are enough objections then this should result in a public enquiry, which would be held here on the Island and everyone who has written a letter would get the opportunity to speak if they so wished."

I heartily endorse Jackie's plea. This is a beautiful part of our County town that should not be allowed to be destroyed by the expansion plans of a major supermarket.

BY-ELECTION LESSONS

Yesterday the IW Councillor vacancy for Newchurch ward - caused by the death of Brian Mosdell - was won by the LibDem candidate with a slim 12 vote majority over the Tory candidate. This is the first by-election since 2000 that the local Tory by-election machine hasn't won. The last time the LibDems won a by-election was in 2000 in Brading.

What Brading 2000 and yesterday had in common was no Labour candidate. Ever since 2000 Labour has always stood a candidate. However, we decided not to put up a candidate this time as this is a ward we don't normally contest and we wanted to see how it went without us.

Back in the 1990s Labour standing at by-elections made little impact on the LibDem vote - it clearly does now. The result of this by-election is very interesting - and it will give all three main parties on the Island food for thought.........

MERRY XMAS AND A PEACEFUL NEW YEAR

To all my readers - my very best wishes for an enjoyable Christmas and hopes for a peaceful new year.

SENSE PREVAILS

Further to my post on 14 November last night Newport Parish Council, on my proposal, REVERSED its decision to take out a lease on a property in Quay Street.

I was against it last month and this time the vote was 10 votes to NIL, with 4 abstentions. On a named vote those councillors in favour of reversal were - the original 5 against taking the lease (me, Coburn, Craven, Hawkins and Smart) plus Flambard, Foster, Reid, Swan and Wilmott. The abstentions were all councillors in favour of the lease - Whittaker, Jones-Evans, Humber and Page. Ball and Downer sent apologies.

At last sense prevailed. We had spent the intervening month grounding the financial implications of a lease in reality and listening to our communities. Even then some seem very happy to spend public money on a building before this new parish council has actually done anything.

Now we can recommence trying to be meaningful............

MAKING A FINE MESS

Last Tuesday I made the trek to Brook for the latest edition of the travelling Cabinet. Seaview last month (which I missed unusually), Brook this month, who knows where next month.........can't they pick a summer's evening for these excursions ?

Once again the Cabinet felt it appropriate to pack the Agenda with EIGHT important decisions for a meeting with just 10 members of the public present.

Just a list of the items on the Agenda will give you a flavour of how important this meeting was for Island Council Tax papers - Revised Revenue Budget and Capital Programme 2008/09; Budget Strategy and Capital Programme 2009/10; 14-19 Education Strategy Plan; Strategic Council Accomodation Rationalisation; latest Island Plan document; ICT Services; Quarterly Performance Reports; Change of Procurement Route for Cowes Pathfinder School........

The papers for the meeting were like a phone directory, which doesn't half task anyone who wants to challenge them about the decisions - like me. Perhaps that is why I am invariably the only opposition councillor at these meetings. I asked quite a number of questions about the current and future Budgets, and Performance, but as usual to little avail.

One thing is very clear - this Council is getting itself into a total mess.

ECO WHAT ?

Suspicious person that I am I have attended the last two Board meetings of the Island's Strategic Partnership (ISP), the most recent being last Wednesday. At each I was the only person not invited, though they are supposed to be public meetings. The press don't get along either.

What is it you may ask ? Well it is a gathering of the 'great and good' in the public and voluntary sector - mainly unelected- who are tasked with "developing and making real the island’s Sustainable Community Strategy, called Eco Island" (Constitution).

And how are they getting on with this task ?

Well in the hour or so I was able to stay - 10 minutes having being lost due to the usual late start - the distinct impression I got was 'not very well'. Lots of missed targets it seems (where they are actually being reported), with potential financial consequences for the Island in terms of additional government funding.

Still they are going to be under the glare of the Scrutiny Committee in the future, so that's alright then. But how would some of the unelected Board members react to real scrutiny......

SCHOOL GHOSTS

Went along to the Cabinet meeting tonight that was making the latest decisions on school reorganisation. It was like a Dickension scene with the Ghosts of Education Past (Patrick Joyce and Standards not Tiers) stirring the ashes of old conflicts and 3-tier education, the Ghost of Education Present (the Council leader) going on, and on, and on, and on about what they were proposing to do under 2-tiers - and the Ghost of our children's Education Future yet to be realised.

Apparently the leader's speech was due to last an hour, without the questions, but I had had enough after an hour and three-quarters (7.45pm) and went home for my evening meal. When I last checked Ventnor blog (8.45pm) it is still going on, and on, and on, and on............

On my way out I bumped into someone who had only attended the meeting for the second item on the agenda - next year's Concessionary Fares Scheme. She could not believe that anyone was expected to have to wait for more than 2 hours for an agenda item. I agreed with her and told her to complain to County Hall about the agenda planning tomorrow morning.

NB: Just after 9pm the Cabinet did what they were going to do at the 6pm start - agreed the proposals submitted by the leader of the Council. What on earth were they trying to prove by this charade ?........but I have no idea what happened to the Concessionary Fares paper.........obviously not that important to them !

TALES FROM THE SHEEPFOLD

Full Council last night. Not many there and those that were made me wonder why they bother given their total silence. I suppose that is the price of dumb loyalty, but it must get a little tiresome to have to put up with speeches from the same people in and close to the leadership and the small group of opposition councillors (including me) who contribute. No wonder the Full Council barely gets 10 members of the public present - we always get 15-20 at Newport Parish Council...........

Anyway the biggest debate was on the sudden expulsion from the Council of 'Win Laden' after she hadn't attended meetings for over 6 months. I don't condone that sort of absenteeism, but I do think you should at least get a warning from officers, especially when you are the carer of a sick partner and haven't kept track. However, that cuts no mustard if you aren't in the Tory sheepfold and her expulsion was confirmed by 20 votes to 11, with just 2 of her erstwhile colleagues abstaining (Ward & Arnold).

I was then the only person to argue against the Council's revised plan of polling districts and polling stations for the revised ward boundaries, as I feel they missed an opportunity to make voting more accessible, and preferably away from schools (all of which I had suggested for my own ward). I got the support of 2 Liberals and 1 ex-Liberal, but as so often the sheep voted withouta bleat. Funny how their electoral addresses are full of how they will speak up for their communities until they get into County Hall......

Later on I had my usual enjoyable exchange with the Tory bovver-boy from Kite Hill over how he demands more public funding from central government for things like concessionary fares, when his own party's national 'leadership' has just performed a U-turn and announced it will reduce the current levels of public expenditure should the horror of a Tory government ever befall this country again. Thankfully, I think the people of the UK are waking up to that particular nightmare (cue for anonymous Tory-blog-comments).

FROM LION TO LAMB ?

Although I try not to respond to anonymous comments on this blog, one or two recent ones about me 'turning into a lamb' and' retreating into a corner' in recent times merit a response.

For fans and foes alike I will admit that I have not been as combative over the last 6 months or so about the disgrace that is this Tory IW Council leadership. For three years I hammered away at the IWC administration, but I have felt increasingly that the post-Sept 07 regime was not worth the effort, given their undemocratic tendencies and their foot on the throat of much of the local media (with some very notable exceptions).

Instead I have been focussing my energies on my ward and on Newport as a whole, rather than tilt Don Quixote-like at the arrogant asylum.

However, just because I am not as visible as I once was does not mean that I have given up. Far from it. There are more ways to skin a cat....................

As Arnie said - I will back !

ARE THE LUNATICS IN CHARGE OF THIS ASYLUM ?

Schools reorganisation latest - Weeks to prepare. Lots of fanfare. Press releases. Briefings to all and sundry - except Labour members - and parents.........

BUT the papers still aren't actually available on the website.

£29k FOR NEWPORT PARISH OFFICE ?

The CP today reports on page 5 the debate at the Newport Parish Council meeting last Monday:

http://www.iwcp.co.uk/News/29000_office_for_parish_2.aspx

As the Chair I feel I need to explain a little more. Newport is one of the four new parishes created last April, after the IW Council said in 2005 they would tax them as if they were parished and some of us said 'no taxation without representation'. So we successfully petitioned for a parish council for the Newport area.

This year's budget, handed down for year one by the IW Council, allowed for accommodation costs of £5000. To date we have not used that as our Clerks work from home and we hold our meetings in venues all around the Newport parish. However, a proposal was made by a parish working party set up to look at potential accommodation needs to take out a lease on a property in Quay Street for 3 years that will cost a minimum £29,000 gross per year; though they expect to get £12,000 pa from sub-letting. So with the actual budget provision taken into account that means an extra cost next year of £12,000 pa.

On Monday the debate around whether to take up those option split between those who want to establish an early presence in the town centre with community access, and those who feel that demonstrating the value of having a parish council should come first. The debate was our most contentious so far and when I called the vote there were 7 in favour (Cllrs Whittaker, Jones-Evans, Ball, Downer, Humber, Page and Reid), 5 against (Cllrs Coburn, Craven, Hawkins, Lumley and Smart) and one abstention (Cllr Flambard). Councillors Foster, Swan and Wilmott had sent their apologies.

ON THE EVE OF THE NEXT SCHOOL PROPOSALS

Just got home from the Downside Middle School Awards Evening. As ever it made me proud to be associated as a governor for so many years - 10 now - with a school that does so much terrific stuff with young people and the local community. Downside is now a two site school, both the Furrlongs (Pan) site and the Kitbridge (Parkhurst) site on Forest Road. There have been some real pressures associated with the merger, but I really think it could work well given time. The guest speaker and awards presenter Alex Dyke also seemed to enjoy himself and hopefully he will 'big it up' it on his radio show tomorrow.

One of the consequences of being at the evening was that I was unable to fit in a County Hall briefing for opposition councillors on the latest proposals for schools re-organisation that go to Cabinet on 24 November. So I won't know what is being proposed until the proposals are in the public domain tomorrow lunchtime.......

Opposition group leaders got notice of this briefing only yesterday afternoon. 'Confusion' was blamed. That is an example of the disregard this Council has for non-Tories.

AT LAST !

Nearly 5 years after some money was first set aside by the IW Council for youth facilities in Pan - as part of the plans to get the community on board for the proposed lucrative Pan development - the new Multi Use Games Area (MUGA) behind Downside Middle School is now open (pic), and will formally be opened this Thursday.

£100k was set aside by the then IW Council leadership and it has since been topped up with £300k of Sport England monies; thus delivering a quality facility.

For the last 3 years both PNP and I have been pushing for delivery of this scheme which has taken an inexplicably long time. At last its here, but I hope the community won't have to wait as long for the other promised benefits from the development..... once it actually starts.

STOP GOVERMENT SUPPORT FOR THIS FAILED INSTITUTION !

As Sunderland FC were crushing the Magpies yesterday afternoon it occurred to me - Why is the Government propping up that nearly bankrupt football club ?

Northern Rock was the first bank that the Government decided to bail out, with a full scale 'nationalisation' package. However, is it really appropriate for the Northern Rock brand to be sponsoring Newcastle United FC, particularly sociopaths like Joey Barton ?

SHOPPED BY HOFTON !

Charlotte Hofton was poking fun at me again in the County Press today regarding my non-attendance at the ceremonial starter to Full Council last week,

"The council chamber was packed for this special ceremony. There were lots of councillors, though not, of course, Cllr Geoff Lumley, who was probably down at the working men's club reading his copy of Tribune, in proletariat protest at all this flummery.

Cllr Lumley would not have liked the ceremony. Apart from the councillors, the Rent-a-Nob pack was out in force, with the seats around the chamber and in the public gallery full of the Island's finest."

I love it ! She has my approach to these ceremonies spot on, though I haven't read Tribune in quite some time. And I wasn't the only one not there.......

THANKS BRIAN MOSDELL - R.I.P.

Last night I made my latest visit to Brian Mosdell in the hospice, but learnt from the staff on arrival that he had taken a turn for the worse. This morning he died. Like many who knew him I feel very sad.

I got to know Brian well after the 2005 Council elections, and particularly during our Scrutiny investigation into Wightcare during 2006, when that wonderful Council service was under threat of privatisation. Deborah and I guessed he would be a hard-faced Tory about it, but he proved to be a man of great compassion and integrity, who knew the value of a public service not just the price.

When he stood down from the Council Tory Group in the summer of 2007 I was not surprised. He was far too 'One Nation', too much of a democrat, for that bunch. He was to remain estranged from the party he had been a member of for many, many years due to his active opposition to the Tory Education Betrayal.

I am pleased that I got to know Brian over the last three and a half years. We didn't often agree, but we disagreed with mutual respect and a great deal of humour.

My heartfelt condolences to his widow Shirley and the rest of his family.

SHANKLIN TORY SHENANIGANS

Word has it that the remaining Tories who have been subject to the Standards enquiry into a planning application for over a year now - Sutton, Bishop, Churchman and Peacey-Wilcox are being barred from being selected as Tory candidates for next year's local elections until the enquiry is over. As that is apparently being strung out by 'unnamed persons', that would mean that it will not be concluded until after the elections next June.

All very convenient for two Shanklin incumbents, a town where three wards will become two next year under boundary changes. Barring Bishop from selection will give them - Pugh and Williams - a potentially free run, subject of course to the local party members.......... Bishop has never left the Tory party, just the Council Tory group, and is currently Chairman of Shanklin Conservatives.............

ISLAND TORIES, IT'S NOT POCKET MONEY...........

At last night's dreary Full Council - all the business over in 55 minutes, probably because Deborah and I weren't much in the mood for battle - I asked the Cabinet member for Schools if he knew anything about a projected major overspend on the new Cowes Secondary School pathfinder. This is the school where the government has given the Council £32m, they had to contribute £1.5m, and in June they had to up that a further £2.5m - see my blog of 18 June.

He claimed not to know anything though we have been reliably been informed that the projected cost is now in the £40 millions. Still we will find out whether our information is correct as we have asked the Schools Minister to look into it in the public interest.

ISLAND TORIES, STAB IN THE BACK

Tomorrow night at Full Council the Tory Council leader plans to take away the Council's Local Government Association (LGA) position held by his predecessor for the past three and a half years.

Does he know something we don't, I wonder ????????

ELECTION LESSON

Last Thursday's by-election to the IW Council - with an annual budget of £325 million that touches everybody's life - secured a turnout of 32%.

On Friday a by-election for a Resident Member of the Pan Neighbourhood Partnership (PNP) Board - with a Government budget of less than £400,000 pa for 7 years, that is making real and positive changes to the lives of many Pan resident's - secured a turnout of 31%.

The PNP election was entirely postal. Maybe there is a lesson to be learnt here ?

POOR SOD

Back in 2003, two years before my success in Pan, I lost an IW Council by-election in Newport North by 32 votes on the day the allied forces were occupying Baghdad as part of the massively unpopular invasion of Iraq. I felt like the unluckiest Labour candidate in history, especially when I always opposed that war.

However, the last month has seen my 'unluckiest candidate' crown taken over by the Labour candidate in the Mount Joy by-election, Steve Cooper. For the last month he has seen the world economy crumble around his ears thanks to the greed and incompetence of banker cretins in the USA , UK and elsewhere, who have now taken state bail outs from governments who have still taken all the blame for the crash - whether Labour - or Republican.

Tonight Steve reaped the tail end of the worldwind at the vote counting. Although Labour clearly did not expect to win we expected to poll our usual 15-20% in this ward when the by-election was declared back in August. Sadly our vote crumbled to just 38, or 6%, tonight as the reality of our doorstep experiences over the last couple of weeks hit home.

The Tory won - with 45% of the vote - which tells you everything you need to know about what Islanders are currently thinking about political parties. The Liberals got 25% and the Independent (no school changes) candidate got 24%.

ISLAND TORIES, WASTING OUR MONEY

The following article in the Sunday Telegraph this week reminds us of how Tories govern - by feathering the nests of the few, at the expense of the many:

"When Joe Duckworth resigned as chief executive of Isle of Wight Council to take on the best-paid job in local government at Newham, his decision to leave after less than two years in the post surprised and angered many on the island.

Mr Duckworth had promised to turn around the Isle of Wight's fortunes when he arrived there in 2006.

But the island council, which had been awarded only two out of four stars in the Audit Commission's annual quality ratings for 2005 and 2006, received the same low grade again in the 2007 ratings published earlier this year.

A two star rating is defined as "only at minimum requirements". Only one in six councils has a rating of two stars or lower.

In its report for 2007, published this year, the Audit Commission said Isle of Wight Council was "improving well" overall, but also found that it was the only council in England which had worsened over the course of the year in the key performance area of "financial standing".

Mr Duckworth, a father-of-three and a keen mountain biker and surfer, has worked in local government since 1991, with previous stints at York, Surrey, Hackney and City of Westminster.

He was paid £150,000 a year as boss of Isle of Wight Council, far above his predecessor who received only just over £80,000 a year. His policies included striving to turn the island into an "Eco Isle". But he appears to have alienated some local councillors.

"His departure sparked very mixed feelings," said one councillor who asked not to be named. "People were very cross with him because he achieved very little. But at the same time there was a collective sigh of relief that he was leaving.

"When he arrived we were a two-star council, and we are still a two-star council now he has gone."

Critics on the island claim his time in office was marked by expensive pipe dreams and low morale at the town hall. His personal manner and communication skills were not to everyone's liking.

One female councillor, who asked not to be named, said: "He swore like a trooper, stamped his feet a lot and shouted. You wouldn't think of it when you first met him, but that was the way he operated.

"A lot of people used to complain about that, but they were too scared to complain to his face. There was a real atmosphere of fear at the council."

Mr Duckworth dismissed the complaints about swearing as sour grapes. He said he had curtailed his use of bad language after the matter was raised with him on the Isle of Wight"

MOUNT JOY VOTERS - DON'T MISS THIS OPPORTUNITY

On Thursday there is a by-election for an IW Council vacancy in the Mount Joy ward in Newport. The Labour candidate STEVE COOPER is a resident of Ventnor, but if that is important to you you should also know that he works in Newport at the IW College and has many connections in our town.

Island Labour didn't ask him to be our candidate because we were desperate, as theTories seem to have been judging by their campaign literature. We selected him as candidate because we know what an excellent councillor he would be for local people.

I hope that he does well on Thursday and is able to join the most effective opposition Group at County Hall.

(posted and published by Geoff Lumley on behalf of Steve Cooper, both c/o 30 Fairlee Road, Newport, IW)

NEW TORIES, STILL NOT TRUSTED

Lets throw the gang of Tory, but anonymous, blog parasites (one pictured left) who lurk on my open comments facility a little more red meat !

In the Independent today they report the following from an opinion poll they commissioned,

'Gordon Brown is seen as the "best in a crisis" of the two main party leaders by 43 per cent of people, with 33 per cent opting for David Cameron. Mr Brown (43 per cent) is more trusted on the economy, while 33 per cent trust Mr Cameron most.'

ISLAND TORIES, FACING DANGER

I went along to the Standards Not Tiers public meeting on Monday night. It was a very interesting meeting and confirmed that the Council decision of 19 March on schools reorganisation won't be left unchallenged. I won't go into all the details, but SNT are preparing a serious legal challenge to the planned reorganisation - and if that fails are planning to contest the elections to the IW Council next May/June with more than 20 supporting candidates claimed so far.

Given that they are likely to stand primarily against local Tories who reneged on their election promises of 2005, it could be that just at the time the British people may be having collective amnesia about the dangers of Tories at a national election, the good people of the Isle of Wight could be kicking the Tories out here for being what they always are - dishonest b***ds !

NEW TORIES, SAME DANGER

The Tories tactics of marginalising Full Council continues unabated. By not putting any significant decisions on the agenda the Tories have effectively neutered real debate at Full Council. Consequently the Full Council tonight was again very light on attendance with one-third of councillors missing, and all wrapped up after 90 minutes. Real decision-making now takes place at Cabinet, though only Labour seems to have realised that over the last year or so, which is why I am usually the only opposition councillor at their meetings.

As for tonight's agenda - well presentation of the annual Public Health Report is hardly likely to stimulate debate. Everyone thinks it is a wonderful report and only so many people can reasonably say so without it getting very boring. Indeed the two Liberals in the public gallery obviously found it so as they slipped off very early after asking their opportunist questions about traffic in Newport and free swimming. Two issues already pretty much flogged to death by myself.....

We then saw a loyal Tory given an extra job 'championing children' after supporting the planned closure of his local primary school.

After that it was questions to Cabinet members. This was roughly a balance between:

my asking distinctly unfriendly questions about-

• the imperilled budget delivery, with £10m less reserves to raid
• continuing planning process failures
• and persistent non-delivery of affordable housing over the last 3 years;
  

one 'Independent' asking a mixture of friendly and neutral questions;

and Tories standing up and saying "Will the Cabinet Member agree with me that everything in the Tory Island garden is as Eden before man's fall", or something similar.

I can assure them it is not and hopefully they will learn that lesson next Spring. One thing we are seeing on the Island is that it may all be 'new Cameron, new Tories' at a national level, but here we see the reality:

new Tories, same danger

RETURN OF THE 'MIDNIGHT RUNNER' !

or, SEARCHING FOR THE YOUNG LIBERAL REBEL:

Back in the 1993 IW County Council elections, the current IW councillor for Carisbrooke West Barbara Foster (standing for the last time as a Tory) was beaten at the elections by a Liberal Democrat.

This Liberal then spent 2 years as the County Councillor most notable for his absences from County Hall and became known as Dixcey's Midnight Runner. After 2 years of mainly inattendance he dropped out at the 1995 unitary IW Council elections, allowing Barbara to re-claim the ward as an 'Independent'.

So it was to much jollity and astonishment that we today learnt that this same ex-Liberal is to be the Conservative candidate at the upcoming Mount Joy by-election. No wonder there was a major fall-out amongst Newport Tories last week (see County Press, 5.9.08) if this was the candidate that some preferred. Its like holding up the white flag and saying, "but chaps, Roger won't hang around beyond next May even if by some miracle he does win".

And as we in Labour always say - there's no such thing as a Liberal with principles. More evidence here if it was needed.......

CAN I SUPPORT PAN DEVELOPMENT ?

So the IWC Cabinet last night agreed the Financial Agreement with Miller Homes for the Pan Development. No surprise there then.

However, I have a number of continuing worries that I raised at the meeting:

1. There is no guarantee that there will be the additional affordable homes to bring the % on the development up to the 30% the Council leadership claims to aspire to - which in itself isn't enough. They remain fixed on 24%;

2. There is no written guarantee that a future IW Council will maintain the £1 million for community provision on Pan from the capital receipts they will receive for selling this land;

3. There is no written guarantee that the developer's £3.7m for Highways works will be spent by the Council on Newport roads.

I did NOT get any satisfactory responses from the Cabinet to these concerns. Until I do, I do not feel that I can support the development. However, I am hopeful they will be forthcoming.......

ARROGANT & RUDE

I see the IW Council is now issuing press releases about my ward without at least giving me the courtesy of having what I think ruled out as unacceptable !

http://www.iwight.com/home/pressReleases/frmView.aspx?prId=369

I suppose that at least they are saving time arguing with me.......

Anyway what I think about their Financial Agreement with Miller Homes for the Pan Development will be posted here after tomorrow night's Cabinet meeting.

COUNCIL TO REJECT £200K GOVERNMENT FUNDING FOR FREE SWIMMING

In just about the most churlish Cabinet paper it has been my misfortune to read over the last 3 years, next week's Council Cabinet is planning to reject nearly £200,000 of Government funding under its new free swimming programme for the over 60s and under 16s.

The Government is offering a mix of revenue support and capital monies, but taking up the offer would cost the Council an estimated £110,000 per annum. The Cabinet paper considers this to be too much - and this from a Council leadership that has happily lined the pockets of solicitors and outside consultants to a quite obscene level in the last 3 years. Instead they go on about their One Card, which they claim has a 'hugely popular' takeup of 4000. Just 3% of the Island's population. Most people have never heard of it.

This Council should be ashamed of itself if it approves this nasty and niggardly paper next week.

PLANNING THE SACK OF OLD NEWPORT

I went along to the IW Council Planning Committee tonight to support a new Newport parish councillor who was endeavouring to put a stop to Sainsbury's manoevuring to secure the re-routing of historic Petticoat Lane as part of their approved (but highly controversial) expansion plans. Our parish council had supported her objections earlier this month and she volunteered - as one of the local members - to make the objections to Sainsbury's seeking to overturn a planning condition about the lane only imposed on them - with their agreement - last March.

Well she made her objections - not easy in the Council Chamber when you have a quiet voice and the PA system is absolute rubbish (still) - supported by the other local parish member and IW councillor, but to no avail. The quality of debate by the committee shed no intelligence on the issue, with only one councillor having any real understanding of what the issue was. The rest of the contributions were bordering at times on the asinine and the variation to the planning condition was approved by a clear majority. The only Newport member of the committee voted in favour of this variation.

On the way home it got me thinking about how this committee works. It is a deeply unimpressive body of people who, in the main, seem to have little understanding of what they are deliberating. And these people will determine the biggest planning application in a generation next April.................All the consultation in the world will never deliver people from the whims of this deeply flawed committee.

THE FIBBING LIBERALS, part 1

I came across a discarded Liberal 'Focus' flyer today in a part of Newport soon to have a by-election......

These flyers always give me real laugh at the bare-faced cheek of people who will never govern Britain and who were overwhelmingly ejected from County Hall by Islanders just 3 years ago.

An absolute classic in this edition was, "We want to cut Tory waste by replacing highly-paid chief officers (of the IW Council) with staff who actually do the work".

Of course cutting Tory waste is laudable, but this suggested solution is complete balderdash. The best they could do is terminate the contracts of the current chief officers, involving massive compensation costs - out of our pockets. They would then have to replace most of them as Council's have to have certain chief officers, who by their nature don't come cheap if they are any good. The thought of a new chief executive on say £100k per year instead of the £175k paid by the Tories, then doing front-line work - issuing parking penalties perhaps? - is just so ridiculous it can only be a LibFib !

Watch out for more LibFibs............(1st in a new series)

REFUGEE FROM PLANET TORY DEPARTS

So Melanie Swan has decided to resign as IW Councillor for Mount Joy ward in Newport. Thankfully after 5 years or so on Planet Tory, Melanie returned to civilisation in December 2007 and joined the small band of IW councillors I have any respect for. I will never forget the shock I had in March 2003 seeing her door-knocking in Newport with the Tory MP, having always previously considered her to be the antithesis of a Tory. She will be missed, particularly by those who have campaigned against the school reorganisation. I am pleased she is staying on with the less burdensome Newport Parish Council.

Now for a by-election. Not something a Labour activist relishes much these days, though at least here on the Island the voters now remember how arrogant the Tories are in power - and how invisible the Liberals are.

HOW THIS COUNCIL NOW WORKS, part 2

Prior to last summer and the subsequent coup at County Hall the overview and scrutiny functions necessary to democratic forms of modernised local government seemed to work quite well.

The functions on the IW Council are spread between 4 Policy Commissions and the single Scrutiny Committee. Prior to last summer the Policy Commissions had delivered in two years 14 so-called 'blue papers' suggesting policy changes to the Council leadership, and the Scrutiny Committee had delivered 8 enquiry Reports, with 2 more almost complete.

However, since the coup last September the Policy Commissions have delivered just 5 'blue papers' and the Scrutiny Committee just 2 Reports on new enquiries.

Clearly effective overview and scrutiny has been reduced in the last of the 3 years of this Council.

HOW THIS COUNCIL NOW WORKS, part 1

The latest Forward Plan of decisions intended by the leadership up to the end of the year demonstates how undemocratic the Island Tories have become.

Out of 42 Council-level decisions planned for the next 4 months, 18 will be made by individual Cabinet members under 'delegated' powers (a whopping 43%), 21 will be made by the Cabinet collectively, and just 3 will go to Full Council (just 7%).

Interestingly the Forward Plan at this time last year - pre-Coup - had 28 decisions planned, 8 by Cabinet member (29%), with 5 to go to Full Council (18%).

I know modernisation of local government was supposed to lead to more streamlined decision-making (though I had my doubts), but I am sure that negating the need for Full Council meetings was not the overall intention.

One very interesting decision planned to be taken by a Cabinet member is on an "Unreasonably persistent customers policy" ! With no consultation with other Elected members......... It must only be a matter of time before I am subject to an "Unreasonably persistent councillor policy".....

PAN DEVELOPMENT - IS IT GOING AHEAD ?

"Is it still going ahead", people keep asking me about the Pan development in the light of the downturn in the housing market ? A question I keep repeating to IW Council officers, especially after you read about the cutbacks being made by other national housing developers like Barretts and Persimmion—both of whom were interested in Pan before Miller Homes won the bidding round. And the answer is always—'definitely'………………..

However, at the time of writing:

*** the Development Agreement—or contract—between the IW Council and Miller Homes remains as yet to be agreed;
*** the Planning Application will now not be submitted until December/January (it was supposed to be submitted in June/July just gone) and will be considered by the Planning Committee in April 2009, not this November;
*** and the works will not commence until September 2009 at the earliest, instead of April 1st 2009.

And even when it does go ahead we are still not getting the 30% affordable housing that we were promised at the beginning and which we really need on the Island. Currently more like 25%…….though IW Council officers are assuring me they are seeking more funding to increase this.

So yes, I suppose it is still going ahead. Sort of....

SCHOOL REORGANISATION contd.......

For your diaries if you are still keeping an eye on what is going on - notification to IW Council Members:

"There will be an additional meeting of the (IW Council) Cabinet on Monday 3 November 2008 at 6.00pm in Committee Room 1, County Hall.

This is to deal with the paper -

'School Re-organisation: Publication of the Specifications for New Schools and Decision to Invite Potential Proposers to Bring Forward Proposals'. "

2008 ELEVEN YEAR OLDS's SATS RESULTS

Just picked this up from the newspapers, not good news:

% of 11-year-olds achieving level 4 or above in reading, writing and maths.

Bottom 10:

1 City of London 34
2 Isle of Wight 48
3 Portsmouth 49
4 Southampton 49
5 Kingston upon Hull 51
6 City of Nottingham 51
7 Thurrock 52
8 Hackney 52
9 Stoke-on-Trent 53
10 Luton 53

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2008/aug/06/sats.primaryschools

CAN'T 'READ ALL ABOUT IT' !

I saw the first edition of a free newspaper on a Council Director's desk today. 'The Island Gasbag' or something. The only copy I've seen and it was dated 1 August. Which is surprising given how many other local publications end up in my reading pile. Oh well - clearly not a paper that wants the working-class hoi-poloi to see it........

CAN WE TRUST 'TRUST' SCHOOLS ?

The Tory Council's refusal to apply for a Government waiver from having to offer the planned new Secondary Schools for tender - as they believe they have a 'slim chance of success' despite the creditable performances of Sandown and Medina High Schools in recent years (see my post of 3rd June) - could see a rush of applications by current High Schools to become Trust Schools ahead of the tender process in November-February. That way existing High School governing bodies can tender to take over the new Secondary Schools, which are likely to become Trust schools anyway, no matter who ends up winning the tender process. At least two or three applications are rumoured to be in the pipeline.

Some people may see that as the sensible way forward, particularly if the school is an improving one, but personally I deeply regret and oppose the Tory decision not to apply for a waiver.

'Trust schools' were a very contentious part of the Government's 2006 Education & Inspections Act within the Labour Party. The reasons being:

1. School land and buildings transfer from Local Authority ownership (i.e. ours) to the Trust; also all staff are employed by the Trust rather than the Council;

2. The Trust will appoint more than half the new governing body - no more of the significant elected parent governor bloc (usually one third) - a major reduction in parent power;

3. The Trust can set its own admission arrangements - a threat to fair access opportunities.

I was opposed to the legislation as it went through Parliament and I maintain my belief that Trust Schools are a very bad thing for the above reasons.

Therefore, although we will not get a waiver from them on the Island due to the Tory Council's refusal to apply for one, I will maintain my opposition to them and will seek to ensure that the consultation on establishing them early on the Island is as wide and as open as possible.

RE-CONNECT

48 hours after the Glasgow East by-election debacle for Labour, and I remain of the same views:

1. Replacing Gordon Brown will serve no purpose whatsoever. We are a parliamentary democracy, not a presidential one;

2. Instead national Labour desperately needs to re-connect with its core vote, as I never stopped doing in my own small patch of the Isle of Wight. Unless we do we will be hammered at the next general election;

3. We are in the middle of a GLOBAL economic downturn, caused initially by the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market in the USA last year. How this is managed from a UK point of view is better off in the hands of people who have real economic understanding, instead of the policy-free Tories;

4. The by-election was no triumph for the south of England Tories.

QUICK THOUGHTS FROM CATCH UP TIME

Now back properly, to discover that last week's Full Council voted by just 21 votes to 2 to endorse the new Chief Executive appointment, with 2 abstentions. That means just 44% of the 48-member IW Council put their vote to this appointment. Hmmmmmmm.......

Also that the village of Carisbrooke is involved in some sort of land-grabbing after its failed bid to be a separate parish council to Newport. Road-users will now learn that the whole of Gunville is now part of Carisbrooke, after the erection of numerous 'Carisbrooke' signs......

My first night back on Tuesday saw me at the Planning Committee for the first time in 8 months for two Pan applications. I managed to help persuade the committee to reject the officers' recommendations for refusal of one application in rural Pan, but entirely failed to persuade them that the new community Multi Use Games Area for the rear of Downside School should be open to 9.30pm seven days per week. Instead it will have to close at 6pm on Sundays and Bank Holidays. They obviously know better than the people who work with the community............

VIEW FROM A DISTANCE

Back to the Island for a few days before heading off again for another week. Part of me wished I'd stayed away !

Its not just the backlog of 300 emails and the 30 phone messages, not to mention the 3 foot pile of post high enough to help short people see over fences, but what this mad Council has been up to whilst I was away. Two weeks away makes you realise - as you hurriedly catch up - how surreal everything here is. In particular the continuing schools reorganisation saga.........

Makes me wonder if Alice Through the Looking Glass is some sort of template for some politicians.

Back properly next Tuesday......

NO COUNCIL APOLOGY FOR THEIR 'CAVALIER ATTITUDE'

I see that the IW Coroner has described the IW Council as having a 'cavalier attitude to road safety' at the inquest into the death of a Pan resident in Newport last January. Predictably they deny this description, but the evidence is building against them. The fact that the relevant pedestrian crossing was out of action for nearly 5 months is quite disgraceful. Tie that in with their failure to spend available capital monies on road surface safety treatment last year (see my many previous posts here) and you begin to get a worrying picture. A decent Council would have apologised to the family as well as send condolences. It's not a lot to ask, is it ?

On that note I am signing off now for a couple of weeks whilst I have a much needed break. Back in mid-July.

VIEW FROM THE BACK

Last Thursday was the latest session of the Scrutiny Ctte, which I observed from the back of the room for the first time since March 2006. Sadly the committee seems to have gone full circle in the intervening period - with the return of the serried ranks of big suits AT the table for the duration blocking a visitors view, officers mainly answering the questions rather than Cabinet members, just one member of the public in attendance, and my own question regarding the failure of the committee to Call In the recent schools decision treated by the current Chair much like my questions to Cabinet. It made me feel that my 14 months in the chair up to May 2007 had been entirely wasted.

The following evening I went out to Freshwater for the AGM of the Association of IW Town & Parish Councils. I really know how to live ! However, as the Chair of a new parish council I thought I should give it a try. What was interesting here was the sense of impotence felt by local councils with regard to planning applications in their 'back yards'. I also noted the number of LibDem parish councillors present who hadn't been elected on a political ticket, unlike the recent ones in Newport and Ryde.

STANDARDS, ECONOMICS, AND NOT MUCH ELSE

Full Council last night. A very slight agenda saw two discussions - the Standards Committee's annual report, and a new Economic Strategy. I questioned the need for the latter - it isn't a statutory requirement and it ends up joining the many documents produced by this Council that end up gathering dust somewhere. However, we were all very grateful to receive yet another correctional diatribe from the ex-leader........apparently it secures the Council some money. Pity that wasn't mentioned in the report !

Ten of us wanted the Standards report deferred until the 'Craven Court Seven' (the planning one) investigation is eventually concluded and its lessons incorporated, but that was defeated.

Not much else to say really !

JUST GOOD FRIENDS ?

Last night was Cabinet with a room full of Tories and senior officers, one member of the public, and me from the 'opposition' on this Council. I'm afraid that I dragged the meeting out for them to nearly 80 minutes, but I know at least one Tory Cabinet member who appreciates me being there to liven things up a bit........

They made lots of decisions on:- the IW Act; funding for the new Cowes secondary school (they are already raiding the capital pot for £2.5m); creating an 'Education Forum'; assisting the Salvation Army to build a homeless hostel in Ryde (a good thing in my view); getting help to establish a 'Community Management & Ownership of Public Assets' policy (which could have implications for Pan); last year's Budget outturn ; and the communications contract with Westminster City Council (which has been reined in a bit after a rare scrutiny 'call-in'.

Many Cabinet members seemed far more interested in defending the Scrutiny Committee from my early criticisms about its 'tame' nature. The Leader going so far as to describe them as 'our good friends on the scrutiny committee'. I pointed out that this was something the committee had NEVER been called when I was Chair, and I was very pleased that it wasn't. He rather proved my point by expressing surprise that the recent School Reorganisation decision had not been called-in by the committee...........I was more than surprised. More a case of disgusted !

We then had the Deputy Leader moaning about how many items there were in the 'Forward Plan' of future decisions, who then took great offence at my pointing out that half the decision's seemed to be his for 'flogging off' Council assets.

The meeting concluded with my getting an assurance that the reasoning behind some of the decisions in the School Reorganisation decision would be put in writing to me before the decision is fully implemented at the end of this week. Something useful to have for the future.....

"PATHETIC" SCRUTINY

I tried to get the 8 non-Tories on the Scrutiny Committee to call-in the recent Cabinet decision on Schools Re-organisation - the one that puts out to consultation the closure of 19 schools. I thought it was quite important........

Sadly only THREE of the four required agreed - Cllrs Gardiner (Labour), Cllr Mosdell (Non-aligned) and Churchman (Tory rebel). The Liberal member said his 'executive' had decided against - though his non-voting colleague representing the town & parish councils said he agreed; the other 4 didn't even trouble themselves with a response.

I referred to 'poodles' last autumn. Then there was one - now there are more!

FEELING VERY LUCKY........

Quote of the week from this week's County Press regarding the Tory-run Isle of Wight Council,

"With any luck, there could be another change of ownership taking place at County Hall if this self-serving, incompetent council gets its come-uppance at the next elections." (Charlotte Hofton)

I have a feeling we will all be very lucky next year !

STILL A SCRUTINEER OF SOME WORTH ?

"Continue to read your blog which is very informative. You seem to be the only councillor who actively and openly scrutinises what the council does!" (West Wight resident)

Well one of them ! I'm just more public about what I try to do, even if elements of the media try to ignore and belittle my work. I would add Deborah Gardiner, Brian Mosdell, and Vanessa Churchman from the existing Scrutiny Committee.

Of course they are one short when it comes to the 'call in' power, with the so-called 'opposition' Scrutiny Chair rarely keen on a call-in, the Liberals focussed purely on raising issues at Full Council that have been raised in Scrutiny or by me earlier, and the co-optees not doing much these days.

BLAME HIS TORY PAYMASTERS

So the seventh Chief Executive of the unitary IW Council - only in existence since 1995 - left last week. I was trying to recall the other six - Hetherington, Kay, Jagger, Quoroll, Fisher and one other that I can't recall, and it seems to me that only two of the seven will be remembered much past their brief tenure.

Bernard Quoroll was the man who managed to organise the vote counting in the 2001 general election that was almost as late as the traditionally late Northern Ireland results - and they don't start counting until the Friday morning. I was there as Labour agent and I recall the sheer folly of the count arrangements.

And now Joe Duckworth. The man who apparently cost Islanders £1.2 million in two years for little tangible benefit that many can see. However, I'm not one of those who blames local government officers for the mistakes, failures and omissions of their political masters and I am not about to start that now. If there are few tangible benefits the blame lies at the feet of his Tory masters. And the blame for the cost also lies at their feet.

The sad thing is that they will probably repeat the same profligacy this summer........