Reduced bus fares and special offers from Yarmouth traders

Reduced bus fares and special offers from Yarmouth traders during the closure of Bouldnor Road

See the On The Wight article:    http://wig.ht/2bF0

The offers are well-meant though not terribly exciting.  The Southern Vectis offer is not as good as the Southern Vectis Key rate (£3 per day unlimited anywhere anytime travel on the Island) or for those with a Senior card, of course.  Maybe some other traders will enter the scheme?  Still, it's a start and best wishes to the traders at this difficult time.

Is Yarmouth Surgery Closing?

West Wight Medical Practice, who operate surgeries in Freshwater and Yarmouth, are announcing a temporary closure, possibly leading to a permanent closure, of the Yarmouth Surgery (Dr Gordon Walker) which has a catchment to Shalfleet Village. A public meeting has been called by Yarmouth Town Council, to be held on Tuesday 4th March at Yarmouth School starting at 6.30pm. The agenda is below. Edit Thursday 27th Feb: I now have what I believe to be the letter patients will receive, probably today or tomorrow depending on the post, immediately below. Scroll down for the Yarmouth Town Council meeting agenda.

Surgery Letter Feb 2014 by david5174

If we hear more before the meeting I will update this post. Please also see On The Wight at http://onthewight.com/2014/02/26/residents-concerned-medical-surgery-closure/

YTC Agenda 4-3-14 by david5174

An opportunity for musicians

Islanders could Rock the House again this year http://t.co/6GJhwUbMxS @Signalsofficial @King42Mark and maybe even @DavidAThornton1

— Andrew Turner (@TheIslandsMP) February 26, 2014

The Ashlar application by Spectrum to build a housing estate in Ningwood Environment Agency objects

The Environment Agency has objected to the planning application from Spectrum Property Development to build a housing estate in Ningwood on the grounds of it being a flood risk. The flood risk will not surprise the objectors however the lack of any comment about discharge of sewage outlet into the SSSI little more than a stone's throw away will come as a surprise and disappointment to all of those interested in retaining the Island's unique and irreplaceable coastline. The letter can be found on the IWC's website or viewed and downloaded here:

Ashlar Planning Ea Letter 18-2-14

Proposed new Shalfleet Solar Park - details from Developer's exhibition

Please find here pdfs of the Developer's exhibition held yesterday 18th February 2014 at Shafleet Village Hall. Thank you, The Solar Building Company Ltd. You're welcome to comment here but this is NOT an official way to feedback comments to IWC or the SPC and in any case no Planning Application has been submitted yet. Mr James Steynor, MD of The Solar Building Company Ltd told me yesterday that he hoped to get an application into IWC in about a month. Meanwhile, they are finalising their application papers.

Shalfleet Solar Park Expo Boards

Public Consultation re Solar Farm at Shalfleet this Tuesday (18th Feb 2014)

It was mentioned at last week's Shalfleet Parish Council meeting that there is to be a Public Consultation re a new solar park in Shalfleet, held in Shalfleet Parish Hall, Tuesday 18th Feb, between 4pm and 7pm.   When anyone fills in a Planning Application form they have to tick a box to say that there has, or there hasn't been any public consultation.  This event would qualify as 'yes' to consultation.   This is the opportunity to see what's being proposed so you can either support or object to any planning application that is made to the IWC. 

Update:  I visited the exhibition this afternoon and the Developers, Solar Building, are going to email me pdfs of the material on display, which is very good of them.  I should have this by tomorrow am and will post here asap.

Bouldnor Road Closure - Latest - Re: Letter from Island Roads, published in On The Wight on Friday 14th February.

Re: Letter from Island Roads, published in On The Wight on Friday 14^th February.

Island Roads' lengthy self-justification is astonishing. It didn't need two hundred and eighty words from Island Roads to tell us the Bouldnor Road works are important. We all know it's important.

What we want to know is why the details of the closure were sprung on us with no time for proper consultation and planning to mitigate the closure, leaving Yarmouth businesses cut-off from their customers, ambulances and other emergency services cut-off from Yarmouth, Freshwater and Totland, bus-users cut-off from transport, and an unknown amount of traffic running through Wellow and Thorley due to lack of planning, consultation and diversion notices. Those were the substantive questions put by members of the public, Yarmouth Town Council and Shalfleet Parish Council to Island Roads but instead of a helpful response and desire to work with the community we got a letter of excuses, some of which are not in accordance with the facts.

1. At the Public Meeting Island Roads stated that they had not discussed ambulance access with the Health Authority as to how ambulances would be able to pass. Now they say they did consult the HA (but see below).
2. Regarding the buses, Island Roads announced the closure in On The Wight on Thursday 6^th February for a major closure commencing on 17^th February. One week for consultation and planning is not sufficient time.
3. When Island Roads were asked by the meeting about the Yarmouth bridge and whether they had considered the issues, they did not reply. Mayor Steve Cowley was quite right when he wrote “The issue of re-routing when Yarmouth Bridge is closed had not been considered”. Island Roads now say that “appropriate action will be taken”. Appropriate?
4. In their defence of their behaviour, Island Roads write that they have spent “a considerable time during the meeting” and had a “mobile visitor centre” in Yarmouth on Tuesday morning. That may be, but the mobile centre was there in torrential rain and gale force winds – not their fault but this was all sprung on the community with just a week's notice! They say that they dropped seven hundred leaflets – presumably they did but we didn't see any in Wellow, and many hands went up at the meeting from those who hadn't seen a leaflet. Many people in this community either don't have Internet access or struggle to do much more than basic emails, etc.

Finally, I would like to come back to the point about ambulance access, since it was the point I raised at the meeting. Ambulances are required to achieve proscribed response times. It is not permitted for a road maintenance firm to negotiate with “the NHS” (which is what Island Roads say they have done) about response times. Here is the chapter and verse from: http://tinyurl.com/nucx7co

______________________________________________________________________

Buckinghamshire, Hampshire and Oxfordshire Health Overview and Scrutiny Joint Review Group

South Central Ambulance Service: Review of Rural Performance:

The standards for responding to calls are set out in a national contract that is not open to negotiation. All Ambulance Trusts across England are expected to deliver the following national standards

Category ‘A’

Life threatening emergency. An emergency response should reach the patient within 8 minutes on 75% of all occasions and a transport capable response should arrive within 19 minutes of it being requested for 95% of all occasions;

Category ‘B’

Serious but not immediately life threatening. An appropriate response should reach the patient within 19 minutes on 95% of all occasions;

Island Roads are proposing that the one mile section being closed will have access by combination-lock padlocks at both ends. The ambulance will have to stop at the entry, unlock the padlock, pass into the roadworks section, re-lock the padlock, drive one mile, unlock the second padlock, drive through and re-lock the second padlock. How is any vehicle going to include that on the way, say, to Yarmouth (let alone Freshwater or Totland) in 8 minutes? This scheme will guarantee that not a single ambulance from St Mary's can possibly reach Yarmouth within the proscribed 8 minutes when the roadworks are unmanned.

I believe this might be illegal, but it is certainly unacceptable. Even non-medics understand that some emergencies are time-critical. Minutes count, hence 8 minutes, “non-negotiable”.

At the time of writing I have heard from Councillors and I know that a great deal of effort has been put into trying to sort this out before Monday. It sounds as though we have been left with insufficient time; the work is essential and to postpone it, other than for safety reasons, might further delay the work and increase the cost to the community, essentially the entire West Wight.

Cllr Stuart Hutchinson, West Wight Ward Councillor, said yesterday, “Mayor Steve Cowley's hastily-added addition item to the Yarmouth TC agenda was I think a first class 'emergency' response and really raised the profile. Without it I don't think we would be getting even the information that is trickling through now.”

Our thanks should go to our local Councillors for doing their (mostly unpaid) jobs representing our interests and no thanks go to Island Roads for doing their (handsomely-paid) job representing nothing but their own interests.

David Walter

Wellow

http://shalfleetparish.blogspot.co.uk/

Update on Island Roads regarding the road closure at Bouldnor.

Cllr Pam Broadhead reports that she has spoken at great length today to Island Roads who refuse to listen to the Parish Council regarding diversions, traffic control or signs.  They have offered no help whatsoever.  As far as we understand the present arrangement means that, for example, the HGV traffic as well as four buses an hour running through Wellow and Thorley. Jaw-droppingly irresponsible, in my opinion.  Pam is going to continue to work with other councillors, and the ward councillor and the local police in Yarmouth to see if something can be done before this happens at the weekend.  As soon as we hear anything I will post it here.

Meanwhile, it would help greatly if as many residents as possible can make their views known and use whatever influence they have with the 'powers that be' to stop this happening, before someone gets hurt, or worse, is involved in a fatal accident.

If anyone with legal training can look at the legality of Island Roads's plan in the context of the link to the Government manual at http://tinyurl.com/poqgvd5 that would be most helpful.

Island Roads's diversion:  http://tinyurl.com/ps47lwn

Bouldnor Road closure meeting and Shalfleet Parish Council meeting

News during week commencing 10^th February 2014

There were two significant meetings affecting the Parish. A public meeting with Yarmouth Town Council and Island Roads, on 11^th February and then the Shalfleet Parish Council meeting on 12^th February. Bouldnor Road was discussed at both meetings.

Proposed Closure of Bouldnor Road

Public Meeting Island Roads and Yarmouth Town Council held at Yarmouth Institute on Tuesday 11^th February. 

The meeting was very well attended, with standing room only, for some, and difficulty for others to even get their heads round the corner and into the room! Clearly the interest overwhelmed the Council and, I imagine, Island Roads. I am not attempting here to write up the notes of the meeting, which will no doubt be published by the Council in due course, but to pick out the key concerns.

Safety 

Island Roads were unable to provide a satisfactory answer to questions asked by the public and councillors. In my opinion Island Roads have been grossly negligent with insufficient risk assessment/management, insufficient consultation and neglect in planning and agreements with the emergency services. I believe that there is a significant risk of injury or loss of life during the proposed seven week period. I expressed these views at both the Yarmouth and the Shalfleet meetings and have written to the YTC, the SPC and Cllr Stuart Hutchinson with a link to the official manual setting out the rules for temporary traffic arrangements. The manual can be downloaded from http://tinyurl.com/poqgvd5 One would think that whatever Island Roads' contract states, they must still abide by Government rules. The closure could still at this stage be stopped at the eleventh hour on safety grounds.

Yarmouth Businesses 

A number of Yarmouth businesses were represented at the meeting and the general feeling was that the total road closure will make it uneconomic to even open.

Wightlink 

Apparently Wightlink will be showing some information on a TV screen (the advertisement screen). I don't believe that is sufficient. I believe there needs to be a printed leaflet showing the diversions and showing where the local shops and hostelries are. That is not intended as a criticism of Wightlink, it isn't their job but they might be persuaded to hand a leaflet to every motorist arriving at Yarmouth.

Buses

There are now timetables for Route 7 covering the proposed closure period, which were freely available at the Yarmouth and Shalfleet meetings.  They are also online on the Southern Vectis website.  Many concerns were raised.  This is still being worked on by Shalfleet Parish Council and there are discussions with the FYT bus.  Funding is an issue and at the meeting Island Roads promised to consider funding the extra fuel FYT bus would need to extend their service.

Shalfleet Parish Council meeting 12^th February 2014

The agenda is available on the link to the right side of this page. I won't cover the purely procedural or trivial matters.

The Ashlar proposed Housing Estate

Spectrum have written to SPC with an offer stating that if they get planning permission, go ahead, and purchase the land they will gift the land to SPC for the sum of £1 on condition that the land will be used for community purposes or returned to Spectrum. There were various points raised by the councillors and, later, by the public. It was decided that a working party be formed including members from the Council, School and the public. I don't believe that anyone was charged with getting the WP together and there was no discussion about terms of reference...not off to a flying start?

My own view is that Spectrum's offer is to cover an objection in the planning process. Namely that while in the plans they mention giving the unwanted land to the community, it was a valueless offer without explicit detail. Now they have given that detail, that objection is overcome, helping to free the way for planning consent. If I understood the councillors correctly, they instructed the Clerk to write to Spectrum, accepting the offer in principle, subject to agreement. [Note: Since writing that I have discussed with Pam Broadhead, Chairman of SPC and my understanding was wrong.  In fact the council decided to form a working party and not to discuss with Spectrum until the WP have reported.  Sorry for the misunderstanding and I am pleased to make this correction.] The working party is likely to consist of two councillors, one from the school and one from the public, but the exact constitution hasn't been decided.

I have expressed my view to the SPC that there are legal issues.  Spectrum don't own the land (yet), existing restrictive covenants, planning consent, and the School's need to keep and maintain their septic tank and drainage field on that land.   Shalfleet Parish Council should take professional legal advice before entering into any detailed discussion, in my opinion.

Finally, on the matter of The Ashlar, one councillor referred to Spectrum as being a 'Housing Association'. In the public questions session I pointed out that Spectrum is a Property Development company NOT a Housing Association. For anyone wishing to see for themselves just how many companies are tied up in the Spectrum group, see http://companycheck.co.uk/ which provides a great deal of free information or Companies' House online service, which charges a few pounds per company, but is the source of the registered information.

Shalfleet Parish Precept rise

The precept is the money available for the Parish Council to spend. See http://www.cpalc.org.uk/q-what-is-a-parish-council-precept-or-tax This year the SPC have agreed to raise it by 1.7% in line with inflation bringing the figure to £28,336. You have a right to see all the accounts and budgets. I will ask the Clerk to let me have the figures and post them as pdf files on this blog. To my mind we get amazingly good value for money, as residents. This is only possible because most of the hard work is done in the free time of the unpaid councillors. They spend a lot of time on our behalf who get a lot of stick and usually very little thanks. That's why the cost is so low for what we get (in my opinion).

Wightlink

Our Ward Councillor, Stuart Hutchinson, is meeting with the MD of Wightlink to discuss the Yarmouth service. Wightlink claim that the Y-L service is the least profitable of its routes. I did question why, if it is so unprofitable, Wightlink spent a vast sum refurbing the ferry dock in Lymington last year and have continued to fight against movement limitations in Lymington. If it is so unprofitable why would they bother? No doubt Stuart will find out when he meets with them and will share his findings with us.

Andrew Turner coming to town!

Andrew Turner (our Island MP) will be coming to meet folk at the regular Wellow Institute coffee morning on the last Saturday of March between 100-1200, and then onto the Sun where, I believe, we are welcome to buy him a pint to wash down the coffee! Andrew has a website at http://www.andrew-turner.org.uk

I think those are the main things. Quite a long list. Please leave your comments by clicking on the 'No comments' link below or in the comments box if that has opened up for you automatically. You do not need to register for this site or leave your name. Your comments can be entirely anonymous or you can give your name. There is no way that I or anyone else (GCHQ excepted) can identify you. If you leave your email address in the box, you will get an email whenever this blog is updated but of course you lose your anonymity unless you use a junk email address.

Important things tomorrow and next week (8th to 12th Feb 2014)

Route 7 Bus survey is ending tomorrow (Sunday) evening.   Even if you don't personally use buses, a bus service adds value to your property.  Link to survey is at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/Route7survey

 Bouldnor Road Closure  Bouldnor Road, Yarmouth will close from 17th February 2014 to 4th April 2014 as the work to stabilise and improve the highway enters its final phase.  Island Roads have published an informative page on their website http://tinyurl.com/pdp3hxp  A public meeting is to be held at the Yarmouth Institute this coming Tuesday (11th Feb 2014) at 6.30pm  Yarmouth Institute is at St James' St, Yarmouth, Isle of Wight PO41 0NU  There are some serious issues with the closure that will affect us all in the Parish and especially those with business interests in West Wight.

Shalfleet Parish Council meeting to be held at Newbridge Parish Council office Newbridge at 7.15pm, this coming Wednesday 12th Feb 2014.  For the agenda click on the link to the right of the page.  SPC have added some news items see http://www.shalfleetiow.org.uk/news/ 

The Ashlar, New information

Please see the link on the right hand side to the Council meeting agenda for next Wednesday 12th February 2014 at the Newbridge Parish Council Offices, at 7.15 pm

You will see an agenda item concerning the Ashlar Proposed Housing Estate, proposed by Spectrum Property Development.

The matter for discussion at Wednesday's meeting is an approach made by Spectrum to the Shalfleet Parish Council for the land not needed for the housing estate to be sold to the Parish Council at a peppercorn price with a covenant stating that the land shall be for public amenity and shall not be allowed to lie fallow. I don't have any other details at the time of writing, but Mrs Pam Broadhead (Chairman of SPC) has been gathering information.

 One of the few high-value decisions that any Parish Council can do by law is to purchase and hold land for community use, so this is a decision that the SPC may take without approval of the County Council -- provided there's the money to do so, of course. There are a number of issues that would affect residents, some for, some against. The Parish Council Meeting on Wednesday is your chance to listen and/or have your say (if you want to speak at the meeting you need let the Clerk, Mrs Susannah Jennings, know 24 hours in advance - email or phone). You can still speak after the meeting without booking a slot, if you prefer.

You are welcome to comment here - anonymously if you prefer, no need to sign in or leave your email - please click the button marked 'No comments' or 'Comments' -- Don't ask me why it's that daft...ask Google Blogger who still haven't found a solution in five years!

Bouldnor Road to close for seven weeks

From On The Wight ---- http://onthewight.com/2014/02/06/bouldnor-road-yarmouth-close-seven-weeks/?utm_source=IOWfeed

 Bouldnor Road to close for seven weeks The major road in and out of Yarmouth will be closed for seven weeks from 17th February to allow the completion of geotechnical work to take place. Island Roads have confirmed dates of a planned closure for sections of Bouldnor Road, Yarmouth as the work to stabilise and improve the highway enters its final phase. The road closure, which will start on February 17 for a period of seven weeks, has been co-ordinated with a further programme of works to replace electricity cables and gas mains along Bouldnor Road. This joined up approach maximises the work carried out during one closure, whilst at the same time ensuring the new road surface is protected from unnecessary excavation after it has been laid.

Story continues in On The Wight click on the link above.

The proposed Ashlar Housing Estate to be discussed (again) by the Shalfleet Parish Council on Wednesday 12th February

The proposed Ashlar Housing Estate to be discussed (again) by the Shalfleet Parish Council on Wednesday 12th February. I will try to find out more from the council tomorrow (Thursday) and post here; that's all we know at the moment. Wednesday 12th Feb 1915 at the Parish Office - the agenda looks long and potentially of much interest to residents, so diary the date.

Andrew Turner will be at Broadway Inn, Totland at noon today Saturday 1st Feb see tweet....

I will be in the Broadway Inn, Totland at midday if anybody wants to raise issues, but will have to leave at 12.30 to get to #IW @cpre lunch

— Andrew Turner (@TheIslandsMP) February 1, 2014