Agenda, decisions and minutes

To confirm as a true record the Record of Decision of the meeting held on 8 June 2023.

RESOLVED:

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 8 June 2023 be approved, subject to a minor amendment to the wording of the second-to-last paragraph in minute item 112, as detailed in the Minutes.

RESOLVED:

THAT the minutes of the meeting held on 8 June 2023 be approved.

To invite Members to declare any interest they might have in the matters on the agenda.

Cllr Jones-Evans declared a non-pecuniary interest in Item 6a relating to the Newport Traffic Regulation proposals, as she was the local member for the area.

Questions may be asked without notice but to guarantee a full reply at the meeting, a question must be put including the name and address of the questioner by delivery in writing or by electronic mail to Democratic Services at democratic.services@iow.gov.uk, no later than two clear working days before the start of the meeting. Normally, Cabinet is held on Thursday, therefore the deadline for written questions will be Monday 10 July 2023.

No public questions were received.

The chairman reported that;

Following the Islands Forum, a letter had been sent to Michael Gove making clear the desired outcomes for the island.

The Chairman had met with the minister Lee Rowley regarding fair funding for the island and had pushed the island’s case once again.

A meeting had also taken place with Dehanna Davison, another government minister regarding devolution and the ministerial preference for a single deal across the Solent unitary authorities and Hampshire areas. It had been reinforced that the island’s priority was an Island Deal. Portsmouth and Southampton City Councils’ leaders were also against the idea and further clarification had been sought prior to any further meetings.

A meeting had been held with Rent Plus who were returning to the Island in August as they were committed to providing housing on the island.

That Cabinet approves the publication of a Public Notice that achieves the amalgamation of Godshill Primary School and Chillerton and Rookley Primary School through the closure of Chillerton & Rookley Primary School with effect from the 31 December 2023.

It had taken a long time to get to this point, and there were no other options left. The Cabinet Member thanked the headteacher and staff for their work to the end, as well as remaining parents and families.

The Corporate Scrutiny Committee had made some recommendations regarding the provision of more detail regarding alternative options and these recommendations would be taken on board for future reports, however there were no other options available for this report.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet approves the publication of a Public Notice that achieves the amalgamation of Godshill Primary School and Chillerton and Rookley Primary School through the closure of Chillerton & Rookley Primary School with effect from the 31 December 2023.

That the proposed restrictions which are subject to this report in relation to The Isle of Wight Council (High Street, Newport) (Traffic Regulation) Order No 2 2023; The Isle of Wight Council (Disabled Drivers’ Street Parking Places) Order No 2 2023; The Isle of Wight Council (Designated Loading Bays) Order No 2 2023; The Isle of Wight Council (High Street, Newport) (Parking Places) Order No 2 2023be approved.

The regulations were proposed as part of a Historic England scheme, part of a bigger £1.4 million four-year project in Newport town. Of the 62 responses received to the consultation, 32 had been in support of the proposals and 26 had objected. A lot of work including surveys in the town had been carried out by Newport and Carisbrooke Community Council, who were generally in support of the proposals.

The proposals were only for repurposing of parking spaces

 And should not affect the movement of traffic in and around the town. It was hoped that people would feel safer and footfall would increase.

There were nine months left for the scheme which must be delivered within the timeframe to meet the funding proposals, and the council would wish to demonstrate it was a good partner for future funding.

Concern was expressed that there was still a problem with traffic flow from West to East down the High Street, which would need addressing in the future.

It was noted that NCCC had allocated 5% of its budget to the one-hour free parking scheme and would continue to do so provided the IW council also continued to help fund the scheme.

RESOLVED:

That the proposed restrictions which are subject to this report in relation to The Isle of Wight Council (High Street, Newport) (Traffic Regulation) Order No 2 2023; The Isle of Wight Council (Disabled Drivers’ Street Parking Places) Order No 2 2023; The Isle of Wight Council (Designated Loading Bays) Order No 2 2023; The Isle of Wight Council (High Street, Newport) (Parking Places) Order No 2 2023be approved.

To agree the Acquisition Strategy as attached and delegate authority for minor amendments to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Services & Housing, Public Health and Homelessness to conclude any final amendments.

and

To delegate to the Portfolio Holder, S151 and Director of Adult Social Care and Housing Needs the ability to progress schemes in line with the Strategy.

Adopting the strategy would enable cost effective option to meet the council’s homeless duty and purchase properties to be used for temporary accommodation.

The Council’s Corporate Plan 2021-25 highlighted the ambition to address the Island’s housing crisis and it was felt this was a step in the right direction.

The Strategy had been discussed at length by the Policy and Scrutiny Committee for Neighbourhoods and Regeneration who had made several recommendations. These were being reviewed and would be incorporated into the Strategy.

RESOLVED:

To agree the Acquisition Strategy as attached and delegate authority for minor amendments to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Services & Housing, Public Health and Homelessness to conclude any final amendments.

and

To delegate to the Portfolio Holder, S151 and Director of Adult Social Care and Housing Needs the ability to progress schemes in line with the Strategy.

That Cabinet adopt the Empty Property Strategy (Residential) as attached at Appendix 1 and delegate authority for minor amendments to the Director - Adult Social Care and Housing Needs in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Services & Housing, Public Health and Homelessness.

The existing strategy had been reviewed and updated with the purpose of increasing the availability of affordability by bringing empty properties back into use. Currently there were 109 properties which had been empty for more than two years. Bringing some of these back into use would help children and families.

RESOLVED:

That Cabinet adopt the Empty Property Strategy (Residential) as attached at Appendix 1 and delegate authority for minor amendments to the Director - Adult Social Care and Housing Needs in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Adult Services & Housing, Public Health and Homelessness.

To invite Cabinet Members to provide a brief update on matters concerning their portfolio.

The Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, Education and Lifelong Skills expressed thanks to all involved with the PEACH games. 400 school pupils had taken part in an alternative range of sports. Thanks were also expressed to all school staff for their hard work over the year. There were still some places available on the HAF programme for secondary school pupils for a small payment. There were some new providers this time, including the Starlight Academy and the Skate Club. A newsletter was available with all activities listed.

Families were encouraged to take part in the Summer Reading Challenge 2023, held over the summer holidays, in conjunction with the library service.

The Cabinet Member for Finance, Climate Change and Biosphere reported that a very positive meeting had taken place with partners and stakeholders regarding the improvement of the Culver area, including the future of Browns, Wildheart Animal Sanctuary and Dinosaur Isle. Ideas put forward included a saltwater pool and beach sports area. The Eden project had expressed an interest. An action plan was to be drawn up to bring forward elements of the plans and should be available soon.

The Cabinet Member for Economy, Regeneration, Culture and Leisure reported that she had been appointed to represent the island on the South West Arts Council.

Work had started at Culver parade in Sandown. The front of the Browns building would be open during the summer holidays for pitch and putt and refreshments.

Three intensive days of consultation on the Bay Place Plan had taken place in the last two weeks, including at a business meeting in Shanklin which had been very well attended.

Repairs to the Newport library were going well and were on budget and on target.

The Cabinet Member for Regulatory Services, Waste, Community Protection and ICT reported that she had been asked to speak at Westminster about Anti-Social Behaviour Awareness week. She had mentioned some projects on the island which had been well received.

The Cabinet Member for Planning, Coastal Protection and Flooding reported that effective dialogue was ongoing with Seaview and Nettlestone PC regarding repairs to the sea wall. There had been a lot of deterioration of sea defences in other areas and these would be looked at with officers.

There was still no news from government of the NPPF so the Draft Island Planning Strategy was being delayed still further.

The Draft Housing Affordability SPD had gone to consultation on 16 July so there was still time remaining to respond. Consultation on the Planning statement on Community Involvement had gone live, and a questionnaire on the Planning Service would be going out shortly with a 2-month period for responses.

Cabinet Members to identify decisions which need to be amended, added or to be removed from the Forward Plan.

The items on the Forward Plan were noted, and no changes were proposed.

To guarantee a reply to a question, a question  must be submitted in writing or by electronic mail to democratic.services@iow.gov.uk no later than 5pm on Tuesday 11 July 2023. A question may be asked at the meeting without prior notice but in these circumstances there is no guarantee that a full reply will be given at the meeting.

No Members’ questions were received.