Welcome to edition 98 of our Clerk’s Column circulated as usual to the 490 residents on our Residents’ Forum email list and through the Chronicle’s page 4.
FEBRUARY FINANCIALS
The combined balance of our two Bank accounts at the end of February was £328,715 that includes the currently uncommitted £122,000 loan from the Public Works Loan Board to fund the new Public Toilet.
During February we spent a total of £71,681 that included the first monthly payment to DN Associates for the Toilet of £28,102 and the £4,753 half yearly loan repayment for Salisbury Gardens.
We received £16,966 during February that included £9,815 from Salisbury Gardens’ rents and the £3,290 payment from the Isle of Wight Council as their 50% contribution to the tree works in Ventnor Park.
The position compared to our Budget after the first eleven months of the financial year shows expenditure in the period of £3,844 over Budget and receipts of £2,971 more than Budget.
ASSETS & SERVICES WORKING GROUP
IThe Group’s latest fortnightly meeting was on Tuesday morning. Salisbury Gardens’ roof repairs, fire risk mitigation works and insurance claim formed the first Agenda item. Ventnor Park’s tree treatment, removal of fallen trees, damage to the roof of the Putting Green Hut and the possibility of introducing some children’s play equipment was next before moving on to an update on the encouraging progress of the new Public Toilet build, currently on schedule. The closure of the High Street followed before the planning for providing children’s ‘pavement games’ on the surface by the Paddling Pool. The final item was a discussion of the Risk Assessment Audit of the Beach recently carried out by the RLNI on behalf of the Isle of Wight Council.
BEACH SAFETY WORKERS
We’re interviewing applicants today for our new two Beach Safety Workers to assist our Maintenance Manager Brian Roberts in providing a First Aid and Advice service from 1 June to 30 September.
POVERTY IN VENTNOR
The Workshop the Town Council held with Baby Box and the Food Bank – reported in last week’s column – has focused attention on the genuine, serious and growing poverty in the town.
It was sharpened for me by one of the many emails that came my way last week:
I live in Ventnor and I have 3 children, I have had vouchers for co op before and I was wondering if I could have some more please. I have been to the food bank last week but it didn’t stretch to my payday If it is possible please can I have some more as I’m struggling and have 3 young children and me and my partner at our address.
These stories need to be told: so we’re looking for residents in similar situations to tell them to local resident and experienced film maker David George who we’ve commissioned to record voice-only and completely anonymous short interviews that he will weave into a single documentary record that can be widely shared. If you are willing to take part, or would like more information about it, please call David George directly on 852540.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT WORKING GROUP
After discussing Tony McCarthy’s report covering the uses of the Green Room, the Wellbeing Café, the latest meeting of the South Wight Parishes Health and Wellbeing Forum, Allotments, the Youth Club, new funding and the Carnival the Group’s meeting last Thursday evening moved on to the Living Well Project for which the Town Council is one of the Partners along with Aspire, Pan and West Wight, and the development of Ventnor Youth Club at Boniface Fields.
RECREATION & PUBLIC OPEN SPACES
This month’s meeting that Alison Killick and I have with Isle of Wight Council’s officers Lee Matthews, Trish Stillman and Elaine Davidson took place virtually on Friday morning.
VIA MY TWITTER FEED LAST WEEK
- A new Report by the Child Poverty Action Group finds eg ‘Pupils experiencing poverty in England are financially excluded from full participation in a wide range of school subjects and activities, including PE, music, swimming and art and design.’
- Nursing Notes quotes research showing ‘Health care assistants topped the highest average step count of health care workers with a massive 63,504 steps or 28.95 miles per week.’ Nurses …
MORE INFORMATION: is available from the Town Council’s website and @ventnor clerk