Report from I.W. Councillor John Nicholson

Posted by Admin on 28 October 2019, 11:58 pm

COUNCILLOR JOHN NICHOLSON

Ward Member for Northwood & Cowes South
Chairman of Policy & Scrutiny Committee for Adult Social Care & Health

SUNNYSIDE

PALLANCE LANE

NORTHWOOD

PO31 8LT
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Tel: 07918 757843

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Email: cllr.john.nicholson@btconnect.com

See the I.W. Councillor’s section

WARD REPORT – OCTOBER 2019

The Report appearing in the November 2019 edition of Northwood News:

Credit Where Credit is Due
I am sorry if I misled some people in not being clear enough in my report last month; that the resurfacing of the road through Northwood Traffic Lights had still to be done. It seems that several people, somehow, thought the temporary surface of the reconstruction work was the final job. Resurfacing, with its specialist plant, team and set up, is on another schedule that was already committed and could not be brought forward to synchronise with the shorter time taken for the road re-build. It did show, however, how vulnerable these works are to the weather, when, conversely the resurfacing job that should have been completed over two nights took very much longer because it cannot be done when it is raining.
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Pallance Road Safety Update
Following a very constructive meeting involving Island Roads, the Parish and residents, there was a recognition of the increased safety concerns relating to Pallance Road, particularly when traffic flow is increased as a result of diversions, and some simple measures were discussed that could have a significant beneficial effect, and would be taken away for immediate consideration, some for immediate implementation.
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The items included:
• Pedestrians in the Road Warning Signs
• A shadow Pavement (where road width allowed) on the South Side (LHS going down)
• Trimming of hedges to improve visibility and pedestrian safety
• Reversal of the priority at the pinch point
• Extension of the yellow lines above Wyatts Lane junction, so as not to force traffic onto the wrong side of the road at that point (on a bend and junction)
• Addressing the water seepage issues at the section below Wyatts Lane junction.
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In addition, it was suggested that a traffic monitor would be put in the road to measure the volumes of traffic.
This is a long-fought battle (competing for priority with many other safety requests from all around the Island) and I am very grateful for all the support people have given in reporting incidents and near misses as this all adds weight to getting these issues addressed. However, at the time of writing, this has been overridden by IW Council Highways officers – so, watch this space!
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I will be speaking with the Leader and Cabinet Member on this, as I thought we had their support, too, for these measures (does this sound reminiscent of the Planning debacle to anyone else?).
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New Northwood Historic Pub Walk
The new Northwood Historic Pub Walk booklet is available at local pubs and other outlets as well as on line (https://iwbeerandbuses.co.uk/walks.php; https://www.wightwash.org.uk/walks.php). Launched in time for this year’s Beer & Buses event. It was a shame about the weather, however, the walk works any time of the year and will come into play at next year’s event, too, weather permitting. Meanwhile, why not give it a go?
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What Has Wellbeing to Do with Health and Safety?
There is a growing recognition in Health & Safety circles, particularly in certain quarters in Construction and Civil Engineering, of the significant importance of attention to matters of personal wellbeing in relation to workplace safety and performance (as well as in life outside of work). Simple things like getting at least 7hrs quality sleep are important to short and long-term health. Tiredness can have the same effect, in practice, on decision making as being drunk! Long-term, lack of sleep is now being associated with risk of dementia and other detrimental conditions (Why We Sleep, by Prof. Matthew Walker).
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Also, diet and how that affects our gut biome is being revealed as an instrumental determining influence of our physical and mental health; how we feel, how we behave, and our physical state. There are many experts studying this field, and one of the leaders is Prof. Tim Spector of St Thomas’ Hospital, who is a commentator on this new science and author of The Diet Myth; another fascinating reference, particularly for autism is Bugs, Bowels and Behaviour, and there are many more interesting works available.
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A few years ago, Mental Health was not really talked about, especially in Construction. We, on the Isle of Wight, lay claim to being the first Health and Safety Group to talk about it in relation to the Industry, now everyone is talking about it. One of my favourites is Prof. Steve Peters, with his ground-breaking book The Chimp Paradox, which illustrates his brilliant method of helping people gain control and harness their emotions to enhance their performance, be they criminals, school children, executives, Olympic athletes or just an ordinary person.

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John Nicholson
Ward Member for Northwood & Cowes South.

See the I.W. Councillor’s section