Northwood Parish Council

Posted by Admin on 18 February 2011, 12:00 am

NORTHWOOD PARISH COUNCIL

MEMBERS:

CHAIRMAN – JOHN PULLEN
86 Wyatts Lane, Northwood PO31 8PY
Email: pullenjd@hotmail.co.uk
Tel: 01983 281250

VICE CHAIRMAN – PAUL FULLER
74 Wyatts Lane, Northwood PO31 8QA
Email: paulfuller@onwight.net
Tel: 01983 289595

CHAIRMAN OF PLANNING COMMITTEE – COLIN CRAMP
37 Greenways, Northwood PO31 8AN
Email: colin.cramp@yahoo.co.uk
Tel: 01983 289996

PATRICK BENTLEY
95 Noke Common, Newport PO30 5TY
Email: pat.bentleyready@gmail.com
Tel: 01983 248287

JOHN FULLER
380 Newport Road, Northwood PO31 8PP
Email: jlfnorthwood@gmail.com
Tel: 01983 246597

ROGER MAZILLIUS
21 Oxford Street, Northwood PO31 8PT
Email: roger.mazillius@iow.gov.uk
Tel: 01983 295556

RAY MEW
63 Horsebridge Hill, Newport PO30 5TJ
Email: ray.mewvl@gmail.com
Tel: 01983 245234

CHRIS RIDDET
'Vert Bois' 46 Cockleton Lane, Gurnard PO31 8JD
Email: ringwood49er@hotmail.co.uk
Tel: 01983 245033

CLERK & RFO TO NORTHWOOD PARISH COUNCIL – BARBARA HERBERT
11 Wyatts Lane, Northwood PO31 8QB
Email: barbara.herbert@sky.com
Tel: 01983 290086

MEETINGS
Meetings of the Parish Council are held on the first Tuesday of the month, commencing at 6.30pm.
The meeting of the Planning Committee, if required, is held on the third Tuesday of the month, commencing at 6.30pm.

ALL MEETINGS ARE HELD AT
NORTHWOOD PRIMARY SCHOOL, WYATTS LANE, NORTHWOOD.

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AND THE PRESS ARE VERY WELCOME TO ATTEND.

PARISH COUNCIL ROUND-UP

At the meeting of the Parish Council on Tuesday 1st February the following matters were covered:
The application for a Street Trading Licence for Julie’s Ice Creams had been granted.
The council raised no material objections to two planning applications, in Green Lane and Oxford Street.
The withdrawal of the Wightbus service was raised, and opportunities to replace it were discussed. (see following article: Community Transport Scheme)
It was agreed that an official opening of the Venner Avenue Play Park should be held, at a date and time to be announced.
It was agreed that Councillors’ surgeries should continue for the immediate future, but noted that the need was debatable since there had been no attendance to date.
The future of the Island’s Libraries was raised, and it was agreed that the council would make an objection to the current proposals. Anyone interested in becoming a library volunteer can contact Cllr Mazillius for more information.
That the Parish Annual General Meeting would be held on Tuesday, 17th May at 6.45pm. More details and a reminder closer to the time.

COMMUNITY TRANSPORT SCHEME
Many thanks to all those who have responded by expressing their concerns about losing the bus service.
The Northwood, Cowes & Gurnard Community Transport Forum met again on 3rd February, and apart from an update on actions taken since the 13/1/11 meeting most of the meeting was spent talking to 2 representatives from Southern Vectis who had heard about the Forum and were keen to see how far we had progressed.
The current Wightbus service apparently only covers about 50% of its costs. Southern Vectis is keen to work with the Forum to find a way forward, and to assist with providing a service that would complement and feed into the No 1 route/service from the outlying areas.
The company has buses available due to having 35 of the 60 buses involved with school runs lying idle between the 2 school run times and would have no problem supplying a service similar to that which is already being provided by Wightbus, with a view to combining the 30 & 32 in one route/service, and may even be able to extend the current provision.
The service can only be viable if volunteer drivers could be found – the company has no desire to make huge profits, just to cover all costs. It was explained that there are great PR opportunities in providing a combined Southern Vectis and Community Bus Scheme – it would be a 1st nationally! He would also be prepared to train drivers up to PCV licence qualification (Passenger Carrying Vehicle) free of charge, providing a commitment was given to complete the course, and the buses on the route would be “branded” to recognise the Parish Councils and Communities involved. Concessionary fares should also be able to be included. It is envisaged there would be 6 weekly shifts for the drivers.

So, to summarise:

We need at least 6 volunteer drivers from the community
Southern Vectis will train the drivers up to gaining their PCV licences
Drivers must be able to pass a medical

Once the drivers are trained, Southern Vectis says there may be opportunities for those drivers, if they wished, to take on the occasional shift for Southern Vectis, for which they would be paid.
So, this plea is to everyone – spread the word and try and find some volunteers for this project. You might think this is impossible, but actually those involved don’t believe it’s such a long shot, and by the way one driver has already come forward to volunteer. If you feel you could contribute, or would like to volunteer, then you can contact any of your local councillors.

So … OVER TO YOU!

LOCAL CRIME – Cllr John Pullen

January had again been a very quiet month, with virtually no crime of any note within Northwood. Particular mention however, was made of the following:

One incident of a person arrested on suspicion of a drug offence. As this case was still under investigation PC Thomas was unable to advise of any further details.
There had been no more reported thefts from motor vehicles in Northwood.

I have a small supply of No Cold Calling window stickers if anybody needs one.
Please let me know of any incidents of people cold calling, or ring Trading Standards on 01983 823370.
Ring 01983 281250 if you are interested in the black and green recycling bins.

Do not forget Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. You do not need to identify yourselves and the calls are not recorded.

BIRD FAECES – Cllr Colin Cramp

A Northwood resident has spoken to me about bird faeces on the windows, etc. of their house, and on their car. Please do not feed seagulls and other large birds such as pigeons as this can lead to the problems listed below. Please feed the small birds by, for example, using a dispenser.
Health issues – infection from the faeces;
Feeding will attract other vermin such as rats and mice;
Faeces has been proved to eat into paintwork on vehicles and buildings;
Seagulls will swoop and attack humans in their quest for food;
Seagulls will kill other small garden birds, detrimental to the smaller birds’ survival;
The nuisance may incite neighbour hostilities

WILDLIFE HABITAT (or birds in the garden) – Cllr Pat Bentley

In support of Colin Cramp’s article above, I would like to add a few pointers to creating a bird friendly habitat in the garden. The main problem is the dominance of larger species (corvids, pigeons etc.) who will not only eat all the food you put out, but also take both eggs and young of smaller birds. Rather than put food out directly, a far better option is to encourage the provision of hedges planted with fruiting species, providing habitat for insects. They also provide excellent opportunities for nesting, allowing the gradual build-up of a healthy local population.