Report from I.W. Councillor John Nicholson

Posted by Admin on 23 August 2017, 2:20 am

COUNCILLOR JOHN NICHOLSON

WARD MEMBER FOR COWES SOUTH & NORTHWOOD

MEMBER OF IW PLANNING COMMITTEE

MEMBER OF HEALTH AND COMMUNITY WELLBEING SCRUTINY PANEL

SUNNYSIDE

PALLANCE LANE

NORTHWOOD

PO31 8LT
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Tel: 01983 209642 (evenings best)

Mobile: 07918 757843
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Email: cllr.john.nicholson@btconnect.com

See the I.W.Councillor’s section

WARD REPORT – AUGUST 2017

The Report appearing in the September 2017 edition of Northwood News:

SCRUTINY – A PEOPLE’S CHAMPION?
In the new Council, I have been asked to Chair the Policy & Scrutiny Committee for Adult Social Care & Health. This is a big challenge, and I had turned it down before, when asked under the previous regime, because it is so onerous and involved, but this time I was persuaded because I had been so vocal about my discontent at the quality and value of the meetings and the seeming disregard that Health partners gave, as reflected in the pertinence and quality of information presented.
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The first meeting set out the position as I and our Council saw it, there were some tough things that needed to be said, and they were delivered in no uncertain terms, yet maintaining a degree of due conciliation.
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In this regard, and because of the concern over the true validity of information that we have been presented with, I am of a mind that the Scrutiny Committee should hold itself open to champion people’s frustrations. Genuine frustrations that people might have with any aspect of the Health Service that they cannot get resolved through the established channels, be they patients, members of the public or people working within the industry, at any level, if you have serious or significant concerns that are not being properly addressed, I want to hear about them, whether it be bad service, unacceptable practice, failure to address mental health or any other issue. Anyone making such representations will remain anonymous, unless they expressly state otherwise.
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This is about good stuff too, so if you have an outstanding and exemplary story that needs to be heard as well, we need to promote best practice.
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ROAD ISSUES
I have submitted a request to the Highways Road Safety Team to meet, review and resolve the issues that I have picked up regarding our local roads. The concerns are grouped into safety, usage and access issues including parking; safety issues concerning poor surface finish, especially with manholes; signage, whether inconsistent, omitted, or speed related; drainage and flooding. Some of the issues are not new, and may already be being progressed, but I will keep them on the agenda until they are properly resolved.
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I am urging our new Council to adopt robust policies and procedures regarding our Highways, particularly when it comes to safety and quality. In the last Council, two Motions that I brought were accepted to Cabinet without debate (they made such sense). One was for properly regulating Scaffolding on the Public Highway, and the other was in exercising more control over roadworks by Utility Companies, both of which are exampled in simple and effective form by some other authorities. I am pushing for implementation.
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IW COUNCIL GETTING TOUGH WITH ABANDONED VEHICLES
A new policy on dealing with abandoned and illegal cars causing a nuisance on our roads, goes through a process of checking identification and giving due notice to the vehicle’s registered keeper, then, after notification has been served, if the vehicle remains after 7 days on the Public Highway, or 15 days on private land, will be seized, held for a further 7 days, then disposed of, and the registered keeper will be held liable for the full costs. Under government guidelines, they may also face prosecution, if warranted. For a few years I have advocated such robust action to deal with this nuisance, and I am glad of its ultimate advent.
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SCAMS
It seems that people need to be ever more cautious and sceptical about just about any interaction these days. The latest one to be aware of is bogus offers to review your Council Tax banding, for a fee – don’t fall for it!
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BEER & BUSES & HISTORIC WALKS
Just a reminder that the Classic Beer & Vintage Buses & Historic Walks festival will be on us, the weekend 14th & 15th October; there are 21 participating venues in Cowes (Porchfield & Parkhurst), including several exclusive clubs, making it the major venue on the Island. Programmes are available in most pubs and participating clubs – for more information see http://iwbeerandbuses.co.uk/.

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John Nicholson
Ward Member for Northwood & Cowes South.