Report from I.W. Councillor John Nicholson

Posted by Admin on 20 May 2014, 6:01 pm

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)
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Email: cllr.john.nicholson@btconnect.com

Click here for the I.W.Councillor’s section

ANNUAL REPORT – MAY 2013 to MAY 2014

COWES (and COWES SOUTH)
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1. The nuisance parking of untaxed and uninsured vehicles around Place Side took more than my term to resolve, as it was first notified to my predecessor, then to me in May. It has taken considerable effort and resilience to resolve.
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2. The issue with sensible use of the former primary school site in Love Lane, raised in June, has taken from July until now to be resolved, thanks to the robust efforts of my colleague Cllr Peacey-Wilcox.
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3. Issues raised by me following concerns expressed by locals on reported excessive behaviour by security, who appeared not to be SIA registered, on Cowes Parade, a fact which we are now assured that all security personnel are in fact registered with the SIA, has spread to other concerns regarding the deprivation of free public seating in contravention to the Village Green status that the Parade holds and failure to provide additional toilet facilities to match the increased commercial activity, continue to be a point of contention.
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4. Concerns with the lack of IW Council supervision or management of the new Cowes School, heightened by the demise of Pihl, have not gone away due to serious defects in the building that will have to be addressed or the building will not be fit for purpose. The question of the relationship, conduct and professionalism of people responsible for overseeing the project remains very much in the air.
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5. Yellow lines at Place Side that appeared last summer, but not wanted by a consensus of the residents, continue to be a problem.
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6. Initial complaints to me from a resident parking legally in another road and receiving direct abuse and intimidation for doing so, have now been acknowledged and supported by local police, who pledged to support the legal right for someone to park legally without intimidation. You would, of course, expect this to be the case anyway, but sometimes the wheels of natural justice just need a little help to work properly.
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7. The New Year flooding that affected Northwood Recreation Ground and neighbouring residents in the NE and NW corners, with the local knowledge of the Mayor and a meeting with Parks department a simple direct drainage solution has been agreed in each location. But, with catching up and dealing with all the work that the rains brought, this has still to be implemented, simple and quick as it will be.
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8. The unfinished and un-adopted status of the roads and pavements in the Persimmon estate (Seaview Road and spurs) continue to cause concern, following a nasty fall suffered by one of the residents due to long-outstanding incomplete surfacing work. IW Council and Island Roads have taken up the issue with Persimmon.
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9. After many months of campaigning from all quarters, including a group of highly professional locals from a wide variety of business backgrounds, and a new deal between Eurovia and Bardon Vectis that resulted in a merger for the purposes of providing materials, including asphalt, from the St George’s Down base, the controversial planning application for the proposed plant on the banks of the Medina, in Cowes, was withdrawn. My view was always that if you want to put a hub in a wheel, you put it in the centre.
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NORTHWOOD:
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1. The Travellers Joy transition under its new landlords Ashley and Kate, who received an unprecedented round of applause for at least one fantastic Christmas buffet that they put on.
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2. Poor, sloppy workmanship by Island Roads hit the headlines in July, some of the issues have been resolved, and we are told that this was part of a very steep learning curve. It is thanks to the residents of Greenways Close, perhaps, for teaching them what was unacceptable, and how to do it without making such a mess.
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3. Concern remains regarding the safety of horses and other road users, but particularly horses, on newly laid Fibrovia/ SMA material. These dangers have been acknowledged as recognised, and we are assured will be properly addressed.
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4. Annoyance has been expressed to me from cyclists who continually suffer punctures from untidy hedge cutting, leaving thorns on the public highway. I am taking this up with Island Roads.
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5. It has been a year for no-mans land issues in Northwood, with concern over the trees in an apparent island between the back of a row of opposing properties, that had been there since the houses were built and no-one seemed to know who owned it. After much investigation from department to department, it was finally and authoritatively resolved that there had been an initial mis-measurement of the boundaries and that the island should never have existed in the first place. What a happy ending that was!
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6. Issues over historic ownership are generally simple to resolve – once the records have been found, and that is the difficult part, like ownership of the land for the old bend in Nodes Road, that needs to be maintained, but there are no records for its ownership after the bend was altered. After many months, it looks like this might just be resolved within the year.
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7. A Speedwatch exercise in Pallance Road has shown that fears of excessive speeding traffic using the road, in the exercise at least, is more a matter of perception than actuality. This should give some comfort, although the flood from the drain at the bottom of the road has, undoubtedly, had some influence on the determination of vehicle passage.
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8. Dog fouling has become a big issue. Dog wardens are asking for help with gathering leads or evidence so they can identify and prosecute people who allow their dogs to blight our neighbourhood. Please, either pass any information that you might have on to me or directly onto the Council – we must work together to stop this disgrace.
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COUNTY:
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1. 1 year for the Health and Wellbeing Board’s existence. A year, basically, of settling in to the new responsibility for local health and wellbeing issues. There needs to be some significant changes to cope with the challenges. I have proposed the inclusion of complementary practitioners, as is done in other advanced countries, and this is being considered at national level, with a meeting of the Complementary and Natural Health Council (CNHC) with the Public Health England Board. I am also driving an initiative to better deal with mental state issues, and have wide support and interest on this difficult but enormously significant issue.
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2. As highlighted in my Police Motion, restructuring of the police force has begun, and they are seeking greater involvement and cross cooperation with the community. The drive for police realignment with the community is very much in focus, with police now recruiting members of the public to act in Independent Advisory Groups.
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3. The parking abuse at Medina Theatre that I highlighted, where innocent people attending booked events at Medina where being penalised because of the lack of provision of adequate parking facilities has opened an enquiry into the circumstances.
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4. Following the Beer Motion and subsequent uptake by the MP, the newly formed licensees group, Fight 4 Wight Licensees, had an event on 24th April, last, where people were given the opportunity to put previously logged and written questions or concerns to various authoritative bodies in the space of 60-second turns. These will now be tracked to ensure that they are properly fielded and answered.
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John Nicholson
Ward Member Cowes South & Northwood