A member of the Isle of Wight Council has called for an inquiry into ‘orphaned assets’ which “could cost the Island millions of pounds in future maintenance and lost revenue”.
Cllr Chris Whitehouse of Newport West Ward has written to the Chair of the Council’s Scrutiny Committee, Cllr Dave Stewart, asking that the Committee investigates the issue of roads, playing fields and potentially other assets around the Island which were left out of the Island Roads contract by mistake and which are now falling into disrepair because they have no maintenance arrangements.
Cllr Whitehouse was prompted to act when it emerged that Taylor Road in Newport – and an entire playing field adjacent to it – had been ‘orphaned’ with no maintenance contract in place. The playing field is now over-grown wasteland and it and the grass verges are strewn with litter, whilst many of the drains are completely blocked. But at a meeting of the Council last week the councillor was told that there were other assets around the Island in a similar plight.
In a note to the Chair of the Scrutiny Committee Cllr Whitehouse asks for an inquiry saying:
“We need as members to know what the assets are, what it is likely to cost to maintain them and what potential income they could generate once identified. This is potentially a multi-million pound scandal (in terms of future liabilities and lost revenue) and we need to get to the bottom of it. I was shocked when Cllr Paul Fuller confirmed that other orphaned assets exist, but refused to tell Council what they were”.
Cllr Dave Stewart, who represents Chale, Niton & Whitwell, is taking the matter very seriously and said:
“I’ve received the note from Cllr Whitehouse about orphaned assets and will discuss the issue with the Scrutiny Committee at its meeting on Thursday (22nd October). This is potentially a very serious issue for the Council as it may have wider implications for the Island in terms of budget, maintenance and future policy on the use of these assets. As Chair of the Scrutiny Committee I do at least want to get to the facts about how many orphaned assets there are on the Island and what the Council’s liabilities for their future maintenance might be. They may also present opportunities for income generation which would be very helpful in the current financial climate”.
Cllr Whitehouse concluded :
“This is just one more example of the current dysfunctional Administration trying to sweep problems under the carpet”.
