In a last-minute, un-costed proposal, Sandown Town Councillors Debbie Andre and Emily Brothers have tabled a proposal for the council meeting on 6th February that would see numerous local services axed as the local town council looks to balance the books.
Among those that could be dropped include cessation of extra bins in the summer as well as the cutting of grass at Los Altos Park with plans to axe the beach lifeguard service and close the toilets at Yaverland also touted.
At the same time, the proposal suggests an additional budget to hold more Council meetings, to deliver fewer services.
As the Council meets to set its budget for the forthcoming year early next week, like every Town & Parish Council on the Island it will be trying to set a budget that has been severely hit by inflation and the constant trickle of additional cost as services are handed off by the Isle of Wight Council and requests for additional contributory payments are received.
Mayor of Sandown, Paddy Lightfoot has said:
“As the Mayor of Sandown I want to condemn this proposal as a dis-investment in Sandown which has no public mandate; in fact it’s the opposite of what our public consultations have said. As a reminder, the lifeguard service has saved 3 lives over the last couple of years, its difficult to put a price on that. I view this proposal as a complete reversal of the previous visible investment in Sandown.”
Hardly drastic measures shutting a set of toilets
stop 6 blokes leaning on one shovel would cut cost as well and maybe further actions could help keep council tax down instead of just plucking numbers out the air and expect the residents to keep coughing up what they can ill afford
Thanks to the importation of dirt poor arriving daily into the UK and how they then go on to have huge families the UK is now becoming a third world nation.
Most it seems on here see no correlation but as all arrive with nothing, yet all end up being housed, educated, treated and paid to live, then the cost to the UK is staggering.
Not as though many are grateful and so we end up jailing plenty at ever growing cost.
This leave little for central Gov to be able to give to local Councils hence the need for cut backs.
Well said Molly totally agree with you ,are you sure it’s one shovel,and not a stick ?? The council can’t afford a shovel
So exactly what are people with medical problems like Prostatitis supposed to do, pee on the sea walls?
We cannot pay more tax for all the individual invalids of various illnesses and conditions
They can use some of their no doubt ‘disability’ payments to pay for a disposable urinal from ebay to use as we do for the festival.
Or stay home and get internet deliveries.
Why should the masses pay more and more for the odd few in society.
All toilets need to be is a concrete block wc over a hole to a sewer.
No flush so no water costs or plumbing costs NO toilet paper buy your own first like you carry and tissue if you have a cold.
Then cheap to maintain and get volunteers or unemployed to swab them down once a week.
Sorted.
You horrible idiot
Acme wind-up
Because you live in a society and that’s how it works ,the strong look after weak and the rich help the poor.
A society ,the clue is in the name.
I take it you are not old and all your plumbing works fine you sound so selfish I’m all right Jack I can pee in a hole in the ground and as for the devices to pee in you can buy have you tried that sat in a car and where do you put it oh I know open the door and empty on to the road that’s as bad as doing it in public to close those loos would be a great loss to yaverland and the beach users
They don’t give a monkeys mate,it’s a case of I’m alright jack,sod the rest
Yet again people expecting the state to cure all ills whilst taking no responsibility for themselves. How about buying a convene, staying at home, limiting fluid intake, wearing an incontinence pad. If the State need to help out it should just be a no frills hole in the ground devoid of luxury.
DFL you are another horrible vile idiot
Education passed you by.
Or you wrote this whilst drunk.
How about you have debilitating ms where a loo is vital …plus your young enough too not WANT too wear a pampers….and need roo drink lots too avoid a uti?
What an utter b end you are
Another idiot
We don’t expect anything but we pay for services that we don’t get thats trouble with people like you we are all paying for services and alway have done
Why has Sandown been building new toilets when it’s clearly potless?
Those Yaverland loos seem very popular with one and all. Unlike some the others.
Bit like Ryde, we piss in streets
The council could save a FORTUNE, if it were to sell off most of the green verges along many roads and estates.
The larger ones could be then sold to develop small homes, or garages. The smaller ones to businesses to set up ‘charging points’ for electric vehicles.
OR they could lease them out for the same two purposes.
Some could be sold to the homes abutting them to increase garden sizes at full market value.
The ‘bonus’ being the council then don’t have to pay for workers to come and cut a dog poo littered piece of straggly litter strewn grass every few weeks.
Millions could be made and saved.
Councilors,Thank me by waiving my c.tax for life please.
Another idiot who lives in cloud cuckoo land
Utterly crazy to shut the toilets at yaverland as theres no other amenities available in that area for tourists and locals alike. Shanklyn toilets aren’t going to be shut on the sea front because they are in shanklyn and a completely different council. Sandown council want 25p extra per hour on parking . Leave the car drivers alone .
How far have got to go to the public toilets if they shut yaverland toilets so in the summer for beach goers where are they going to go for a pee in the sea
Stop cost cutting little things like public toilets and take a look the council wage bill surely wouldn’t be better to cut the higher paid councillors wage than a set of public toilets
So not only are they putting car parking charges up, yhey are stopping us doing what comes naturally, relieving ourselves.
I really don’t understand our council .
Cutting the lifeguards is totally irresponsible, as is not putting extra bins in the summer. Ggrrr
Life guard should be volunteers IF people ‘care’ so much.
Why should we fund select beaches when others have no life guard.
IF parents were to get off their phones they ‘might’ just might look after their own children once more without dumping the responsibility onto others which we have to fund.
Get rid of life guards and the toilet imo, the latter only a ‘chums’ meeting place or a vandals paradise
You wait till you are old and you are out in car or for a sunny afternoon walk and you need a pee and you can’t hold it till you get home just grow up James
That should save a penny or 2…!!!
Yes let’s kill off all amenities for tourists.
Great plan.
This council is so odd, they take our money to promote Island as top holiday destination and allow ferry companies to make millions off our tourists,but when they get here,no toilets,no litter bins, expensive car parking and awful roads and expensive outdated attractions. This IOW council is damaging the Island. IWC should provide services not pass to town councils as costs tax payers more for an unneeded level of town councils staffing and meetings etc. Also unfair as example Sandown/Cowes are paying more than others. Ferry companies could support toilets, bins and events etc .
This is crazy just where are people supposed to go if they need the toilets.
So they are going to hike our council tax by nearly 50% and we can’t even go for a p*ss? Still, I suppose it’s one less for the smack heads to smash up eh?
More council rundown buildings.
Certains
Are these people who come up with these ideas Thick???? As a country We are going backwards…so you think you will save money, will the monies they save cover the cost of cleaning up the rubbish ridden, urine smelling beaches and streets???? Oh yes they will get the police to catch people and fine them instead of policing real crimes like burglary,car theft, muggings which they don’t such a good TAX return on.
Pathetic,there are not enough public toilets on this island now,so why close some more????? especially on a popular tourist beach
Just replace with a single open air squat and thrust brick plinth. Can be easily hosed down and less to vandalise.
Los Altos park was given to the people of Sandown. It is a lovely park and should NOT be ignored and left to go wild.
Start getting some money back from the parents who have kids that are constantly going around Sandown causing damage, setting fires and spraying graffiti. Fine them heavily. The fines will go towards the cost of keeping vital green spaces nice!
This council and parish councils need a full and independent investigation by the police anti-corruption unit ( if there is one even now ) The figures they quote and the increases just don’t add up at all, there is a lot of cash being filtered off somewhere. Massive increases and huge cuts, what the hell is going on, some dodgy goings on in plain sight, and still no-one investigates. I expect a lot of it is going off island to buy yet another part of an industrial estate.
Everything is being shut. They are proposing delivering fewer services BUT expect us all to pay MORE Council Tax. Sandown will become even more run down. Why poor Sandown all the time? Enough is enough.
I really think they should consider Public Health issues before closing toilets. Why should residents lose all facilities until the turists are back? We are the ones paying the council after all.
Unreasonable precept hikes combined with service cuts can only result in pushback at the ballot box and challenges over service standards.
If I was proposing such policies I would make pretty sure that my council was meeting basic legal obligations for street lighting and public safety.
Yes, you can charge what you want an we have to pay, but expect to be held account if you don’t deliver.
How about cutting the numbers in the council offices and using the money for the right reason rather than giving them a fat wage for screwing us out of every penny they can get
Fortunately the massive sums they pay into the councils pension fund each year will not be impacted by this and there will still be enough climate change, diversity and inclusion officers on the payroll to make sure we are all doing as we are told by Whitehall to meet net zero targets
Council’s work on so called budgets, when in fact there are no such thing, they throw money away and just charge residents and visitors more to cover their cock ups. Very good business move, close the toilets at Yaverland, result less people go there, but that’s okay car parking charges go up!! Typical unthought through move by inexperienced people who have no idea. Uk is becoming a third world, no action for the future.
Bunch of Tory idiots in this comment section!
Very narrow minded to remove any form of life saving service. Surely it can’t cost much to employ a couple of lifeguards and a small amount of kit. My freinds and I had lifeguard jobs on Brighton beaches when we were students, overseen by 1 manager, don;t remember how much we were paid but wasn’t much and we did it for the cudos if nothing else – false economy that idea.
Please thing about this iv been comeing to the isle of wight for the last 10 years for our holidays with grand kid we go to that beach every day,not only do beach goers use it also council works call there delverie drivers,remember the isleland rely on tourist the new toilets in Sandown would be an idea with a charge (reluctantly said say 10p)this then would help with the running costs
If I recall it was not so long ago that councillor Brading was proudly sporting a large key to a new toilet facility recently opened in the area.