Ryde Town Council will charge its residents around £10 more a year from April, it has been announced. On Monday night (5th February), the authority agreed to increase the amount of council tax it gets from residents by 7.4%. It means a taxpayer living in a Band C property in the town will have to pay £158.59 towards the activity of the town council, up from £147.64 the year before. In the budget report, Councillor Phil Jordan, the town council’s finance committee chair, said the money allows them to continue to invest in the Ryde community, providing support for cultural organisations, protecting the town’s heritage and providing vital and necessary services across the town. Among the projects for Ryde, the town council has agreed to fund an Isle of Wight Council planning enforcement officer at £15,700 a year for 2 days a week, which would be able to help tackle some of the eyesores and any planning breaches. The council has ringfenced £5,000 for the skatepark on the Esplanade as a long-term solution for the recreation facility is devised with some ‘significant developments’ planned in the year ahead. All councillors voted in favour of the increase apart from Councillor Les Kirkby who raised an issue with the £10,000 grant funding the town council has allocated for the Beach Weekender event on Ryde seafront in the Summer. He said the public authority was using £10,000 to pay a private company to hold a party on the beach. Officers pointed out the council had agreed to the grant funding at an earlier meeting. Other grants have been awarded to Isle of Wight Pride, New Carnival Club, John’s Club and towards Armed Forces Day. Meanwhile, at the same meeting, the town council agreed to buy the empty NatWest building in St Thomas’ Square, taking out a £466,000 loan. Councillors agreed, subject to the outcome of an ongoing public consultation, to borrow the money to buy the building, which would cost more than £30,000 a year in repayments for the next 30 years. The council says payments for this will impact the council tax precept for 2025/6.
7.4% PRECEPT HIKE IN RYDE TO SEE RESIDENTS PAY AROUND £10 MORE A YEAR
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Yet more increases from Ryde TC, who already levy us with the highest Island precept Residents struggling financially, are more concerned over services and flooding. Rather than the town council building bigger empires and parties
Ryde does not have the highest precept, Sandown does by a wide margin. Freshwater and Ventnor are also higher.
They currently rent office space at the same cost that the loan for NatWest building will be. Sounds like a sound investment to me – unless you somehow think it is better to pay rent to someone and never own anything.
Ryde Town Council are not ‘empire’ building, they are *town* building and are respected nationally. They are a major reason why the town has been awarded in the region of £25+ million.
The town will be transformed with major projects starting this year and RTC will play a major part in that. A much larger part than the Isle of Wight Council, who have been cut to the bone by central government.
That funding isn’t guaranteed yet. The Govt can very easily change it’s mind, or on review, reduce it significantly
With rental, you aren’t liable for maintenance costs on what appears to be a 1960s concrete frame building.
My concern, is the precept levied by Ryde tc has risen by 440%! in 10 years.
Do you disagree that such an increase is unreasonable?
Improvements to the town, I’m sure many have there own view.
Giving £5000 to a skate park sounds good. Unlike, another £10000.00 to a party company.
As to the IOW council. They continue to waste our money, on floating bridge, Cycle, Not Races, et al.
So are hardly blame free.
I voted against this as we will still have to pay for the old offices for the next 8 years! Cost £30/40.000 a year, add that to this loan and another 1/2 a million to do the NatWest building up and it’s not what it’s painted to be!
It is undoubtedly true that RTC have a lot of projects on the go at present, and they are definitely good at spending other people’s (the public’s) money, but whether they represent significant improvements is a matter of debate. The work done at the “dry end” of the pier may help traffic flow but the area generally still leaves something to be desired. Will Appley Tower be significantly better when all the work is done than it was 20 years ago ? The Town hall remains a pipe dream.
But my biggest complaint is that many of these projects get handed over to unelected quango’s, often run by the well connected. I’d be happier if RTC did all the work themselves, at least then we know who to go to if we’re not happy.
Councils do not give a Fcuk about the residents.
Two day week 16k 10k for a beach party private company ( back hander). 460k for a bank, why?. So while we bend over the wallet is in the back pocket. Time to get the pitchforks out.
Actually, I think Sandown wins that prize – after last year’s massive hike it’s over £40 higher than Ryde (and everywhere else on the island)
Still get nothing for it though.
Sandown precept is over £200 without this years increase. Stop your moaning, you have a nice new bus station
Wow spending all that money for the town council to have a place to party !!!!!!!
And may we know how many town council members will be in this massive building at any one time?????
How much to refit so that they are comfortable???,
Ooh and not forgetting a whole massive sum to run it …..
Be prepared for rises every year ……
Oh cheers for £5000 for a skate park…
Are you sure you can afford it???????
And that is how corruption works in the UK, buy a big building from a mate, a building that is not needed. As for the party, that is exactly what they should be doing. 10k is cheap when you consider the boost to the island it has.
But I don’t want MY money being spent on yet another building that nothing will be done with! I want good public services!
“providing support for cultural organisations” – not the job of the council
“protecting the town’s heritage” – not the job of the council
“providing vital and necessary services across the town” – the only job of the council
Stop coming up with more and more ways of wasting money. The old bank is a monstrosity and should be tumbled. The town council do not require a huge building like that with all the accompanying overheads. Stop wasting our money!
Need another Town Hall like we need a hole in the head ! Commercial use would be better than another dead space.
WHOOOOOOOOOOOOO whats a precept is this 1700s
Unlucky Ryde residents .. £900,000 in repayments .. for a £466,0000 loan !!!
Anyone else think that the IWC are clueless ?
Hopefully it’ll be another hub for some made up modern condition people seem to suffer from
Like hypothermia perhaps. All the hobos and skanks will be sitting in there to stay warm.
When you hear the word “Hub” or “Community Partnership” run away, very fast !
Lets hope the new planning officer will start with Melville hall, won’t be long before the whole roof collapses!
Become a benefit bum and it won’t apply to you.
It is us grafters who are being shafted.
so who took the survey with regards to the bank purchase, and who gave the council the results and even more did the council actually take note of what Ryde residents thought
To all residents of Ryde, go to RydeTown council website and you can do the survey to say no to this but you only have until Saturday, I voted against this because we are still tied to a lease for 8 more years to the old building we are using now at a cost of 30/40,000 £ a year, also another £50.000 this year to spend on the pile of rocks called vectis hall, to make it water tight for the resident pidgeons, and don’t get me started on £10,000for a private company to hold a party on the beach which you will have to pay to get in and not allowing you to take food and drink in! You could make it up!
I think the the council take enough money from the public like council tax is going up again this year by 5% and any other rises discussing
Just like the Government, their Councils are also crooks.
Rishi in Parliament was questioned about unsafe vaccines and he said to
Andrew Bridgen that they were safe (lol)
He knows there are millions suffering from them, many people
have sadly died.
It was also the Government who many years ago said the Post Office
Horizon system was ok.
Never believe a Politician or any organisation they run!
What a waste of are money town council have bought the Town Hall the harbour St Thomas Church ruin of the school it will be interesting to see how much money the harbour has cost to run yet the children’s small water park at the end of the canoe hasn’t been open for two years could they not take over the running of it from the council instead of wasting it on some grandiose scheme