New Ryde Mayor Michael Lilley spoke out about poverty on the Isle of Wight and set out his vision for his year in office at a meeting of the Ryde Society earlier this week.
At the annual general meeting on Monday, which was held at Royal Esplanade Hotel, Mayor Lilley explained he was concerned about the disparity between the rich and poor in the town. He said:
“We have wards that are in the top ten of UK poverty. One out of three children on the isle live in poverty. I’m a governor of a local school where nearly 50 per cent of the children are on free school meals.
Article continues below this advertisement “We are due to take 30 children to a science centre on the mainland. I discovered 15 out of the group had never been off this island. That trip will hopefully change their world view and aspirations.”
Backing protests over building on green spaces, he said:
“We need to argue that houses should be built for our residents and not just to bring more people to the town when we have not got the infrastructure.”
Mayor Lilley went on to explain that among his aims for his year in office is the establishment of a Ryde community orchard on a piece of land behind Nicholson Road, the bringing of Appley Tower back into community use and a return of deckchairs on the beach. He also said he would love to see a ‘buy in Ryde’ campaign to help the town’s businesses.
In an update on the closed ice rink, Lilley said a legal review was still in progress…
“The better news is that a wonderful group from the ice skating community are meeting regularly. They are even discussing the possibility of a new ice-rink and swimming pool combined development.”
Meanwhile, Councillor Phil Jordan told the meeting a ‘letter of intent’ would be sent to Isle of Wight Council in order to give Ryde Town Council the status of ‘preferred bidder’ for Ryde Harbour. Money for dredging would also be sought from Isle of Wight Council.
The meeting, which marked the first birthday of The Ryde Society, also heard that a new arts centre is planned for East Street. The centre will be a bigger home for the Lounge Coffee House, on the corner of Monkton Street and Simeon Street, which already hosts arts events.
Monkton Arts will include an art gallery, art studios and a stage for poetry readings and other presentations. It will also be the venue for artists to talk about their work, and for activities including a photographic group, and one for young adults with autism.
All current Ryde Society officers were re-elected unanimously, including Chairwoman Stella Davis.
Suggestion: we could get rid of these dignitaries, their expenses, limos and stop hiring out expensive venues like the esplanade hotel for their jollies and address poverty issues properly.
Or we could simply pass on the reduced costs to the council tax payer, who is working each and every day, just to fund these over blown, admin clerks.
I work to support myself and not some Councillor to spend on canape’s, chauffeurs and cosy chats in private venues. They have meeting rooms at the council offices they can use, with a perfectly good bus service and they can buy their own coffee and lunch.
Let’s hope that Cllr Lilley’s words on poverty are matched by his actions – so far, since becoming mayor, he has voted consistently with the “Tories” on Ryde Town Council so any serious action on child poverty would seem to be unlikely. Tory policy seems to be to deny the existence of child poverty, despite the fact that it has almost certainly reached 50% in parts of Ryde