Your magazine from the Isle of Wight Council Issue two December 2006 oneIsland www.iwight.com The Island image our photo competition winner Also inside: Residents’ survey results The science of Dinosaur Isle Shaping up for 2007 Your magazine from t Isle of Wight Counci he l LKB Issue two December 2006 'PI>KAwww.iwight.co One Island is published six times a year, appearing in February, April, m Welcome June, August, October and December. If you have community news to share with other readers or would like to advertise in One Island, we would like to hear from you. We also welcome your letters – you can contact us by post, email or telephone. Post One Island, Publications, County Hall, Newport PO30 1UD The Island image Email [email protected] our photo competition winner Telephone 823105 Also inside: Residents’ survey results The science of Dinosaur Isle makingcontact Shaping up for 2007 USEFUL CONTACTS FACE TO FACE SERVICES Isle of Wight Council, County Hall, Newport Help Centre Newport PO30 1UD Tel 821000 Welcome to the second issue of Fax 823333 County Hall, Newport PO30 1UD the Isle of Wight Council’s new Email [email protected] Mon to Fri: 8am to 6pm Sat: 9am to 1pm magazine, One Island, and many Website www.iwight.com thanks to those who took the Ryde Help Centre TELEPHONE SERVICES time to send us their feedback Tel 812678 Call centre 821000 188 High Street, Ryde PO33 2PN about the first edition. Mon to Fri: 8.45am to 5pm Mon to Fri: 8am to 6pm Sat: 9.30am to 12.30pm It is our intention to develop Saturday: 9am to 1pm the magazine as a publication For telephone assistance we recommend Brading Help Centre which is not only informative you contact the call centre directly where Adult and children’s services Tel 405873 we aim to answer as many enquiries as Adult services 823340 for Island residents, but one West Street, Brading PO36 0DR possible at this first point of contact. Children’s services 525790 IW Council desk – Tues: 9am to 1pm which you find both useful Popular numbers Local centres: Cowes 291144 Shanklin Help Centre and helpful in keeping up-to Council tax 823901 Newport 823340 Falcon Cross Hall, Falcon Road, Shanklin. -date about council services Education 823455 Ryde 566011 Mon only: 10am to 4.30pm Sandown 408448 and our many partnership and Environmental health 823000 West Wight Information Centre Headquarters 520600 community activities. Housing benefits 823950 Tel 756140 Housing 823040 Freshwater Library, School Green Road, In this edition we look Libraries 203880 Freshwater PO40 9AP at key issues including the Licensing 823159 EMERGENCY NUMBERS Mon: 9am to 5.15pm, Tues and consultation about the future Planning 823552 In an emergency dial 999 Wed: 9.30am to 5.15pm, Thur: operations of our fire and Refuse collection 823777 Fire and rescue (closed), Fri: 9.30am to 4.45pm control centre (24hrs) 525121 rescue service, as well as some Roads and highways 823777 Wootton Bridge Centre Out of hours: Tourism 813818 Tel 884361 positive news about visitor Highways 525121 Joanne’s Walk, Brannon Way, numbers to the Island, and Trading standards 823396 Waste disposal 0800 3283851 Wootton Bridge PO33 4NU how we plan to respond to Leisure services 823828 Wightcare 821105 IW Council desk – Mon, Tues, the findings of our residents’ Thurs, Fri: 9am to 1pm survey. We also include important councilmeetings information about opening Unless otherwise stated, all meetings are in public at County Hall. Call 821000 hours for council services 24 hours before a meeting to ensure it is going ahead and to check if any items during the festive season. are likely to be held in private session. Looking ahead to 2007, we Licensing Sub-Committee Policy Commission for Economy, remain fully committed to our (committee room one) Tourism, Regeneration and Transport pledge to develop and deliver 8 January (4pm) (committee room one) high quality value-for-money 12 February (4pm) 10 January (6pm) 14 February (6pm) services and a council of which Audit and Performance Committee (committee room one) Policy Commission for Care, Health Island residents can be proud. 16 January (6pm) and Housing (committee room one) Our February budget will 13 February (6pm) 24 January (6pm) deliver a council tax rise at or Council (council chamber) Regulatory Committee 28 February (6pm) below the level of inflation. 17 January (6pm) (committee room one) Policy Commission for Children and 21 February (6pm) 15 January (4pm) School Results (committee room one) Finally, on behalf of all Cabinet Standards Committee 3 January (6pm) councillors and staff, please 9 January (6pm, Wootton Comm. Centre) (committee room one) 7 February (6pm) accept our very best wishes for 6 February (6pm, Wroxall Comm. Centre) 29 January (6pm) Policy Commission for Safer Christmas and the New Year. Development Control Sub- Scrutiny Committee Communities (committee room one) Committee (council chamber) (committee room one) 4 January (6pm) 19 December (4pm) 21 December (6pm) 1 February (6pm) Andy Sutton 23 January (4pm) 25 January (6pm) 1 March (6pm) Leader, Isle of Wight Council 20 February (4pm) 15 February (6pm) South Central Connexions sponsors One Island South Central Connexions is a government initiative, funded by the Department for Education and Skills. It supports all young people aged 13 to 19 years (or up to 25 for young people with learning difficulties and SOUTH CENTRAL disabilities). Connexions provides impartial and independent advice on a range of issues affecting young people. oneIsland Inthisissue NEWS DESK Photocompetition 4-9 Council and community news FEATURES 10 The science of Dinosaur Isle A special look behind the scenes 12 Island residents’ survey How we plan to respond 14 Moving ahead with Undercliff Drive The plans explained 18 Shaping up for 2007 Investing in healthy lifestyles 20 A year to be proud of The Island’s tourism industry celebrates 21 Your fire service, your say How to register your views REGULARS 26 In the mix Photo competition 28 Coast and country Rural and coastal news 30 Trailers Events and activities 32 Holiday arrangements Council opening times Cover picture: Kite surfer by Steve Gutteridge (photo competition winner) ONE ISLAND is published by the Isle of Wight Council. The council does not accept responsibility for goods or services offered by advertisers. Additional copies are available from the Customer Service Centre at County Hall, libraries and other council facilities. Typetalk calls welcome. Written, designed and produced by the Publications Unit, Corporate Sponsored by Communications, Isle of Wight Island Photo Centre Runner up Council. ISSN 1752-8038 In this issue of One Island we feature the winning On the front cover is the winning photograph © COPYRIGHT 2006 images from the photo competition launched in submitted by Steve Gutteridge, and pictured above Isle of Wight Council, the first edition of the magazine. We would like to is the second placed image of downland walkers at County Hall, Newport, thank all those who entered, contributing more Compton, by Mike Dennis. Isle of Wight PO30 1UD. than 600 images of great quality and variety, and For full details of our winners and to view a Printed on environmentally friendly of course the competition sponsor, Island Photo selection of some of the other entries please turn to paper by Belmont Press. Centre. our special photo gallery on pages 26 and 27. One Island is available on request as an audiotape, in large print, in Braille and in other languages. For further details, please contact One Island on 823105. The magazine is also available online at www.iwight.com December 2006 newsdesk The council’s in-house Wightcare service, which provides vital support to older and vulnerable Flexible and friendly people, is being reshaped to deliver an innovative and flexible home care service. The reshaped service will be in line with the home care latest government thinking and in partnership with the Island’s newly formed primary care trust. Cabinet member for Island health, housing and community well-being, Councillor Dawn Cousins, said: “Our changes to Wightcare are in line with the recent Commission for Social Care Inspection report ‘Time to Care’ that challenges councils to reshape services to support people living at home with more personalised care. “Following a review we initiated in March we have concluded that our own in-house service can deliver truly flexible services for vulnerable people enabling them to stay in their own homes.” This service will be based on delivering what Island people have said are their priorities – enabling them to live safely at home for as long as possible, with round the clock rapid response and expert home care. Firework safety and ensuring Noise and anti-social Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year displays are organised properly are behaviour and Diwali (a Hindu festival). issues which face the council and Most complaints received by • No-one may sell fireworks, government throughout the year, environmental health about except during defined periods especially on New Year’s Eve and fireworks relate to noise, and to of the year, unless they have a Guy Fawkes’ night. control this there are legal limits licence to do so. Department of Trade and on the levels permitted. To ensure Industry (DTI) figures showed you are not using fireworks that Useful websites that 1,141 people were injured by are too noisy, only buy those Explosive Industry Group: fireworks in 2005. marked BS7114. www.eig.org.uk Bill Berry, senior environmental The Fireworks Regulation 2004, UK Firework Safey: Be safe health practitioner, said: enforced by the police and trading www.fireworksafety.co.uk “Fireworks when used safely standards, includes a number of Department of Trade and and responsibly are fun, but provisions designed to cut the Industry: www.dti.gov.uk with your irresponsible use can lead anti-social effect of fireworks: Health and Safety Executive: to problems.