Dave Stewart was elected as leader of Isle of Wight Council in January this year. In May his Conservative group won 25 of the 40 Island council seats. Tom Stroud went to see him to talk business.
You’ve been leader for a little while now. Have things changed at County Hall?
They have for me. We have a Conservative led administration now, elected by the Island. The business community forms one of our key planks of work. One of our goals is to develop and enhance the economic regeneration of the Island. If we can increase the business community then that will increase income from business rates, which will ease our financial pressures which come in many forms. That means the wider community will benefit as well as the business community. The Island has significantly lower income from business rates than other authorities do because the Island is primarily residential, retired and tourist driven, although we do have a lot more businesses here than people appreciate. We’ll start planning next year’s budget in October and I will be working with our new MP to go to government and set out the Island case and ask them how they can help us and how we can help ourselves.
How are you going to handle those discussions? You are representing us – will you be fighting for the Wight, or going in with the begging bowl?
I don’t like the idea of going in with a begging bowl. I did tell the previous administration that the Secretary of State is not going to come here and write a £15 million cheque. You have to be a bit smarter in your approach. All local authorities are making their case to government and we have to make the strongest case. For me it’s about preparing evidence and establishing facts. We believe that being an Island makes us unique and disadvantages by around £6million compared to anywhere else in the country. We need to present a solution and ask for help with that transition. We also need to be seen to be helping ourselves and companies like Ascensos or Asda coming here will generate business interest. I want to get us away from the doldrums of “we’re in financial dire straits” and get into the positive mindset of “Isn’t it great to live here”.
What about future collaboration with the mainland? Along with Andrew Turner you walked away from the Solent Deal which would have brought together the Island, Portsmouth and Southampton in a mayoral authority. Is devolution dead?
We took a view and maintain the view that the Solent Deal didn’t meet the needs of the Island. There are many on the Island that don’t want a mayor controlled by Portsmouth or Southampton. The Island didn’t have an equal say and we could have been outvoted. I proposed a triple lock with all three of us agreeing equal funding but that became too difficult. That M27 corridor is going to suck in money and disadvantage us here on the Island. The other problem is that Hampshire, the biggest local authority in the area with a £2billion budget, wasn’t included. That’s not acceptable.
The potential of a devolution deal hasn’t been lost though. We already work closely with Southampton on acute health; we share a finance officer with Portsmouth and we work with Hampshire on our children’s services. I will be meeting all of those individual leaders in the next couple of months to revisit the issue.
Where does this authority sit on a Fixed Link?
I don’t know whether a fixed link would enhance the economy. It’s a Marmite subject and I’m taking a neutral position, informed by the facts. I’ve told the pro Fixed Link group that I’m happy to have a proper conversation but I haven’t formed a view. It also has to be costed against our priorities. With the Council finances being as they are I don’t think the Island population as a whole would welcome us putting public money into a feasibility study, so I’ve made it clear we won’t be doing that. Right now, building a fixed link is not a priority. It might be in due course. I would also say that it’s a much bigger conversation than just here on the Island; the people on the other side, in Gosport or Portsmouth will also have a view. Our role as a Council is to be the enabler of that conversation.
What about the problems with the Floating Bridge? That must be embarrassing?
It is embarrassing but it’s also a distraction. A number of people, particularly from East Cowes have made representations about the impact that it has had on businesses. I could respond by saying that the bridge isn’t a statutory requirement and you shouldn’t base your business on something that might not always be there in the future. Personally though I think the Floating Bridge is a very valuable asset to both East and West Cowes. I don’t think £1 is an expensive charge to cross that stretch of water and the reality is we have to make it self-funding because in 30 years we might need another one.
For now what we need is a bridge that functions properly and is fit for purpose and that is our priority. The previous administration ordered this new style bridge which will ultimately be paid for by £3million of money from the Solent LEP on the principle that we could enhance the local economy. The previous bridge had also reached its sell-by date. This administration will take responsibility for sorting out the snags and this situation. We owe it to the Island to have a proper review and we will have to explain to the LEP what has happened to their investment. I don’t want to blame individuals. It’s under my watch now and I want to put things right and learn from this.
How will this administration be different?
This administration set up a business advisory group, which advised us as a Conservative group before the election. The volunteered support from the business community gives us business acumen and you can debate the reasons that we don’t have that acumen fully within the Council – a reduction in officers, experience or capability, whatever. We also now have a Regeneration Team, led by Chris Ashman and he’s already proving his worth with a really good regeneration plan. The 600 new jobs at Ascensos has been in the pipeline for a while and I was one of the people that approved that project to go forward.
The fact is I have a four year brief as leader. That’s deliberate because you have to take tough decisions early on and you have to be able to show people the long term view. We have a much better strategic plan. That’s the “what” and the “how” will come with the support of our senior officers. It’s been interesting to be on the inside now, because I can access everything. We have some extremely good hard working staff who want to do a good job for the Island. We probably have some staff who are a bit apprehensive about our style – we like to get things done and not talk about things too much. Hopefully those staff will come on board. For some it won’t be their cup of tea and that will be their choice.
I think this Council needs to become business focused. It’s your and my money that is being invested in this Council to provide services and we need to do that as efficiently and as effectively as we can. We need to give the quality of customer service that the Island deserves and if we can grow the economy too then we will have achieved. For me business is everybody’s business.
