Dear Residents,

Due to adverse weather forecasted for tomorrow night, I have been advised by the Police, Environment Agency, and IW Council to reschedule the meeting. The Environment Agency had agreed to come to the meeting tomorrow night and will keep this commitment for the rescheduled meeting.

The next Ryde Appley and Elmfield Ward meeting will be rescheduled for next week but need to check room availability.

This is an important meeting as there has been significant developments/incidents in the Ward over the last month and your views and input are important. The below update will be the agenda for the meeting.

November Update

1. Flooding – Sadly residents on Rink and West Hill Roads experienced severe flooding last week. It is a priority to make sure residents are fully supported and answers are sought on why did the flood defences in place not work. See (click on) Flooding in the Ward and Action I am taking! | Michael Lilley I have put on line recent letters/emails I have sent to Environment Agency and IW Council. The flooding and torrential rain has meant Southern Water have released 8/9 of the 15 sewage overflows into the Solent and on Ryde/Appley beaches. This is very serious and I am taking up the issue with Southern Water and working with Surfers Against Sewage on a Ryde Water Charter strategy. Part of this is to get the Canoe Lake revitalised and rebuilt to be a proper Water Retention/Nature reserve that provides extra protection against flooding at esplanade side of the ward. Isle of Wight’s flood response under scrutiny as Councillor writes to Leader (onthewight.com)

2. Tidal Family Support on Rink Road – This wonderful charity supports some of the most vulnerable families on the Island and they were sadly also hit by the flooding. I am supporting a recovery plan for them including launching an emergency appeal for funds.

www.tidalfamilysupport.org.uk

3. West Acre Park Up-Date – The link – Taking IW Council to Judicial Review – West Acre Park (WAP) case progressing! | Michael Lilley provides a full update and currently residents are waiting for the High Court to grant permission for the case to proceed.

4. The need to establish a residents association -Ryde Appley and Elmfield Residents’ Association (see attached) – Increasingly issues in the ward of about 3800 residents are proving the need for the ward to have a residents’ association. A residents’ Association would giving a stronger voice to people in the ward. The recent flooding and the WAP case show that residents are not being fully listened and do not have control on what is happening whether it is the managing of flood defences, large planning applications where the objections of local residents are ignored or sewage being released on to ward beaches.

5. Late night Anti-Social Behaviour on High Park Road and Dog Fouling – I am liaising with the police on this issue with local police, Environmental Health and other agencies. If you see dog fouling on street please report it to Island Roads – info@islandroads.com and they will come out and clean it. Children going to school often end up walking in it. Please contact me on Michael.lilley@iow.gov.uk if you have any information about this current behaviour.

6. Traffic Regulation Orders and Consultations – Currently there is a consultation (near to end) regarding Appley Rise Ampthill Road and Appley Rise, Ryde (iow.gov.uk) and I am working with residents on traffic issues at top of East Hill.

7. St. Mary’s School – I am still keeping a close eye on the recent threatened closure of the school and the current situation is IW Council are reviewing the whole School Place Plan but not doing this until a new Director of Children’s Services is appointed. I am liaising with the school closely, the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, and parents/governors. I will keep you posted.

8. Appley Tower Heritage Project is progressing and the restoration work will start in November and take 16 weeks so they Tower will be open in 2024. See: Appley Tower :: Natural Enterprise The Tower will be 150 years old in 2025 and there are planned celebrations.

9. Pennyfeathers – The date for an appeal to the refusal by IW Planning Committee to the Reserved Matters Application has now passed and the out-line planning permission is now out-of-date. It is viewed that if the landowners wish to proceed now with a large development they will have to start from scratch.

Please see my letter/email to IW Council and other agencies Flooding in the Ward and Action I am taking! | Michael Lilley where I make the following statement:

“Moratorium of all future large developments in Ryde South East until proper infrastructure in place – Residents in my ward have for many years spoken and shouted about the lack of joined up thinking in the improvement and development of Ryde East/South (Wards Ryde Appley and Elmfield and Ryde South-East). This area is simply on a hill with the highest points of Ryde on High Park Road and at the other end the lowest at Ryde Esplanade and Ryde/Appley Beaches. In extreme rain, Monkton Mead overflows and surface water from rooftops and on roads simply pours down the hill, this overflows the drainage/sewage system, homes are flooded, and  you see raw sewage on the beaches and floating down the streets. There is in my view a total blindness of planners and developers in understanding that building large estates at the top of the hill is going to increase the risk of flooding and pollution. We need urgently to take a step back and review the Ryde Place Plan and review the realities of climate change (wild weather and high tides) and the environmental consequences on the lives of our residents and homes in Ryde. Southern Water has been calling for all new developments to be future proofed and major water retention and drainage schemes be urgently part of any future Island Plan. I believe the huge Pennyfeathers (900 plus houses) development has now fallen and this land at present has no planned development. Westridge Farm/West Acre Park (472 houses) is currently being considered for Judicial Review (action taken by Ryde Appley and Elmfield residents). Ryde Town Council recently passed a recent motion calling for no large developments to proceed whether they had planning permission or not until there was an adequate road infrastructure in place and this should be implemented and delivered prior to any building work started. I urgently ask that this is extended to the environmental and climate change realties of increased torrential rain and inadequate drainage and sewage systems. Ryde cannot be continually developed until we “fix” current issues and have a proper joined up thinking development plan.

Look forward to seeing you in future. I am particularly reaching out to residents affected by the flooding over the past week.

Please do regular click on my website as I do post regularly www.michaellilley.uk

Lastly please can I praise Cllr Tom Hanley (Ryde Town Council) and his wife, Caroline, for all their sterling work in talking and supporting residents on Rink Road and West Hill Road over the last week.  

Best wishes

Michael

Cllr Michael Lilley – Ryde Appley and Elmfield – www.michaellilley.uk