From Don Prescott, Ventnor:

I see the Isle of Wight Council is still jealously guarding its reputation as one of, if not the, most incompetent or corrupt, (depending on which satirical magazine one reads), councils in Britain.

Following on from its hugely successful financial involvement in ventures such as Cowes Enterprise College, Ecoisland, Ryde Interchange and PTEC Under the Ocean Turbines, to name but a few, it now plans to increase car parking charges in an economy that is almost totally dependent on tourism.

How refreshing, therefore, to read Ventnor Town Council will not be raising car parking charges in the town.

This is unsurprising bearing in mind that prior to the coup d’etat by the “infamous four” in 2009, the town precept was £56,000 in total, but now stands at £323,000, an increase of 476 per cent in nine years, thus maintaining its Parkinson’s Law attitude to “local” government, where not only does the work expand to fill the time available, but so does the budget and the number of people required to spend it.

It is also “consulting” on plans to pedestrianise most of the High Street and all of the Esplanade, which would, if approved, compel visitors and residents alike to use the car parks and no doubt lead to an increase in parking charges upon completion. Neat huh?

It is as though the Island is on a mission to self-destruct driven by the very people elected to do the opposite.