ISLANDERS will not like the Solent Deal because it is not a good deal, according to Isle of Wight Conservative councillors.
Responding to Independent claims they had opposed plans for a super council between the Isle of Wight, Southampton and Portsmouth for political reasons, the group this week made public a briefing paper detailing their concerns.
In it, the paper’s author Cllr Stuart Hutchinson, suggests the £900 million, based on an anticipated £30 million a year for 30 years, would not be as useful as first thought.
He said the money was not to be used to fund existing services already under strain, such as Adult Social Care, but the new responsibilities taken on by the new authority from government and "we do not know what the basis of the sharing will be."
The new authority’s added responsibilities could even lead to an increase in Council Tax, he warned.
He raised queries over the way business rates will be divided up among the three authorities and how much the Isle of Wight will benefit.
This is despite previous assurances that the IW will receive top ups from Portsmouth and Southampton as part of the deal, and his own recognition the Isle of Wight would have to rely on business rate retention from 2020 onwards instead of government grants.
Turning to Cllr Bacon's claims of 10,000 new jobs and economic growth, Cllr Hutchinson said the plans read like an advertisement..