Author: Sal
Successful Meeting For IW Representatives With Ed Miliband
Thursday, 15th October, 2009 at 9:26 pm, Isle of Wight
Green Issues, Isle of Wight Council, News, Overseas, Politics, Vestas Sit-In
As we reported earlier today, a contingent of Isle of Wight representatives made their way to Westminster today to talk to Ed Miliband about the prospect of creating more green jobs on the Isle of Wight.
Our many thanks to Newport Cllr Geoff Lumley for taking the time this evening to give us an update on how the meeting went.
Geoff has been pretty active in making sure that his voice is heard by the movers and shakers in Government, calling for action to support the Island’s social and economic regeneration following the significant job losses at Vestas Blades.
He told us that Mr Miliband is clearly keen to get alternative green jobs onto the Island which is very positive news.
He went onto say that development of tidal energy in the Solent, and a scheme for ‘rotawave’ technology, potentially delivering at least 300 Island jobs, will be subject to further urgent Government expert investigation. This will be prior to any support grants being made available, but this is definately promising news for the future.
Mr Miliband also told the IW contingent that he would look into Government support to upgrade some of the available wharfage on the Medina River. Geoff points out that this is something integral to much of the renewables agenda, so again, good news for the Island.
Interestingly, Geoff tells us that Mr Miliband was quizzical about the Island’s absence of any onshore windfarm, stressing this had been real niggle for Vestas when they decided to shut down blade production.
The Secretary of State for Climate Change also told the contingent that he’s keen to be kept in the picture about possible offshore blade production that has recently come into the picture, an opportunity with the potential for 1000 jobs.
It appears that Ed Miliband was very supportive and took the time to thank Geoff afterwards for keeping him well advised on the post-Vestas situation.
Hats off to Cllr Lumley who helped make sure the meeting took place.
Here at VB, we’ll be keeping an eye of what happens next.
Image: Foreign Office under CC BY-SA 2.0
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Sounds like a good meeting. Interestingly, if Vestas was ‘niggled’ at the lack of progress regarding on-shore wind farms for the Island, I wonder how they feel about protestors trying to hound them out of business? Hopefully not niggled enough to decide to abandon the Island altogether.
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Obviously not. However it does mean that the Council needs to approve the application at Cheverton.
In case anyone didn’t know the application is live again as there has been a further revised application. So just in case you haven’t written a letter of support previously this is now another opportunity to do so.
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[...] VentnorBlog also has an account of how the meeting went: [...]
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It was a great pity the Isle of Wight Liberal Democrat Councillors were not invited, even though Reg Barry was the person who suggested having an all party delegation to meet the Minister back in August. We are the only party that has come out publicly in support of the onshore wind turbines on the Island. Let’s hope the planning applications for both Cheverton and Ventnor are supported by the Council.
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Sorry Jill, but jumping on a passing bandwagon just doesn’t cut it! Back in October 2006 the Council Labour Group announced their support for the Wellow wind turbine application. At the Planning Committee that month then Liberal councillor Henry Adams was one of the 13 who unanimously rejected the application.
A case of “just because we make them here doesn’t mean we have to put them up here” – Cllr John Howe, Liberal, July 2009.
Still I agree with your hopes for the Cheverton Down and Ventnor applications.
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In the 2001 General Election campaign I was the only candidate from the three main parties who supported wind turbines on the Island. The then Lib Dem MP was very much against them.
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jill seems to be jumping on any bandwagon lately!!!!
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I think Jill is bold to publicly support onshore wind turbines. She lives close to the Cheverton site and will be more affected by it than most, so I doubt it’s been a trivial decision to come out in support, or a case of simply “jumping on a bandwagon”.
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I agree with Wendy.
Good for Jill, even if she thought differently in the past. The world would be a better place if more politicians were prepared to change their minds more often!
And good for any politiican of whatever party who does something good, whether it’s Geoff Lumley or Jill Wareham (or even the Conservatives, many of whose policies I otherwise disagree with).
Climate change and energy security are too important to be kicked about in party political football.
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The “too important to be kicked around in Party political football” argument might be ok if Jill Wareham wasn’t trying to make it a party issue by saying (it seems wrongly) that the Lib Dems are the only party on the Island to support wind turbines!
I think it is a bit of a con to very suddenly support turbines when she did nothing to encourage their use when she was a senior member of the Council, and didn’t support them in May but did when there was a high profile sit-in in July! Perhaps I am cynical, but I don’t see it as a welcome change of heart but rather an eye on a vote….
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I still think it takes guts to be a YIMBY (yes in my back yard) when it really is so close to home and there’s plenty of “anti” feeling locally (many homes in Brighstone and Shorwell still display ThWART “No giant wind turbines on Cheverton Down” placards).
I know how contentious it has been/still is at local level. I think most politicians would want to continue to duck it in their own back yard. (I’m not a member of any political party and, like Rowan, would like them all to rise above party politics on this one.)
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Jill W mentioned her views on wind turbines in the CP letters page on 2 October. Just realised it was included in the online edition:
http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/letters/change-of-mind-on-turbines-missed-point-of-story-28885.aspx
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Heres the CPs version of the meeting
http://www.iwcp.co.uk/news/news/hopes-high-after-meeting-over-green-jobs-29203.aspx.
spot the difference
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Their report is based on the IWC press release.
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This was a very tricky ishoo for Jill when she was trying to become iw councillor for Brighstone just a few short months ago.
Back then she surely couldn’t hope to get elected supporting these monstrosities? Once she lost the local election she put her Liberal general election candidate hat on and threw her support behind wind turbines! Politicians, dontcha just love ‘em?
New day, new policy.
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