Northwood House, Cowes

Friendly · Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 15

I think someone is right, by shutting the house down as unsafe the council can now say it is not making a profit and is a drain on their finances so they can force the issue of the sale. The fact that the last chair allowed the trust take over to be delayed so long that this has now become a major problem is sad factor to the whole thing. There is no news about this matter being brought before the council and no mention of a plan to hault the collapse. Nothing is being said about what the trust plans to do about it or when they will be taking over. All that seems to be happening is the house is falling down and no one seems to be doing anything about it. Where are all the people that claimed to care?????

Wight Portal · Joined: 17 Sep 2009 Posts: 89 Location: Carisbrooke

Are we going to let this:

Become something like this:

Actually Appuldurcombe does get more use.

Felix · Joined: 17 Dec 2009 Posts: 7

Yes it is sad but true that due to a failure of some sort the house is now closed to public functions as the floor above the bar area is collapsing. I hear that English Heritage are currently investigating the true nature of the problem and the outcome of their investigations is soon to be made known. The biggest concern that the full condition survey carried out in 2008 failed to address this as a major problem and although it did spot a problem in the room above it failed to correctly identify the cause as only assumed it was due to subsidence and didn’t stress any urgency in resolving this problem, so its possible that this neglect is due to being wrongly advised by their appointed surveyor. It would be very interesting to see what other areas of concern these so called surveyors failed to spot or give correct advice on action to be taken.

The rumour circulating at the moment and trust me when I say it is nothing more than a muttering of a rumour within the council but the person behind the company (Viyella) that wants to manage and restore Northwood is putting together a separate proposal independent to their main proposal to part fund these works in order to ensure the building does not suffer any further structural failure. If this rumour does have any bases if truth then its hopeful that the council will have the foresight to take them up on this and fund the other half of the work. So ears to the ground people, I will keep you all posted as soon as I hear something.

Yes Liz Mackenzie has gone as chairwoman and not before time, this was actually announced in the County Press back in early February and I was surprised no one on here picked up on it. The biggest bit of good news is that the new chair will give all proposals full and fair consideration and does not seem to be lead by aspiration or career goals. Liz is still a trustee I hear but I don’t think her influence or the fact she is influenced by the council will have any bearings on the houses future, and its believed that the new chair favours the management proposal over a long lease as it will allow the trust to retain an active role in the houses future. Promising stuff I am sure you will all agree, so I write this with positive feelings and hope.

On the subject of the lease, I was surprised to hear from a friend at the council that after carefully deliberation it is believed that the option of a long leasehold sale is not possible. He wasn’t able to tell me any more than that but what it does mean is that any of the parties that have so far come forward with long lease proposals will have to reconsider them and maybe have to pull out due to the fact that it is no longer possible for them to achieve their desired returns or values under s short lease. I have not been able to read the entire deed of gift so I have no idea what these implications are or how they propose to get round it, but again it does add more weight to the management proposal of Viyella.

I am still looking into the parties that have so far come forward and expressed an interest in Northwood House, as you would expect with property developers, they’re not forthright with information and rarely publishes what they are doing or have done in the past. I have manage to stumble upon a few interesting facts about this Viyella company and once I have looked into these I will glad post my findings on here.

So keep your ears to the ground, remember to keep posting your thoughts, questions and information on here please please try and attend the council meetings.

Felix

Northwood People · Joined: 10 Dec 2009 Posts: 9

So is that it? We just sit and wait? Still no clearer on a time scale? No clearer on when the trust will take over control of the house? Still no clearer as to when a proposal will be accepted? Still no clearer on what is being done now to save the house? Still no clearer on anything are we.

You know if it wasn’t for this forum no one out there would have an idea about what is happening with Northwood House, but even here no one has any idea what is going to happen to Northwood House.

It would seem that the Viyella Proposal is the only option, they could come in now, while the trust and the council are sorting out their own petty issues and save the house, get it earning money again. At least if they did something, maybe then more parties would come forward as it would be more appealing to more businesses.

As it stands the house is just sat there rotting away year after year, if they allowed Viyella to manage it even under the appointment of the council then they could do more to save this house. I know of about 30 people that would be willing to roll up their sleeves and chip in with the work, cleaning, painting and many other tradesmen willing to give up their free time to help them save this house.

Think about it, either allow the process to run its course for 6months 6 years and see this house decay further and soon beyond economical repair or allow a party to step in while this process runs it course and take steps to preserve so at the end of all these council and trustees deliberations there will still be something there worth saving.

Not rocket science is it?

newcowesman · Joined: 07 Dec 2009 Posts: 18

You know that is not a bad idea.

I cant see any reason why that couldnt happen, it makes total sense and would allow the trust and the council more time to resolve all their issues and get their houses in order without the worry or burden of the house itself.

Why cant they do this?

Wight Portal · Joined: 17 Sep 2009 Posts: 89 Location: Carisbrooke

Friendly · Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 15

This was taken from a meeting held at Cowes Town Council held on the 3rd Feb, it doesnt say much but will give you an idea of the agenda of the next meeting, please note that this address was made before Liz Mackenzie stepped down as chair

Councillor Thwaites reported that Mrs. McKenzie, the Chairman of the Northwood House Trustees
had addressed Northwood Parish Council to outline the issues and developments surrounding
Northwood House, to clarify the role of the Trustees and the I.W. Council and to outline the interest
shown by Cowes Town Council. Members of the Parish Council had shown considerable interest and
had expressed a desire to assist the Cowes Town Council in their endeavours; this interest had been
welcomed by the Trustees.
Councillor Thwaites also reported that following recent discussions with the I.W. Council it had been
agreed that future bookings for large events would be temporarily suspended while essential
maintenance works were carried out; the Registrar and caretaking functions would continue as normal
and rooms would remain available for meetings requiring only light refreshment. Use of the
Community Hall and grounds would be unaffected.
Councillor Thwaites stated that regarding her position as a Town Councillor and its nominated
Trustee relative to the Town Council sub committee tasked with identifying ways of assisting the
Trust, she had been advised that she would always have a personal interest to declare and on
occasions a prejudicial interest and that these must always be declared at the relevant time.
Councillor Wells stated that the Town Council sub committee referred to by Councillor Thwaites had
met; they had collated a series of questions for the I.W. Council and for the Trustees. A paper
regarding Northwood House that was to be submitted to the February meeting of the I.W. Council
Cabinet had been withdrawn and would now be submitted to the March meeting allowing time for a
response to the proposals made within that paper. The sub group had agreed to arrange a meeting
with leading I.W. Councillors to ascertain how the I.W. Council wished to proceed and to determine
how the Town Council might be able to assist in a potential role of Custodian Trusteeship; the sub
group would meet again following the meeting with the I.W. Council.

Next Town Council meeting is Wednesday 3rd March to be held at Medina Room, Northwood House commencing at 7:00pm

Please all, try and attend

Wight Portal · Joined: 17 Sep 2009 Posts: 89 Location: Carisbrooke

Oh, so that meeting was held so they could fix a date for another meeting, mean while the house is falling down.

Councils are normally quick to pass the buck onto someone else.
For God's sake give the house to the trustees let them sort it out do or die, they carry the can if it all goes pear shaped. There sorted!!!!!!!

Felix · Joined: 17 Dec 2009 Posts: 7

Yes the Wight Portal is another useful forum to spread the
word, but sadly even on there like here on a couple of people
feel strongly enough to post. Over the past 2 years I have found
that a great many people have an opinion on Northwood House
but only a few are willing to voice that opinion and even less are
willing to turn their words into action.

It has been like this for as long as I can remember, so if you want
to ask how the council have been allowed to get away with this
for so long, then its because we let them and allowed them to
without question. The Northwood debacle has been running a number
of years, I think it is only stimulating public opinions because it seems
to all that know of it to be left to rot and despite the promise of a
brighter future for it, nothing actually seems to have been done,
and in truth we are no nearer a resolution now than we were
6 years ago.

The Isle of Wight Council just see it as a white elephant and would
like to release themselves of the burden, so handing control of it to
the trust seems like the best way. But before they can do the trust
has to prove they are in a position to take it on and thanks to
Liz Mackenzie’s backtracking and pettiness over the past 2 years
this process is now 2 years behind so in truth it would appear that
the trust are now no closer to taking charge than they were in 2006
when they were first formed. You have to analyse the logic of handing
over control of a dilapidated house needing £3million pounds worth
of repairs and costing around £65,000 a year to run and now in a state
where it can no longer earn that income to a trust with no funding and
not in a position to trade as they’re a charity. I am not saying the trust
shouldn’t have control of the house, I just think the council should offer
them a support package to start off with to ensure they can hit the
ground running and not fail.

As for Cowes Town Council, well this is a source of great amusement to
me. Yes I can see the logic in them becoming custodian for the deed,
its in their district and they collect the precept for it so you would think
for that reason alone, it makes good sense. The question I ask and it
has also been asked on here is- why now? Why after all these years of
allowing the house to fall into disrepair do they want to take on the role
of custodian but offer no clear resolution as to what they propose to do
beyond that point. What can they do that the IoW Council cant do?
The IoW Council has more funding and more resources, rather than
Cowes pushing to take control, should they not be pushing for more
action? They after all are much better place than us or any trustee to
make those demands. As much as I see the logic in their paper to take
control of the deed, I don’t see what benefit it will bring, I would much
rather see the IoW Council support the trust a little bit more and help
them to conclude this take over set them up so 5 years from now we
are not in this same position because the trust failed as it seems they
are being set up to do so from the start.

What would happen if the trust fails? Well the controlling council could
then apply to the charity commission to have the trust disbanded and
then apply to alter the deed of gift to have the house sold. Simple as
that, problem solved for all concerned! But until that happens what is
in it for the councils fighting over control? The fact is that if the house is
sold off on a longish lease then it will be sold for about £1 so not much
in it for anyone is there. The IoW Council get this financial drain off their
books and so freeing up capital and resources to put into other things
(good enough reason for me), and if the trust fails and they get the
house back then they can blame the trust and say they have no option
and sell the house, it seems win win for them either way,. The house is
just sat there so dragging out even longer wont hurt them too much and
they currently have the cushion of being able to say that they are
negotiations with the trust and are working to a conclusion to ensure
a brighter future for the house (PR is a wonderful thing isn’t it?).

Now Cowes Town Council seems a little more dubious to me, what is in
it for them? Well plenty! I have posted a link to the paper below, click
on that and have a read and then apply it to my interpretation. When I
say my interpretation I mean the interpretation of many within the Isle
of Wight Council and many others I have spoken to connected to
Northwood House.

What Cowes Town Council are proposing is a form of management of the
house and grounds, that is they will collect and manage all income from
car park and lodge until such time as the trust is able to take over.
At the moment all money collected from the car park and rent from the
lodge is going into the coffers of IoWC, they claim that the £110,000
a year earned from the car park is being eaten up by the maintenance
of the grounds and the rent from the lodge is lost in the buildings up
keep. As pointed out on here earlier, £110,000 a year for up keep, its
hardly Kew Gardens is it? As for the upkeep, well the registrars office
don’t pay rent but they do have a budget for heating and utilities costs,
so as nothing seems to of been spent on the house where is the rest of
the money going? A point raised in the Cowes paper is that the trust is
a charity and can only collect 25% of its income so it will continue to
take over the collection and distribution of this income until the trust
takes over. This would mean another £120,000 a year income for Cowes
Town Council and if they carry on distributing it in the same way as the
IoWC then there is a good chance that some filtering off this income into
other areas of the council would go largely unnoticed as it is currently.
When the trust takes over they can continue to collect this income and
distribute it on behalf of the trust after their costs have been deducted,
such as their accounting fees, council officers fees etc, so we would
expect maybe about £35,000 a year at the very very most being made
available to the trust to cover the houses running costs. Again if the
house fails because the trust can not afford to run it, it will be sold as
mentioned above.

As Cowes are in charge of the purse strings no doubt they will want a say
in who does the work or even be the ones who appoint the contractors
, so no doubt Jeff Banks as a council appointed contractor will always be
top of the list, and in other cases, kick backs to councillors from
contractors have been known to take place.

So what’s in it for Cowes Town Council? Well increased income by
£120,000 a year, an excuse to raise the precept to over £12 per
resident and free rain to appoint who they want to do what they want
on the house. If the house fails then as deed holder they get the
proceeds of the sale and I bet you your bottom dollars that if the
house is sold, the precept will remain at the increased rate. Answer
to that question; plenty!

If they do get control then the Viyella proposal is dead in the water as
the town council are already managers, so the only offer on the table
are the hotel and care home operators, very clever aren’t they? It
would seem that the town council have seen the Viyella proposal,
seen the benefits it offers and thought, if we did it our way we could
benefit rather than the house. Also, the party they took upon
themselves to introduce and show round will be awarded the lease
and I imagine he will need a builder?? Enter Jeff Banks and company!!!!!!

I know it might seem like I am trying to play a conspiracy theory card
here, but read the paper and look at the facts and see it for yourself,
obviously the town council will not word it like this but, we all know them
and have seen nothing in the past that will tell us otherwise. I think there
is too much at stake here to allow the Town Council to take control of the
deed, they have promised nothing more for the house, only to carry on
as the IoWC have been for all this time, so ask yourself, what is the
point? Why not let the IoWC carry on until the trust takes over, lets see
Cowes Town Council offer support rather than do all it can to get its
hands on Cowes largest and most profitable car park, lets allow the trust
decide who manages it, not Cowes Town Council.

So what can we do, well attend the meeting voice your objections and tell
your friends, get their support, you can do more and you should be
doing more, tell people about this forum, get them to post their opinions,
it was the opinions posted on here that instigated Liz Mackenzie’s
departure as chair of the trust so you can make the difference.

Northwood needs your support, it needs you to rally everyone you know,
it needs you to voice how you feel at the IoWC and TCC meetings, it
needs you to voice on here and the Wight Portal, don’t let them rob you
of the precept and rob you of this house. As my new friend Chorlton on
the Wight Portal said “this country made a stand in the 80’s, the Iron
Lady fought that stand off and since then we as a nation of fighters seem
to of given up” . The was once a passion and spirit that made this
country great, Britannia once ruled the waves, now it seems apathy
rules, its only a small step for such a small house, but it’s the first step
and a step in the right direction.

Come on People!

http://www.cowestowncouncil.co.uk/Documents/Minutes/20091215.pdf

Friendly · Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 15

Well said, I'm with you, who else is??

Ok sorry i need to amend my last post.

The next town council meeting is Wednesday 7th April 2010 to be held at the Medina Room, Northwood House commencing at 7:00pm (19:00)

The next Isle of Wight Council cabinet meeting is 30th March 2010 to start at 6pm (18:00) and is to be held at County Hall, in Commitee room 1

Please all try and attend, if what Felix wrote above meant anything to you, if you want to prove him wrong and show we care and are will to make a stand and do something about it, tell your friends and turn up to these meeting

Thank you

Wight Portal · Joined: 17 Sep 2009 Posts: 89 Location: Carisbrooke

Felix, what have you done???

I've been trying to get on the Town Council site for the last half hour, but it keeps timing out.
Is the whole Island trying to read the minutes you posted about?

Or haven't they paid their hosting company this month?

Let's hope it's the first, but move over someone 'cos I wanna read!

Update::

Oh! What a shame it's not just them, but the whole Council server is down.

Northwood People · Joined: 10 Dec 2009 Posts: 9

Here is a cut and paste of the report for all those who couldn't get on the council web site to see it

COWES TOWN COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting of the COWES TOWN COUNCIL held at Northwood House, Cowes on Tuesday, 15th
December, 2009 at 7.00 p.m.
Present: Councillor Wells (Town Mayor) (Chairman)
Councillors Banks, Hammond, Jones, McGregor, Matthews, Mazillius, Peacey-Wilcox,
Sanderson, Slade, Thwaites and Walters.
6281 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies for absence were received from Councillors Birch, Deacon and Wilcox.
Apologies for absence due to conflicting I.W. Council meetings were also received from I.W. Councillors
Brown and Fuller.
6282 QUESTIONS FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC
An opportunity was given for members of the public to ask questions but none were asked..
6283 NORTHWOOD HOUSE
(Councillor Thwaites, being a Northwood House Trustee, declared a personal and prejudicial interest in this
item and she left the meeting at 7.05p.m.).
The Town Mayor commenced by giving a brief history in respect of Northwood House and the grounds; this
listed building was bequeathed in trust to the Urban District Council of Cowes by Deed of Gift in 1929
although no financial provision was made for it. For many years the Trustee of the House and grounds was
the Local Authority – originally Cowes Urban District Council, then Medina Borough Council and finally
the I.W. Council. For some time the Local Authority used the house for offices and more recently installed
the Registrar’s Office within the building. Northwood House and grounds were gifted to Cowes Urban
District Council in two separate parts; the House for Council purposes and the Grounds for the benefit of the
residents and visitors to Cowes.
The Isle of Wight Council had operated as the sole Trustee in accordance with its rights under the Deed of
Gift; however, it was decided that a Charitable Trust needed to be set up and Northwood House Trust was
formed in 2002 with members of the public as Managing Trustees. The Trust draws managing trustees by
nomination from Cowes Town Council, The Community Partnership, The Friends of Northwood House and
the IW Council. For some years an elected representative from the IW Council was a Trustee but that was
not the case at the present time. The new Trust Scheme dated the 31st July 2002 changed the governing
document, the Deed of Gift, as follows:
1. Northwood House and Offices shall be used for such other charitable purposed as the trustees from
time to time think fit and the trustees shall apply income received from such purposes towards the
preservation and restoration of Northwood House and Offices for the benefit of the public
2. The words “for the inhabitants of and visitors to Cowes and of any district which may at any time
hereafter be joined to and form part of Cowes in clause (2) replaced with “for the inhabitants of and
visitors to Isle of Wight preference being given to inhabitants and visitors to Cowes”
Since the legal establishment of the Trust the role of the Local Authority (currently the I.W. Council) was
that of Custodian Trustee; they held the title deeds of the property but had no responsibility for the
management or for the upkeep of the House or grounds. That responsibility was the role of the managing
trustees. The I.W. Council has however run the Park Road Car Park for the Trustees and also collected the
rent for Park Lodge because the Charity cannot collect more than 25% of its income itself. The Council has
applied these funds to the maintenance of the House and the Grounds although when this has been
exhausted the Council has also contributed its own funds for these purposes.
The Town mayor stated that because of an ongoing lack of investment where only emergency repair work
had been carried out, the House was now in a serious condition of dilapidation and some structural
instability; the grounds were generally tidy but there was work that needed to be carried out. The recent
condition survey indicated the need for an immediate investment of £491,000 to bring the House to a safe
place and a further £3 million to bring it up to a fully usable standard. There was therefore some urgency to
move things forward before a critical position was reached.
Currently the Trust comprised 5 members; it was not permitted as a Charitable Trust to trade and it had no
regular income to enable it to function in an effective way although there were income streams that could be
made available to it. The Trust had limited capacity within its current membership to function or to bring
forward plans for the future of the House and it did not have the funds to seek the necessary professional
advice. The IW Council was currently the Custodian Trustee; they held the title deeds to the House but had
no legal responsibility to maintain either the grounds or the House itself. However, it continued to support
the Trust by utilising money from the Park Road car park, which was in the ownership of the Trust to
continue to maintain the upkeep of the grounds and to carry out emergency repairs to the House. The Park
Road car park was considered by both the I.W. Council and Cowes Town Council to be of strategic
importance to Cowes and both bodies would wish to see it retained. There was also limited income from the
Church Lodge, a tenanted house in the grounds of the park which was in the ownership of the estate. The
I.W. Council also had the Registrar’s Office based in the House but no rent was currently paid on the basis
that restoration works to the office suite were paid for by the I.W. Council which was a function permitted
by the Deed of Gift. The IW Council was therefore, as a beneficiary of income and use of facilities,
compromised in the attempt to disengage itself from the operational side of Northwood House. Cowes
Town Council had little involvement in the House; historically it had gone along with the premise that it
was the responsibility of the I.W. Council along with the Trust to determine the future of the House.
There was a compelling argument, because of the strong local interest, for a local democratically based body
to have a more active part in the future of the House. Cowes Town Council could take on the role of
Custodian Trustee and therefore would be enabled to work alongside the Trust to assist them as they
consider the future of the House. It was a body that could trade and therefore take on the responsibility for
the car park in Park Road and the income from the Church Lodge passing the funds to the Trust thus
enabling an immediate income stream for the House. The role of Custodian Trustee would not impose
liability on the Council; the main liability for the House rested with the Managing Trustees.
The Town Mayor stated that long term a commercial solution was the only real way forward to ensure that
the House remained the treasured asset that it was to the community, to the wider Island and to visitors to
Cowes. There were currently several expressions of interest to take the property on a long lease which
could result in major investment to restore and possibly expand the House; under some of these proposals
the grounds could remain open for public use.
The Town Mayor believed that the I.W. Council, as a beneficiary of income and use of facilities, was
compromised in their attempt to disengage themselves from the operational side of Northwood House.
He would like to establish a small sub group of Town Council members with specific skills to assist the
Trust in unravelling some of the anomalies. The group could consider whether some form of short term
financial assistance was appropriate and whether there was merit in the Town Council taking on the role of
Custodian Trustee from the I.W. Council to provide a sense of local accountability.
Following much general discussion it was
RESOLVED
That the Town Council establishes a sub group comprising the Town Mayor and Councillors Banks,
Hammond, Matthews, Slade and Walters to scrutinize and report back to the Town Council regarding the
following:
· All legal implications – seeking appropriate legal advice as necessary
· A clarification of the income and expenditure accounts for the House and grounds covering a
two year period
· A formal input from the Trustees as to how they perceive the future for Northwood House
and its grounds and what they consider should be the role of the Town Council
prior to the Town Council further considering whether or not they should take on the role of Custodian
Trustee from the I.W. Council.
(The proceedings terminated at 8.20pm)
CHAIRMAN

Wight Portal · Joined: 17 Sep 2009 Posts: 89 Location: Carisbrooke

When and why was it decided that the Trust should not be allowed to trade and only allowed to collect 25% of any income?

How stupid is that, that a charity can't earn an income. To restore this house is going to be expensive no matter what, but the biggest cost as in all building projects, labour is where the majority of money goes.

Here's an idea give the Trust the ability to trade. This will then get the attention of anyone who is likely to put a few grants their way. English Heritage for one might be more inclined to get involved.
To bring in income and I'm pretty sure English Heritage already do this, sell restoration courses. There's people out there who love learning about this sort of stuff. You then have cheap labour and are gaining income.

Friendly · Joined: 09 Dec 2009 Posts: 15

I am not sure how the trust is set up as a charity but there are
lots of ways a charity can trade, just type into google “how can
charities trade” and you get over 5000 answers so if you ask me
that’s just an excuse to push this paper. The trust is more than
capable and able of trading, I think its more a case of the council
thinking we’re stupid and trying to sell us an idea of what is best
for the house. I have read the paper before Felix posted his views
and thought just as he did and I wasn’t the only one.

I am starting to feel a little insulted by our elected members and the
fact that they feel its ok for them to do as they please as they know
best and in the name of what is best for us. Here is something for t
hem to realise, we are given the right to vote as we’re over a certain
age where the law considers us to be adults, so with that adult
responsibility we go to the polling stations and vote for these
people. Now if we’re seen as adults and adult enough to take the
responsibility to vote, how about they start treating us as adults?

Charities can trade, just go down your high street and see how many
charity shops you see, they can hold events to raise money, up to 14
a year at Northwood House before they have to start applying for
permission, things like car boot sales, village fairs and even open up
part of the house for coffee mornings. I think the problem here is no
one at the council wants to do it as it wont benefit them and only a few
of the trustees have the time to do it themselves as they have other jobs
and businesses. If you ask me the trust taking over was a great idea,
but I am starting to feel that is where the good ideas ended and from
that point on nothing more has been decided. I think the trustees must
now act, they must sit down and decide a way forward rather than allow
matters to be put on hold and diluted any further. Enough is enough, its
time for the trust to act and not allow outsiders such as the Town Council
to side track issue any more.

newcowesman · Joined: 07 Dec 2009 Posts: 18

Since I started this thread back in December last year it has had
73 replies and as I write this 5747 people have read it and it has
now extended to 5 pages long, that is pretty impressive. The trouble
I have is that other than the few that followed this thread from the
Northwood Village Forum and joined in here, not many others have
joined in. Cllr Matthews only got involved because the word crook was
used and that was more a case of his own self defence and to unfairly
attack people for voicing their opinions and not attending a meeting
they knew nothing about. Nick Duffill came on here to sell his case and
say nothing of the 50 bed care home he plans to build on the site.

When I first got involved with this site it was because that I like many
people I know in the area feel very strongly about the house, we have
watched the council neglect it and we have all seen it crumble, now for
that I feel partly responsible for allowing it to happen and not doing
more sooner. That is why I started this thread, the Northwood Village
Forum opened my eyes to many issues and it was the first time
someone had come forward and said what is actually going on. Sadly
because Liz Mackenzie didn’t like the things that people were saying
all be it true, she had the site closed and our voices silenced, that is
until now.

This forum does work, it has worked, it is getting the attention of the
people that matter. Liz Mackenzie was asked to step down as a result
of the postings on here. Cowes Town Council have taken note that a
management solution would be the best solution for the house and is
what the people would prefer to see. Sadly they have tried to capitalise
on this have suggested a management plan simply for their own gain
and so they can get their hands on the car park and any other income
the house might bring in. It would seem that the County Press and the
people want the Viyella Proposal and the town council has seen it as a
great idea, that is why they put forward their own paper and failed to
mention Viyella as one of the interested parties in it. I guess if you
don’t present an alternative then people will assume there is no
alternative and the town council gets its way.

I am pleased Ann Thwaites got the job as chair, because of her role as
trustee she wasn’t able to attend that meeting and I guess she had no
part to play in the drafting of the paper, I just hope that she stands up
to her colleagues at the town council. At the end of the day its down to
the trust to decide who does what, they are in the position to take
charge now, they just need a plan of action and they need to get things
going, they should now take it upon them selves to decide who does
what and what goes where. It is the trust who is best placed to make
a difference.

I now believe that this whole island is ruled by apathy, people say they
care, they even voice how they feel to any one who will listen but when
it comes down to action, no one can really be bothered, we need more
people to voice their views on here, we need more people to attend the
council meetings and abject when they need to object and present facts
when facts are needed. You voted for these councils, just voting is not
enough, you have to follow and you have to guide, if no one tells the
people in power otherwise they will assume its ok for them to carry on
as they wish and if you are going to allow that then you wasted your own
time voting.

We could be doing more, we should be doing more, we can be doing
more.