Talking Council

Talking Council, was until March 23rd 2020 a weekly show which brings members of the Isle of Wight Council team into the Vectis Radio Studio for a question and answer session, now it’s an even more vital source of information, albeit remotely.

Delivering local services is a complicated subject at the best of times, and many people jump to the wrong conclusions, often assuming that if something is wrong or broken that it has to be the council’s responsibility so even more important to use us to get vital messages out to the community, as well as taking your questions, we’ll be talking about who is responsible for what, and how national spending cuts are having a big impact on the council, adding to the pressure it is under.

And we know this approach works…

As well as taking your questions, we’ll be talking about who is responsible for what, and how national spending cuts are having a big impact on the council, adding to the pressure it is under.

A discussion with the waste department regarding garden waste led to a big increase in the number of people using this council service – so much so that the service won a national award for achieving a big reduction in garden waste and continues to lead the way. We also talked with the IW Council Chief Executive who dropped in to discuss parking charges for parking in Ryde and Newport town centres as part of local budget planning. After our session, he decided that a price hike was not the right thing to do.

Pre pandemic, we broadcasted a session with the Councillor in charge of regeneration in Newport our town, in actual fact the very building where we broadcast from all the more reason to stay in touch our local council.

It’s all about getting both sides of the story, and bringing people together, which is what we are about. Vectis Radio is a community radio station and we are proud of the work we do in helping to promote and develop community initiatives on the Island at the best and worst of times.

Talking Council is another step forward in finding out more about what your council does, and helping to get some answers to your questions. We take the view that even if you don’t like the answer, at least you have the chance to ask it, and find out more about what is going on!