On 8 May 2024, Cllr Robert Francis, Chairman of Council, and Chief Executive, Russell Ashman attended the 4th Islands Forum event on the Isle of Anglesey in Wales. The Islands Forum meets twice a year and is chaired by Rt Hon Michael Gove MP, Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities. It is attended by ministers and senior government officials, including Jacob Young MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Levelling Up, and representatives from participating islands across the UK.
This event focussed on Housing and the representatives from each of the islands were invited to share the challenges they face in relation to this issue. Mr Gove acknowledged the power of the presentation given by our Chairman and Chief Executive.
Government announced that £1.6m would be made available to help improve vital transport links for island communities. Jacob Young MP also announced that he was planning to visit the Isles of Scilly in order to see the challenges we face for himself.
Following the Prime Minister’s announcement of a General Election to be held on 4 July 2024, Mr Young was recalled to Westminster and was unable to visit Scilly as intended on 23 and 24 May. We were, however, delighted to welcome the two representatives from the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities who would have accompanied the Levelling Up Minister on his visit.
Cllr Tim Dean, Lead Member for Housing and Corporate Estate joined the Chairman of Council and the Chief Executive to lead a tour of sites around the islands, supported by staff from a range of Council services. The locations visited included the proposed Ennor Farm self-build site, the old Carn Thomas school site and a number of the Council’s existing houses. The government officials listened to the experience of a resident who is hoping to self-build at the Ennor site and saw for themselves why being able to build modern housing of a high standard is both essential for the islands and difficult to achieve without further government support. They were then taken to St Agnes, where Cllr Harry Legg, Lead Member for Environment, Environmental Services and Climate Change showed them around and introduced them to a number of residents who conveyed their experiences of island life and their views about how government could help make it easier for islanders to help themselves.