Despite it being the middle of August and there being few public meetings, there is still plenty of activity behind the scenes at County Hall on the Isle of Wight.
Following the elections earlier this year, councillors are setting the priorities to guide the 'new' council for the next three years in the new 'Corporate Plan'.
The plan will set the basis for dealing with some of the issues we need to address.
At the top of the list will be the ongoing battle to ensure our financial situation is sustainable, as well as our need to deal with the issues affecting our roads, our water supply, and our connectivity to the mainland.
However, one of the key issues that is becoming increasingly apparent, and which was highlighted in Richard Quigley’s column last week, is the need to ensure the adequacy of support and opportunity for our young people on the Island and the ability to hear and receive their views.
We have a demographic that is very skewed to the older section of the population.
This creates issues for our sustainability as an Island but also is increasingly having the effect of minimising and marginalising the views and needs of those under 30.
This affects a wide range of issues from work experience and opportunities to mental health support and housing.
Part of the problem is that younger voices are not sought or welcomed as much as they should be.
You only have to look at the Isle of Wight councillors and the members and attendees of our many parish and town councils to see this illustrated.
Without supporting our younger people to live and work on the Island and become active parts of our local communities, our local economy will suffer and the ability to support and maintain the whole range of the population will diminish.
I therefore hope to see a key priority of the Isle of Wight Council going forward being to re-balance things so that the young are better supported and also more active within our local communities (and our local politics).
This will put us in a position whereby we become stronger as an Island community and as an economic community and we will be better placed to deal with the many challenges we face.
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