Campaign: Town Centre Managers
Locations: Newport/Ryde/Sandown/Shanklin/Cowes/East Cowes/Freshwater/Ventnor
Background and purpose:
Eleven new town centre managers will soon be on duty working to ensure communities across the Island are kept clean, well maintained and tidy. The town manager initiative was outlined by the council earlier this year as part of its determination to improve the public realm. Under the project, two town managers will be assigned to bring about improvements in Ryde and in Newport, while lone managers will be raising the street scene standards in Cowes, East Cowes, Sandown, Shanklin, Freshwater and Ventnor. A further town manager will act in a supervisory capacity.
A key role of the managers will be to ensure the various public realm contracts are carried out – that includes things like making sure all litter bins are emptied on time, highways maintained and pathways swept and cleaned to the required standard and that litter is picked up. They will work with shops and businesses to ensure all aspects of trading including planning, commercial waste disposal and shop front cleansing is being done in the right way. They will also report acts of anti-social behaviour including vandalism and graffiti so they can be quickly remedied.
In addition, the town managers will have some enforcement powers to issue fixed penalty tickets for offences like dropping litter, fly-tipping and fly-posting and allowing dogs to foul pavements. They will work closely with other officers to improve Island communities including the council’s community support officers (CSOs) and our partners the police community support officers (PCSOs).
Town centre managers will also be expected to act as ambassadors for the council, communicating information to locals and visitors as well as providing expertise in relation to community problem solving. They will be provided with a distinctive uniform so they will be easily identified.
“We want managers who become quickly known throughout the town and who are approachable and trusted within the community,” said Heather Lovell, the council’s head of Safer Neighbourhoods Partnership. “While their over-riding aim will be to help encourage and develop civic pride in the towns, we know that they will best be able to achieve that if they have the whole-hearted support of the communities in which they serve.”
Progress report:
The positions have been advertised for the Senior Town Centre Manger and Town Centre Manager roles with a majority of interviews having taken place.
Activities for next period:
Once appointments have been made and the necessary training undertaken, it is expected that the Town Centre Managers will be operational in the above mentioned areas from the beginning of October 2007.
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