Sandown Town Council

As a town council, Sandown Town Council is the most local level of local government and operates a tier below the Isle of Wight Council which is the unitary authority or local authority for the Island.

The council is consists of 12 elected councillors across two wards, Sandown North and Sandown South. The last election was in 2021 and it is expected the next election will take place in 2025.

Full council meets up to eight times annually with the finance and employment sub-committees meeting as required. The council works closely with the principal authority on the Island and two town councillors are also members of the Isle of Wight Council.

Full details of the wards in Sandown, its town councillors and Mayor can be found on the Councillors and Wards webpage. Details of the councils workstreams can be found on the Working Party Webpage.

 

As Sandown Town Council is a local council rather than a district council it has no responsibility for statutory services including social care, waste, planning, council tax, environmental health and housing which are provided by the Isle of Wight Council.

The Town Council's provisions include:

• Public toilets at St Johns, the Eastern Gardens and Yaverland. 
• The Beach Safety Service, beach cleaning and seaside/blue flag award
• Sandham Grounds - the Steven Jenkins Rainbow Park, the Skate Park and the Multi-Use Games Area
• Grounds Maintenance of Los Altos Park (excluding trees)
• The War Memorial on the Esplanade and at the Broadway Centre.
  
• Remembrance Services in conjunction with local churches
• Some decorative aspects around town such as decorative lighting, hanging baskets and planters.
• The town Christmas tree.
  
• Grants to local causes which benefit the local community such as the Green Towns Volunteers.
  
• The Broadway Centre (a community centre built in 2018)
  

Further details of the provisions Sandown Town Council supports can be found on the relevant webpages. 

 What we must do

There are certain activities which we must do by law. These include:

• hold an annual meeting (please note the Covid-19 bill suspended this requirement until May 2021); See Meetings, minutes and agendas
• hold at least three other meetings a year
• Appoint such officers as necessary for the proper discharge of the councils functions including a responsible financial officer.
• Have financial regulations to govern the supply of goods and services to the councils.

The arrangements for meetings and proceedings of local councils are set out in Part II of Schedule 12 to the Local Government Act 1972.

Local councils also have a duty to provide allotments should there be a proven local need.

More details of local council powers can be responsible can be found in the List of Parish Council Powers. 

Policies and Other Documents

Local councils have policies for a number of things both because it is a duty and because it is good practice.

Sandown Town Councils standing orders, financial regulations, main policies and other documents can be found on the Documents and Policies page of the website.

Information relating to the councils finances can be found on the Finance and Grants webpage.

Where we are

The councils offices are located at 

The Broadway Centre, Broadway, SANDOWN, Isle of Wight, PO36 9GG

Opening Hours and Contact Information

The councils offices are open 9:00 am to 12:00 noon Monday through Friday excluding bank holidays. The council has a small team and officers may need to leave the office during these times to visit one of the council's other sites. It is therefore recommended you contact the council in advance should you wish to meet with staff.

Officers can be reached via the telephone on 01983 408 287 or 01983 300 328 or by email via clerks@sandowntowncouncil.gov.uk

Staff

Clerk: Richard Priest

Responsible Financial Officer and Deputy Clerk: Jennifer Armstrong

Caretaker: Viv Kington

Administrative Assistant: Lorraine Elliss (from 1-Jan-23)

Litter Picker: Michael Durrant