Andrew Turner MP has called for imaginative thinking following talks between police, council and Cowes Week organizers to deal with the threat of a £30,000 bill for policing the Island’s biggest event. He says it’s unfair that businesses or residents, both of whom pay through their local taxes for policing, should be asked to pay extra for the event, and wrong that the future of the traditional fireworks should be in doubt if the organizers cannot afford to pay for policing.
Mr Turner said,
“I appreciate that the police are under immense pressure – there are fewer front-line police on the Island than ten years ago – and we must recognise that every officer who is policing Cowes week is taken away from neighbourhood policing either here on the Island or the mainland. It’s not surprising that they are exploring charging for policing in line with national guidelines, especially when the Government is loading them with new responsibilities. It would enable them to pay police officers’ overtime and thereby safeguard other local policing commitments. But Cowes Week is a unique event and hopefully some imaginative thinking will ensure that it remains an important Island tradition for many years to come.
“Unlike many events Cowes week doesn’t make a profit by charging spectators for entry. In fact it doesn’t make a profit at all – that’s why Skandia’s generous sponsorship is so important, and why the Council’s support is so much appreciated. Although visitors are of course very welcome and bring much-needed revenue to the Island, Cowes week sailing doesn’t need spectators and the promoters don’t set out to encourage people to attend.
“Furthermore most serious crime last Cowes week was committed not by people from the Island or by yachties but by visitors from Portsmouth and Southampton – many of whom had been drinking. We need a debate on how to pay for the policing of fireworks night without penalizing neighbourhood policing or Islanders for attending a traditional local event and without hitting the organizers who will find it hard to attract sponsors if their money is spent on policing.”
