Many of the day to day services a community requires are available on Portland; although the choice can at times be limited. It could be argued that being so close to Weymouth is both a benefit and a dis-benefit for service provision. No community has everything in one place but what is the right balance for ours?
While some existing services already have a degree of policy protection the economic climate may affect the reality on the ground. Factors beyond local control may diminish the current provision or they may simply be outpaced by a changing or an increasing population.
Education, a crucial part of any community is certainly changing rapidly on Portland. Does the plan need to respond to this in a pragmatic way? Could the new provision have knock on affects in other services, positive or negative? Will other advantage filter back to the community from the construction of a new campus?
With a high proportion of older people and life expectancy amongst the highest for the UK, the pressures on some services are ever increasing. Portland has proportionally less services in these areas than are the national average.
Other changes abound; for example central policy is allowing more freedom for community organisations. Is this a viable path for the provision of extra service within a community? Is this an opportunity for the island to find local solutions that suit its individual needs?