twowheelsgood

Its endemic in the so called 'public' sector - was on a site today in Hereford where Welsh Water were working - they needed 1.5 tonnes of stone to fill a hole - easy, pop down to Rotherwas, load up a couple of bags, job done. Except. They can't do that - they have to drive to Cardiff - pick up stone from the stone + 50% man and drive back. Its bloody madness, every knows its madness, but the only ones that can stop it are those profiting from it (one way or another).

Whats with all the power cuts in St James (and beyond for all I know)? It went off last night about 11pm for 10-15 minutes, stuttered back on, went off, came on, went off and finally got back to normal about midnight. Street lights out as well. It's just gone off briefly again about 15 minutes ago. Plays havoc with the computers!

So, in barely 12 months, they've added another 7 directors on at least £80k each??!!

Guilty until proven innocent is increasingly becoming the norm.

Different pots of money - capital projects (building) attract all sorts of grants and cross funding and keeps the suits busy, whilst day to day funding is hammered down all the time. New building but no one to run it - its an endemic public sector madness.

Not backwards but sideways surely? Sidestepping, stalling, whatever - it's plain to see what they're up to - do they really think we can't see or, more likely, do they really not care?

That's from April - but isn't this what we're ploughing millions into Hoople for? Has the left hand ever been introduced to the right hand ffs??

The. Best. Yet. A kings crown is not good enough for this man - give him Airforce One and a fleet of Hummers to potter about in - he'll need the bodyguards if he's messing with the man Bill.

If very large sums of our money have been paid in return for sealed lips, where and how are these amounts shown in the annual accounts?

No, it wouldn't. That would be covered under separate H & S legislation. The Council would ordinarily condition a requirement for a demolition method statement on the permission, assuming it was approved.

There is a 'Happiness Foundation' at www.thehappinessfoundation.co.uk, but that appears to be some new age life skills nonsense, or neuro linguistic programming as they would have it. No mention of any mobility aids! I understood all street traders had to be licensed through the council.

The present access, which the council have just carefully tarmaced and yellow lined, will be dug up and resurfaced ...

I think you mean 'The Hereford & Worcestershire Fire and Rescue Service have used a …' (not the Council!). It seems a lost opportunity not to have had CGMS do the design, rather than just write the report justifying the rubbish designed by a 'real estate agent'. For those confused by the Site Plan - as it has no context - Bath Street is on the left of the drawing (not at the bottom where good draughting practice would have it). Is it so hard to type the street names?

Link to the application http://tinyurl.com/n25s7ub Its still the same as the 'consultation' - no suprise there - they claim only 16 members of the public attended - that must have been all of the posters here!

Reopening today I believe - too late for me - I cycled over it yesterday! They were still working on the landscaping, and the pound is still there so it’s a few weeks off actually being finished. Why its been closed for several years and what the final cost is might make an interesting FOI request ...

Yes, a rose tinted view if ever there was one. Here's the harsh reality - I reported this offensive graffiti on 1 July - I cycled there today expecting to see it all cleaned up, but no, its's still there, 8 weeks on. Disgraceful. For all Amey's faults, and there were many, many of them, they had a very effective graffiti team, who cleaned up within 24 hours of it being reported. Sorry it's a small photo - some cretin has sprayed 'Poland' over the direction. From the Council's website - "Responsibility for removing graffiti The council is responsible for removing graffiti from public buildings, street furniture and monuments but we cannot remove it from private property. We aim to remove graffiti of a sexual, racial or offensive (contains expletives) nature within 24 hours." So why is it still there 8 weeks later? I have written again to complain. Why do we have to do all the running when the council are paid to do it?

We've just debated these positions as part of another thread!

Link here http://tinyurl.com/p8zhequ

Good lord, what a terrible state of affairs - I'm appalled that my council tax is paying the salaries of a bully/bullies, and, as a result, a 5 or even 6 figure sum has been paid as compensation. If 'between 10 and 20' were involved, what on earth is going on in our Council? Once again, where are our Councillors on this? Are the perpetrators still in the Council's employment, and, if so, why? Or were they let go with yet more hush money? No wonder the council has no money for the services it is supposed to provide.

Hello Paul, welcome to Hereford Voice and thanks for posting. There's no decision notice in your post.

All the more reason to retain it then, as Denise says, and put it to good use. Move IT there, for instance, from rented offices on the Thorn site at Rotherwas - save on rent and reduce travelling for staff. Too simple?

You'll be the ideal candidate then - take a look at the 'person specification' (actually, don't bother) - it's a blank sheet! Its all a game of bluff and double bluff don't you know (using our money) - I'll wager 98% of council employees have no idea what any of it means either! I read it - not a clue, not an inkling of what the job entails, but we're assured it's going to be an exciting journey ... 'add it to the job basket' - entries close tomorrow!

I've read this post and you've repeated the gist of this notion several times - sorry, I just don't see it. Councillors role is not to be so enmeshed with Officers that they are having to take decisions every day - that is an Officers role. Councillors are supposed to deal with over arching policy and sub-divisions of that, not signing off a pavement to be dug up for a gas leak - that's just absurd, and I don't believe it happens. Of course, there will be situations arising when a committee chair or cabinet member will have to be contacted at short notice, but ordinarily, you are paying some well qualified officers some extremely high salaries to do the day to day running and that is what they should do. Your proposal smacks of old school labour control freakery, and look at the mess that's landed us in.

They'll be appealed and they'll win and they'll go for costs* which you and I will have to pay. Why can't councillors realise that they can't stop the flood, indeed have no good grounds to stop the flood of applications, because their forward planning office (take a bow Mr Ashcroft) has messed around for years on end and failed to produce the required plans. At huge cost, the council are now employing consultants to do the work. *As an indication, the council have just lost an appeal in Villa St for just 3 flats and had costs awarded against them for £5.5k. So, even at say £1k per dwelling, we'll be looking at £195k plus legal costs ... Ironically, the scheme at Marden was by far and away the worst. Urban tat in a rural setting.

Recommended for approval, 135 dwellings, likewise yet another scheme for 60 dwellings in Bartestree and 16 more in Marden. Oddly, the agenda shows the meeting to be at Brockington, yet yesterday the Council issued a press release to say Brockington was now closed for business. I think they need a highly paid PR person - oh wait, they've got several ...