Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything! - Page 3

accymel · 11-03-2006, 17:44

Quote:

Originally Posted by WillowTheWhisp

If it's icy tomorrow I for one will not be going out! I do hope it won't be!

neither will i Willow just recovered from my fall last tuesday hope its gone for monday.

harwood red · 11-03-2006, 17:50

I really hope it doesn't snow or get icy, otherwise family day out will have to be postponed once again

Acrylic-bob · 11-03-2006, 18:00

In answer to Neil's original question; it is because, one way or another, HBC is usually, depressingly, at the root of the problem.

g jones · 12-03-2006, 15:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Neil

I have to laugh at how people like to blame Hyndburn Council for everything.
Take for example a story in this weeks Observer, "Cash cuts hit gritters as snowy weather strikes". The story says "Councillor Graham Jones has attacked Hyndburn Council for not gritting roads properly.......We knew about this weather for more than a week but with cuts in council budgets, vital services have been cut back". The article goes on to explain that Lancashire County Council pay for all the gritting and that Hyndburn actually carry out the gritting following Lancashire County Council policy. I would have expected one of our Councillors to have known that and got his facts rights before moaning to the paper.
Come on Graham complain and moan if you must but at least get your facts straight.

I praised HBC last week in the papers (for its u-turn), and also praisedClr Britcliffe on another issue 3 weeks ago (which he smiled and laughed about). In 2004 I was alleged to have said Tony Dobson (Conservative) was a good councillor and it got a quarter of a page just weeks before the election.

Gosh I even praised Marlene Haworth in the letters page last week and if the papers are to believed, I have been dishing out more cristicism of Labour leaders than Conservatve ones!!!! I read the above comments and thought they were very funny! I laughed. The Council has to learn to take criticism when its due.

Ironicallly Neil and Enty are on thin ice, pardon the pun, in their suggestions. Peter (Britcliffe) attacks LCC and the Government at every public meeting with little regard for fact, and is using your money to promote the CP at tax payers expense.

As for not posting. My hard drive crashed and I lost everything and I have been busy but I still read AccyWeb, there are posters who genuilnely care about the borough and don't get caught in dogma.

As for gritting. Its a job I am familiar with because I did it over 2 winters. Yes your right LCC fund and set policy but HBC have the contract to deliver:-

When I did the job all the bin drivers did the gritting work (as its seasonal) in teams of two. With the TACO/and the need to rest, they can't then empty bins as well. So parks lads and street cleaners did the bins to cover and there is always then a premium on drivers and staff, and in my own experience, that can be as big a reason why streets don't get gritted. Councils dread a bout of sickness, staff holidays etc at this time of year and a backlog on bins due to road conditions exacerbates the problem.

Local councils have never had enough staff when the worst of the weather comes in so to be stretched with just 2 inch of snow and a weeks warning does not bode well. Many people I ask haven't seen a gritter in Hyndburn this winter. I am not trying to say they are not about as they prioritise night shift work to fit in with day jobs when I did it, but one bus operator said some major roads were only cleared by the weight of traffic.

We haven't had a hard winters in recent years but when it comes we are not as ready as we should be. I have raised this at Area Council meetings with Cllr Dobson (CON) and we have discussed extra grit bins via the Area Council funding for 2 years running. As a result I believe an extra grit bin or two has been placed on estate up Sandy Lane. There was no grandstanding in the article.

Its also worth mentioning as someone who went out on gritting we had priorities, like major roads, but we were also given common sense to do other major roads as was neccessary. Our drivers do have common sense, so why wasn't it applied? In the end a gritter DID NOT arrive. A flat back truck came (an LCC staffed vehicle) with 3 men hand shoveling grit for 20 minutes over 20 yards. Efficient? Northern Blue didn't think so in the article.

To add to the article, the public in Peel Ward are fed up of streets not being gritted. They are very happy with cleansing from the surveys Peel Ward Councillors do from time to time. (I am sure you wll be delighted to tell your best friend Peter Britcliffe that Neil! LOL). So its not all criticism, praise where its due.

It was also no surprise given the volume of complaints received for the January snap and this one, that a letter would appear in the Observer on the state of icy roads as soon as the weather turned. I hoped you would have read that letter before passing comment. I only attended this incident because residents complained about it to me.

If you wanted to attack Labour, then you should have gone on about the break up of the Highways partnership this summer and LCC's decision to not subcontract Highways jobs to HBC anymore because allegedly they don't get good value from local councils like Hyndburn. I believe Brian Walmsley (CON) raised the issue of HBC losing tens of thousands of pounds (PROFIT) with the withdrawel of this contract.

I think I have given a very honest and thorough answer.

Uncle Mick · 12-03-2006, 15:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by g jones

.

If you wanted to attack Labour, then you should have gone on about the break up of the Highways partnership this summer and LCC's decision to not subcontract Highways jobs to HBC anymore because allegedly they don't get good value from local councils like Hyndburn. I believe Brian Walmsley (CON) raised the issue of HBC losing tens of thousands of pounds (PROFIT) with the withdrawel of this contract.

.

They probable don`t know about this as it is news to me, mind you i`m not a councillor.

g jones · 12-03-2006, 16:03

PS: In 2003 The Council sent out a memo to all 35 councillors asking which roads did Councillors want fully resurfacing (a big job done by LCC only) as HBC were drawing up a list for County Council to do. When I enquired where my nominations were I was told they were top of the list. When I enquired who else had nominated I found out they were all Labour Councillors. LCC took HBC's list and did them.

I nominated the ones which run from Parade to Burnley Road that year (and the bottom end of St Johns last year).

Nearly all Highways decisions are made at council level in consultation with County. Thats why some 35 employee's will transfer to LCC when the Highways Partnership agreement ends soon.

So far, local decision making has only ended on street lighting to my knowledge. But prior to 2004 HBC decided all street lighting issues despite it being a County function. I had lots of street lights mended and replaced. Since 2002 the whole ward has been done.

Neil · 13-03-2006, 00:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by g jones

If you wanted to attack Labour, then you should have gone on about the break up of the Highways partnership this summer and LCC's decision to not subcontract Highways jobs to HBC anymore because allegedly they don't get good value from local councils like Hyndburn.

I was not trying to attack Labour, just having a little laugh at your expense

.
I also suspect that LCC probably would not get good value from local Councils. I also don't think they don't get good value when their own people do the work.
The problem with the work done by the Council is lack of accountability. When they stuff up what happens? Nothing. No one gets the sack. No one has to repair the mistake before they get paid. No one appears to give a damn.
When you contract work out it should be different. After the work is conpleted it should be inspected. If it is ok then sign the job off and pay the contractor. If it is substandard or took to long etc, don't pay them till they make it right.
If you want an example of incompetent work carried out by HBC for HBC take a walk from my front door to the park gates. I ended up with the Engineering Services manager stood outside looking at the mess they had caused and, to be frank, he could not give a toss that his men had done a poor job. He was not interested in sorting it out because it would cost money. Do you see where I am coming from? If the work had been carried out by a contractor they could have not paid them until they sorted it out. As it is we have a situation that is worse than before the work was done.

Oh and I will tell you what else is wrong will Councils while I am having a moan. Letting you Councillors make decisions about things you know nothing about, like why the work outside here was done in the first place.

garinda · 13-03-2006, 00:04

Neil attacks everyone.

He's not Britcliffes pet, he's the friend of Rhyddings Park pets.

harwood red · 13-03-2006, 00:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by garinda

Neil attacks everyone.

He's not Britcliffes pet, he's the friend of Rhyddings Park pets.

No he is the Rhyddings park pet, moaning one at that

Neil · 13-03-2006, 01:03

I admitted it was a moan

entwisi · 13-03-2006, 08:32

Graham,

to know what thin ice I'm on? I have not made any comment up to now about HBC. I made a comment about you from my personal experience, that is all

accymel · 13-03-2006, 15:08

Blimey shock horror HBC must of been reading posts or their list of gritting complaints, just come back from shop to actually see the gritters coming up top half of willows lane ~ BUT even more a shock the gritter has been on our road [which they never ever do!]