If only West Berkshire Council had listened to Julian Swift-Hook, or if only he had done his homework first! Options

[Andy Capp]

Initially I had some sympathy for Julian Swift-Hook (JSW) and his issue with Stroud Green bollards, but I can't help feeling he was being a little disingenuous over the matter. He apparently had secured an agreement with a developer to install bollards on Stroud Green which would be to prevent people from easily driving on it.

"After all the work I put into getting agreement to fund bollards around Stroud Green to prevent this from happening, and the fantastic immediate and positive cooperation of David Wilson Homes in agreeing to make the cash available, I am angry and utterly disappointed that delays caused by the official procurement process at WBC have led to us being let down.

Because of the requirement for WBC to get three quotes before the order for the bollards could be placed, we have had to wait over six weeks while suppliers were contacted, requirements discussed, and quotes awaited. And all through July and August I have been warning that travellers will be back on Stroud Green before the end of the summer if we don’t take action quickly. It gives me no pleasure tonight to know that I have been proved right.

To be fair to WBC officers, they have to follow the process, which is designed to ensure that the Council gets the best value for the public money it spends. WBC has approached four suppliers, officers have met with them on site, and three of the suppliers haven’t even been bothered to come back with a price. It’s good to know that those suppliers are so busy that they don’t need even to quote for work…

But that doesn’t change the fact that it is more than six weeks since the agreement was made to fund the bollards ASAP. And it doesn’t change the fact that we have travellers on Stroud Green again, for the second time in six weeks."

The problem I have is that emboldened line there. I'm sure he is delighted to have the opportunity to make this point. Not only that, but as a councillor for many years, he must have known of the rules about procurement and the need for probity. He starts off with a thinly veiled criticism of the council then acknowledges that it is a council obligation to do that which he is critical of! I could understand the frustration if he were talking about a major health and safety issue or something, but at the end of the day, the issue of people driving on the green is at most a brief nuisance.

If only I could see politicians as being more sincere.

[NWNREADER]

Initially I had some sympathy for Julian Swift-Hook (JSW) and his issue with Stroud Green bollards, but I can't help feeling he was being a little disingenuous over the matter. He apparently had secured an agreement with a developer to install bollards on Stroud Green which would be to prevent people from easily driving on it.

"After all the work I put into getting agreement to fund bollards around Stroud Green to prevent this from happening, and the fantastic immediate and positive cooperation of David Wilson Homes in agreeing to make the cash available, I am angry and utterly disappointed that delays caused by the official procurement process at WBC have led to us being let down.

Because of the requirement for WBC to get three quotes before the order for the bollards could be placed, we have had to wait over six weeks while suppliers were contacted, requirements discussed, and quotes awaited. And all through July and August I have been warning that travellers will be back on Stroud Green before the end of the summer if we don’t take action quickly. It gives me no pleasure tonight to know that I have been proved right.

To be fair to WBC officers, they have to follow the process, which is designed to ensure that the Council gets the best value for the public money it spends. WBC has approached four suppliers, officers have met with them on site, and three of the suppliers haven’t even been bothered to come back with a price. It’s good to know that those suppliers are so busy that they don’t need even to quote for work…

But that doesn’t change the fact that it is more than six weeks since the agreement was made to fund the bollards ASAP. And it doesn’t change the fact that we have travellers on Stroud Green again, for the second time in six weeks."

The problem I have is that emboldened line there. I'm sure he is delighted to have the opportunity to make this point. Not only that, but as a councillor for many years, he must have known of the rules about procurement and the need for probity. He starts off with a thinly veiled criticism of the council then acknowledges that it is a council obligation to do that which he is critical of! I could understand the frustration if he were talking about a major health and safety issue or something, but at the end of the day, the issue of people driving on the green is at most a brief nuisance.

If only I could see politicians as being more sincere.

Never let the truth get in the way of an opportunity to self-promote......
Of course, in the 'good old days' the council officer phoned the local tradesman who did the job quickly, well (because he was local) and at a fair price........ But that was found to be capable of corruption in .0001% of cases so had to be stopped.

[JeffG]

Of course, in the 'good old days' the council officer phoned the local tradesman who did the job quickly, well (because he was local) and at a fair price........ But that was found to be capable of corruption in .0001% of cases so had to be stopped.

I can just imagine the outrage on this forum if it were possible to do that today. Bound to be some councillor's friend's brother...

[Andy Capp]

It's that line: "It gives me no pleasure tonight to know that I have been proved right." His language is mischievous; creating an issue that doesn't really exist and attempting to gain kudos from it (it seems to me we have wasted our money on him attending that conflict resolution course). Stroud Green has been bollard-less for centuries, and he's been a councillor in Greenham for years, what have him and his colleagues been doing about it up to now?

[Simon Kirby]

I wonder if a water point would be better than bollards.

[NWNREADER]

I can just imagine the outrage on this forum if it were possible to do that today. Bound to be some councillor's friend's brother...

Exactly. Even if it was the best deal available....... Can you imagine sending Invitations to Tender to Tesco, Sainsburys, Co-op, M&S, Waitrose etc before deciding where to do the weekly shop?

[Strafin]

When I was a town councillor, there were certain projects where we could just call the local craftsperson to perform a job. It was based on them having proven to be good value for money numerous times before and becoming an official supplier. This delay could potentially have been avoided, but I understand the case for checking as well.

[Andy Capp]

Exactly. Even if it was the best deal available....... Can you imagine sending Invitations to Tender to Tesco, Sainsburys, Co-op, M&S, Waitrose etc before deciding where to do the weekly shop?

When I was a town councillor, there were certain projects where we could just call the local craftsperson to perform a job. It was based on them having proven to be good value for money numerous times before and becoming an official supplier. This delay could potentially have been avoided, but I understand the case for checking as well.

This is all rather irrelevant, he knows the rules (or should do), yet he emailed constituents in a manner which appears to bring West Berkshire Council into disrepute. He need not have worded his email as he did. It was puerile.

[NWNREADER]

I agree he has been opportunist, but his core point is the delay. He operates a system that creates the delay and us old codgers reflect on the times when council officers were (generally) trusted to make sensible decisions and not just go through a process.....

[Cognosco]

It's that line: "It gives me no pleasure tonight to know that I have been proved right." His language is mischievous; creating an issue that doesn't really exist and attempting to gain kudos from it (it seems to me we have wasted our money on him attending that conflict resolution course). Stroud Green has been bollard-less for centuries, and he's been a councillor in Greenham for years, what have him and his colleagues been doing about it up to now?

Come on Andy be fair - it is not often that Swift Half can (even if it is with a rather lot of spin) claim to have been right! Let him have his five minutes of fame!

[Andy Capp]

I agree he has been opportunist, but his core point is the delay. He operates a system that creates the delay and us old codgers reflect on the times when council officers were (generally) trusted to make sensible decisions and not just go through a process.....

If there is a problem and a need for remedial action, then the delay has been for many years. What has he been doing all that time? This is not a West Berkshire Council issue, it is a local council issue and he is complicit.

[blackdog]

If there is a problem and a need for remedial action, then the delay has been for many years. What has he been doing all that time? This is not a West Berkshire Council issue, it is a local council issue and he is complicit.

It evidently is a West Berkshire Council issue as it is them who are installing the bollards - presumably because they own Stroud Green.

[Andy Capp]

It evidently is a West Berkshire Council issue as it is them who are installing the bollards - presumably because they own Stroud Green.

I'm talking about the 'delay'. What have the local Lib Dems been doing about getting the green secured in all these years there have been no bollards, that it is suddenly a issue that needs West Berkshire Council to break their policy to fix? What JSW has done about this is reasonable, but he has been very clumsy in the way he has gone about trying to gain political capitol over this.

[DJE]

What we need is another Enclosures Act, so that those in power can sieze what remaining common land and rights exist, and then charge us for walking or parking on it, all in the common good of providing the funding to employ people (and their pensions) to enforce the restrictions, in a merry-go-round of pointless micro-management of every aspect of our lives.

Who could possibly object?