Town council accept £600,000 payout for Costain park damage Options

[Andy Capp]

The headline appears a little is misleading as Costain don't admit liability, so theoretically it isn't 'Costain park damage'! A good deal?

http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/home/16...t--600-000.html

[blackdog]

I guess this is what the special NTC meeting on Saturday was about. I can't say whether it is a good deal or not - but it certainly covers the legal costs!

Somehow I doubt that it would cover repairs to every bit of damage, but much of the park is due for a facelift in any case. Hopefully key issues like the bowling green, the football pitch and the Park Way wall & fence can be sorted now.

[Simon Kirby]

The headline appears a little is misleading as Costain don't admit liability, so theoretically it isn't 'Costain park damage'! A good deal?

http://www.newburytoday.co.uk/news/home/16...t--600-000.html

Sounds like a fair settlement to me, but it's cost an awful lot of credibility getting there. I'd guess that the Council's total costs in fighting the dispute and dealing with all of the associated chaos are perhaps half of that, so at the end of the day there's probably £300k to improve Vicky Park with. Given that much of what got damaged needed a good makeover anyways I think that's pretty fair.

However, the Town Council is in poor shape, and if that money is to be spent well it needs to be spent in partnership with the townspeople - it's our park, and the Council have got to stop treating us like the problem. The Council have never been more arrogant and closed, and I think now would be a good time for some of those involved to acknowledge their success in winning this settlement for the town and then bow-out gracefully while the new guard take stock of the awful state of affairs and resolve to engage and empower their parishioners and introduce a bit of glasnost and perestroika into their repressive administration.

[On the edge]

Well, it's settled at last and on the face of it, a reasonable settlement. What now? Will the cash be spent sensibly? How much did it really cost to get here, legal fees weren't the only expense by a long chalk? Did it really need to have taken so long? I somehow doubt if we'll ever know. I don't think any of the parties involved come out with much credibility.

[The Optimist]

When it came time to suggest a compensation figure, I have the following image of the team negotiating on behalf of the council:
 One_Million_Dollars_639omk.jpg ( 28.13K ) Number of downloads: 5

[Cognosco]

Well, it's settled at last and on the face of it, a reasonable settlement. What now? Will the cash be spent sensibly? How much did it really cost to get here, legal fees weren't the only expense by a long chalk? Did it really need to have taken so long? I somehow doubt if we'll ever know. I don't think any of the parties involved come out with much credibility.

Yes all's well that ends well eh? It's all under wraps both parties are not at fault and have a non-disclosure agreement in place so the public yet again are in the dark as to what actually occurred and why.

New Town motto suggestion "Silence is Golden"

[On the edge]

Yes all's well that ends well eh? It's all under wraps both parties are not at fault and have a non-disclosure agreement in place so the public yet again are in the dark as to what actually occurred and why.

New Town motto suggestion "Silence is Golden"

Lovely new deep pile carpet in the town hall, cleaners just finished, extractor fans in loos on full pelt, still a nasty smell....

Can't blame the Conservatives; they don't really want to be around whilst the LibDems bail out their pit.

[Simon Kirby]

Time to name the councillors and officers who knew about the failure to claim on the insurance but sat on their hands and did nothing about it. That failure, and the row when Cllr Uduwerage-Perera blew the whistle on its cover up, has cost the tax-payer some £300k, and no one has been held responsible for that loss or the several years that they tried to cover it up. Time to fess up and face the music. No more excuses now.

[je suis Charlie]

Time to name the councillors and officers who knew about the failure to claim on the insurance but sat on their hands and did nothing about it. That failure, and the row when Cllr Uduwerage-Perera blew the whistle on its cover up, has cost the tax-payer some £300k, and no one has been held responsible for that loss or the several years that they tried to cover it up. Time to fess up and face the music. No more excuses now.

There's more chance of getting Comrade Corbin to bend a knee in front of her Majesty!

[On the edge]

There has been an 'independent' enquiry or so it is claimed. About as independent as Blackadder's trial for killing Melchets pigeon as far as I could see from the reports that seeped into the NWN.

[je suis Charlie]

There has been an 'independent' enquiry or so it is claimed. About as independent as Blackadder's trial for killing Melchets pigeon as far as I could see from the reports that seeped into the NWN.

Ahh! Speckled Bob!