SLDC certainly know how to waste our money

Ian Boydon reports in the Westmorland Gazette that:

"MORE than £24,000 is to be spent asking residents of South Lakeland if they think the district council should give up responsibility for public toilets. "

This must run as the biggest, most foolish waste of our money ever.

Though not a massive sum - though you could build a luxury Toilet block for that amount - it certainly rates as foolish. It could even be called devious because it looks more like an excuse to close all the toilets down. It looks like yet another "consultation" which the public ignore because they suspect that democracy has flown out the window and diktat has crept in via the skirting board - as do the rats in some poorly maintained farmhouses.

Surely a far less expensive solution is to hand the toilets back to the Town and rural councils to administer. I'm sure that Ulverston Town Council could do a far better job and be more sensitive to the needs of Ulverstonians.

This reasoning applies equally well to the Tourist Information office and the management of our Car Parks.

The Toilet Survey is wasting money in a way that was only surpassed, when £75,000 was spent by SLDC for looking into a mouthwatering scheme for Ulverston. Then, a beautiful glossy survey, done by Capita (jobs for the boys) on the future development of Ulverston Canal which now sits on the shelves, was ignored by the council and never adopted. Why commission a survey when you haven't the intention of implementing any part of it? (Here's a 3.9 MB sample of a beautiful couple of pictures!)

No wonder the Audit commission places SLDC as one of the most mismanaged Councils in Britain - being placed in the bottom 15% (in 2003 it was in the bottom 4% now it rates "adequate") along with the County which is in the bottom 30% thanks to the Tories in the past. But little credit to the Lib Dems who have made little difference. The problem here is that the officers rule the roost and the best the Councillors can do is go bla, bla on the front pages of the Mail :

"Isn't it terrible how the County/District have closed this and that" with full size portrait of Colin Hodgson.

Why the Hell didn't he see 'this and that' coming beforehand and do something about it then ? Instead he waits until it's too late and bleats loudly to the surrounding hills and his Tory mates echo back weakly "Blaaa, blaaa. Isn't it terrible what Kendal are doing to us"

"Wake up woolly minded beasty" I cry, "Aren't there more of you outside of Kendal than in?"

"Do you never go bleating to your fellow councillors in the other far-flung outposts of South Lakeland like Sedburgh and Ambleside who are also ignored"

"No, it's far too comfortable here in Ulverston and we do love to have our photo on the front of the paper and have cosy meetings in the council chamber in a town where no one gives us hassle - until you came along - and we're not bleating to you - you call a black sheep, a black sheep - that's not friendly"

"Grrr, Grr, Grrrrrrrr," I reply in my best Wolf's accent