We are pleased to welcome new management of a pub in the town. They seem to be making a go of it and I've received several good reports about it. Some of my friends use it regularly.
However they have chosen to park their commercial rubbish bin on the pavement at a place that is generally regarded as dangerous for pedestrians because the road is so narrow and there is considerable traffic..
The previous owners of the pub parked their bin in a recess on their own land without blocking the public footpath though I suspect this wouldn't have been popular with the fire service as it blocked an exit.
The present owners say they will have difficulty finding an alternative but surely that is their problem.
Yesterday when I found this bin crammed full to overflowing, I called in to talk to Sarah the manager - I talked to her previously by phone. I got the message that she was there but too busy to see me.
I agreed not to kick up a stink about this issue until the New Year but the present reaction is not promising.
What do people think?
Should we make a fuss about this?
If not - where do we draw the line of businesses encroaching on our safety and the appearance of the town?
Since posting the above, the bin has been full to overflowing several times; this suggests that they may be needing two large red bins soon. I gather they are picked up daily by Wicks who promise 100% recycling which is good.
25 comments:
I think you're right Geoff.
Commercial interests are straying onto the pavements all over town.
Perhaps it's time to stop this.
It's particularly difficult if you're pushing a buggy. We need all the pavements we can get.
No its not a problem - except from a visual amenity point of view.
Anybody walking down there with a buggy wants prosecuting for child neglect since the pavement runs out there and you're on the road.
Solution? Stop and cross the road. Simple. No problem.
There will be an item in the planning consent regarding waste disposal and storage on the premises but it's not up to you to go in and harangue them about it . Go through the proper channels and stop being such a busybody.
Sorry but why have you gone inside a pub to talk to someone regarding a bin,what right do you have to do this????
Do you imagine that the management are so thick that they wouldn't put this bin elsewhere if there was anywhere suitable?
Did you form the opinion that the landlord was actually happy to place a bin outside an entrance to his pub? Maybe you felt he thought it rather decorative.
So when you next call in and they demonstrate to you there really is nowhere suitable to put it - what then? More self aggrandising harrasment? Probably.
Several issues:
Busybody: Isn't this when someone interferes with two other people who are having an argument? If it concerns you directly then should you try to sort it out?
Using the "Authorities":
Are they the first port of call or the last?
When you see a gang of rowdy youths harassing a neighbour, do you call the police or go out and a talk to them yourself? Then if this doesn't work, call the police?
Can we not use officials as the last resort rather than the knee jerk reaction of getting Bureaucracy involved?
In this particular case, wouldn't it be better to come to a compromise rather than get officialdom involved?
I think the friendly considerate approach is better. This leads to good relationships.
There is a lot I admire about this particular pub. I have a special interest in it being used a lot as a large group of Ulverstonians tried to buy it as part of The Town Mill Project to use it as a community centre in 1976ish.
Lastly, does a commercial business choose an inconvenient alternative solution if an easy one is allowed?
Is this a case of "Let's get Geoff"?
I am just asking the questions - thanks for your comments!
As a matter of fact the management were obliged to follow the fire service's advice on the inspection of their premises and change the location of the bin to it's present position since it was indeed blocking an exit.
It's not a case of lets get Geoff at all...but....remember dear boy, you represent no-one, speak for no-one, other than yourself. As for the "friendly" approach...I quote:-
"I agreed not to kick up a stink about this issue until the New Year but the present reaction is not promising."
As a bystander in all this the
"remember dear boy " isn't particularly friendly when you're talking to a seventy old who is trying to do things for the town.
What do you do Big'n Ugly, other than criticise?
Cleaned any graffiti off the wall, got improvements to our park, spoken up for the Flood Victims?
Why not be a bit more encouraging.
I agree that the "kick up a stink" remark was too strong, but I do agree with the gentle, gentle approach to start with and then applying more pressure if nothing happens.
On this one, I don't think the bin should be there and quite right it shouldn't have been in front of the doors either.
I think it looks a mess particularly if it's overflowing.
Isn't there a yard at the back? - but that would mean climbing up a floor maybe?
You just refuse to see that people do not like you sticking your nose in evry littel thing that displeases you. If the Mill are committing an offence it will be dealt with officially. If it was my pub you wouldn't get across the threshold.
just last week my child nearly got run over thanks to that god awful bin
Thanks for the support!
This topic has attracted much comment from the beer drinking crowd, I assume because it concerns a pub.
Some of the later comments have been obscene and an imaginative rant from Wise ole Dave. These have not been published as I suspect they just echo the bitchiness you can find on their forum.
They stray off the topic of the desirability of the bin.
Clearly several people are not in favour.
I think it has been worth raising the issue as it gives us all the chance to express our feelings.
Where else can we talk rubbish?
I think its right to raise these matters.
I recognise this place as the entrance to the Gill and it can be quite dangerous. Cars going in opposite directions with people trying to cross the road in a narrow space.
You've got to have your wits about you if you have children.
The fewer the obstacles in the way the better.
In this town our pavements are gradually being taken away from us and we need to stop this happening.
What do The Beer Drinkers do for this town other than belch.
It good to have someone stand up to them.
The pavement disappears to nothing there anyway - it's never been safe to walk up that side of the road, bin or no bin. Cars can come quickly round the corner which is why it's safer to cross over.
I don't know if the person saying about their child almost being run over because of the bin was joking or not, but if not they should be using the pavement on the other side, not walking in the road.
Some people might not like the "commercial interests" on the pavements but they are what is keeping the town alive so we have to work around them.
Goodness knows what the person having difficulty pushing a buggy would have thought 20 years ago - on a market day they wouldn't have been able to navigate town at all for all the stalls and people.
Maybe they would've gone to court to get the market stopped in the same way the town clock was silenced? Who knows?
I think it's fair to raise matters like this Geoff. Perhaps it irks certain people in the way it's done - I know it wouldn't be my style.
Nevermind I know you do it to get such reaction but I am saddened to hear the of the obsene replies.
Rest assuured guys like this are what are called internet d*ckheads. Hard as nails behind their pc but soft as sh*te in the real world.
Apologies for my French :-)
I don't see a problem,your all saying it blocks the pavement yet if you look closely you'll see the bins at the end of the pavement.So where else will people walk once they getv to the bin,they'll have to cross over?
No Geoff, it is not acceptable. We truly do live in a quirky market town, its lanes, ginnels and alleyways are a treasure and ought to be preserved and protected. Presently, and as you have mentioned before, they are simply used for fornicating, urinating and vomiting in by the likes of those who get drunk and then cruelly, in my view, like to attack you and your principles and views.
Keep on with this one Geoff, as always you are right. Why, if I see you on your patrols around our quaint old town I may even plant a Christmas kiss on that rather splendido beard of yours!!
Good to be getting a wide range of views.
Not sure about
" they are simply used for fornicating, urinating and vomiting in by the likes of those who get drunk"
It's that word "simply". . . . .
Liz is correct Geoff. Its only too easy for the beer bloggers and their ilk to misuse and desecrate our beautifulo network of alleyways and ginnels.
Only two weeks ago I and my lady wife were going home via the once charming lane at the rear of Greggs, just after 11pm. About half way down we came upon one of these dolts, he was fat, bald and very drunk. He "simply" propped himself up with one hand against the wall, unzipped and began wetting the wall.
Naturally but somewhat hesitantly given the idiot's size I remonstrated with him and was told to "eff off" for my troubles. I did so, not wishing to expose Betty to such a scene for longer than necessary. Spirited gal that she is she did shout at him that she'd seen more meat on a butcher's pencil!
Increasingly I've noticed discarded condoms and items of ladies underwear in the area around that ginnel and the Weint. Its becoming our very own Gin Alley. Maybe drop the bin issue Geoff and address what I perceive to be a growing problem in our town. Maybe you should patrol the area around closing time, whenever that is in these days of unbridled alcohol consumption.
A "quirky market town" with "its lanes, ginnels and alleyways"?
You might not like drunks and people urinating and vomiting in the streets of Ulverston, Liz, but it's been a tradition since long before you were born.
In the 1600s George Fox (not a local fellow) called the residents of Ulverston boorish drunks, so it seems alcoholism is much more deep-seated in the town than quirky festivals and mock historical events (Dickensian weekend anyone?).
Real history is often less palatable than what we invent for marketing purposes - the only thing a lot of people want to "preserve and protect" is a fictionalised ideal of a market town.
Real people live in the town too - including those who drink, fight and whatever else. Always have done, probably always will do.
As for Geoff "always being right", no-one is always right. Quite often there isn't even a definitive "right" to be in the first place, just different points of view.
Thanks Jack for your very sane remarks.
I think I agree entirely - not having studied the 'small print'!
What I enjoy about Ulverston is its size and vitality per head of population. And yes the fact that others having been living here quite a while leaving us with plenty to get involved with as the needs of the town change.
And Arthur and Liz - I don't do "patrolling" - you'll be getting me a bad name!
I just do walking about on my own business and using all the short cuts I can find! Having said that I do enjoy any good craftsmanship that is around whether old or new.
Dear Residents,
I did not realise the Mill bin was such a talking point, nor a problem. I understand the road is very narrow there and the view is not great but as some of you have pointed out the safe way to go up that road would be on the full size pavement on the opposite side. As we do not have a back yard on the groung floor we have the option of putting the bin outside the front door (surely not a good look) or in the celler. The problem with the latter is the smell of rubbish would be likely to come through the bar, not to mention the lack of space. If the council or local authorities ask us to move it then gladly we will, but also if this realy is an issue with the magority of people and not just one or two then we would obviously move it. As a new company to the town the last thing we want to do is upset/annoy anybody. I am in most days and nights so if anybody does feel strongly about this matter, please pop in.
Regional Manager for C2i
Dominic Kiziuk
Hi Sarah,
Thanks for joining us and giving feedback. We appreciate it.
I feel that because the comments only represent a very few but vocal people on both sides of the argument we haven't reached a verdict.
And neither should we. It is in the best interests of the town that if there is a difference of opinion then "the authorities" should decide.
I shall find out who these are and people can notify them if they are dissatisfied.
On a personal level, thank you for making such a go of your enterprise as a whole.
It is early days and as has already been discussed with you a few weeks back, I look forward to your excellent management style extending to an alternative to the present sight of the bin:
It's big and it's red and on the pavement !
.
Jack Jones...last comment is absolutely on the mark.
Ulverston has and always will have that reputation.
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