Saturday 24 April 2010

Gone are the wonky lines outside Tesco

Now just a small hole!

A return to sanity .

Great feeling of relief in spite of an hour in the police station "helping police with their enquiries".

An enlightening introduction to police paperwork, finger printing, mug shot, DNA sampling and a recorded interview.

Update:

Yes the leaning sign outside Tesco has now gone.

I attempted to straighten the sign with a stronger cable (my second attempt) very early Saturday morning with the result that it snapped instead of straightening - always a possibility - it was clearly unstable and this could have happened any time. It was done with practically no one around.

I made sure the least police time was spent on this event by informing them immediately and went down to the station to make a recorded statement and be processed - something that takes over an hour.

The reason I did it is that I was totally frustrated by the inaction by the County Council to rectify an eyesore in such a prominent place which had drawn complaints from the The Mayor and Town Council.

In the event I believe the sign should have been taken down immediately it happened . It could have then been replaced quickly with a wooden post using the existing hole at minimal cost. This could then have been replaced when time permitted.

This I believe will be the best procedure for the future. Though it's unlikely to happen again!

I believe the Town Council should have the power to take action it considers appropriate immediately even though that may incur a small cost to the rate payer.

The present system insults our town and conveys the message that no one cares about the town when in reality, a lot of us do, but we can do nothing except operate illegally. The Law needs to change.

In the mean time, in similar circumstances, I shall do the same except that I will act faster if it appears that no immediate action is evident. ie action within a fortnight.

The phrase "in similar circumstances," is absolutely crucial. Each case must be considered separately. I am NOT advocating taking the law into our own hands in all but a minute number of cases.

I think the Town Council should have the power to effect repairs if it so decides. I would then cease to act illegally and I would lobby the town councillors for action. Unfortunately they appear powerless, so then I feel the need to take action myself.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

What you trying to tell us,have you removed the sign??

Anonymous said...

did you get arrested?

Geoff Dellow said...

No just asked to make a voluntary statement.

I'd already alerted them to come to me for information.

The story coming up in a while!

Thanks for your concern.

A R. said...

WELL DONE GEOFF !It is a disgrace that the County took so long to repair this sign that you were forced to take action. The other sign from further up the street is still missing ! Either the UTC do not protest loudly enough or they are deliberately ignored by the CC.

Geoff Dellow said...

A.R. Thanks for your support.

Probably the latter.

The Highways are an arrogant lot and need bringing down a peg or two.

Nick Raymond has been shifted but the whole culture of the place will take a while to change.

It's up to our County Councillors like James Airey to go in and pound a desk or two.

Anonymous said...

I think you'll need to start saving up as an old lady tripped and fell over this afternoon outside tesco.When i looked all thats been left is the sleeve which is stuck out of the ground and loads of jagged edges

Geoff Dellow said...

Rubbish - the edges have been removed. It's flat. And there's a cone over the hole. No longer my responsibility but that of the council who have taken over.

Gladys Hobson said...

Old ladies (and gentlemen) falling over in Ulverston would be nothing new. Rough pavings, cobbles, etc to 'beautify' the town ensures that. Some curbs being higher than others (eg Brogden St) also can be hazardous. (A friend ended up in hospital)
I can't say that I noticed metal sticking up outside Tescos. I seem to recall a layer of flat concrete where the post used to be.
Not sure that I agree with your action though, Geoff.

Anonymous said...

as I previously posted,Geoff,Tesco should do the honourable thing and pay for it. After all, it was one of their trucks that did the dirty deed !

Geoff Dellow said...

So Gladys what action would you agree with?

The mayor's and other councillor's requests for something to be done are ignored. The County does nothing and just makes vague promises.

Which is better a leaning sign or no sign at all?

The council could have taken the broken sign down immediately. was it's message of parking times so important?

And why are they ignoring repeated requests by everyone - Town, District and County Councillors and general public at a meeting in November 2008 - for a sign in the same place to tell the public about the empty car park at Stockbridge Lane - at a time when SLDC are clammering for revenue from theoir car parks.

This is totally disfunctional local government.

So what action would you agree with, Gladys?

Surely you agree something needs to be done and the present system isn't working.

It needs a shake up, and a dramatic one at that, with the decisions and action returned to the local people.

Or you see an alternative route ?

Anonymous said...

I can state that the council were there yesterday on there hands and knees messing with it so they mush have fixed it

Gladys Hobson said...

The car parking situation does need addressing. It is ridiculous that we have a car park seldom used. I have asked myself if the C.C. are deliberately keeping quiet about it in order to change its use or sell it off! Doubt if they can be that devious but the lack of publicity about the availability of the Stockbridge Lane car park stirs the imagination. Why aren't visitors (and residents) made aware of it?
Getting together a petition for suitable boards and signposts to make plain this facility (signed by locals and visitors), might do the trick.

The same might be said concerning other pressing needs.

As regards the action of removing the bent post, I see a problem that could escalate. Taking personal action (and getting away with it) could lead to undesired results:
1) Other people doing similar things and getting injured or injuring others.
2) Other people with a similar excuse (youngsters included) but decide to do things for the hell of it.
3) It spread to other situations eg - We haven't got seats at our bus stop, let's get one from town. Oh I think I'll get one for my garden too — we paid for it with our rates.
Where would it end?

Whereas, if you get enough people behind you, a petition to have Ulverston's needs heard would surely wake the CC up. It would get publicity of the right kind too. Locals have to 'own' action that which is done on their behalf. You are in danger of becoming a 'crank' out to publicise himself. Which is quite opposite of what you are, or desire to be known as.

People power can achieve much. A friend of mine (now dead) got her village together in order to petition for a crossing at a dangerous corner. Another village petitioned to slow traffic on the main road that children had to cross to get to school. These protests actually included a crowd of mums with prams and pushchairs waving their protest boards and banners and so slowing down traffic. In both cases the petitions were heard and changes made.

If changes need to be made the voices of all the people need to be heard. One man cannot do it alone. Plus, the rule of law must be maintained or everything goes to pot.

Geoff Dellow said...

And then what do you do if the above achieves nothing?

I have followed the procedures that you mention, and can give you chaper and verse, and still nothing happens.

The reason I do what I is to highlight the issues and make people more aware of what is happening and persuade people to stand up and be counted.

I've even had support from a District Councillor, saying it's because I illegally replaced that asphalt on Lower Brook Street that the County Council have changed their attitude to maintenance of the cobbles.

So if petitions etc don't work what next Gladys?

Anonymous said...

I can't see the sign been replaced i noticed today that the sleeve inside the hole as now been removed and filled up with cement

Gladys Hobson said...

How many people went out on Market Days to gather names or went from door to door? How many signatures did you get? No one has ever asked me to sign anything to get improvements, nor have I seen requests for volunteers to help out.

I can understand your point of view, I myself have done things in the past (that is seeing something needing doing of benefit to others, and getting on with it) that gave me a reputation in certain circles as being a loose canon. (Quite unjustifiable really but other people have their own agendas in such matters).

It is one thing to fill in holes, it is another to attempt straightening a pole which would inevitably break under the strain, thus causing damage rather than a repair. Even so, though I don't agree with you in this particular matter, I have to admire your concern for action.

Geoff Dellow said...

Gladys,

I've found that petitions in themselves can be futile unless they are massive.

How many hours do you want to be used and how many market days and Saturdays and how many doors need to be knocked on?

The links to my reports on this blog can be read by clicking on the word petitions on the right of this blog. Here is described a few of my campaigns with County Hall where I presented several petitions on repeated visits.

I have little faith in this process.

If you can get a crowd to go along with you to the council chamber and make a noise then the councillors may bounce out of their sleep and start listening.

The issue has to be a major one to get this amount of support. Even the massive support in Barrow using every means possible including getting people elected did not prevent the installation of the Academy there, using what I consider dishonest means.

No I believe that one has to use a wide range of tactics to make an impact.(Incidently I did not break the sign - in my view and that of the police, the person bending it in the first place did that and it should have been taken down then.)

The most effective one being to get yourself elected as a councillor. Then you can continue your campaign by lobbing fellow councillors to listen from within the establishment.

This is what I attempted to do when running for County Councillor a year ago. I didn't get elected in spite of visiting and talking to nearly half of the people in Ulverston over a period of a whole year prior to the election. I did very well I believe but not well enough.

It certainly is not easy even with an enormous amount of energy expended.

Still I enjoy a good fight and the battle goes on!

District and Town Councillor next stop in the next election if people want to support me!

Anonymous said...

What is your view on the retention of DNA,fingerprints ?

Geoff Dellow said...

Very concerned!

I was assured that these would not be kept on file and would be destroyed, if no charges were pursued.

At the moment I have to trust the word of the police.

Will chase up. Awaiting to be convinced.

A.R. said...

Can yon now turn your attention to the lamp-post on the Sun corner which has been belted by a truck ? How long will it take for the council to deal with this ?

BignUgly said...

A petition of 1100 names and a facebook campaign of 1800 members all within 3 days forced a humiliating U-Turn from the council on the issue of Freedom of the Town to the Duke of Lancasters Regiment!!

Gladys Hobson said...

BignUgly (though I'm sure you aren't!) I am so pleased to hear that. If I had known about it, I would have signed it too.