And bloody well time too

A miniscule amount of intelligence has emerged from the controlling Lib. Deb. management on the subject of Ulverston Car Parks.

And I imagine Cllr Willis will be expecting us to be grateful.

Not on your life. The controlling Lib. Dem. SLDC councillors have been sitting on the Stockbridge Lane Car Park issue for literally years - probably five.

It's a sign of their disastrous financial management that our car parking in Ulverston is in such a mess.

It's also a reflection of our inept Ulverston Councillors that they got away with this situation for all this time.

I wouldn't be surprised to find that Multi Cllr James Airey ( until recently Town, District and County Cllr  with his wife a District Councillor too, power power power) will be claiming the credit being a close runner up to out of town Cll Willis for allowing common sense to struggle to the surface of this mire filled pond.

I was at the SLDC meeting in Kendal eighteen months ago where council charges were discussed  and far from showing the fire that Cllr Tom Harvey from Grange can breath,  James like a pet poodle, gently nuzzled up to the powerful arrogant Kendal Lib. Dem. councillors and looked up lovingly into their eyes and whined "Please, please. Couldn't your most worshipful and illustrious important people be good enough to smile more kindly on us very deserving Ulverston folk. Please please, pretty please."

 Not exactly his words maybe, but you get the drift. Cllr Hodgson was a bit gruffer and Cllr Jenkinson was her polite affable ladylike self with a poorly put together argument based on Lancashire charges.

By contrast Grange Councillor Tom Harvey, on another issue at that meeting, came across as a German trained Doberman and had to be restrained. He was persuaded to be quiet by a deal being struck off-stage away from the prying eyes of the press.

It's time for some rational but emotional, fighting Cllrs to stand up and represent us - and who do we have stepping forward but well meaning but hardly effective, Cllr Helen Irving.

At the Town Council level Cllr Norman Bishop-Rowe can't been seen to be cooperating with members of the public and for a long time hid the fact that the Stockbridge Lane car park income was only the paltry sum of £4,000 per year  which represents I seem to remember a measly 2p /hour per car park space.

It's unbelievable how much ammunition that our Cllrs are hoarding in their precious briefcases instead of loading it into the Sten guns they should be aiming and firing at the controlling SLDC management. What is it ? It costs SLDC £400 / per week to operate each loo under their control?

They spend months digging up the really good cobbles in Market Street ( that don't need touching) and leave us with the shambolic ones further down the street. Leaving an Aimey foreman who is doing the work to describe the actions of Cumbria County Council as crazy.

Just to remind you:-

There are some new kids on the block and let's hope they can string two punchy words together and fight the Ulverston Cause more effectively than those in the past.

Progress on Ulverston's main street procedes at less than a snail's pace

It's now a fortnight since we requested a meeting with our county councillor James Airey.

Progress on the work down Market street in the last fortnight has been extremely slow.

At this rate of progress, the work will not be completed by April 29th the day the Flag Festival is due to start which features this very street.

Of the festivals in the town, this is the one that our traders feel brings the most benefit to the town; others certainly have an impact but for the most part result in little trade and in the case of the Dickensian Festival can cause considerable disruption to shop trade.

Many of the traders are deeply upset with the casual approach by Amey towards getting the work done quickly and the apparent lack of concern from the County Highways Department.

Questions are being asked as to how this contract was set up and whether there is a penalty clause in Amey's contract for overrunning.

Was even a completion date agreed?

The traders want answers and their politicians to take action.

Correspondence with United Utilities in 2009 and recent acknowledgement

Regarding the work done by United Utilities opposite the Westmorland Gazette.

This demonstrates that Commercial companies do care and respond to criticism both positive and negative, when by contrast the Cumbria County Council don't do their job of supervising work and don't. This is why the cobbles got into the mess they were in and needed this expensive and disruptive work that is going on now.

From: Geoff Dellow gd at tygh.co.uk
Date: 3 July 2009 10:39:18 GMT+01:00
To: Jeremy Robinson - United Utilities
Cc: Roz Harris , David Parratt townhall@ulverstoncouncil.org.uk, Nick Raymond nick.raymond@cumbriacc.gov.uk, Jams Airey westmorlandtories@btinternet.com, David Pickthall david.pickthall@nwemail.co.uk

Subject: Ulverston 'cobbles'

Your work looks promising.

Two concerns would be:

1. Was the back fill compacted well enough.

2. Will the pointing match in with the rest!

On the first , the hard core being used was top quality - but will it settle in time leading to unsightly dips in the road.

On the second , I hope (but doubt) that the county highways are giving some guidance on what materials are being used and how it should be done.

Many thanks for your cooperation and concerns to do good work.

Geoff Dellow

Note : this good work has now been dug up together with the good quality cobbles that needed no attention.

Second note - I have received an acknowlegement from the office of Jill Stannard, the Cumbria County Chief Exec:

On 22 Mar 2011, at 09:23, Stannard, Jill wrote:

Re: Do you think your contractors respect you?

Thank you for your email which will be passed to the Chief Executive for her attention on her return from leave.
 
Regards
 
Pauline Byers
Assistant to the  Chief Executive's P.A.
Chief Executive's Office | Cumbria County Council
The Courts | Carlisle | Cumbria | CA3 8NA
 
t: 01228 226511
f: 01228 606302

Letter to Cumbria County chief officers

Who earn in the region of £100,000 per year.

Sent off this morning to chief executive jill.stannard@cumbriacc.gov.uk, Corporate Director of Environment  marie.fallon@cumbriacc.gov.uk  see the Cumbria County web site  ccccopy to James Airey :

Do you think your contractors respect you?

Neither do we in Ulverston.

Your Highways Department have authorised Amey to work on the setts ( cobbles) down market street.

Today they will continue to do work they see as totally unnecessary : ripping up perfectly good cobbles and relaying them again. At the same time they will not be relaying cobbles further down the street that they agree need doing much more.

They think the County Council are crazy and say so on video.

In view of this poor management by the Cumbria County Council, where your contractors are ridiculing your decisions, do you not think your salaries are over inflated?

We await your reply with interest.

Dr Geoff Dellow

Here is a press release that has just been put out:

Highways Contractors today agreed that what they were being asked to do was crazy - something they have come to expect from Cumbria County Council.

Here on video Amey contractors agree that in the course of doing work to cost the tax payer £150,000. they are being told to rip up a perfectly good cobbled highway, and then relay it when further down the street cobbles that do need relaying will be left.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh4l55AQs7A

This situation was foreseen and warned against in a video made six weeks ago which resulted in an interview with James Airey the County Councillor for the area.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=njFDTNhhr58

Sadly however it seems that James Airey has been unable to change their minds. This is a legacy of the former Head of Highways for this area Nick Raymond who has been moved sideways and a new person appointed

Ulverstonians and shopkeepers are furious that not only is the money being badly spent but that the work has disrupted the commercial functioning of the town in particular items popular market for six weeks already .

Yet in another six weeks of disruption unnecessary work is being done AND the job will only be half finished so that to get all the cobbles in good condition the town will be subjected to disruption yet again in the future.

What is particularly galling is that had the County Highways Dept being doing their job of monitoring the quality of work done in the past by contractors when the replaced the cobbles, then this expensive work wouldn't be necessary at all.

The issue is also being discussed on the Ulverston blog at http://geoffdellow.blogspot.com/2011/03/in-inane-county-council.html

In Inane County Council

At this very minute Amey on the instructions of the County Council are digging up perfectly good cobbles only to stop work at the bank corner at Union Street and leave the mess of uneven cobbles below.

The Amey contractor agrees that the County Council are Crazy.

This video has already attracted 120 viewings in a few days - something I've never witness before which shows there's a lot of interest.

So why has the press written nothing yet?

Is this why we need this blog?



Meanwhile we foot the bill and put up with the inconvenience and the killing off of trade on our High Street.

Here's the video I made six weeks ago:

Value for money

What do people think of the way our £100,000 are being spent in repairing the cobbles on Market Street?

On the positive side :

1. The quality of work is high.

2. They are using recommended materials and as far as I'm aware the good procedures similar to those used by Preston Council when they repair setts.

This includes the use of "Ulracrete Flowpoint" - recommended by Preston.

3. They have started further up Market Street than I expected , thus catching some severe depressins that attracted polls of water and hnce deterioration.

On the down side:

1. Work is going very slowly

2. Some shopkeepers who work hard and hence have a thriving/good business, are not impressed with the poor work ethic -starting work late, leaving early - standing around in groups for what appear long times chatting.

This is our chance to see the workings of local government at close quatres - you can even sit, have a coffee and watch the action outside!

It's a time when The County Council can impress us or still leave a nasty taste in our mouths.

A chance for IT Shaw our local firm working with Amey to impress us with the standard and speed of their work.

As you might expect  - and you might like to warn them  - I'm filming them from time to time and will be putting the result on Youtube so that these firms can attract further contracts - or otherwise. If you keep close tabs on the work you can judge for yourself whether my future comments are appropriate.

Lastly, its a chance for James Airey and Peter Hornby our two County Councillors to show that they are 'on the ball' and well aware of what is happening giving praise and critism where appropriate.

Work starts on the cobbles in Market street

It's good to see:

1. That cobbles well up into the market square have been taken up rather than just those close to the junction with New Market street. Let's hope that this will apply at the lower end of Market Streetso that work extends right past the junction with Union Street.

2. That I.T.Shaw, a local firm are doing the work, presumably subcontracted to Amey. What they've done  elsewhere in the town - The Gill and the path at the bottom of Hoad has been excellent.

This is looking very promising. Well done Highways department: so far very good!

The idiocy of local government

And most of us have to put up with it.

These are obviously my views and you will have to use your judgement to decide whether you agree with  my logic.

First premise: that when a hole has to be dug in a cobbled street in can be repaired in a way that will be entirely satisfactory to nearly everyone.

How effective the repair is, depends on the standard of workmanship and not the problem itself.

This has been shown to be true if you examine a repair that Balfour Beatty did, some time back that is opposite and on the other side of the road to the Westmorland Gazette Office. This was done well because they were being inspected - by me! I was in touch with their boss at Penrith who I have got to know through a previous campaign to get contractors to do quality work.

On the other hand if a hole needs to be dug in an asphalted street the problem is more difficult because of the need to seal the new asphalt with the old - something that is neglected in filling most of the potholes that occur.

Nearly all the problems we have with the cobbles in town is because the local Highways office in the past, was administered by Nick Raymond who didn't require Capita to inspect work do on the street.

This is true because United Utilities had received no complaints from anyone when I contacted them with the help of one of their employees. The result from this contact was for them to apologise for the poor workmanship done by their contractor Balfour Beatty and even though it was over two years after they had done the work ( when they can be legally requested to return), to come back and repair the damage except in the area between New Market Street and Brogden Street where the Highways department undertook to do the work - one can assume with payment to CCC for this by United Utilities.

So we end up with a series of problems in a lot of places down Market street which have arisen because of the negligence of our Highways Department.

If they had done their work of supervision properly then there would be no need for them to now repair the cobbles at a cost to us of £100,000 at a time when money is scarce.

In my next instalment I point out that they are going to rip up ALL the cobbles between and including the junctions of New Market Street and Brogden Dt with Market St where we have the best stretch of cobbles in place in the whole street. Furthermore they don't plan to  even tackle some of the worse areas in the whole street that are below Brogden Street ie at the junction of Union Street and Market Street.

So we get all the disruption of closing off the street, spend £100,000 doing work that some of it doesn't need doing and leave behind a half finished job requiring more cash, more waits and a similar amount of disruption all over again with the accompanying loss of revenue to our shops and businesses.

If you wish to see my evidence then watch the video I have placed on Youtube, featured on a previous posting.

Repairs of the cobbles in Ulverston

It's been announced that work will begin on repairing the cobbles in Market Street this next Monday in what is called a £100,000 revamp.

But will we be happy with the result?

I doubt it - rather it will be regarded as an opportunity missed as large sections of the street will be left untouched and only part of the problem dealt with.

Furthermore we will be apprehensive about the quality of the work done and the materials used.


I went out this morning and made this video to give past information on this topic.



Last year I briefed County Cllr James Airey on my views of what should be done.

The information I gave was based on the numerous communications I've had with United Utilities, the Highways Department of CCC and information shared by the engineers at Preston as to how they repair and install cobbles (or Setts) in their city. Both United Utilities and the People at Preston have been most helpful.

I'm having a meeting with James Airey this next Tuesday as previous attempts to get together have failed.

I hope to be able to report back on what and how the work is to be carried out. I shall be watching with great interest!

Here is the helpful information I was sent from Preston in 2008 (which was passed on the James Airey).

Preston clearly take great care in supervising the work done by contractors.

Will CCC show the same degree of dilegence?

Their supervision of the work done by contractors in the past has been appalling. With a change at the top of the local department of highways and close monitoring from our new councillors - will we achieve quality work and value for money? . . . .

I hope that CCC will enforce high standards and be using Ultracrete Flowpoint to seal between the cobbles as recommended below:


From: "Ohanlon, Peter"
Sent: Wednesday, 8 October, 2008 13:35:08
Subject: Reinstatement of setts

Reinstatement of setts.
 
Dear Mr. Dellow,
                        Your e-mail was finally sent to me as I deal with all the utility reinstatements in the Preston area.
 
Appearances in Preston may be deceptive, because it is a constant battle with the utilities to achieve a satisfactory standard to sett reinstatements after excavations. It is obvious that the utilities do not have street masons trained to a sufficient degree to reinstate setts correctly. It is therefore a matter of constant supervision of the method used by the reinstators to ensure:
 
a)       that they are aware of the correct method of reconstruction
b)       that they follow the existing bonding / pattern as required
c)       that they use the correct type of sett (size, colour, material )
d)       that they follow the correct method of pointing the setts with the correct colour of ultracrete flowpoint.

In many cases, if we have not been present to ensure the required standard is adhered to, the setts have to be broken out and relaid in the correct manner. This is repeated until the setts are satisfactory. Very rarely are they satisfactory in the first instance.

The most recent setts reinstatement that I have dealt with was a utility trench 60m. long x 1.5m. wide. Despite my efforts to explain how to relay this trench I had to insist on it being re-laid four times until it was satisfactory. This was over a period of 6 months but the end result was worth the perseverance. Eventually the sub – contractor employed two operatives who were experienced in laying setts and with supervision and explanation they were able to finally achieve a satisfactory result. They were also given the time to do the work correctly; being paid on ‘day rate’ rather than on a price per m2. ( As were the the previous operatives ). Laying setts is a time consuming operation which cannot be rushed if a good result is required. Too often the reinstator / sub-contractor allows unqualified and inexperienced operatives to try to relay the setts hoping that their work will be satisfactory enough for them to “ get away with it “.

Technically we use the LCC Standard Details for Highway Works for the laying of setts. This involves using 100 – 150mm of lean mix concrete then a 25mm. layer of sand/cement mortar. One innovation that has been introduced is that we require the joints to be filled for at least a 50mm. depth, from the top of the sett, with a product called Ultracrete Flowpoint. This is a pre-mixed dry grout that only requires the addition of water on site.. This can then be poured neatly into the joints. It is a rapid setting grout that allows for early trafficking of the road, has exceptional bond strength and has built-in shrinkage compensation. It also dispenses with the need of using a bitumen sealant to the surface of the joints. We now specify the use of Flowpoint on all sett paving in Preston .

I hope this information is of use to you and if I can be of any further help or if you have any further queries please contact me by e-mail.

                        Regards,

                                    Peter O’Hanlon

                                    Senior Technician

                                    Street Works

                                    LCC. Preston Area

                                  

The reset Setts in the Gill - a couple of weeks back

Looking good - in the sunshine

Illegal repair of the Setts (Cobbles) in The Gill

Photo taken by The Mail a year ago which shows how long the dangerous condition has been left.

Join in the discussion on the Mail site

Was I being responsible to repair the work or should I obey the council and leave it to them?

Which of us is being irresponsible?

Do I now go and do a temporary repair on the cobbles at the junction of Market Street and New Market street?

Where does this kind of action end?

Surely a dialogue needs to be established between the council and Joe Blogs on the street.

This high and mighty attitude is out of date and does not address the financial problems we face at present.

Marie Fallon on your £125,000 salary as corporate director in charge of Highways

The state of the Setts on Market Street below the Market Cross

Even more serious, because of their location, are the setts or cobbles on Market Street just below the Cross at the junction with New Market Street.

Having roads so obviously in need of repair reflects badly on the town as a Tourist destination.

As is obvious , the holes are massive and completely beyond the limits the Highways department set themselves for immediate overnight repair. Yet they remain for months at a time so that a frustrated public just cope.

No that's not true some people with disabilities have stopped coping - they stay away from the town centre for fear of being injured.

One can sympathise and feel that if we care the only solution is to repair these setts ourselves.

Something I'm on the verge of tackling myself - and I don't think it would be too difficult to do a reasonable job in four hours to do the whole of the Market Square and make it safe and acceptable.

Setts in the Gill

Job done - in a small way!

More to be done!

If a source of setts were available, an even better job could be done.

Cumbria County beware

We're about to illegally attack your highway.

In a recent email on the 9th July, James Airey stated :

"The setts on the Gill were looked at by Highways on Wednesday after I chased them again, a works order has been placed and the work will be done within 6 weeks. Hopefully as soon as possible but no longer than 6 weeks."

These six weeks expire on August 20th at 24:00.

Picks and shovels are at the ready.

We will not put up with this mess any longer.

Revised letter to The Gazette

My letter last week was too close to the deadline and was not published.

This gave me the opportunity to rewrite it a little.

Here I hope is an improved version:

Dear Sir,

Your report published on July 15th, though very welcome, described only the tip of the iceberg.

First , the size of the problem. One photograph of one group of totally dislodged setts fails to convey the fact that in a stretch of 50 yards there are 81 loose setts in 15 different places. Three of these have 13 to 21 grouped together.

Second, the behaviour of a dysfunctional Cumbria County Council. Much of the article dwells on the statement of the county council spokesman.

However this problem has persisted for over a year yet our county councillor, James Airey, has been unable to achieve any repairs. It was first reported to him in June 2009 , then again in August with the attached photos, a site meeting followed in September 2009.

The above two photos illustrate the state of the cobbles a year ago when they were reported to James Airey for the second time.

Nothing happened and the state of the setts became increasingly worse. A further site meeting with Cllr Airey took place on June 7th 2010. It was only when a video demonstrating the enormity of the problem was placed on Youtube on July 9th did anything happen.

It is clear that our county councillors are not in charge of their council.

The County are a law unto themselves. They ignore everyone : the guidelines set down by the Department of Transport; their elected bosses the County Councillors; other SLDC councillors and requests from Ulverston Town Council as well as those from the Plebs , the members of the public.

This is because the executive are firmly in charge and unresponsive to anyone. The program "Yes, Minister" illustrates the situation well. The Chief executive earns £170,000 with six below her having salaries that add up to £733,000. Maria Fallon, salary £125,000, the corporate director responsible for running the county's roads and highways, amongst other things has a staff who can be totally unresponsive to councillors and public alike. How does she justify her high salary? Head teachers have a far more difficult a job and work for less.

In 2006 when a new water main with some ten openings in the road was laid down Market Street, there was an outcry from people on every level Town Council to County Cllrs, as well as members of the public at the shockingly low standard of the work done in replacing the cobbles.

The Highways totally ignored the protests even when they were responsible for overseeing the work. They are hand in glove with Capita of the private sector and cosy up to them in the same office. How can this work without corruption and mismanagement?

It was only when an employee of United Utilities and myself started to chase this up nearly three years later that United Utilities came to examine the work and admitted that their work was far below the standards they find acceptable. They then returned and repaired all their mistakes over the full length of the street, even though legally they were not obliged to do so.

What is the difference?

United Utilities have a reputation to maintain. The County Council do not. The last time they were appraised by the Audit Commission in 2008 Cumbria CC were in the bottom 20% in the country. Since then the independent Audit Commission has been disbanded. They were to embarrassing too local government.

For over a year we in The Gill have had to stand by and watch what is potentially a dangerous situation getting worse as our Council behaves irresponsibly.

In the future we will tolerate this situation no longer. People are getting hurt in some cases severely. It would appear that the only way forward is for us to maintain the highway to our own standards which will be a lot safer that those of The County. There is a feeling that they can take us to court if they wish, the threat of insurance claims doesn't bother us as we will only be doing work to a high standard and we foresee no claims. The existence of claims is a myth spread by insurance companies. With the present appalling conditions maintained by the county - there are no claims . Why should there be any in the future with superior workmanship?

There have been no complaints from either the public or the county to our illegal work on the highway in Lower Brook Street roughly a year ago when we replaced unsightly tarmac with the loose cobbles that had been left lying about.

Now, will James Airey and his fellow councillors take charge of our county council and ensure that executives earn their inflated salaries?

On the subject of cobbles versus tarmac, the latter is fine as long as the surface is not broken but repairing potholes in tarmac quickly leads to more potholes. Cobbles can be fixed to last almost indefinitely if done well, the trouble is that many contractors do a poor job giving cobbles a bad name.

Dr Geoff Dellow

Qualified Engineer.

Laying setts in The Gill

Skip to 1 minute 20 seconds to see skilled workers producing an excellent result.

Can we ever expect the county council to ensure workmanship of this quality and speed?

Can you imagine the contractors authorised by them to work in this way?

I'm sure that the use of setts is being totally mismanaged.

Don't we have many skilled drystone wallers who could do this work well and quickly?

The quick judgement in choosing the right sett to fit in will produce a secure surface that will bind together and last for years and give years of enjoyment too. Partially sighted people can enjoy the adventure of traversing a textured surface that can be relatively hazard free. Let's live a little!

Follow up letter to the Westmorland Gazette

On the subject of the South Lakes Highways Department:

Dear Sir,

Your report last week, though very welcome, described only the tip of the iceberg.

First , the size of the problem. One photograph of one group of totally dislodged setts fails to convey the fact that in a stretch of 50 yards there are 81 loose setts in 15 different places. Three of these have 13 to 21 grouped together. Furthermore this is not new. The problem started eighteen months ago and was first reported to Cllr Airey in June 2009 , then again in August with the attached photos, a site meeting followed in September 2009. Nothing happened and the state of the setts became increasingly worse. A further site meeting with Cllr Airey took place on June 7th 2010. It was only when a video demonstrating the enormity of the problem was placed on Youtube on July 9th did anything appear to happen.

Second, the behaviour of a dysfunctional Cumbria County Council. They are a law unto themselves. They ignore the guidelines set down by the Department of Transport; their elected bosses the County Councillors; other SLDC councillors and requests from Ulverston Town Council as well as those from the Plebs , the members of the public.

This is because the executive are firmly in charge and unresponsive to anyone. The program "Yes, Minister" illustrates the situation well. The Chief executive earns £170,000 with six below her having salaries that add up to £733,000 . At this rate the totals for the next two tiers where the head of our Highways Department is to be found must add up to a figure in the region of another £3 to 4 million, all for bureaucracy.

Some of these people appear to be totally unresponsive to criticism particularly in our Highways Department. Maria Fallon, salary £125,000, the corporate director responsible for running the county's roads and highways, amongst other things has some work to do in sorting out her staff.

In 2006 when a new water main with some ten openings in the road was laid down Market Street, there was an outcry from people on every level Town Council to County Cllrs, as well as members of the public at the shockingly low standard of the work done in replacing the cobbles.

The Highways totally ignored the protests even when they were responsible for overseeing the work. They are hand in glove with Capita of the private sector and cosy up to them in the same office. How can this work without corruption and mismanagement?

It was only when an employee of United Utilities and myself started to chase this up nearly three years later that United Utilities came to examine the work and admitted that their work was far below the standards they find acceptable. They then returned and repaired all their mistakes over the full length of the street, even though legally they were not obliged to do so.

What is the difference?

United Utilities have a reputation to maintain. The County Council do not. The last time they were appraised by the Audit Commission in 2008 Cumbria CC were in the bottom 20% in the country. Since then the independent Audit Commission has been disbanded. They were to embarrassing to local government.

For over a year we in The Gill have had to stand by and watch what is potentially a dangerous situation getting worse as our Council behaves irresponsibly.

In the future we will tolerate this situation no longer. People are getting hurt in some cases severely. We will maintain the highway to our own standards which will be a lot safer that those of the county. They can take us to court if they wish, the threat of insurance claims doesn't bother us as we will only be doing work to a high standard and there will be no claims. This is a myth spread by insurance companies. With the present appalling conditions maintained by the county - there are no claims . Why should there be any in the future with superior workmanship?

There have been no complaints from either the public or the county to my illegal work on the highway in Lower Brook Street roughly a year ago.

On the subject of cobbles versus tarmac, the latter is fine as long as the surface is not broken but repairing potholes in tarmac quickly leads to more potholes. Cobbles can be fixed to last almost indefinitely if done well, the trouble is that many contractors do a poor job giving cobbles a bad name.

Dr Geoff Dellow

Qualified Engineer.

Cobbles replaced with tarmac

in Liverpool’s World Heritage Site

Thanks for this from a reader of this blog. Many heads are better than one.

If this can happen at this site in Liverpool.

We'd better look to our laurels.

By taking this over ourselves - and taking action before they roll up with the asphalt as happened in Liverpool - at least we have a lot of control. Unlike most of our councillors we need to take action and make proposals before disaster strikes.

You never know what are dysfunctional Highways Department will do next.

See the attitude of the County Council in the article about The Gill Cobbles

This is why I'm researching alternative ways of laying cobbles more efficiently as used in Italy as we speak! With good know how we can do the job ourselves at such a high standard that it would be extremely unlikely that we would be sued and thus insurance is irrelevant. So far I've got a good track record in similar matters.

In support of the comment from A.R. below.

You can write with your concerns:

to the clerk of the Ulverston Town Council, David Parratt ( townhall@ulverstoncouncil.org.uk )

to our Conty Councillor James Airey who has been instrumental recently in getting his highways department to finally do their job ( james.airey@cumbriacc.gov.uk )

to Paul Jarvis, Chairman of the Ulverston Business Alliance and now chair of the Ulverston Community Partnership who is deeply concerned about the future of Ulverston especially the role of tourism ( info@ulverstonbusinessalliance.co.uk )

Your email will really make an impact because the recipients can then state the level of public concern to Council Officials and press from a more thoughtful and all inclusive approach to our problems.

The arrogant attitude , so prevalent with officials, needs to be nailed to the carpet so that it can go no further. This was especially common with the now side-lined Nick Raymond and even David Parratt on at least one occasion, that "We know best, keep your nose out and leave it to us" - that has led to some disasters in the past.

Speaking up certainly is having effect as more and more of us do it!

And email couln't be easier.

The setts in the Gill are dangerous.

James Airey promised a response to this video by yesterday :

" I am pushing for work to be done on the setts and will have an answer to timescales etc with you before Friday. "


So far , I've received nothing.

Admittedly getting blood out of a stone would be easier than getting a commitment from Cumbria Highways Department.

Who's in charge?

Us - through our councillor or the County Council who appear to be a law unto themselves.

Steam is building up here in the Gill to do this job well ourselves. Work is planned to start in August 2010 . . . . .

Other authorities are being consulted on how the technique of laying the setts without cement is done from experts in Dublin where this is their practice.

.
An email just received from James Airey:

From: james.airey@cumbriacc.gov.uk
Subject: setts the Gill
Date: 9 July 2010 07:53:50 BST
To: gd@tygh.co.uk

Dear Geoff

The setts on the Gill were looked at by Highways on Wednesday after I chased them again, a works order has been placed and the work will be done within 6 weeks. Hopefully as soon as possible but no longer than 6 weeks.

Regards James.


(That's by the 20th August)

My reply:

"Many thanks,

What work do they plan to do when they do it?

Will you be supervising/checking it?

Best wishes

Geoff"

A result :

Well done:

What mark out of 10?

Bear in mind the difficulties involved!

Lower Brook Street - job done!

The deadline has past for the county to remove the asphalt and replace the cobbles. Now someone else has done the job.

Looks a lot better in my opinion.

Pity about the mismatch in the colour of the mortar but in time who will notice - which is the main point for removing this County Council eyesore.

Should more be done by locals to preserve what they think is important?

Even though the authorities claim that it is illegal?

Evening Mail wrote a front page story here: