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!

Grit update

The following message from James Airey was overly optimistic:

Hi Geoff

I have been told that the grit boxes should be filled very soon, I know this
is no consolation but stocks are again low and it is a question of manpower
getting the stuff out every where. Ulverston though does seem to have come
off rather better than say Kendal. So hopefully our constant jumping up and
down is working.

Regards James.

I think it's up to us all to help ourselves and others around us. I guess the role for James is now to identify the needs and help organise us all to help each other.

A.R. has given excellent advice in her last comment just below of how to use an alternative to the unavailable salt that won't work on thick compacted ice or snow anyway .

As A.R. didn't reveal the source of his (she apparently is a he) Ballast used on his drive, I've been down to Travis Perkins and bought Grano which is slightly over £3 per bag and will be switching to this up our lane.

Do we know of any roads that need to be closed because of the potential for serious accident?

I'm sure the "jumping up and down" it is true. But this is the electorate doing things. What is our County Councillor able to achieve?

What does "very soon" mean? Still no grit and its Wednesday and the pavements are treacherous. I'm coming to the bottom of my carefully used single bag . . . . but at least we have a foot wide path up a difficult sloped lane that is clear.

Something I also strongly believe in is, thanking the workers for the work they do get done. I think that the standard of gritting of the town pavements has been excellent. I understand that once you get there the standard is good.

So hopefully we can send a thank you.

Do you agree?

It's true - I'm bloody nosey

And I've been close to getting one, on one occasion.

Comes from enjoying living dangerously!

Many local councillors, and officials for that matter, resent anyone showing them up.

The cry often comes up

"You're not on my ward; go get stuffed"

It comes across as though they don't want to be exposed as doing nothing (or very little)

Jamie Samson has maybe walked unwittingly into a hornet's nest.

He got in as I remember by a very few votes over Colin Williams as SLDC Councillor for Town Ward last year.

You will see from the SLDC web site (It's not easy - change the 2009 to 2008 and press "Go" - are they hiding?) that Cllr Samson has only joined one relatively inactive committee - that for licensing, and that he has attended this only twice. Furthermore he has missed two meetings of the Full Council. An attendance of 8 out of 11.

Now contrast this with Cllr Mark Wilson also new to the SLDC and

WOW what a difference :

Mark attends three important committees as well as the Full Council with a near perfect record having only missed one meeting out of a massive 29.

So who would you vote for in the next election - Labour (Mark) or Conservative (Jamie)

This is of course biased reporting as Cllr Janette Jenkinson (Conservative)- an old hand at the game - attended 33 out of 35 meetings and is a member of the demanding Planning Committee and two others.

Furthermore it is important to note that you can attend a lot of meetings and do nout (absolutely nothing other than breath and listen).

It can be difficult to find out exactly what they do do without going to the meetings oneself (yawn).

As this blog is attracting comments from several noteworthies like Cllrs Jenkinson, Kolbe, Samson, Wilkinson,Williams with some very quotable phrases ... I leave you to delve . . . using the label "Councillors comments" below:

Isn't this internet lark fun sometimes!

27 Princes street update

The disgrace of inaction by councillors and council over a 12 year period was reported on here on May 11th

This issue has now been to the cabinet meeting on May 27th

The next door residents still haven't been told the outcome.

As far as I can tell Jamie Samson their Conservative SLDC Cllr is not keeping them informed and doing very little to help.

I have just phoned SLDC and talked to Mr Tummie who is the officer dealing with this case and he has guided me through to the report that is included in the document on the internet page below

See Agenda and report

Here it says on page 21:
RESOLVED – That
(1) the strategy as detailed in the report be approved;
(2) Officers be authorised to enter into negotiations with the current
owner to voluntarily acquire the property with a view to selling on to a
Registered Social Landlord;
(3) a report be provided to Cabinet on 9 September 2009, regarding the
details of negotiations and approval for further actions be sought,
should negotiations prove unsuccessful; and
(4) Council be recommended that consideration be made of allocation in
the Capital Programme (Single Housing Capital Pot) to fund the
purchase, if it proves feasible.
Reasons for Decision
To return the property into satisfactory housing accommodation.
Alternative Options Considered and Rejected
Alternative options detailed in the report.


What I understand this to mean is that no final decision has been made.

The SLDC have come to their own valuation of no 27 . They are now going to negotiate with the owner to voluntarily sell his property to the council.

They would then buy it if it is the same at or less than their evaluation.

However he doesn't have to do this in which case it would go back to cabinet on the 9 September when they would again decide what to do!

The residents will need to put further pressure on the SLDC at this time if the negitations have failed.

County Councillor not to be!

Here are the results!

I thoroughly enjoyed the journey!

Meeting lots of interesting people - it was great fun.

Maybe - sigh of relief from some.

Looking forward to seeing how James Airey, Ulverston West, shapes up!

Sad to feel that things will be going downhill for much of Ulverston East with much alienation on the part of many people . . . . .

I shall still enjoy asking awkward questions here on the blog.

Politics at the moment is in a right state mainly because our lack of involvement.

Will we get a new breed of person getting involved?

What will the Hutton election throw up?

I'll be glad to have a break pursuing other interests.

This blog will continue in some form.

Any ideas for what I should do next?

Many of the replies will no doubt be unpublishable!

Get yourself down to Lightburn Park

The kids are happy but now is the time, right at the beginning, to get them behaving well to all ages.

I was able to talk to the few rogues there and persuade them not to ride their bikes on the grass.

There are enough sensible kids around for an adult to have a lot of influence in guiding their behaviour in a way that is sympathetic and considerate to everyone.

Ignore this scene and the yobos will take over and we're in for a lot more trouble than if we got stuck in now.

Most of the kids are arriving by bike and hence kids from all over are attracted here.

It's a great chance for older ones to have a lot of influence by simply showing an interest and even a bit of admiration for the skills that some of them have.

What does 'sorted' mean Cllr Col?

On 26th February Cllr Colin Williams informed us that this sorry sight had been 'sorted' by him.


"Thanks Geoff, for bringing this to my attention.

I have called Graham Wheelhouses' office @ Cumbria County Council but he's out of the office until 3pm today, Thursday.

This is a shoddy repair to say the least, but leave it with me and we'll get it sorted as soon as possible.

cllr Col Williams"

Could we have an update please, as nothing has changed ?

How much more will Ulverstonians accept ?

'Repairs' in Lower Brook Street.

"Never mind eh. It's only tatty old Ulverston !"

"Sling a bit of asphalt there. No one will notice"

British Jobs for British Workers

Are we being consistent here?

We have lots of opportunities to favour local produce and British products but do we take them?

We're good at shouting out slogans but do we act to put these into practice?

If we were being consistent would we buy the cheapest pork from Tesco when it comes from Denmark?

Would we shop at Booths because we favour the more expensive local products?

Would we avoid Chinese made toys and products even though they are cheaper ?

Don't we need to think more about our own actions before mouthing off about others?

Will we buy our petrol from companies that favour British Workers and not go to the cheapest pump?

I hope so.

What's a guy doing poking cards through the letterbox at this time on a night like this!

You must live in Croftlands!

(Sadly you have to have access to the Internet to read this. Please alert the many people without this to it what is expressed below.

I shall be at Poppies, Union Street this next and all future Saturdays from 11 to 12 am to talk to anyone that cares to come.)

More tomorrow when I regale you with my adventure in the dark, discovering I still have a measure of agility to recover my balance after stepping on drives that weren't there ( but six inches further down) - people traps camouflaged as footpaths.

At least I avoided the quick witted dog that bit my finger last time round. Still have the blood blister under my nail to prove it.

That was Saturday evening.

Sunday morning was much better!

There are issues for the immediate here and now and others for the future.

The current topic is the provision of a Multiple Use Games Area from SLDC. This is great news, but has the provision of skateboarding equipment been included as promised by Richard Foster when I approached him last August?

I visited all the people whose houses border the playing field a couple of months ago.

Here are my impressions of what they said:

All except one person who held a view agreed that there is a pressing need for more facilities for youngsters in the Croftlands and that the vast majority of them respond very well to adult advice and are eager to fit in.

Any complaints about the MUGA should not be taken seriously. This facility promotes ball games and the only consideration was where it should go. People agreed that it should be somewhere central, but away from the equipment for young children. It should be highly visible and away from houses.

Objections to this do not stand up to reason. The playing field is an area for people to . . . PLAY.

Anyone living round the field accepted this when they bought their house.

No paid supervision is required. Residents can have a great influence on unruly behaviour and several residents have a lot of previous experience of doing this when they supported young people playing football. Some people are very good at whinging and complaining about young people but very few try actually talking them. (I have a similar experience as I live overlooking the new Health Centre where we regularly get young people playing in the car park after hours and at weekends. Yes we have minor trouble and yes the kids respond very well to be spoken to).

What is needed is a lot of use by responsible kids with the backing of their parents and the community as a whole. We must do the 'policing'.

However we need both the MUGA, which will encourage team activities, and the skateboarding pad to enable the enthusiasts, who are a great bunch of kids, to be able to get off the streets and into the park (No they can't use the MUGA - unsuitable surface). At the moment they are shunted around and complained about but not encouraged.

So yes to the MUGA but make sure that something for the skateboarders is included or else residents will feel ignored.

Simon Hughes and Richard Forster take note !

What worldwide message about Ulverston is this!

Imagine that you are thinking of visiting Ulverston and put the town's name in Google.

What do you get at the top of the list?

Ulverston Online
Lake District, Tourism and Ulverston information from Ulverston Online - the website of the festival town.
www.ulverston.net/ - 11k - Cached - Similar pages -


Which is great until you click on this link

and get this:-



Closer examination reads:

Which is the message that's been there for approximately six months.

Should you click the link for the new Town Council's new site, you will get this!



What message are we putting across?

Ulverston:

Dull Boring

Expect slow service - a job that should take a week could take a year

Even what we do achieve could be wrong because we don't really care and check out what we do!

Do any of our politicians care?

Even when they've been contacted in different ways and repeatedly!

The Guardian Newspaper plan to extend their online paper North

The Evening Mail has such an appalling journalistic approach that most Ulverstonians deplore it, even though they still read it.

We have no alternative!

The Westmorland Gazette, though a great improvement, has scant news, though its Forum functions at a very mundane level.

In the future we may have an alternative!

The Guardian, formerly the Manchester Guardian, is planning to open an online paper in the north and this could ultimately be good for communication up here.

Ulverston could benefit!

The link given me the Guardian appears to be faulty so I've removed it!

Pity!

Message sent to our two County Councillors

These are Pauline Halfpenny and Wendy Kolbe.

They will both be at the Meeting of County Councillors in Kendal, where I will be speaking later today at 10.30 am.

It will be interesting to see if they speak up on behalf of the 200 hundred Ulverstonians that signed the petition!

The following email was sent to them some days ago:

"Below is the question that I have submitted to the Committee:

* * * * * * *
My Question to the County Council Committee meeting which will accompany the petition is the following:

As a substantial number of the road markings in Ulverston still remain extremely faint and in some cases illegible and

As it is so important to Ulverston people to get these markings repainted in the next month, and the County is unable to do the work, is there any alternative to Ulverstonians doing the painting themselves?


The wording of the petition is:

Repainting the Road Markings in Ulverston

The situation has got so bad that over 50% of the white markings in the town including Halt, Roundabout and in particular the Zebra Crossing at the top of Brewery Street are extremely faint. We request that the County deal with this problem within the next few weeks as it can be quite dangerous in some cases.

* * * * * * *

I realise that you will and are both concerned about this matter.

I shall focus on three aspects of this situation:

First - the safety aspect which I know is of concern to the police even though they cannot officially comment (but I am told, do, unofficially)

Two - the effect it has on the people in the town who notice, because they feel no one is able to get things done. This leads to a feeling of frustration, depression and feeling that 'nobody cares' - even if they do. Many may not even notice but register subconsciously that the town is drab. When you walk down the newly surfaced and marked out New Market Street for example, you almost feel your shoulders go back as you start to walk tall after years of putting up with a mess

Three - the effect on tourists visiting the town. I hadn't realised just how many of these there are and that many come once a year at least sometimes more. People I have spoken to agree that there is a decline in the town which cannot be good for business.

I believe that something dramatic needs to be done and have come to realise that it would take a lot less energy and would be far more satisfying to do it ourselves.

We could have the satisfaction that we had made Ulverston look good ourselves if we did it.

Having been in touch with many other parish and town councils it is clear others feel the same though it is said that many are too 'scared' to complain.

I trust that some of this makes sense to you.

I shall be very interested to find out your reactions and whether you feel strongly enough to speak out, supporting me in some way.

Geoff Dellow"

Correspondence with local Councillors

Every few months issues arise that concern Ulverston people as a whole.

The consultation over the Ulverston Town Centre Plan was one of these and in particular the lack of action of the County Highways Department in passing on complaints regarding workmanship on the town cobbles to the contractors for United Utilities.

In these cases I forward information to all the local councillors so that they are informed.

In one case I received the following response:

Geoff – with respect – I have previously indicated that I DO NOT WANT TO RECEIVE ANY FURTHER EMAILS FROM YOU – please remove me from your email list – unless you wish to contact me as your ward councillor – WHICH I AM NOT.
Kind regards,
Cllr. Brian Wilkinson

To which I responded as follows:

Cllr Brian Wilkinson,

Having stopped to consider your wishes, please consider the following:

All correspondence of a personal nature is already being avoided.

Correspondence that reflects the wishes and interests of people in East County Ward to their potential Councillor will continue.

As you probably know visits are being made door-to-door in this area and people are very keen to have their local councillors considering their views. The fact that they may not convey these to councillors directly appears to come from their lack of belief that they will be heard. They appear to have a wish to find someone who will act on their behalf.

If you do not wish to join with me or even receive my correspondence over certain issues, this is clearly your choice. It may however reinforce the belief held by the above people.

I suggest that you take whatever measures you feel appropriate to deal with my incoming mail.

You will not however be able to state that you were not made aware of the issues raised.

On the other hand, should you wish co-operation on any issue, please free to contact me and I will consider this.

Dr Geoff Dellow
Prospective County Councillor

The reply read:

You ignorant self centered sod.
I insist that you take me off your email circulation.
Emails are only legal if they are requested or subscribed to.
I suggest that you reconsider your response to me requesting that you do not copy me in to any more of your email trash.
I am only responsible to the people who elected me – ie the residents of Ulverston South Ward.
Now – sod off into the stratosphere.
Brian Wilkinson

Councillor Wilkinson's email address is freely available on the SLDC web site

Ulverston Mayor at Bargain Booze

At Janette Jenkinson's request, I have removed the photo that originally appeared here, this can be seen by clicking on the Westmorland Gazette link below.

If I were her, I would not be happy with some people's interpretation of the picture. It has raised some eyebrows from others that saw it.

What do you think?

Great publicity for the new store but is this how we want the office of the Ulverston Mayor and the Town Crier used - and is the parking adequate?

Westmorland Gazette

Bay Radio

I have already raised the issue of the extensive parking on double yellow lines with the police and emailed the Mayor with the following comment, also posted in the Westmoreland Gazette blog

"Is this appropriate action on our Mayor's part? Especially with the deputy Town Crier, Peter Winston in attendance.

I agree that this store will attract people to the town centre but will this benefit other shops?

This store has no appropriate parking provided and is already leading to a lot of cars obstructing the corner on the double yellow lines of one of the busiest and dangerous crossings in the town.

Will she now turn her attention to ensuring that the safety of the pedestrians here is maintained by bringing to the attention of the store owners that they have a moral responsibility to ensure that their customers behave safely."

What are your views?