Nothing to do with me....
 

Before you ask - there was a piece in the LET tonight

Spotlight on green space
Consultants have been commissioned by Hyndburn Council to carry out an audit of the borough's green spaces and recreational grounds.
The study by Knight, Kavanagh and Page (KKP) will look at the quality, distribution and use of the spaces.
It will also identify any places where there are too many or not enough of these areas in the borough.
The results of the audit will be used to devlop a strategy for managing and devloping green spaces.


One of the consultants may share my surname but it's not me or anything to do with me.

I would have to question why more consultants are being brought in to tell us what the people of the borough could tell us for free? How much is this going to cost us?

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

HBC, like past Tory governments, think that selling off every conceivable asset, as if it was the family silver, will solve all their imediate financal problems.

This shortsighted thinking as already led to the proposed selling of 'our' Market Hall. If they try to sell any of our parks or recreation spaces, many of which were donated by benefactors, I for one will be chaining myself to the park gates.

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

I think I might be.

If they decide we have to much 'greenery' in Hyndburn, and try and sell off any of our parks or recreational spaces, they'll have a fight on their hands.

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

Just found the KKP web site, don't tell you much but here's the link
http://www.kkp.co.uk/
They are experts in sport, leisure ?
May be the site will get finished................at a cost to HBC (or the tax payers)........where do they find them

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

Errrmmmm, I think it was some time ago that the council announced, largely to itself, that it had too much green space per head of population and was looking for a way to offload it - err sorry that should read "utilise it more effectively".

The new consultants are employed to determine which bits either won't be missed or we can do without. I'm not offering any odds, other than evens, that top of the list of bits to sell in Accrington will be Owd Bob's and Milnshaw Park.


It would not surprise me in the least to discover that KKP is where Nigel Rix has ended up.

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

Is there any way we could find out?

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

They could have asked me about the open spaces and parks, I think I know most of `em and I come cheap!

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

When it comes to consultations most bodies will ask the po's and disregard the "locals" as the pro's know best. Biggest pile of steak and kidney with gravy around as locals know what they want and why.

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

The pro's knew all the best places on the Commons and parks in south London when I lived there too, not to mention Glasgow Green.;)

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

Glasgow Green has more uses than most.

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

It's a fact that Tooting Common has been used by ladies of the night, [and day] since men were on their way south to sort out Napolean and the Frenchies, via the English ports.

In fact I think as well as being direct descendents, some of the 'girls' have been there since the early 1800's.;)

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

It'll be well worn then..................:rolleyes: :)

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

thats why i love him doug pmsl:D :D :D :D :D

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

Where would we get or laughs from if he changed overnight? Brightens up my day big time. :)

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

Is that why there are grass stains on your back?
:rofl38:

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

When I stop crying I'll reply.....................:D

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

I know a bit about this. The Friends of Groups got together to form a Green Spaces Forum [1 rep per group] to pool general info. Subsequently Britciffe and Co decided they wanted to devolve parks to these 'Supa Dupa' Friends of Groups, and the Green Spaces Forum is has been targeted as the messenger to the managers/friends in waiting. The cabinet decided to delegate the consulatncy of this audit to the Green Spaces Forum as part of the local consutation process on this audit. The Council has mulititudes of sites that it is supposedly having trouble managing.

The Green Spaces Forum has been delegated [by Cabinet] to work in an advisory capacity with KPP, who were appointed by the Council. The cost of this consulatancy is based on the site visits [fee per visit] and some other work. I did know the cost but have forgotten [senior moment!]. KPP were chosen ahead of 2 other tenders I think [need to confirm].

There's a site up Ossy that causes problems, Owd Bobs??? [it was one that was 4th or 5th on the list to become a Local Nature Reserve] that has long been the wish of the Ossy Councillors [all Tories] to dispose of and is used as an example of why we need this audit.

This consulatncy work is designed to review all open spaces, open land, parks etc.. in Council ownership and produce a cost/benefit audit.

My opinion is it is an off loading exercise to carry on cutting costs so we can manage to pay off the huge debts [1999/£10m 2005/£27m=+£16m] Cllr Britcliffe has racked up and which has eroded all Council budgets like a bad credit card debt. It may be beneficial to dispose of some land of course but the question remains should this not have been part of an ongoing inhouse management service?

The unchecked debts were the main reason for the £1.8m black hole of projected overspending in 2003/2004; Auditors had reported since 2000 'poor financial controls' at the Council. There was no debt management, so the colosal increase in debts, with 'poor financial management' and the Council rolling the same budgets [with increases] year on year things produced the large 'unknown' overspend. In previous years a different methodolgy of accounting balanced books and as Dan Sherry described it in The Observer, the new method was overprescibed or words to that effect. When the Council looked at the books more carefully, they were staggered to find that ther was a projected overspend of £1.8m. The overspend was compounded by some poor and also neccessary costly spending decisions due to the wage bill exceeding available income.

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

I think this was my point - why buy in consultants to tell us what we already know or what any of the council officers could write a report on themselves. It is ridiculous to hire in additional consultants when we are so deeply in debt.

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

Got to agree why spend money to tell themselves they were right in the first place. Are they trying to justify the action they will have to take and if they do the deed and there is a backlash that it wasnt their fault. There is no spine there at present. They want the praise for sucess but have no bottle if they are wrong.

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

You have to wonder, don't you Park?

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

I have to say, if past performance is any guide, I would not trust any of them to sit the right way round on a lavatory, much less write a report! But then that's just me all over; Sceptical and Cynical.

Re: Nothing to do with me....
 

Do we know if they can use the lav? There must be a commitee somewere that decides if this allowable.
:rolleyes: