Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

I have to laugh at how people like to blame Hyndburn Council for everything.
Take for example a story in this weeks Observer, "Cash cuts hit gritters as snowy weather strikes". The story says "Councillor Graham Jones has attacked Hyndburn Council for not gritting roads properly.......We knew about this weather for more than a week but with cuts in council budgets, vital services have been cut back". The article goes on to explain that Lancashire County Council pay for all the gritting and that Hyndburn actually carry out the gritting following Lancashire County Council policy. I would have expected one of our Councillors to have known that and got his facts rights before moaning to the paper.
Come on Graham complain and moan if you must but at least get your facts straight.

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

He must have got caught in the snow and was bored enough to write a letter. Mind you cant beat an own goal by a politition. :D

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

It's worse than that mate. Picture in the paper and everything.

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Doesn't surprise me about him. I can tell you tales about common sense, him and the distinct lack of

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Please do :D

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Cuts in funding did`nt stop them gritting Hyndburn Councils car park on Friday afternoon... can`t have them getting home late!

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

My company car park gets gritted, so what. As employers they have legal requirements to meet

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Our lot do the same but this stuff stays for days.

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Well for all those moaning...my would be mother-in-law got caught in the snow going from Accy to Bacup via Hapton. She said the roads here had been gritted but those that come under Burnley jurisdiction had not, causing a lorry to jack knife and no one being able to pass it. Thereby causing her to turn back and detour miles out of her way. She was in fact full of praise for HBC but not so Burnley.

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

It's only a bit of political spin.......or is it slide?


It only get worse as we near the elections.

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

I was going to say that too. And it works both ways, the Conservatives are doing lots of 'aren't HBC really good type stories' and Labour the opposite. Practically every page is full of 'Hyndburn Borough Council this Hyndburn Borough Council that' - I agree, both sides of it are as frustrating as each other.

But, the simple fact is that the Accrington Observer carries a lot of sway, there are a lot of people who read it in the area and so it's important for both sides to have their say in it. In April we reach Purdah which means that the paper has to ensure that each party gets equal coverage and so stories should reduce dramatically about HBC itself as that could be seen as biased coverage. That's why there's so much in at the moment, we're working up to the last couple of weeks before it all has to go a lot quieter.

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Will the columns have to stop in April too?

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Yes, my last column will be the end of March.

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Will you stop posting on here soon Gayle as we near the elections, like a certain other Councillor appears to do?

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Oh Joy. :Banane25:

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

I love it now, mainly because I got a mention in it.:D

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

I don't know what the position with that is. I don't think that there's any problem with my posting on here and I don't think that Graham has stopped posting because of politics, I think he's stopped posting because he hasn't got the time to do it anymore.

I don't think that this will be covered under purdah because part of the whole point of campaigning is to talk to people and essentially that's what this is. Also, this site is unbiased - I know I post a lot here but I've suggested that other political parties are represented as well. I know for a fact that the Lib Dem candidate who'll probably be standing against me is a member but he hasn't acknowledged it on site yet. I think it would be brilliant if Peter also made himself known so that we could debate some issues but I don't see that as being likely to happen.

So, in answer to your question - I don't think I'll have to stop posting but I will check to make sure I'm doing nothing wrong.

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Well we are about to be set for some more winter weather this weekend starting tommorrow :(.... so becareful lol. I think its disgraceful that money again is put before safety of our roads & paths, why doesn't that surprise me LCC?!?!

For another stance why isn't gritting funded through road tax??

I only know too well after having a nasty fall on black ice ........ ouch!

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

:eek: OH NO! ... Did you hurt yourself? ....... :( I'm sorry ....... that I missed it!!! :rofl38:

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

That appears to be a fair question; just exactly what is the Road Fund Licence for???? What does it pay for? Who benefits from it - apart from the Treasury?

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

the same reason why the majority of roads dont get repaired

the money goes everywhere except the roads

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

So great that my bush is so over grown that it blocks neighbours view point otherwise you would of laughed yep im still sore sprained my wrist & countless bruises:D

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

I'm surprised you've never sprained your wrist trying to trim that overgrown bush of yours ;)

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Lmfao know you know why i have given up on it though still waiting on that garden firm to drop back or find a chainsaw from somewhere though i daren't do it :eek: im dangerous enough without power tools lmao

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

If you trim your bush on a regular basis it will become much more manageable.

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Its still too high at the point where the bush is thinnest to get a hedge trimmer through it. Unfortunately wasn't cut down enough before i had the pleasure of it & when somebody did me a favour to try to trim it down it - that person was with heart attack few hours later now butt of a joke round here & Tinks weren't joking about sprained wrist due to bush trim either LOL:D

I got the garden from hell:(

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

It must be a fair bush if it gave someone a heart attack. Why not PM Simon and see what he would charge to trim your bush for you. He has all required equipment but he rarely gets it near any bushes these days.

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Lmfao Neil is he that desperate lol:D well if anyone knows a cheap good gardening firm/person then l'd be interested.

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Back to thread:

Weather warning tonight & tommorow heavy snow & ice :eek: as according to weather report doubt the gritters have been out much so becareful on the roads & paths lol

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

neither will i Willow just recovered from my fall last tuesday hope its gone for monday.

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

I really hope it doesn't snow or get icy, otherwise family day out will have to be postponed once again :(

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

In answer to Neil's original question; it is because, one way or another, HBC is usually, depressingly, at the root of the problem.

If you have a heart condition don't read this
 

I praised HBC last week in the papers (for its u-turn), and also praisedClr Britcliffe on another issue 3 weeks ago (which he smiled and laughed about). In 2004 I was alleged to have said Tony Dobson (Conservative) was a good councillor and it got a quarter of a page just weeks before the election.

Gosh I even praised Marlene Haworth in the letters page last week and if the papers are to believed, I have been dishing out more cristicism of Labour leaders than Conservatve ones!!!! I read the above comments and thought they were very funny! I laughed. The Council has to learn to take criticism when its due.

Ironicallly Neil and Enty are on thin ice, pardon the pun, in their suggestions. Peter (Britcliffe) attacks LCC and the Government at every public meeting with little regard for fact, and is using your money to promote the CP at tax payers expense.

As for not posting. My hard drive crashed and I lost everything and I have been busy but I still read AccyWeb, there are posters who genuilnely care about the borough and don't get caught in dogma.

As for gritting. Its a job I am familiar with because I did it over 2 winters. Yes your right LCC fund and set policy but HBC have the contract to deliver:-

When I did the job all the bin drivers did the gritting work (as its seasonal) in teams of two. With the TACO/and the need to rest, they can't then empty bins as well. So parks lads and street cleaners did the bins to cover and there is always then a premium on drivers and staff, and in my own experience, that can be as big a reason why streets don't get gritted. Councils dread a bout of sickness, staff holidays etc at this time of year and a backlog on bins due to road conditions exacerbates the problem.

Local councils have never had enough staff when the worst of the weather comes in so to be stretched with just 2 inch of snow and a weeks warning does not bode well. Many people I ask haven't seen a gritter in Hyndburn this winter. I am not trying to say they are not about as they prioritise night shift work to fit in with day jobs when I did it, but one bus operator said some major roads were only cleared by the weight of traffic.

We haven't had a hard winters in recent years but when it comes we are not as ready as we should be. I have raised this at Area Council meetings with Cllr Dobson (CON) and we have discussed extra grit bins via the Area Council funding for 2 years running. As a result I believe an extra grit bin or two has been placed on estate up Sandy Lane. There was no grandstanding in the article.

Its also worth mentioning as someone who went out on gritting we had priorities, like major roads, but we were also given common sense to do other major roads as was neccessary. Our drivers do have common sense, so why wasn't it applied? In the end a gritter DID NOT arrive. A flat back truck came (an LCC staffed vehicle) with 3 men hand shoveling grit for 20 minutes over 20 yards. Efficient? Northern Blue didn't think so in the article.

To add to the article, the public in Peel Ward are fed up of streets not being gritted. They are very happy with cleansing from the surveys Peel Ward Councillors do from time to time. (I am sure you wll be delighted to tell your best friend Peter Britcliffe that Neil! LOL). So its not all criticism, praise where its due.

It was also no surprise given the volume of complaints received for the January snap and this one, that a letter would appear in the Observer on the state of icy roads as soon as the weather turned. I hoped you would have read that letter before passing comment. I only attended this incident because residents complained about it to me.

If you wanted to attack Labour, then you should have gone on about the break up of the Highways partnership this summer and LCC's decision to not subcontract Highways jobs to HBC anymore because allegedly they don't get good value from local councils like Hyndburn. I believe Brian Walmsley (CON) raised the issue of HBC losing tens of thousands of pounds (PROFIT) with the withdrawel of this contract.

I think I have given a very honest and thorough answer.

Re: If you have a heart condition don't read this
 

They probable don`t know about this as it is news to me, mind you i`m not a councillor.

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

PS: In 2003 The Council sent out a memo to all 35 councillors asking which roads did Councillors want fully resurfacing (a big job done by LCC only) as HBC were drawing up a list for County Council to do. When I enquired where my nominations were I was told they were top of the list. When I enquired who else had nominated I found out they were all Labour Councillors. LCC took HBC's list and did them.

I nominated the ones which run from Parade to Burnley Road that year (and the bottom end of St Johns last year).

Nearly all Highways decisions are made at council level in consultation with County. Thats why some 35 employee's will transfer to LCC when the Highways Partnership agreement ends soon.

So far, local decision making has only ended on street lighting to my knowledge. But prior to 2004 HBC decided all street lighting issues despite it being a County function. I had lots of street lights mended and replaced. Since 2002 the whole ward has been done.

Re: If you have a heart condition don't read this
 

I was not trying to attack Labour, just having a little laugh at your expense ;).
I also suspect that LCC probably would not get good value from local Councils. I also don't think they don't get good value when their own people do the work.
The problem with the work done by the Council is lack of accountability. When they stuff up what happens? Nothing. No one gets the sack. No one has to repair the mistake before they get paid. No one appears to give a damn.
When you contract work out it should be different. After the work is conpleted it should be inspected. If it is ok then sign the job off and pay the contractor. If it is substandard or took to long etc, don't pay them till they make it right.
If you want an example of incompetent work carried out by HBC for HBC take a walk from my front door to the park gates. I ended up with the Engineering Services manager stood outside looking at the mess they had caused and, to be frank, he could not give a toss that his men had done a poor job. He was not interested in sorting it out because it would cost money. Do you see where I am coming from? If the work had been carried out by a contractor they could have not paid them until they sorted it out. As it is we have a situation that is worse than before the work was done.

Oh and I will tell you what else is wrong will Councils while I am having a moan. Letting you Councillors make decisions about things you know nothing about, like why the work outside here was done in the first place.

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Neil attacks everyone.:)

He's not Britcliffes pet, he's the friend of Rhyddings Park pets.

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

No he is the Rhyddings park pet, moaning one at that ;) :p

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

I admitted it was a moan :D

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Graham,

to know what thin ice I'm on? I have not made any comment up to now about HBC. I made a comment about you from my personal experience, that is all

Re: Lets Blame Hyndburn Council for Everything!
 

Blimey shock horror HBC must of been reading posts or their list of gritting complaints, just come back from shop to actually see the gritters coming up top half of willows lane ~ BUT even more a shock the gritter has been on our road [which they never ever do!]:eek: