Lest we forget … Here’s Labour leader Helen Holland’s “explicit endorsement in the media” for Gloucestershire County Cricket Club’s car parking arrangements over the education of the city’s children.
Bristol Evening Post: We’re bowled over by world class ambition
Bristol Evening Post (England) – Monday, March 31, 2008
The leader of Bristol City Council has given her support to Gloucestershire County Cricket Club’s “World Class West” campaign which is aimed at bringing more international and first class cricket to the region.
Helen Holland met with GCCC team captain Jon Lewis, chief executive Tom Richardson and other team and Academy players outside the Council House on College Green to mark the occasion.
The club launched World Class West last month at the House of Commons. During the next few weeks a series of local events will be taking place to gather support for the campaign.
Ms Holland said: “Our city’s aspiration to win a rightful place among the UK’s leading cities is reflected not just in the developments we see at Harbourside and Cabot Circus but also in the ambition of all of our amateur and professional sports’ clubs.
“I welcome GCCC’s World Class West campaign, giving cricket fans the opportunity to watch more world class games while also helping to raise Bristol’s profile.”
The GCCC ground at Nevil Road, Bishopston, has around 3,600 permanent seats, with the capacity to increase that to 15,000 with temporary seating for larger matches.
World Class West would like to see this increased to 10,000 permanent seats. And it also wants the ability to bring in another 10,000 temporary seats – giving a full capacity of 20,000.
This would allow Nevil Road to compete for matches alongside grounds such as Trent Bridge in Nottingham, the Rose Bowl in Hampshire and Sophia Gardens in Cardiff.
The club has been at Nevil Road for more than 100 years. It was established in 1871 and counts cricket legend WG Grace among its founding fathers.
Helen Holland: Out - snout before trough
The Gruesome truth about school places in North Bristol: what you won’t be reading in the Evening Cancer …
by lilly manilly
Whatever happened to that new school at Ashley Down?
They spent enough money on the feasibility studies and all seemed to be ok on October 5 2007, it was still on the “Members Information Sheet” (http://tinyurl.com/ajyvfg) under the heading “ITEMS SCHEDULED FOR CONSIDERATION IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LEADER’S FORWARD PLAN”.
It notes that on November 15 2007 the CYPS would be “seeking Cabinet approval approval for the publication of Statutory Notices and to approve the awarding of the design and build contract for the new school to the LEP”. John Bees and Derek Pickup were the guys in charge then.
One week later on October 12th 2007 (on the next Members Information Sheet at http://tinyurl.com/bnvvuu) this item has mysteriously disappeared … Is this a change of plan and no new school anymore?
November 16 2007 and it’s back on the Members Information Sheet… slightly different … CYPS to seek approval on January 10 2008 to “identify additional primary provision in the Ashley/Bishopston Wards and for the publication of Statutory Notices”
Fast forward to January 10th 2008 and the pretence of the new school being progressed is dropped and replaced with the, previously unfeasible, plan to EXPAND SEFTON PARK SCHOOL!
The report to cabinet (pdf) states:
“A. That the Local Education Partnership (LEP) is requested to undertake Stage 0 and stage 1 design and development for the extension of the Sefton Park schools.”
“B. Where final cost proposals are within the approved capital programme the scheme is implemented.”
So what else happened over this period?
Funnily enough Gloucestershire County Cricket Club employs JBP consultants to run a campaign supporting their aspirations to expand. JBP is based in Clifton and headed up by Jennifer Bryant-Pearson. She happens to be a staff member of Lord Gordon of Strathblane (a Labour peer) at the House of Lords.
She is also listed as staff member to Francis Maud in the House of Commons. Her “other gainful occupation” is listed as “Managing Director, JBP Public Relations Limited, a public relations consultancy; personal client: Gloucester County Cricket Club”.
JBP’s website is very informative. Their “strategic approach” for GCCC includes the following:
“Build up a strong body of support for the proposals amongst a wide range of stakeholders at an early stage to counteract any potential opposition – particularly given two other major development proposals which had recently generated significant controversy and opposition both politically and in the local community”.
“Build strong, strategic relationships with key politicians at Bristol City Council to achieve their support and maximise GCCC’s involvement and influence in the planning process”.
And the result after a little get-together?
“Attendance of over 100 members of the political and business community at the Bristol reception, including explicit endorsement in the media and at the event itself from Cllr Helen Holland, Leader of Bristol City Council”.
The web page includes a nice picture of Helen Holland (above) fondling the GCCC’s balls by the way.
The Independent did try to phone Jennifer Bryant- Pearson back in June 2008 but unfortunately she declined to return their call. Their story ran:
“MPs called for a crackdown to prevent peers employing as assistants people who also work for commercial interests because they receive security passes giving them privileged access to ministers, MPs and peers.”
Now … the only opposition to the new school at Brunel came from the GCCC by way of a letter dated November 19th 2007 to our old friend Heather Tomlinson at the CYPS (http://tinyurl.com/358esh (pdf) – Appendix A) in which they state:
“We now respectfully submit that in our carefully considered opinion the needs of all will not be best met by building a new school on the College site”.
So, there we have it, the corporate aspirations of a cricket club with connections to the eminently honest and respectable Sir Allen Stanford and his banking empire smashing the prospects of Bristol’s primary school children and a respectfully silent media.
Hammond’s alternative? To cram a ridiculous number of kids into an already overcrowded Sefton Park School and, meanwhile, we still don’t have enough places for kids this year or next year.
If the council weren’t so concerned about their corporate aspirations and concentrated more on their boring old mundane responsibilities, (like looking after the welfare of our kids), we’d have a new school at Brunel ready to move into this September.
Maybe the stink of coercion and manipulation is the reason that so many Freedom of Information requests have been ignored or denied over this issue recently?
Just been leafing through some Bristol City Council cabinet minutes from 22 February 2007 and item 7 (pdf) catches the eye.
The title is ‘Bishopston Ward Primary School’ and it’s a report all about the city council’s plan to build a 210 place primary school on the site of the old City of Bristol College campus at Ashley Down on land given to the council as part of a planning agreement with the college.
Here’s how they describe the deal and it seems pretty good:
4. The Brunel College site, on which the new primary school is proposed, is currently a playing field and is in the ownership of the Bristol City College. As part of a Section 106 Agreement, between the City of Bristol College and Westbury Homes, the City Council is able to call upon the transfer of 0.9615 hectares of land after the occupation of the fiftieth dwelling provided the request is made within five years from completion. Additionally, the developer has been required to make a commitment to undertake improvements to the playing field and make a financial contribution of £374,000 towards the development of the new school.
That’s land and cash being offered for a new school. And the Cabinet were told in no uncertain terms about the need for such a school:
26.If the school were not be provided at the Brunel site there would continue to be an oversubscription of schools within the area with the result that some children will be forced to attend schools outside their community.
Fast forward two years and what do we find? This school build suddenly and inexplicably cancelled by current Labour education boss Peter Hammond last year at the last moment with no explanation and a brand new proposal to expand the hugely successful Sefton Park School – in the face of massive and sustained opposition – instead.
And the result? A huge delay and … Wait for it … A huge oversubscription of schools within the area with the result that some children will be forced to attend schools outside their community!
So why has Hammond cancelled this desperately needed new school? It’s certainly nothing to do with saving us money. The estimated cost of the 210 place school at Ashley Down was approximately £4m. That’s £2m less than the estimated cost of the Sefton Park expansion, the poorer solution anyway, which comes in at £6m.
I wonder then, does it have anything to do with Gloucestershire County Cricket Club who want the land for car parking at international cricket matches and Elton John concerts?
It’s nice to know that the city council puts overflow car parking before the needs of the city’s children isn’t it ? Just like in Greenbank where car parking is more important than protected park land.
Is there a theme developing here?
I see Bristol’s contribution to George Galloway’s glorious Viva Palestina! convoy has set forth on their mercy mission to the holy land.
And is it really a surprise that indefatigable George is bravely leading from the front in a brand spanking new Mercedes 4×4 with a plush Winnebago motorhome in tow to sleep in at night?
He’ll also be flying back to the UK for three days a week to continue presenting his quisling TV show for Iranian government TV.
The great socialist leader for our time, George, says of his mission, “”This is a vast armada, the biggest convoy of British vehicles to cross North Africa since Montgomery and the Eighth Army.”
Do you want to tell him or shall I? They’re actually directly following Rommel’s route, not Monty’s …
I see that Labour’s education boss, the congenital idiot Peter Hammond – a Labour Party bearded equal opportunities bore who can’t get out of bed in the morning without first procuring an equalities impact assessment and consulting extensively with a group of self-styled all-male unelected community leaders – has stepped up to the plate to explain why loads of kids haven’t got a local primary school place this year.
It’s because um, er … “Not every parent is able to get their child into their first choice of school this year,” he helpfully explains.
What a brilliant analysis. That explains everything doesn’t it? Thank god we’ve got local leaders of such penetrating intellect.
Meanwhile Hammond’s LEA staff have said, “In the medium to long term, one of our objectives, as part of our major review of primary education, is to ensure primary school places are available where they are needed.”
Which has got a lot of people wondering what was the medium to long term objective for primary places in, say, 2002-03 when 2008-09 was the medium to long term?
Best to ask the Executive Member responsible for Education I guess. Who was … Wait for it … Peter Hammond!
Anyone experiencing problems anywhere in the city with primary school admissions might like to contact the emerging campaign at bishopstonparentsforschools@yahoogroups.co.uk
While the council and the Cancer continue to talk up the new Carboot Circus shopping centre with endless waffle about best shopping centre in the world ever awards to the accompaniment of some highly speculative footfall figures, the economic reality is somewhat different.
Carboot is jointly owned by two of the country’s largest commercial property outfits – Hammerson and Land Securities – masquerading under the name ‘the Bristol Alliance‘ and the briefest of glances at the business pages of a decent paper will tell you all is not well.
Share prices have collapsed for starters. Hammerson’s are now back at 1999 levels and Land Securities are 20% below that. And both companies have made eye-watering losses recently. Hammerson posted a full-year net loss for 2008 of £1.57 billion while Land Securities posted a £1.74bn half-year loss for the latter part of last year.
Now both companies are heading quickly to the shattered money markets in the hope of some sort of private sector bank-style capital bailout through share issues. Although investors are likely to be nervous as things are touted to get much worse for both companies with credit markets, the share market and real estate markets all failing simultaneously and conspiring to create ‘the perfect storm’.
The Daily Telegraph says “2004-2008 now looks like an absurd bubble” for these firms and the sharp money and the short sells are on urgent asset disposals happening very soon.
Watch this space.
It looks like the council’s planning department is pushing ahead hard with their controversial Chocolate Factory/Bristol and Bath Railway Path cycle house development (Blogger passim).
In fact the relevant planning committee will meet on Wednesday about it. This comes despite the fact that no decision has yet allegedly been made regarding the sale of protected city council park land on the Railway Path to the developers Square Peg.
You might recall that the land was originally sold last May over the telephone by the council’s Head of Planning, David Bishop to the Square Peg’s financially strapped Merchant Venturer architect George Ferguson with no formal record or minutes taken.
This is an absurd situation where a council officer commanding a six-figure salary doesn’t appear to know how to properly record and administrate his own decisions. An unfortunate oversight by Bishop in hindsight, however, because it means the rest of us simply have no idea – and he can provide no evidence either way – as to whether he’s a crook who’s taken a bung.
The fact that the council has still made no announcement on this land sale despite the planning application going ahead simply adds to the stench of sleaze around this affair.
The public presented a 731 signature against the sale in December and the council then ran a public consultation in January. Alas, the results of this are yet to be published.
Another ridiculous situation since this is a soppy piece of work that most of us could turn around in a fortnight. Why are we waiting?
The council has also reneged on a promise made in November. They told the Cancer:
“It is important to stress that the land sale proposed is subject to planning permission and that the environmental impact and any concerns raised from any quarter will be considered at the appropriate time by the area planning committee.”
Since the main “concerns raised from any quarter” are around this dodgy land deal, you’ll be gratified to read the instructions given by planning officers (pdf) to the councillors on the planning committee:
Members are advised to remember that land-ownership issues should not be viewed as ‘material considerations’ that hold weight in the overall assessment of this planning application.
In other words, despite promises to the contrary, councillors will not be allowed to consider the land sale at the committee.
The Blogger did point out at the time that the council’s claims were total bullshit:
[The city council] seem to be trying to conflate the issue of the planning application and the land sale, suggesting it is the job of a planning committee to agree land sales.
It is not. They are separate issues. And need to be dealt with separately. Indeed the question of the land sale and how it was conducted needs to be settled before the planning application is decided. A Planning Committee has no statutory or city council constitutional power to agree a public land sale. It is not their job.
Why are Bristol City Council pretending it is?
So why haven’t the council settled Bishop’s land deal before allowing the matter to go to a planning committee?
Oh, by the way, the council’s planning officer recommendation to the committee is to grant permission … Well fancy that!
As an incendiary file usefully cataloguing over nine years of abuse allegations under three different owners at Kingsmead Lodge Nursing Home slowly makes its way to Blogger HQ, the spotlight may soon be falling upon the city council’s former Head of Adult Community Care in Bristol, Kathy Morgan, who would have been directly responsible for the home during much of this period.
With impeccable timing, Kathy, of course, has been recently promoted and is now head of social services in Bristol – or Strategic Director, Health and Social Care as the council’s new tedious Bum-Diseased management jargon has to put it.
For many of us the defining moment for this ambitious Counts Louse paper-shuffler came back in March 2005 during the infamous Lockleaze day care centre sit-in when 12 elderly and disabled people locked themselves into the centre for the night in protest at its proposed closure.
As the Friday evening turned to night with no end to the protest in sight, an increasingly irate council decided it was time to get the big guns in to get the protestors out. So the call went out to Adult Care boss Kathy who left a rather nice dinner party to waltz into the centre at 10pm to resolve the situation.
No doubt using all the skills she had carefully honed through years of mindless sycophantic arse-covering at Bill McCitterick’s criminally inept social services department, the great negotiator confidently strode in to directly confront the protestors.
“Right. Why don’t you all go home?” demanded the authoritative one.
“Why don’t you fucking go home Kathy?” came the immediate response from a female protestor in a wheelchair.
Cue applause, cheering and pandemonium from the rest of the protestors as the colour drained from Ms Morgan face before she turned and fled through the door she had entered just ten seconds previously and, er … went home!
Sensational, high end, six-figure sum management skills or wot?
Arguably things actually got worse for Morgan in the months following this when the same group started parading 10ft-high placards through town naming seven council officers, including Kathy, under the slogan: “Bristol social services’ list of uncaring professionals.”
This briefly led to city council legal boss Stephen McNamara blithering on about some kind of legal action against the protestors that never materialised until finally councillors – thoroughly sick of their own officers’ disastrous and damaging handling of this whole affair – had to step in and manage the climb down that rescued Kathy and her highly paid management team from any further abject humiliation at the hands of day care centre users.
I wonder if Kathy learnt anything from all this? This time, with serious abuse allegations involved, the stakes are much higher and potentially career threatening.
So will she be launching that investigation she’s legally required to undertake into Kingsmead Lodge or does she fancy bluffing and fumbling her way through this one on behalf of her healthcare business friends until some councillors show up and have to take action to sort out the mess she’s created (again)?
Watch this space.
