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Letters - February 9, 2012
Coun Simon Blackburn
I SUPPOSE we should expect the two political leaders to start blaming each other for failing projects in Blackpool, but this just diverts attention from the real issue.
It would appear that Blackpool has a very poor record of managing major capital expenditure projects, irrespective of the colour of political leadership, and it would appear that the problems are deep rooted, and not being resolved.
Across the years and changes of political control, we have seen the planting of the George Bancroft Park/climbing towers project fail and have to be replaced – and does anybody use the climbing towers?
There was an overspend on the Palatine Leisure Centre with a leaky pool on completion. Seafront developments are being completed late, overspent, and with lower-than-promised specifications.
St John’s Square was completed – to a presumably expensive standard – to accommodate traffic, then the traffic taken out because of worries about potential accidents in the shared space.
Birley Street (Brilliance) was completed late, massively overspent, and perhaps – more importantly – clearly isn’t the tourist attraction it promised to deliver. The Waterloo Road scheme, which had areas that flooded, and was breaking up from the day it was finished circa two years ago, is still not resolved.
And now the shared space on the Promenade in front of The Tower, controversial because of the shared space concept – abandoned as potentially dangerous in St Johns Square, so why is it safe here – is like Waterloo Road, cracking up within weeks of completion.
This is probably just the tip of the iceberg, and in cash squandered must total many millions, so Messrs Blackburn and Callow would perhaps be better off examining properly what is actually going on, as they were elected to do, instead of just wasting time and effort firing bullets at each other.
Chris Dyson
Preston New Road, Blackpool
WHILE Blackpool Council is sorting out the cost of repairs to the new Promenade, perhaps they will look at the state of the renovations at South Shore.
The block paving is collapsing at all four approaches to the new roundabout on Waterloo Road – a job for the contractors I would think – and the four planters at the corners are nothing but mud pools where larger vehicles have insufficient turning room.
Poor planning there, it would seem. And it looked so smart when done not so long ago.
Buspassboy
Name and address supplied
WHAT a rip-off our society has become.
My parents were able to go to the bank for a mortgage, get a deal for 25 years, and happily pay away until they owned their own home.
Now, thanks to the opening of the market to more competition, the only deals I can get last three to five years before reverting to an astonishing rate of intrerest.
And guess what? There’s a charge for every remortgage, typically costing £1,000 plus.
Then there’s a solicitors’ fee to sign the said mortgage of around £300 plus each time too.
So if I only get three-year deals, my 25-year mortgage will include more than £10,000 of fees for greedy banks and solicitors.
The icing on the cake this remotgage? Apparently interest rates have gone up. While the Bank of England base rate is at its lowest ever 0.5 per cent.
Have these financial institutions no shame?
Mark Jones
Warton Street, Lytham
TO correct Tom Leach of Poulton, 111 (NHS non- emergency) calls are free in most parts of Lancashire, but regrettably not in West Lancs.
It is well to note also, that 101 calls are chargeable in all parts of Lancashire, ie when calling the police. You have been warned!
W Houghton
Harrogate Rd, St Annes
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Wednesday 30 May 2012
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Comments
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Sancho Panza
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 05:40 PMMust agree Sandgrown un complete waste of space dont vote it encourages them. Time more residents put up themselves as independants this will drive both parties mad. Just a pity they dont have big brains to go with their big heads,
SandgrownUn
Thursday, February 9, 2012 at 01:27 PMChris Dyson: Sadly politicians don't go into politics to make a difference or even really care about the folk they serve, it's all one big ego trip regardless of party politics or if it's your councillor in your local Town Hall or MP in Parliament. If you've ever given up any of your own time like myself attending PACT meetings and putting together residents newsletters (without any political spin) and Neighbourhood Watch schemes you will deal with these self congratulatory, conceited, pompous waste of space officials that attend the meetings (sometimes when they can be bothered) get paid lots of money for it and are looking only to offload any responsibilities that may come their way. If you try to push them into fulfilling any of their civic duties they do seem to get rather uppity about it and expect them that are not getting paid to do their donkey work for them. Yes folks the world would be much better off without these narcissistic, big headed windbags!
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