I have been often dismayed to see the politicians of our country make continuous blunders in the name of public good. It’s not hard to see how they are putting this country into a deeper and deeper slide, crushing our economy and strangling any new business opportunities.
I live in the City of York, this city is one of the most historic cities in England, and therefore it is a shame to see our local councillors driving it into the ground.
Take for instance the latest fiasco with their new ‘Energy efficient’ head quarters. This was a building designed and budgeted for over £40 million. All for a building of which in size should not even have cost £10 million. This council headquarters scheme was done out of the public eye, and in a very strange order.
Infact it is interesting to point out that even though this never went ahead they spent £4 million on this project, this is before they even had anything more detailed than a quick draft of what the building could look like from the outside. Many York residents are starting to ask why for instance, several hundred thousand was spent on an interior designer before they even had planning permission.
Now, there have been complaints about the location of the headquarters (next door to one of York’s most historic pubs) although personally I don’t see this as a problem, York has a great mix of the modern and the ancientWhat worries me if first the fact that this budget was so high for a building that was so small, secondly that we spent 10% of that budget before the building had even had an architect look at it, thirdly that they didn’t keep residents involved with this, fourthly that the councillor in charge has a family history of swindling and fraud and finally that they are now saying the budget they had was not big enough!
Now however my mind casts down to more mundane problems, with unemployment on the rise, Businesses going bankrupt in quick succession and MP’s saying that companies should not give out pay rises in line with inflation (While voting above inflation pay rises for themselves) I am beginning to wonder exactly why the local council has just embarked upon a crusade against A-Boards.
For those of you who don’t know, A-Boards are these highly visible attention grabbing advertising boards. It is called an A board because it is made of two boards leaning against each other with a rod attaching them, which when unfolded makes the shape of an A.
Apparently however these A boards which you see all over England are suddenly illegal. The Council has pulled out some mundane law passed in the misty past of British law and has claimed that these things could create a dangerous obstruction to partially sighted or blind people.Personally I can think of far more dangerous obstructions blocking York streets, Bollards placed hap hazardly in the middle of paths, barriers on the sides of paths painted in a nice, blended, camouflaged gray colour and the numerous cobbled areas which are not highlighted with huge ‘Cobbles Here’ Signs. I personally think that if they ban A-boards for being a hazard they need to get rid of Women dragging small children about, push chairs, old ladies with trolley bags and, ironically, partially sighted and blind people with those dangerous sticks and a tendency to bump in to things.
Because all of these things are, lets face it, a lot harder to spot sometimes than a four foot high board covered in bright writing designed to catch attention.
written by Oli
\\ tags: Politics, Rant
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