To Frack or Not to Frack (sent 13 Jan 2014)
Dear Sir
As one of the many people
living in Fuel Poverty in the Borough, I eagerly look forward to the Council
being seduced by the loads of dosh the Government is offering for each Fracking
site allowed by Local Authorities.
As for location, Cutacre seems
favourite since the Council could probably make more money from this as opposed
to a few warehouses.
Failing this, there’s
always the old Manchester Rd Tech site or where the Odeon used to be since
nothing much seems to be happening there.
One of the benefits might
be that the Council could avoid putting Council tax up next year and, as an
added bonus, my gas bill would come down.
Just a thought.
Paul Richardson
Ripon Close
Little Lever
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Too Little Too Late (sent 28th Jan 2014)
Dear Sir,
How could I disagree with
Rees Gibbon when he belatedly prophesies traffic misery for the Racecourse
estate at Little Lever as a consequence of the Tesco development.
If he had lent his weight
to the campaign against this, which ran from the end of May 2011 until
September 2012, then perhaps there might have been a different outcome.
A cynic might say that
unlike this year, he wasn’t putting himself forward for election as a
Conservative Councillor during that period.
Too little –too late, one
might say.
I look forward to many
more letters from him between now and May 22nd.
Paul Richardson
Ripon Close
Little Lever
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A Pending Crisis in Home Care (sent 31st Jan 2014)
Dear Sir,
In June of last year you
published a letter from me on the subject of Homecare for Adults which
concentrated on the inadequacy of 15 minute visits and the iniquity of
effectively paying Careworkers less than the minimum wage.
In October Councillor Andy
Morgan addressed the same subject and suggested a minimum visit time of 25
minutes.
In her response,
Councillor Linda Thomas seemed not to understand what the problem was and
defended the Council and the status quo.
Since then, I have received
a letter on the subject from the Care Minister, Norman Lamb, the Department of
Health has conducted a survey on Homecare and the new Care Bill is currently at
the Committee stage in the House of Commons.
In his letter, Norman Lamb states:- .
“Ministers know that there are practices in the
home care sector that cannot be allowed to continue. These include:
- Care by the clock, whereby care workers can
have as little as 15 minutes to provide care to someone. All too often, this results in rushed, poor
quality care or even missed visits. Users of services can be left waiting to
get into or out of bed, to get washed, to eat and drink or take their
medication, whilst care workers can become stressed and demotivated;
- Abuse of minimum wage laws, so care workers earn
less than the National Minimum Wage due to their not being paid for travel time
between calls; and
- A constant turnover of care workers, meaning users
of services can find themselves receiving intimate care from a stranger.
New staff may not always be aware of an older or disabled person’s
needs.”
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The Department of Health survey shows (amongst other things) that 49%
of Homecare Providers do not think that Councils have a positive influence on
the quality of homecare provided.
At the moment the average cost of Local Authority funded care is
£25,000 per year. A Self-Funder would typically pay £35,000. The cross subsidy
allows Care Providers to balance their books
However, the Care Bill introduces three separate changes relating to
funding of homecare.
Without boring you with the details, the Social Care Network concludes
that the consequences of these changes could be :-
• Catastrophic sudden financial
failures of care homes
• Voluntary withdrawals from the market leading to less choice and competition
• More care providers accepting only self-funders
• Downward pressure on pay for carers
• Reduced staffing levels
• A lowering of standards and quality of the care provided
• Clinical risks
• Voluntary withdrawals from the market leading to less choice and competition
• More care providers accepting only self-funders
• Downward pressure on pay for carers
• Reduced staffing levels
• A lowering of standards and quality of the care provided
• Clinical risks
Adding all this up, one
can conclude that a perfect financial
storm is about to hit the Adult Services Dept of the Town Hall and thus perhaps
Councillor Thomas should brush up on the subject and be a little less complacent.
Paul Richardson
Ripon Close
Little Lever
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Darcy Lever - The state of Lower Darcy St (sent 5th Feb 2014)
Dear Sir,
Your online
article on Monday's Little Lever and Darcy Lever Forum highlighted the
frustration of nearby residents at the disgusting and dangerous state of Lower
Darcy St - this being caused mainly by the passage of bin lorries.
Councillor
Connell pointed out that the street was 'unadopted' and its maintenance was
thus the responsibility of the residents of that street.
Unfortunately
there are no houses on that street or residents to accept that responsibility.
Councillor
Connell further stated that the road couldn't be adopted until it was brought
up to an acceptable standard. He suggested that aggrieved residents should
enquire as to the ownership of the land on which the street lies.
I did just
that on behalf of the residents.
Guess who
owns it. Yes - you're right - Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council.
Paul
Richardson
24 Ripon
Close
Little Lever
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Litter Enforcement (sent 5th Feb 2014)
Dear
Sir
Might I commend the
diligence of the Enforcement Officer in prosecuting a teenager for dropping a
cigarette butt in the Town Centre.
If only such
diligence was extended to Little Lever Precinct where a local supermarket owner
is fed up with having to clear up the mess left by an adjacent takeaway every
Saturday and Sunday morning.
Whilst they are at
it, they could also try prosecuting a few dog owners for failing to pick up the
dog mess that is spread along half the streets in the
Village.
Paul
Richardson
Ripon
Close
Little
Lever
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Darcy Lever Potholes (sent 12th Feb 2014)
Dear Sir,
The law states that the responsibility for maintenance of an unadopted road lies with the ‘Frontagers’- ie the householders whose houses front onto the road. This responsibilty is usually laid out in their leases.
Unfortunately, there are no houses fronting on to Lower Darcy St and as far as I can ascertain there never have been.
The responsibility for maintenance must therefore revert to and lie with the Freeholder. A quick check with the Land Registry shows this to be – Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council
.
So, come on Bolton Council, accept your responsibility and get the thing sorted instead of fobbing off the local residents with ‘Jam Tomorrow – Maybe’
Paul Richardson
Ripon Close
Little Lever
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Town Centre Cinemas (sent 14th Feb 2014)
Dear Sir,
The proposal to build a
second cinema complex together with its associated restaurants and bars is
surely welcome news.
Typically, just like
buses, there are none for ages and then two come along.
Of course, the commercial
viability of two cinemas in competition is a matter for the judgement of the
developers. It must also be kept in mind that the Church Wharf development proposed
by Bolton Council and its partners Ask and
Bluemantle, also contains a cinema. This development is currently stalled
- presumably for lack of cash.
I am somewhat perplexed by
the statement from Councillor Morris in which he says
“However, we made it clear
to the applicants some time ago that the council was committing its support to
the Market Place scheme, which includes the provision of the nine-screen cinema
development and associated restaurants.”
Why is Bolton Council
committed to one development over the other? Is there some material or
political advantage for the Town Hall in this.?
Secondly, how will that commitment
manifest itself? Will the ‘word’ be passed down the line to the Planning
Committee?
Surely, the second
Planning Application should be treated as dispassionately as the first and the
rest left to the vagaries of market forces.
Paul Richardson
Ripon Close
Little Lever
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Bolton Local Elections - Postal Voting (sent 19th Feb 2014)
Dear Sir,
Following a recent enquiry of mine,
the Electoral Commission have provided me with data relating to Postal Voting in
the 2012 Bolton Local Elections.
To my astonishment, it turns out that
of all the valid votes cast, 38.24% were by post – that is nearly 4 out of every
10.
They also drew my attention to a 2013 review by
them where they conclude that one of the main areas of potential Electoral Fraud
is indeed the Postal Voting System. They also conclude that Electoral
Fraud tends to be committed by candidates or their supporters, not by
voters.
Finally they observe that this kind of fraud is more likely to be
perpetrated in areas populated by certain ‘communities’ rather that
others.
This
year in Bolton,
I am certain that the Returning Officer will be aware of such concerns of the
Electoral Commission and will be scrupulous in scrutinizing disproportionate
numbers of applications for postal voting in these same
areas.
Paul Richardson
Ripon Close
Little Lever.
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