LABOUR LEADER Simon Blackburn was at it again on Monday night, rounding up seven of his finest sycophants to form the Fairness Commission panel in its first public meeting, entitled ‘Our Blackpool, Your Voice’.
One commenter emailed me last week to ask whether I would be going to this event, and I thought about it. I checked out the information on the Fairness Commission’s website. Palatine School, okay, not far to travel.
It was advertised as an ‘unique opportinity (sic) to ask questions of the Fairness Commission’s Steering Panel and to make suggestions as to the future direction of the town.’
‘The event is open to all, so come along and make your views heard!’
Good opportunity to grill the council leader and his cohorts, I thought.
But then it said that not only did I have to sign up and register to attend, but if I wanted to ask a question I had to send it to them in advance, so that difficult questions such as ‘is it not hypocritical of Labour to be plying our children with sugary snacks for breakfast after the Shadow Health Secretary called for sugary breakfast foods to be banned?’ could be filtered out. It was obvious that this event was nothing other than an act of theatre to promote the egos sat on the panel, and I concluded in my response to the commenter that: ‘Nothing will be up for discussion, it will merely be a case of Jack and Blackburn telling everyone what will be happening.’
And it seems that this is exactly what it was. Preloaded with scripted answers, sycophantic questions that didn’t test the panel in the slightest and answers that we have heard a million times before. All in all the event was a pointless charade. Given that the number of people on the panel made up around twenty percent of the attendees, from a population of 140,000 it could be said that people were disinterested in the Fairness Commission. Either that, or the council deliberately kept news of the event below the radar so that only sympathisers and self-promoters would be amongst the audience.
The Fairness Commission is supposed to be a vehicle that represents people in the town, in order to give a voice to everyone such that it’s not just about ‘who shouts loudest’. It’s not, it’s about Simon Blackburn giving himself a platform to serve his sermon to his disciples, massaging hearts and minds with rhetorical hypotheses and pseudo-empathy. A hammy, staged, act of political propaganda featuring a panel populated by the Commissar and his Politbüro reading a script does not constitute involving the people and does not constitute a discussion.
This façade is very much like an extension of the consultations that the council carries out with respect to new projects. It decides what it’s going to do, puts it out for consultation, gets responses from residents but does what it originally planned regardless.
Spot on Phil, that’s exactly how it was. no chance to discuss or question the main topics people do want to voice their opinions on but merely social and child care which are SB’s thing. No mention of the prom, congestion, never ending repairs to new creations. One surprising deviation was a south shore businessman complaining that dealing with the Enterprise Centre was waste of time to which the chief exec conceded that it had been a failure since it opened, but of course nothing has been done to change things. As as a meeting of Your Voice it failed on all fronts including the lack of knowledge of the meeting by the public and certainly what it’s aims are, didn’t even seem the panel knew what they were. A White Elephant to tick a box or two.
One matter that came across my desk was a disabled resident of skint Blackpool who the local Occupational Therapist reckoned was not in need of a stairlift even though the 70 year old had recently had two strokes and is temporarily confined to hospital care; when other agencies offered to install and pay for the upkeep of such a necessary aid, Blackpool Council dragged their feet and obstructed a charity from assisting, because they are the landlord. There is much more to this sad tale but they cannot be explored because it will identify the injured party.
http://fylde-bootnecks.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/payday-loans-and-more.html
Another example of why some of your readers, Phil, have to use pseudonyms.
Needless to say that when this poorly gentleman gets home, the Forces Charity will have circumvented the pedants at the Clowncil and provided the care that this awful council neglects.
I agree with you Phil – It was a complete waste of time. You know I had such high hopes when I first heard of this Fairness Commission – I thought maybe S.B. really was going to do something to make this town a better place and I don’t know who I am more angry at – S.B. for lying through his teeth or myself for believing his drivel.
We all made the same mistake jimmygrundy, believing that Blackburn would make a difference, the man is nothing short of a conman, he would say anything to get elected.
agreed Dave after that wretched squawking cretin peter excreter callow and his hideous harridan of a sister maxine,SB seemed like a saviour, its very depressing for Blackpool,decdes of manged decline and free breakfasts for the dreggs…………new offices for the mafia dons of enforced mediocrity.
Like most career politicians, they have their egos to massage as well as their wallets, Blackburn is no different to most of the others, just a pity he didn’t stay and represent his home town instead of moving to ours. Now, as Geezer mentioned on another blog, here is someone that does get it, are they finally waking up?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AljEp0XDRvc&feature=youtu.be
wrong title it was more Your Blackpool, Our Voice
Whilst I agree with much of what Phil has stated here there are the a few things that sould be questioned.
I agree these meatings should be open to all and the questions not stage managed, it is always nice to put people on the spot when they are putting forward their propositions.
This is not a new issue Maynard does this frequently with his invitation only gatherings.
The number of attendees could suggest a disinterest in the fairness commission it could also signify that very few people in the town actually give a toss about what is happening.
To be fair I didnt know it was on having said that with the loaded questions just what is the point in attending? I would have certainly liked to have raised questions the Queens Park project and its impact on HMO properties.
This final paragraph does seem a little harsh
“This façade is very much like an extension of the consultations that the council carries out with respect to new projects. It decides what it’s going to do, puts it out for consultation, gets responses from residents but does what it originally planned regardless.”
Did they not listen on the proposed Prom changes when the likes of Dave and his Cabbie collegues were up in arms? There may not be many instances where this has happened but at least under this administration some (maybe only a few) u-turns on decisions have taken place could we say that about the last administration?
See my reply below Cardy, as it seems they do not listen.
Sorry to Hijack this post, but if you think the promenade is bad now, well wait until the end of February as Cross and his gang are wanting to put a 10 Metre wide zebra crossing on the promenade in front of the Tower.
Most zebra crossings are 6 metres wide max so you could call this a super crossing, work is due to start mid February, I except that this would have been my first choice from day one to have a crossing installed, as it is the busiest point with the comedy carpet been across the road. But surely common sense tells you that there are far to many zebra crossings already on this short stretch of road.
Whats the chance of him getting rid of some of the other crossings on the promenade, especially the one near New Bonny St which is less than 50 metres away from the traffic lights which could have been utilized for a crossing on the North Side like they have done on the south side of these lights. Is there also a need for the zebra crossing by West St as yet again you have the traffic lights at Talbot Square for pedestrians to cross a short stroll away. It appears he wants to implement part of the recommendations from the report that the council paid for in 2011 but not in its entirety, as it does mention about the crossing at near the traffic lights at New Bonny St causing congestion in the report.
Will Blackburn score an own goal as he claims that he inherited the problems with the promenade congestion and recognised that there are congestion problems, but his excuse to the electorate is he cannot do anything about it as there is no money in the pot. Well it seems he can find the money to fund further chaos on the promenade when it suits him, just like they did with Talbot Square.
I had written sweet shop Freddy off as a no hoper, but I thought Blackburn was a little bit brighter, seems I may have misjudged him as well. I think I will write him off, just like his beloved football team.
Dave, If they changed every decision they made because someone from the public had a different idea nothing would get done. A decision maker whoever that may be will obviously believe his/her decision is the right one even after consultation.
That decision may or maynot turn out to be the right decision. The prom is one argument which proves this Im sure Callow’s crew were thinking that by reducing the width of the prom and putting in all these extra crossings it makes it safer for the hoilday maker and pedestrians.
If you ask people who dont drive down the prom or only walk Im sure they love it.
I personnally think it looks great I dont drive down it that much but when I do its never been as bad as I find Preston.
Phil stated “It decides what it’s going to do, puts it out for consultation, gets responses from residents but does what it originally planned regardless.” this is not true as this council has as you are aware actually changed some of its decisions, not many granted but some.
I think you will find public opinion is very strong in Blackpool when it comes to the Chaos on the promenade and business within the town centre who are suffering due to the road cock ups and the council expensive parking, but we still get morons like you who cannot see further than your nose, Labour through and through.
In conclusion if the so called leader knows that there is a problem with the promenade or so he says he does, but if he truly believes this is the case why does he not do something about it, or his he just saying this to get stakeholders on side believing that he might actually do something about it.
I know your excuse there is no money in the pot but he can muster money for some of his crackpot ideas and how much did Talbot square alterations cost? how much is the new crossing going to cost?. Lets not forget we have money in the pot to help Blackpool transport who are struggling to get about, this could be diverted to build a bus lane running alongside the promenade instead of up Central Drive which will turn out to be a disaster.
I agree about the Callow’s and that is why I did my utmost to destroy the structure of that party with others, we new if we could get rid of Fowler that Callow would fall as the leader.
Dave if you have such great public support why not start a petition show just what support there really is.
You could also throw in a few facts.
Have accidents gone up since the changes?
Have more pedestrians been injured?
Perhaps the people in power that you say are doing nothing are waiting to see these statistics before making a decision.
This is the problem with your argument,what if the stats show the roads are safer for drivers and pedestrians?
To be frank I dont think the Prom is as big an issue as you are making out in the circles I frequent it never gets mentioned ever …unless you count this site
I think you will find that like the fairness commitee turnout most people of this town wont give a toss. This thread has the same old people week in week out people dont give a toss unless like yourself it affects your daily business or finances.
Sadly for you there isnt the same level of corruption that there was with the last administration its easy to get people on your side when there is the hint of a bent councillor or two. Nothing Blackburn has done so far with the prom suggests corruption and so the press and public alike will be lethargic about the issue.
Try a leaflet campaign again I wager it wont do anywhere near as well as it did with the Torys and Crystal Road.
Got to go recharging the scooter drove down the prom today at 10 AM it was moving quite well even where Geo Cox are doing the repairs had another drive down about an hour ago hardly a car in sight but the prom looked lovely its a credit to Callow and Co.
Leaflet campaign will be better timed near the elections cardy,where we can list the f++kups of your great leader,Blackburn might be able to count on the support of the work shy and dross I hardly doubt that that working people with any intelligence will vote for him.
I presume with some of your comments that you once fell of a roof and banged that head of yours because you live in a different world to the rest of us.
Every thing is rosy in Cardys world maybe you should patient those rose tinted glasses yours wearing and start selling them on the promenade.
yet again cardy puts his foot in it,lol, well said dave, SB can squander millions on suggary shitty scummy breakfasts for fetid feckless underclass fartbags but not sort out the main issues like the prom……….
Dave you are only looking at this from a point of self interest there are many people who are quite happy with the way the prom is. As a motorist you are concerned with driving.By removing these crossings you are overlooking the pedestrian and in particular disabled people who are not as mobile. At no stage have you stated that you have given anything other than the motorist any consideration this is clearly something that should be considered.
By describing me as a moron it states more about yourself than me clearly your a selfish person only concerned with your own self interests and no consideration for others.
To be honest I couldn’t give a toss if the prom stays the same it has no effect on me whatsoever I manage to drive round the town with consummate ease.
As for general opinion most taxi drivers are considered inconsiderate twats who think they own the road…Isee you fall into that category .
I can only assume that your mode of transport is an electic disabled vehicle if you can drive around Blaclpool with considerate ease. Obviously special needs as your brain must be damaged with some of the shite you spout.
lol lol lol lol excellent dave, truly excelent………….
Cardy you don’t believe anyone in Callows crew was allowed an opinion do you? Similarly it seems unfortunately SB is falling into the same mould and Council decisions are generally not made by involvement with the councillors at large, rendering most of them as pointless.
personnally think it looks great I dont drive down it that much but when I do its never been as bad as I find Preston.
lol
Maxine Preston is a shithole,I get stuck in traffic there all the time its a nightmare far worse than Blackpool. It took me 30 mins to get past Deepdale center the other day I have never in my life waited that long in traffic in Blackpool.
Preston is trying to introduce trams running along the longridge branch and unlike Blackpools will go into the centre of town………….
http://www.prestontrampower.co.uk/index.php/news/5/59/Trampower-Spokesperson-States-The-New-Year-Will-Be-a-Good-One-for-Preston-Project
Clive Grunshaw/Simon Blackburn careerist pseudo left wing siamese twins. All self interest, money grabbing with absolutely no substance. But both surrounded by a clique of cock sucking sycophants who would clean their socialist bell-ends with their own lips if required. That’s the reality.
excpet clive cunt gruntshaw has been caught fiddling expenses………………….lol.
Ok Cardy how about all the old and disabled who wished to see a show at the grand theatre and have travelled by bus, during the illuminations the nearest bus stops for those this year was cookson street, this only happened because of all the traffic chaos caused by the prom and Talbot sq road layouts, never happened before. Some people even mentioned that they wouldn’t come back due to this, thus affecting business in the town. Your dear friend muppet Blackburn is aware of this, so what’s his answer? Do you know because no one else does.
So it’s not just as you say inconsiderate taxi drivers it affects, its the whole town.
No replies from Cardy yet, must be waiting for muppet Blackburn to get back to him with response.
Still not replying to my bit about congestion and buses having to abandon the town, after all Muppet Blackburn had promised to address it and he has not. We can only hope that the current works on the prom crossing is to remove it in readiness for the one in front of the tower, which incidentally is where a pecan crossing used to be before the cock up started
Have you ever known the prom not to be congested when the lights are on? The buses have always had problems when the lights are on its not a new thing. Anybody who knows that the lights are on and wants to get a bus into town would know that if they got on a bus that was scheduled to get you to a show 10 mins early would probably have to get one an hour before that to be on the safe side. That was prior to the changes and nothing has changed there.
I could suggest that now that the ABC is being demolished there will be plenty of car parking spaces for the shows does this address the issue sufficiently for you perhaps Blackburn realized this was an issue and has dealt with it via the extra parking spaces within walking distance of the Winter Gardens and not too bad for the Grand..
Whoops hit publish by error. Cont…
As for prom clear tonight, well cold night in January, the quietest time of the year is the easily answer to that. Not rocket science is it Cardy
As for no accidents, how can stationary traffic knock someone over? And stationary traffic spewing out fumes isn’t good for that great political con climate change.
As for fairness commission, how fair is it that very very few people knew of it and the questions were vetted before hand? Doesn’t the Muppet like awkward questions about his false promises. Do feel free Cardy to confer with your dear friend before you reply.
emnm are you stating that the traffic is only a problem on hot summer days? If its a seasonal thing what do you expect when the town has an influx of holiday makers. The prom has always had congestion and to be fair I remember the days the traffic backed up to the motorway all the way down waterloo road marton drive through to squires gate and then down the prom. Do we have the same level of congestion today? NO so things are a lot better.
Heres the thing emnm Blackburn will still be leader after the next elections this is basically a right wing Tory thread and so I expect to read right wing ideas on here with Blackburn being slated. The fact remains very little that can be thrown at him is damaging the Labour party in this town. Williams had the chance the other day on breakfast clubs and blew it big time (he should stick to gardening) the prom which I do not think is a problem was a Tory created one. The with held report I fully expect to be released just before the next elections just in time to damage the Tory party you cant blame Blackburn for that its politics and hes playing the game. As for the fairness commitee who gives a toss about it Ive hardly seen the Gazette blasting the lack of interest or publicity for it its just another waste of money. Rather than moaning about the lack of turnout what about the cost of hiring the hall and councillors expenses?
“The prom has always had congestion and to be fair I remember the days the traffic backed up to the motorway all the way down waterloo road marton drive through to squires gate and then down the prom. Do we have the same level of congestion today? NO so things are a lot better.”
Why is that better? Its through fewer visitors, you clown. We need to be doing things which attract people to this town and the roads in and around this town are a disgrace.
Heres is a FACT for you Joe the roads in this town are the most improved in the country.
Im sure the visitors would like to see 4 lanes of traffic rather than the scenic headland.I particularly like watching cars in a holdup its so therapeutic and so nice to watch.
I take it you also feel that the congestion is now not as bad as it was through your response. Think before you write clown and read the other fact about the increase in the number of cars this far outweighs the number of visitors the town has lost… clown
Im not interested in the petty politics they play, what I want is someone in charge who actually gives a toss about the town, we did have great hope for the muppet, but false promises dont endear him to people. We need people who have a real vested interest in this town to run in like the old aldermen did, or even if I dare say it for all the party’s on the council to get together and say, right lest work together and sort this once great town out, but we know that will never happen because they all have an agenda , and that is not good for the town.
Yes traffic was bad years ago, but times change people want everything instantly now, sad but true, so queuing up on Talbot road for over an hour to join the prom doesn’t help. We have to think what people want now, not 20 years ago
look at the pendulum glowing in the light follow it with your eyes you are feeling sleepy, repeat after me ” there is no congestion on the prom, there is no congestion on the prom, there is no congestion on the prom” when I click my fingers Fred you will wake up.
I dont see what the problem is we are talking about the prom most of the prom has always been two lanes. the roads around the prom have always been two lanes.By changing this short stretch of prom will solve all of Blackpools congestion problems? Where does this congestion miraculously disappear to after this short stretch of road? Will speeding up this section of road then not put traffic into the surrounding areas more quickly creating congestion in these areas? Dave has never come up with a plan for these roads just the money making bit…self interest
If congestion was far worse in the 70s just how when the prom was one way from south shore how did this affect the buses or taxi drivers wanting to drive the opposite way? They made do because it was the season and we are a holiday resort they had no choice.
Daves argument that a crossing is causing congestion shows that that crossing is being used frequently otherwise it would not be a problem if it was used infrequently
Are the council right to give seasonal pedestrians priority you have stated it isnt a problem on a wet January night, it was also clear at 10am on a dry January morning even where the road works are? Perhaps we should not cater for holiday makers?.
This shows the taxi driver in Dave selfish not bothered about anyone else just wanting to earn a living. How many times have we seen taxi drivers parking in the middle of a road holding up traffic or doing stupid,dangerous u-turns?
Frequently perhaps this issue should be addressed to keep traffic moving,
Dave has made an assumption without all the relevant facts as they are not yet available and clearly without considering pedestrians this shows me its self interest funnily enough there was an element of self interest in Crysytal Road.
What does this say about his argument?
Finally can anyone name one major town or city which does not have congestion?
This will show that the problem of congestion is unique to Blackpool as Maxine said look at the pendulum… and stop being so naive its the amount of cars on the road that is the problem dont worry the way fuel prices are going it wont be long till all the roads are clear and then Dave will have something to gripe about
Not living in your world Cardy as you know you talk shite and everybody on here holds the same opinion of you. You carry on wearing your rose tinted glasses we know you can’t help yourself and for that reason we try and humour you on here, out of pity.
lol lol lol Cardy when will you learn to take a day off,have a rest and dont be a cunt all your life?lol,lol,lol,lol,lol………………
Do you think Cardy is really Mrs Callow Harold as i seem to think she was also in denial when it came to congestion. Even his wonderful leader tells everyone that there is a problem,but talk is cheap as they say. Time we got action.
I agree or its peter cross or someone related/involved with the clowncil………….either way a total fucktard,lol
This is where Blackburn is abetter man than you Dave where are your facts?
HE doesn’t call you a moron on a public forum speaks volumes .Just because others have differing opinions doesn’t make what they are saying shite.
Yes Dave get to action,it won’t do you any good. Until you provide facts you are just giving your biased self interested opinion as a taxi driver .
JUst out of curiosity mr Palmer just what have I stated that is shite the prom
The prom being one way in the 70s
The fact traffic used to back upto the motorway in that era
The fact you don’t have any facts to substantiate your claims
What?
You see Dave it’s you who is twisting things to suit his own self interest not me.
SO come on mr Palmer prove to us you are right with facts.
Until then it’s just your opinion like mine,does this make you full of shite too?
Lets not forget I have used Your information to disprove things you have said like the crossing holding up traffic does this suggest its used frequently or not? You stated this not me, you have put forward the case for saving the crossing not a case for getting rid of the thing well done Dave clearly you hadn’t thought that one through had you.
This shows that Youtoo are also wrong about the prom or are you suggesting that drivers should be given priority over pedestrians?…self interest…
I haven’t raised the issue of money this time although that too is a valid point here,is to the prom staying just the way it is just to piss you off.
If you recall the report done for the council by Phil Jones Associates in December 2011 for a cost of £8,180 + VAT, it highlights in section 4.2.3 this crossing as a problem.
It says; “The zebra crossings, particularly those near to New Bonny Street junction, are causing vehicular congestion due to high numbers of pedestrians. This is having a severe impact on some bus routes and on taxi services.”
The residents know it’s a problem
I know its a problem
Cab drivers know its a problem
Visitors know its a problem
The council knows its a problem
Phil Jones Associates know it’s a problem
The only person who thinks it’s not a problem is Cardy.
I would like to think that a busy crossing shows that it is needed What is a little inconvenience to public safety?
Cardy, I will try to explain to you in simple terms, you say in one breath there is no congestion, yet I attended a recent meeting were the boss of Blackpool transport was saying that if things don’t improve that he will consider running a bus service which does not pass through the town. He will have buses dropping of North of the town centre then turning around and going back out of town and the same for south buses, He is running a business and as such cannot afford to have buses stuck for 40 mins on Talbot Road trying to get to the bus stops on Market St, Corporation St and Clifton St hence this is why passengers were having to get off at Cookson St. Now many elderly use these buses who may not be wheelchair bound but never the less are unable to walk
large distances, so how do you propose that these elderly get to the Grand theatre if things remain the same and Blackpool transport find themselves have to take such drastic action.
There was never a problem before the promenade was made into single lanes with zebra crossings and Talbot Square altered.
Now you keep saying how important it is for the tourists to get across the promenade, and I agree with you on that point, well before they altered the promenade there was 3 pelican crossings which the pedestrian pressed the button on the post and then the traffic would stop because of a red light, there was also a island running down the centre of the two carriageways which was a safe haven for pedestrians who only had to contend with traffic running one way at a time, so in essence this was far more controlled.
Now we know that they have lessened the potential car carrying capacity of the promenade by making it single lanes in each direction and a lot of local commuters are tending to use the inland routes because of this, but we still have problems with traffic congestion on the promenade which most sensible people have recognized, except you off course.
You argue that Blackpool council is skint so cannot afford to put it back to how it was, so it is not just me but anyone with half a brain has recognized that the zebra crossings are causing problems as people don’t all cross together at the same time as they would with a pelican but cross in dribs and drabs at random thus holding up traffic more than a pelican crossing would.
I explained to you that there is plenty of documented evidence from other highway authority’s who state that they would use a pelican crossing as opposed to a zebra were there is a large footfall or many cars, otherwise it puts the motorists to a large disadvantage.
We have suggested that the crossing near new Bonny St is taken away and the North side of the traffic lights is adapted to allow pedestrians across just like they have done with the south side of these lights, we also think by doing the same with the zebra crossing at West st and the promenade and utilizing the lights at Talbot Square to allow people to cross and lets not forget there is also another zebra crossing less than 25 metres away from this one.
I am in agreement that there should be a crossing by the tower but it should be a pelican crossing as these can be synchronized to the main set off traffic lights in order to try and improve the holdups when it is busy. The council have a traffic light control system available to them that would cost in access of £100,000 collecting dust as they have no one trained in how to use it.
In conclusion Cardy we have seen the roads shrink within the town centre over the last 10 years and yet as you state there are more motorcars than ever on the road so what would be Cardys way of dealing with this situation to ease the congestion.
You mention the headland at the tower has won awards, but the headland could remain as is because the tram tracks dictate to the size of this area.
Infact all the west side of the tram tracks could stay as it is, although I feel that there is to much emphasis on concrete and would have liked to have seen more colours with hardy plants and shrubs ect, which were able to cope with the sea air, same goes for St Johns I find that boring, could have been largely improved with more seating and more greenery and raised flower beds, but that is just my opinion.
Eminm as pointed out to you we actually take on board what our passengers tell us and there is a hell of a lot who now think the traffic situation has got out of hand, and is not helped by the actions taken by the highways department with there anti-car agenda.
Now you may have Peter Cross on your side as he is also in denial, but off course his job could be on the line if he was to admit his mistakes and we have heard SSF response on the radio but believe me there are many others who see it for what it is chaos at the best of times.
Now a good leader would recognize this, Blackburn has, but it is how he deals with fixing it that will show if he is worthy of being the leader of Blackpool council. I know I have probably wasted my time explaining this to you Cardy, but at least I have tried my best.
As has been stated by David, the problem is that the flow of pedestrians is not regulated, whereas the flow of vehicles is.
So when the vehicles are allowed to ‘go’ from either set of lights, it is quite feasible that they can be held up again within just a few metres by that crossing outside Coral Island. This often blocks up the box junction and creates congestion because the traffic signals at New Bonny Street and the Promenade do not know that people are crossing the road outside Coral Island like they used to when it was a signal controlled pelican crossing.
As David also says, the council have an expensive Urban Traffic Management & Control system which could assist matters but they have nobody trained to use it.
At what time of the year was this survey done Phil, In a seasonal resort I would fully expect there to be delays on the prom.
Are you stating this crossing is still causing a problem at this time of year?
Again I believe the safety of the holiday makers should be given priority rather than the little inconvenience the motorist has to endure.
I’m not stating anything Cardy, I am quoting from the Phil Jones Associates’ report that was commissioned by Sweet Shop Fred and cost taxpayers about ten grand including VAT.
For your info, if you didn’t know, Phil Jones Associates are Transport Planning Consultants, so they probably know more about this topic than any of us. That said, it only takes common sense to see the problems with the Promenade.
They visited the Promenade during October half term in 2011. In respect of the crossing, they concluded that;
“…formal crossings should be incorporated within the junction areas, and existing zebra crossings changed to informal crossings…”
They are therefore saying that the council should get rid of the crossing and put a proper crossing at the traffic lights at New Bonny Street. Remember Cardy, they are saying this, not me. Although I agree with them.
The reason the council gave for not putting proper crossings at the traffic lights was that the lights had recently been replaced under the council’s lights PFI deal. You do wonder why an independent firm like Phil Jones was not brought in before the work started on this; only John Donnellon will know the answer to that one.
Cardy I will save my breath or my fingers, as my father always told me that you cannot educate an idiot and in your case this is true. No point debating with someone who is in denial.
As you see Dave no substance to your self indulgent opinion.
Lets see just how well you do in achieving change on the prom I won’t hold my breath.
As I see it Dave people have started to see you for what you are we’re you not personally verbally attacked by someone on the gazette the other day?
It wasn’t me but next time I shall take great pleasure in backing them up. Just remember Dave it’s facts that count and you clearly don’t have any perhaps if you did you may be able to do something but without statistics for the alleged congestion,accident figures etc your case as I stated is just a self interested opinion. Get over yourself you sound like a right spoilt brat spitting his dummy out because someone dares to question your opinion …grow up this isn’t a playground where your verbal abuse intimidates people.
By the way Dave I don’t think it’s right a parent calling their child an idiot I hope you have gotten over it
His Gazette posts are now actively targeted for review as he is the latest one to be their target BTW
So Cardy the solution to elderly and disabled having no access to the grand by bus is leave earlier, what a moronic response, so I can only assume that you are a council member.
And how will having a car park on church st help the buses?
Same response to you emnm provide some facts which prove your opinion is correct.
Which cab firm do you work for same as MR Palmer.
Max fan I have read his posts on the Gazette.I was referring to an individual having a go at him. It’s quite easy to do as he clearly has no evidence to substantiate his claims quite the contrary he has just put forward the case for saving this busy and frequently used crossing he wants removing what a foolish thing to do when you are arguing the opposite.
I look forward to his campaign to change the prom Ishall actively oppose it as I think the headland looks far better with two lanes in its present form. Why should someone with a biased self interest dictate what should be done?
The last administration thought the prom was a good idea perhaps Blackburn feels the same and if that is the case it’s tough luck MR PAlmer. I haven’t heard any Tory councillors condemning the prom either.THere was that buffoon Maynard stating there was a problem yet he didn’t identify it or criticise the Tory council who instructed the work be done.
The problem D.P. has is that both party’s don’t really want to change it the torys because it shows there incompetence and labour because of the cost.
Could you imagine the stick BLackburn could give the torys if he had to change it back its a no lose situation for him.So all this criticism of him doesn’t make sense he has everything to gain from changing it back and nothing to lose except a huge amount of the towns budget which as we all know is being reduced by a Tory led government.
Perhaps he could put council tax up a further 20% to cover the cost IM sure everyone would agree to it to get the roads sorted out? Not
I have a business in the town Cardy and I have often to travel North of the town. I do not use the prom now and that is purely down to “congestion” WHICH IS CAUSED BY THE LANE NARROWING from Chapel St up to and beyond Talbot Sq. I am not into party politics and it is very clear to me that this is/was a vanity project dreamt up by some pie eyed dreamer in the council. Now my gripe is that nobody has the balls to stand up and recognize, never mind have a plan in place to rectify the problem. For you to spout on about the 70′s and congestion in general is typical of why this malaise will continue. The traffic is now backing up around the back of the park along past the hospital and down to Bispham Rd.
What I would propose is a super highway something resembling a large dual carriageway/motorway which can carry the weight of traffic from North to South and you wil find it will also generate business, something this town desperately needs. Playing party politics and trying to win petty arguments is exactly the reason this town is in such a mess. I watched the last meeting on line and I felt truly embarrassed witnessing some of the leaders of our once great town arguing like little children, instead of debating the issues and problems we have in this town.
Well said Jeremy Smith! Your observations are spot on. I agree in principal with a North/South route but cannot ever see this happening.
I too can remember when traffic backed up all over town during the lights. It was in the heady days when Blackpool really was a busy resort and we had over 16 million visitors per year. Most of these people stayed for over a week at a time. How I wish those days were back. We are now faced with a traffic system that cannot support a third of that number of visitors. Anyone who thinks that the promenade works in its present form must have their head up their arse That apart it is just over a year old and is crumbling and sinking in numerous places. It is already starting to look very very worn. Not much hope of it lasting in its current form. Better to tarmac over it and put it back to 4 lanes with a central reservation.
Jeremy, you were moaning about spen corner the other week, what about clifton road by cherrytree back to gilberts,squires gate by morrisons, preston new road from the motorway to south park drive commonedge road by the shovels and many more are these all caused by the prom?
Just how would a north south fly over assist all these other areas?
In 1970 48% of households in this country didnt have access to a car on a daily basis in 2008 this figure had fallen to 22% and the amount of houses in the country had increased between these periods. This is a fact there lies the problem we are now in 2013 and many more households actually have more than one car.
You are actually part of the problem being a car salesman and perhaps you and Dave could start a fund to pay for the changes you so desire,its always easy spending someone elses money especially if it is for your own benefit.
cardy come clean…………are you a labour councillor?
You are a contradiction in terms Cardy. One minute stating there is no congestion then highlighting all the troubled hotspots. I agree, that there are probably too many cars on the road BUT what answers to the powers that be have to the problem, narrow roads and restrict movement. The towns roads and routes are an utter disgrace whether its Callow/Blackburn/Fowler or Cross it doesn’t matter but lets have someone with the balls to sort it out. Please don’t tell me you are in favour of the cycle lanes? What an abhorrent waste of public money.
As for “self interest”, my business, repairs, services, maintains as well as sells vehicles to the people of Blackpool, something my family have been doing for over 40yrs. I pay £14,000pa business rates and employ 6 people. I am 43 yrs old and born and bred in this town and believe fervently that I am well placed to see what is right and what is DEFINTELY wrong within this town. As I said before I don’t do party politics, much prefer a doer than a talker and this town is in need of many doers.
The Prom is a major bugbear and OK we might not have the money but somebody for goodness sake stick their hand up in the air and lets debate how we are going to move forward and sort it out. As a final note. Clifton Drive heading South right the way into Lytham, despite most times being busy, is always moving and WHY? I suggest that it might be down to the wide thoroughfares, that those nasty cars drive down. You can’t force people out of their cars, its too personal, we just got to find ways to live with them.
cardy you have spent your entire life sucking shit through your mothers piss stained tights, why change?
Cardy can you please explain why Radio Wave has for ages and still now almost daily announces “there is the USUAL congestion on the promenade between Talbot Sq and Chapel St” or are you suggesting that Dave Palmer is the announcer.
Don’t they also say this about other areas of the town at rush hour? Didn’t they say that prior to the changes? It’s not like this is a new issue for the prom is it?
It trust you are not saying there were no problems on the prom before the changes because that would be just plain silly wouldn’t it?
The facts are there for you cardy, business people saying what most of the town are saying. Yes I drive cabs and speak to lots of residents and visitors. Quite a few visitors have mentioned that the prom looks nice, but dont like sitting in traffic during daytime, quite off putting for some, odd one even said they won’t be back due to congestion. That’s a tourist not coming back to a holiday town, how many more? So that’s a fact for you. Another fact, never before the prom change did south bound traffic back up on Sundays from chapel st to the gynn.
Fact, buses running late due to congestion, you only need to speak to the driver’s.
How many more do you need?
Muppet Blackburn had great opportunity to deal with this, and he blew it, he was even shocked about that 999 program and what it showed, if he was intouch he would know what the town was like at night.
I suggest you and your and your councillor buddies of all party’s get their heads out of your arses and go out to speak to the man on the street, not the yes men at town hall.
Self interest pal don’t give a toss. What about other business areas in the town which don’t affect your self interested opinion? See my post to Dave IM off down the prom to see this congestion you claim is there on a Sunday morning.
Also waiting for your response to what the elderly and disabled are supposed to do with bus stops on the edge of town during illuminations, a sensible answer this time, one that goes with Labour’s equality act.
Also I’m beginning to think you are a councillor, so if you are and you are using tax payer funded or subsidize pc please check with Sharon Davis if you are allowed to use a pseudonym on blogs or you may have to declare yourself as such.
Cardy is a complete idiot, in one breath he is states that there is no congestion and then he states that there are a lot more cars on the road these days but yet he cannot grasp why taking two lanes away on a main A road and closing other routes within the town centre as well as building pavements out into roads thus narrowing junctions as well as narrowing other roads for unused ill thought out cycle lanes cause havoc with the town centre.
The useable road space in Blackpool over the last 10 years has shrunk beyond believe while pedestrian areas have grown and yet more tourist come to Blackpool by car as opposed to public transport.
Research has been done Cardy with other towns highways departments and there policy are not to use zebra crossings in busy footfall areas as they put the motorist at a complete disadvantage. This evidence has been shown to Cross and the council, but Crosses excuse is you can’t compare Blackpool with these other councils. Too right we can’t as they obviously employ someone who knows what they are doing why we are stuck with the sewage rat to run our highways department.
Even the Tory government are looking how to fund more road building projects as they realise cars need more road space.
In the meantime best Blackburn and Co can come up with is lets spend more money on yet another zebra crossing and lets not forget all the extra paving he funded at Talbot Square. Maybe if they put things back to how they used to be would be a good start.You carry on living in la la land Cardy,we know you cannot help yourself.
Dave,firstly I will address the issue of self interest you have never mentioned any other area than the prom.I deliberately mentioned two large business areas in my post to Jeremy. You have failed to consider these areas…self interest because the changes to the prom will not solve the problems of these sitesThese sites are frequently affected by standing traffic at rush hour. Indeed emnm who claims to be worried buses are running late hasn’t picked up on the fact that buses start at tesco and because of the standing traffic there regually start off late so clearly they will be late getting into town.
I haven’t got all the figures but would suggest there are more people employed in these areas than town if you take out the council workers.
Jeremy feels congestion is being caused in other areas because of the prom changes in all the areas he has mentioned there was congestion before the changes.
Philtheone and the late Tory councillor have had plans for South Park drive and Preston new road indeed the councillors proposals were prior to any changes to the prom.I wonder if Jeremy is suggesting the Plymouth road roundabout has only become a problem since the prom changes.
Please don’t use the Tory government as a defence they are starting building roads and houses in a desperate bid to get the economy growing,if you have read anything I have stated in the past about the school building programme suddenly getting extra funding (it never really went away )just more Tory crap. As is your statement about the Tory,s it just smacks of desperation to prove your point.
I would also suggest that Cross has a point we are different to other towns and cities these other towns and cities will have a regular amount of foot fall using their crossings in Blackpool this figure will increase during the summer season significantly as your own post seems to indicate however in the winter periods these crossings won’t be as a problem as there are not the same amount of people using them as emnm your friend and fellow self interested collegue has stated there are no problems on cold January nights,the traffic was also moving steadily during the day.
As for talbot square if it looks half as good as St. John’s when it’s finished then I say well done to the council I also think the headland finished under the last administration looks great just ashame about the quality of work this always seems to be a problem under a Tory council. I can back up that statement but its going off topic.
Again because someone disagrees with you you call them a sewer rat how very mature. Perhaps if you want to make a difference why not stand to be a councillor or even get all these people who want changes to he prom to start funding it you will then see just how much true support you really have, emnm states he talks to people about it all the time it’s so easy to agree with someone who has a self interest rather than actually talking about a topic your not really bothered about.
As for congestion to me it’s when I am not driving at the speed limit as this is 20mph on this section of road I very rarely see it congested as I manage to stick to 20mph on most occasions I drive down it I cannot say the same about Clifton road or PLymouth road roundabout.
When you start considering these other areas which don’t impact on your business Dave I will then believe you are not just interested in yourself.
To PHiltheones credit he has thought about other areas of the town can you say the same?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-20996278
lol lol lol they still arent listening………….
3 months on and nothing has changed http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-19862253
We may never know Harold because they can never give straight answer to those they are supposed to serve.
Another fact for you cardy, Talbot sq plaza, £300,000 spent on that, that was after muppet Blackburn said it wouldn’t go ahead, for events to be held on it, and to date how many of these events have happened, a big fat zero. Is that tax payers money well spent? Maybe just maybe it could have been used for, oh I don’t know maybe on employing people or even better not having to make people redundant. Just a thought.
Let them finish working in the area before you start slagging them off.Its hardly going to look great with major construction going on the old Yates site.
IN all honest it looks better already.
we have been waiting years so far, so that i think is just pie in the sky.
still waiting for your response to elderly and disabled bus users.
also why £300,000 was wasted when jobs could be saved, as a labour lover thought you were a man of the workers.
Hey Harold, it could be cross himself.
as for identifying myself, not after a certain person tried to get licencing onto Dave, luckily they declined that councillors request. Stinks of an abuse of power, but thats another story.
I have introduced myself to Dave and that’s good enough for me.
Fellow cab drivers together
just like fellow labour morons together.
we have to try to stick together with muppets running the town.
Well that was a nice drive down the prom…standing traffic emnm?
I even broke the law driving at 30in the 20 zone naughty boy.
I believe I may have stumbled across Dave the raves problem an inconsiderate taxi driver picking up a fare and holding up the little traffic there was.CLearly if there is only one lane this makes it difficult to pick up fares without holding up traffic however if those taxi drivers didn’t obstruct the highway this would allow the traffic to flow more freely a simple solution which doesn’t cost the tax payers a penny.
Another solution would be for cab drivers to pay for pull in pick up points after all it is their business this scheme would be helping and all donations are tax deductible .
I state as a matter of opinion that the crossing were not an issue today. I can also state that Clifton drive at tesco is more congested than the prom though not as bad as I have seen it there.
So taxi drivers are part of the problem Dave how do you address this issue?
Well actually Cardy we do contribute with the hundred of thousands of pounds that taxi drivers give to the council in licence fees and you will notice that there are pull over sections called taxi ranks that taxis sit on.
Now lets have a look at the bus stops shall we, which are designed to block the highways and obstruct the free flow of traffic to which many cab drivers contribute to by way of the council tax, as this is taken out of the highways budget just like the maintenance of the new cocked up tram shelters, not from Blackpool transport so you see Cardy we do pay our way.
Now go and get your mobility scooter out or noddy car and have a drive around la la land were you live in your world. I shall resist from debating with you any more as i said before you cannot educate an idiot and you are top of the class in that respect.
lol lol lol lol lol lol lol……………..
I’m only telling you what I saw with my own eyes.The road was clear and he stopped for a fare. Does the same licensing committee look at inappropriate driving like holding up the traffic a statutory offence.
Isn’t it strange how when I brought up a defence for the cab driver you lot have jumped onto earnings what you haven’t realised is this also shows your true colours of self interest as I stated.
Clearly Dave wants the roads all to himself slagging of the buses and mobility scooters this again shows his self interest. As for council tax if someone isn’t earning minimum wage hey won’t pay it even on minimum wage they may be entitled to a reduction..So from this fact that you are paying council tax you are clearly earning more than minimum wage or you should be claiming the benefit which means you are not a council tax payer.
Perhaps Dave is also wrong here perhaps you can enlighten us either way one of you are supplying false information
As PHil has pointed out if you can’t earn a living look to other avenues
Here’s to the prom staying exactly as it is.
I didn’t see David slagging off buses Cardy. He slagged off the stupid placement of bus stops, like Layton or the ones near the Metropole.
Sometimes I wonder whether you actually read the posts people make!
lol he cant read em properly and he still hasnt done me my fuckin picture!!!
Cardy, wheres my picture you said you would do for me? I am gutted mate.
I was going to draw a picture of the congestion on the prom today I even took my best crayons with me,emnm was lying there was no time to draw the picture as the traffic kept moving apart from the short blip with said inconsiderate taxi driver yes I know he is only trying to earn a living…. Which I don’t like having a go at
like the rest of us, trying to earn a living, pay taxes to fund stupid political ideas.
also a taxi driver has to have good reason not to stop at a flag down or he can find himself in front of licencing. so get your facts correct cardy before you spout your crap.
why do you use crayons? not allowed sharp objects?
Cardy, you keep spouting on about cab drivers and do we work for the same company. Well in fact i do not work for any company and only drive my cab two nights per week and maybe a few afternoons to read my paper in piece and i get a bit of pocket money into the bargain. I have other business interests which give me a far greater income.
But i do spare a thought for my colleagues who do rely on bringing a wage in solely from driving a taxi, there are over 1500 taxi and private hire drivers in this town and with the office staff and indirect jobs this figure would swell to over 2,000, local jobs.
The previous council administration and this new one are making life extremely difficult by allowing the road infrastructure to become more congested, when you also take into account the damage that the free bus passes have done and the cost of insurance and fuel and other things these girls and boys will be lucky to bring home what they could earn working in a warm supermarket. Important due many would leave if there were plenty of job vacancys in the town but unfortunately there aren’t.
This time of year it is impossible to make the minimum wage once you deduct expenses. Now please don’t shed a tear for me Cardy as i have a fantastic life and would not want to change it, but please spare a thought for some of these cabbies who are to proud to throw the towel in and claim all the benefits under the sun as they would be a lot better off.
It has been explained to you that less locals use the promenade now because of the amount of congestion and now tend to use the inland routes which has placed a burden and increased travelling time here now. But it is the business within the town centre that are losing out and yes i also have a vested interests there as well but keep it under wraps as the council can try and make life akward for you if they can as i nearly found out. You see Cardy I use my real name, unlike some and speak my mind which always brings you enemy’s I also have principles that I stand by unlike some.
Locals are turning there backs on the business in the town centre due to the congestion and the council parking policy.
Here is another statistic for you Cardy I do a lot more milage in my private car than i do in my taxi but thanked the Lord it is to other towns rather than driving around Blackpool so I don’t just look at the roads from a taxi point of view.
Now we have seen sweetshops Fred answer to this is lets tax the out of town shopping centres rather than tackle the root cause of Blackpool problems. So it looks to me Cardy that SSF and Cross live in the same La la land as you do.
By the way Cardy, the reference to the sewer rat is the fact that Crosses claim to fame used to be that he was in charge of drainage and was moved into highways to save paying for a real qualified highways expert,this is why we are in the mess that we are, with desperate measures now been taken to try and make the cockup work rather than being man enough to except that it is a total balls up.
But not to worry if things don’t improve then we will see further business collapse in Blackpool town centre or they will relocate elsewhere, which will mean less business rates for the council, who are to become more reliant upon them from April, so either expect further job cuts or less service or higher council tax in 2014 to cover these loses.
At last he admits to self interest.
AS PHil has pointed out on a number of occasions when defending his view point if the business isn’t viable look to another business clearly there are far too many taxis …supply and demand is the term which springs to mind perhaps the council should revoke 50% of the licenses to ensure that the cabbies that are still employed meet the statutory minimum wage. I am disappointed that the council are allowing this to go on it shows that taxi owners are exploiting the situation with the people they employ this is abhor ant and should be addressed by the council forcing taxi owners to pay the minimum wage.
The other side to revoking these licenses would be fewer cars on the prom, do I care about taxi drivers hell no you have shown this on this thread know it alls that have no consideration for anyone else and let’s not forget they own the roads.
I think cross has a valid point you want to attract visitors by widening roads IM sure they see enough roads in their own towns and cities .
Still no acknowledgement about other areas of the town…self interest again.
To summarise The prom has some congestion at busy seasonal/ rush hour times when the zebra crossings according to some become a problem.
There are other areas of the town in business areas which suffer equally bad congestion at busy times this is the same as every other town and city in the country… (Apart from the seasonal bit they have it all year round.)
Some self righteous,self indulgent and having a financial interest taxi drivers wish. to force their will on the council in a most undemocratic way making the council spend our taxes on what they want. Remind you of anybody around 1940ish?
The same taxi drivers claim to be caring about the holiday makers and having the roads widened so they can earn more money. Yes the same cab drivers who stop in the middle of the road holding up traffic the same drivers who just pull out in front of you and do uturns in the most inappropriate places. The same cab drivers who aren’t bothered about speeding. Or indicating you get the picture
Hello
Hello Sir Thanks for visiting pets for sychophants today how can I help you
I would like to buy a dog an obedient dog
Well Sir you have definitely come to the right place we have lot’s of very obedient dogs in here
Great I need it to be very very loyal to me
Of course sir most dogs are………
But I need it to be extra loyal and to blindly and completely follow me if it can reiterate my thoughts and announcements no matter how ludicrous and removed from reality they are that will be the icing on the cake so to speak
Yes Sir I understand completely and we have just the thing for you its come straight from Brewers Green in fact it only arrived yesterday we let it settle in gave it a blue coloured chew to chew at and a pile of Daily Mail newspapers to crap on and its settled in really well
Great I am VERY interested
No problem sir I’ll just check oh you will be able to give it a hearty breakfast every morning as it thrives on them
Yes of course the ratepayers will be paying for that every day during school term time but I will sort it out in the Holiday periods
Excellent sir I shall just go and see if we can let you have it now…………… here you are sir and may I say what a great pair you look totally deviant in the face of adversity and logic
Thank you I think he likes me what breed is it
It’s new sir very new the paperwork that came with it said it’s a breed called the Cardy new to us but its outstanding quality is its total obedience to the owner and a hatred of anything other than pure labour
Fantastic can I pay on a 50 year prudentially borrowed public loan
Of course sir and may I wish you all the best to you and your new dog Mr Jackson
Maxine take your eloquent tongue of of his backside he’s big enough to fight his own battles.Could I ask your view on squires gate and Clifton road and plymouth road roundabout what do you propose for the businesses there?
Do you really believe tourists want four lanes of traffic smack bang in the middle of their holiday destination?
Constructive answers only …that rules you out then doesn’t it
lol
nice try loser
You see Maxine no constructive answers again it just shows that I was right about you..
yawn……………… you are too blind faith for me pal
good luck to you
the prom should be revereted back to 4 lanes simple as that it is an arterial route
Layton should be converted back to how it was it has been a disaster
all cycle lanes should be removed
st johns square should be converted back to what it was to allow a flow of traffic through the town
got that have you
now go away amnd start your own forum were you will no doubt be bale to create lots of little aliases and agree with youir own posts
this is the last time I will directly respond to you so enjoy the moment and be grateful your not talking to me face to face or do you want me to arrange that in the next few months ?
So Cardy, in short, there’s nothing wrong with traffic management in Blackpool. Everythings perfect, nothing needs to be done, it’s all fine as it is.
Anyone who says different, business owners, bus drivers, commuters, shoppers, taxi drivers, holidaymakers, even Blackburn who admitted ‘there are issues with the promenade which we are looking at, but there is no money in the pot to rectify’ are all wrong and talking out of their backsides.
So there we have it, end of debate. You (Cardy, the minority) are right and everyone else (the majority) are wrong so that’s fine, we need do nothing.
And as for all these taxi drivers, of which I am one also, thinking they are experts, just because they spend all day and night driving round the resorts roads why would they know any better than someone who just pops out on a Sunday morning for a pootle down the prom ?
It is in la la land were Cardy lives,take pity on him he can’t help it.
Cross the dots end of…I’m not your wife who has to listen to you …end of
Majority half a dozen taxi drivers..another statistic which cannot be proved.
Did Blackburn identify these problems perhaps he was talking about the standard of workmanship which is now being put right.
So why not get your arses into gear and show the council this support for your ideas if you had a petition with 10,000 people’s names on they would listen and that figure by the way is still the minority.Talk is cheap do something to prove your case as I stated about the turn out of the fairness committee people aren’t bothered unless it directly impacts on their lives or in this case livelihood….self interest
You can all slag me off as much as you want but none of you have answered any of my criticisms of the proposals to change the prom or addressed the issues of congestion affecting other businesses…Why is this ….self interest your not bothered about Gilbert’s,Tangerine and all the other businesses just your own.this is quite clear from this thread.
So don’t say your concerned for the town your not none of you are just your own little empires. off out for a meal now taxi for cardy…I’d rather walk scooters fully charged and ready to go
They would listen would they? They have had three petitions with over 10,000 signatures in total already and knocked each petition back.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-21002988
here we go the beenefits of mass immigration, coming to blackpool for free breakfast for their kids…………
Hey up the nodding dog is back, I can only assume his noddy car needs recharging. Mind you cardy you really should get your carer to give you your medication before posting on here to stop you looking so stupid. You sound like one of life’s losers, no wonder you are blind when it comes to politics.
Doesn’t seem Cardy you any comment on the fairness of the Fairness commission
I did actually respond on the fairness commission and have now changed my opinion having given it some thought.
I do now believe it is correct to write in with questions first I would follow this with every question should be answered that is asked though.In hind sight the panal should be given time to look at the information available before responding to the question.
As many have said about Sir Fred he uses this as a get out of jail answer I dont have the relevant information or its not my department.By writting in prior to the meeting this takes that answer away,dont forget I said every question should be answered in full at the meeting provided of course it is council related.
I do think that if this was done in this way it would be a benefit to the people of the town who care about it giving them a chance to respond to the committees initial answers at the next meeting with further questions if they need further answers and it also gives the public time to consider their questions rather than just blurting them out.
How strange that you have suddenly done a U-turn on this.
If the panel are allowed to pre-prepare answers then there is no point in having a public meeting, they might as well just post the answers out to the people in the same way that a councillor would.
If you remember, one of the things I first said about the Fairness Commission is that it’s Simon Blackburn’s way of implementing another interface between the council and the residents, albeit unlike the existing interface – councillors – the Fairness Commission is one that he dominates and controls.
I think you are missing the point here PHil, if a question gets asked which they don’t have the answer to at the meeting how easy is it for them to just say I don’t have all the relevant details or facts something I believe you have stated about Sir Fred.
If however all the questions are answered in full and if there are follow up questions at the meeting that can be answered this of course should be acceptable. What I am stating is that if they know the questions prior to the meeting they have no excuses for not answering that question in full.This will save time and achieve better answers from the committee which I’m sure must be a benefit to the person asking the question.
This may be a u-turn IM not afraid to change my opinion when better solutions are found.
I think Cardy is right. Phil clearly doesn’t work in a large company with multiple departments doing multiple tasks DPR you can’t just fire questions at HODs about anything that’s going on in their departments. You have to prep these with predesigned questions if you want accurate and full answers. Phil has banged on about the breakfast clubs meals being too high on calories and to sugary, if you just fire this question of at SB he could simply and honestly say “ I don’t know” BUT if you gave the question in advance “can you tell us how munch daily calories, and what percentage of this is sugar are being served in the council supported breakfast club” SB would be able to answer this in full. So the question is does phil want a full and accurate picture of what is going on in Blackpool or does he want to take cheap shots at the council?
I already know the nutritional content of the breakfast foods, this information is available and easy to find online. What I would like to know is why Simon Blackburn is spending millions of pounds to serve it to kids when his party’s policy is to ban these foods. He does not need to do research or be pre-warned of this question in order to give his view.
The Fairness Commission is about the opinions of the people in it – they decide what is fair and right – and it is these opinions that will drive policy.
The way it is now, none of the panel are put on the spot; they are all at ease, cruising along reading their council script to a bunch of zombies.
If everything is going to be scripted, I see no reason to waste time and money hiring a venue and ferrying in the great and good to exhibit a charade in fairness and accountability. Just write a response back or publish a digest online. But that doesn’t give your mate Mr Blackburn the TV interviews and other publicity, does it?
I don’t really think your big company analogy is anything like the same as the make up of the Fairness Commission. We are supposed to think that the whole point of the commission is that is it made up of diverse minority interest groups who would not otherwise have a voice. These niche representatives should know everything there is to know about their niche.
Fortunately this isn’t what the Fairness Commission is about. It’s about the council pushing its agenda through a vehicle which it will use to vindicate its policies by declaring them as fair. The fact that it’s tantamount to the council rubber stamping its own policies with its own seal of approval will be masqueraded in manipulating people’s perceptions that the Fairness Commission has something to do with fairness and that it is in some way independent from the council.
When Commissar Blackburn hikes the council tax, he will use the Fairness Commission and its suite of six figure salaried commissioners to approve it, declare it as fair and so it was written in stone.
So our friend thinks that a democratically elected council should behave as a large companies do. What bollocks. The accountability in private enterprise is ensured by it’s shareholders and appointments are made through achievement, Compare that with the fucking idiot Blackburn and his numpty assistant Jackson. They were appointed because they had red/yellow rosettes on. An elected body should be challenged publicly just as Phil says and not hide behind a facade of chosen questions.
what is becoming apparent is you have no business sense at all cardy, so I can only assume you work in the public sector or are one of our brain dead councillors. No where in these comments have we mentioned money, all we care about is attracting tourist into the town therefore the whole town prospers. On point I do mention a lot is the wasted chance the counc had to build what was needed here, a conference centre to attract that trade back to the town, thus make it prosper for everyone. And what do we get, New council offices. A missed chance to get then back from Manchester and Birmingham.
So as you can see not self interest, but a great interest in the town as a whole.
And still cardy can’t give an answer as to why he obviously thinks its ok for the elderly and disabled to be dumped off buses on cookson st. Only time that will be addressed I suppose is when one is mugged by the dross than hang around there.
And yet still now answer re elderly and disabled. I think you will find we have answered a lot of your criticisms with facts. And I think you will find it more than just half a dozen taxi driver’s, hoteliers a plenty.
And you obviously cant read, due to my previous post that it’s the whole town I worry about. I want this town to have prosperous future for my kids sake.
It’s is becoming apparent that you are the one that doesn’t give a toss about the town.
Re standard of workmanship, if we had a person in charge of highways at the town hall who knew bait about civil engineering these problems would have got identified at planning and construction stage, the buck stops with those people responsable.
Enjoy your meal cardy have a cordial evening.
mind you he will probably argue with restaurant staff when they serve his steak, he will say it’s pork.
The meal was very nice thanks,
I will tell you what is becoming apparent and I do hope you cab drivers take this on board.
Firstly you claim to want the best for the town by changing the headland back from a tourist friendly area into a motorised area this will make Blackpool less popular with the tourists.
Blackpool’s Tower Festival Headland has won the Design Excellence award in a national design competition.says it all at a national level its thought to be designed by some as excellent.
Now onto the main crux of the argument…
I wouldnt get out of bed for minimum wage I will now copy and paste Dave Palmers comments so there can be no dispute about this…
“But i do spare a thought for my colleagues who do rely on bringing a wage in solely from driving a taxi, there are over 1500 taxi and private hire drivers in this town and with the office staff and indirect jobs this figure would swell to over 2,000, local jobs.”
“This time of year it is impossible to make the minimum wage once you deduct expenses. Now please don’t shed a tear for me Cardy as i have a fantastic life and would not want to change it, but please spare a thought for some of these cabbies who are to proud to throw the towel in and claim all the benefits under the sun as they would be a lot better off”
I choose not to work this time of year I did one day before I say one day it was five hours for which I earned £150 I walked away from this 6 week contract so yes my business sense isnt that good anymore.
Having stated that by working this contract others more needy than myself for the work were being stopped from working.
Dave I care for my collegues chooses to work when he doesnt need to taking wages from those struggling to meet minimum wage.
Which of the two above mentioned true scenarios (well mine certainly is Im assuming Dave is telling the truth) sounds like they are more caring of their collegues needs?
Both people are financially sound one chooses to take money away from his collegues who he states are struggling or the one who allows his collegues to earn a better living.
Emnm states money hasnt been discusses in his blind adoration of Dave Palmer he hasnt realized minimum wage is paid in money although if we believe Dave Palmer cab drivers are earning peanuts…
Now I hope you see now why I claim Dave Palmer is a self interested person.
I have put forward valid cases for all his points particually the crossings using his so called facts as proof that he is wrong indeed his argument that the crossings are busy and causing congestion can be used as an argument for more crossings not less.
In a holiday resort is it not right to prioritize holiday makers in the tourist area? I would suggest yes Im not sure if this is Cross’s thinking but if it is in my opinion he is right.
Anyway you boys better get back to work before Dave I care comes and takes more of your business away.
one final pop at Dave if he owns his own cab and he knows people are struggling to meet minimum wage being so affluent and caring you could ask if he rents his cab out at these particually hard times why he doesnt drop the rent on it so people have more chance of earning minimum wage and there lies the problem with the cab industry that is something which hasnt changed over the years greedy owners…discuss
welcome Dave the carers opinion as Im sure the sheep will follow blindly…
cardy really is clueless.
when do self employed people get minimum wage?
and you really never answer any questions.
Emnm IM only telling you what DAve Palmer has put you clearly only skim read these threads because the main points keep going right over your head are you calling Dave Palmer a liar? Simple question a simple answer will suffice. Just to clarify its DP Claiming this not me…I think I better get the crayons out again.
I wonder how Dave feels now you are implying he is clueless when it comes to cab drivers and the minimum wage?
Cardy you dipstick I do not rent the taxi out, so wrong again, when i am not out in it, it sits on my drive, now i could sell my taxi on as i don’t make full use of it, but then someone might be out there working every shift available and renting out the shifts that they don’t do.
Thank goodness there are many others in the same position as me who don’t work every shift available to them which in turn helps others who do work all the shifts because they need to pay mortgages and have children to bring up.
Now run along little boy and get your noddy car and have a drive round your la la land and don’t forget your appointment today to your therapist you first class idiot. By the way Cardy I do hope you enjoyed your Ronald Mc Donald meal last night,did you get a nice toy with your kiddy meal. Now run along loser I’m to busy enjoying myself down at the boat to be bothered with you.
If you want to join me I will take you out to sea, mind you I might be tempted to tie a breeze block round your neck and practice man over board. Not sure i would be in a hurry to rescue a RUNT though.
Perhaps you aren’t working every shift however you are taking business from people who are struggling to meet minimum wage.IM sure while you may spare a thought for these people you still do what is in your best interests, Just for the record IM only pointing out what some fool has put on a public domain.
You may not rent out your cab but a great deal of other owners do at such high rents it stops cab drivers earning minimum wage perhaps this would be a more worthy cause for you to chase.
Thank goodness there are so many others of you who are so wealthy they will go out to work for as you state minimum wage… Taking the extra business away from people as who you state need the money.Well done mr charitable. While your out there doing your minimum wage work and taking money away from people who need it I’m sure you will sleep soundly knowing what you have done.
Carry on calling the names Dave it shows that your losing this debate and it also shows the level of your intelligence.
I am only highlighting things you have claimed…showing everyone the real Dave PAlmer a self indulgent,name caller who takes business away from people he cares about…
IHavent seen anyone else defending you on this point and when or if they do I cannot wait to reply…. You see Dave everyone can read this and it’s showing you for what you really are.I hope all the councillors and people in power in this town are seeing this it speaks volumes about you. You have done more to discredit yourself in the last few days than any Tory councillor managed to do while they were in office, No facts no substance to your points and damn right obnoxious… A credit to the taxi driving ranks…
You are losing the plot Cardy, your carer will need to give you double medication tonight. It maybe wise to put your straight jacket on as well, to stop you doing self harm in your frustration. As I’m not taking your bait. cheers.
Simple questions cardy? Still waiting your response to elderly and disabled getting dumped on cookson st, but guess u don’t really care. Your attitude is prom looks nice so what if it causes problems, I’m alright jack. Just shows we care and about residents, business owners and.visitors, and you do.r. end of!
emnm, it might be because he can drive is electric noddy car on the pavements as well as the road so the ridiculous road layout does not make any difference to him.
Typo there
Should read, and you don’
Emnm Thank you for proving DAve PAlmer for what he…someone who bases his opinion on self belief a self belief in his own interests. When he cannot produce facts he then goes on to lie about people’s income if what you say is correct. This shows that we cannot believe a word the lying taxi driver says. I think it’s disgraceful that he would use the pity card to get the prom changed for his own self interests.
Thankfully his responses on here have shown him to be fickle and in my opinion a rather weak man.
Now the issue with the grand. I don’t use public transport but can honestly say in my whole life I have never seen a wheelchair user on a bus they are more likely to use a car nowadays than public transport providing extra parking spaces will make it easier for them to get to these destinations as they can approach the abc away from the illumination traffic via park road.
Having addressed your one question I have not answered now perhaps you could answer mine .
Are you lying about minimum wage or is Dave Palmer?
Simple question for a member of Daves flock.
I hope you will be man enough to answer this question honestly. You can say what you like about me but I always try to back my points up with facts and reasons.perhaps you could do the same.
Dave PAlmer has made this statement and you have stated self employed people don’t earn minimum wage….what is the truth?
Cardy if you do not believe my statement why now come out in my cab on Friday and I will prove the point to you and every time you ask a silly question i will give you a slap. Just for your info Cardy as we know you are a bit thic, Blackpool taxi drivers are all self employed and as such they are not governed by the minimum wage as is no one who is self employed, surely you know that, I believe that was what emnmm was pointing out to you. Now don’t forget to ask your carer to read you a night time story. Goodnight.
Personally I think Dave Palmer has proven to be a Pragmatic and quite open guy
I don’t think he is particularly self motivated TBH
I know you have your points Cardy and you genuinely believe in a lot of what you say but you also are inclined to want to never give way and you also will resort to abuse too easily you did it on the gazette some months ago
Good luck to you but try to accept there are other points of view
Exactly my point Dave, self employed not governed by minimum wage laws, but cardy cant grasp that.
As for his statement that he has never used public transport then says he has never seen any wheelchair uses, well you won’t if you don’t yes el on them would you obviously. So yet another dumb comment.
So his answer must be tough on the elderly and disabled, quite a bigoted attitude in this day, and age shows he lives in the past.
As for cab rents, owner’s have addressed that, I know of no rent to have risen for over 4 years some even lowered it. But people who rent are only a portion of the trade, others ate splits.and some of the greedy owners of the past, you maybe surprised to know some
were councillors.
But this really won’t show anything because you are so under the council spell where everything is rosy.
Dave, the dip will still argue black is white, but that’s what you get when the wear the rose tinted glasses of spin.
The one thing that worries me, and its a frightening thought, cardy could actually be a councillor or involved with the roads in the town. God help us if he is.
yes or even Herr Peter Cross the Fuhrer of reich’s congestion………….
So that’s another large 2 shops going then ?
Jessops gone
HMV going
Argos possibly
I would suggest that the new council plans for MORE retail space in their rebuild is looking decidedly “iffy”
I’ve said before and will say again we have TOO much retail space in Blackpool and it’s time to move some shops nearer the hounds hill and convert large areas to modern town centre living
It would be big brave and something to be proud of
well said maxfan, the converted bus station will be empty or at best full of charity shops,they really have fucked up here,millions more wasted on retail spaces that noone wants…………….
I wonder when those who contribute to this site will realise that Cardy deliberately winds people up to divert discussion and debate from real issues and concerns. The Fairness Commission is clearly a red herring; as its delivery method has been contrived without the opinion of those consulted on initially.
I have no recollection of this delivery method being discussed while the commission was being formed, I therefore believe this must be the decision of the panel; a group that was also developed after the initial consultation.
My own believe is that Cardy is part of the political machine that was created from the “call me Tony” style politics…… All Smoke and mirrors. Perhaps Cardy should be given the same courtesy as his mentors give us and be ignored?
Cardy is my hero I love him I think he is my guiding spirit
Nurse, Nurse!
its harolds alter ego!
Well hello stopnegavity, you are my hero, I love reading your sarcastic remarks in the gazette, shame one or two readers don’t get it.
Lets assume that you are all correct in what you are saying, although I’m not swayed by your comments as yet.
What is the solution if Blackburn does nothing?
Vote in the Torys….
Where they not the ones who allowed these plans to go ahead in the first place.
Max fan has put forward the most comprehensive reasons not to vote them back in with his list of fuck ups.
Just what is the plan if Blackburn does not agree…
I trust you are now seeing the problem with the Tories they fuck the country and our town up and the labour have to come in spending to put things right….
If this thread does not prove that IDont know what does.
Cardy despite our political differences, I think you are right to ask the question of what Blackburn can do. The only chance he’s got of receiving compliments on this blog is for him to resign, or possibly disappear up his own arse. But I think most – perhaps not Harold [bless] – would think better of him if he’d begin by behaving in a manner befitting his position and stop the bullshit that permanently smears his politically biased actions. The ‘Fairness Commission’ is just the latest such crap. The reasons you give for changing your view for agreeing with Blackburn’s insistence on previously submitted questions are complete bollocks. He’s the bloody leader and he needs to be challenged, not spoon fed written questions that his officials can provide answers that spin him in the best light. That’d be a start, then we could work on explaining the meaning of accountability to the pompous prick.
you have it there as to why i dont like muppet blackburn.
its the promises made that he has never kept, very shrew to promise thing to get the votes he needed. then as soon as in office, sod off i dont need you now, many thanks for the x`s on voting day.
The Tories didn’t fuck the town up Cardy. That was the 18 years of Labour that came before. The Labour that had the good times with massive budgets but didn’t invest in the roads and didn’t invest in the residents. Callow may well have been known for pie in the sky schemes but so were Labour. Storm City? Turning the town into one massive casino?
At least Peter Callow’s schemes came to fruition.
What can you remember Labour doing, apart from raising council tax by unprecedented levels, closing libraries and closing old peoples homes?
Peter Callows schemes came to fruition.Yes they did…Only you are saying that they are not working.are you now saying the prom won’t need millions spending on it to put it back?
Just to remind you Phil which party were in Government for these schemes to be granted?
As I see it we have had more gripes about the council in their short regime than under 18 years of labour.Just look at the list max posted and this does not include crystal road…defend away Phil just how many millions is it going to cost to put right their cock ups.
You said you think there were more gripes about the Tories than the previous Labour administrations, but of course it’s easy to say that when for the duration of those administrations you couldn’t comment on the Gazette and there were no Philtheones and other Blackpool blogs to comment on.
So come on, what can you remember Labour doing, apart from raising council tax by unprecedented levels, closing libraries, closing old peoples homes and creating brain-dead road schemes like Layton?
Much as I dislike Callow and his regime (and many of his plans) I have to say you are right Phil. Much of the malaise that this town suffers from, is the result of years of Labour mis-management.
I believe the single biggest mistake any Blackpool council has ever made, was in deciding to build a zoo rather than a conference centre. Ego trips like Birley Street, St John’s and the prom fiasco pale by comparison.
Blackburn has ignored many promises he made prior to taking power and I do not think he can be forgiven for that. He does now appear to be quite arrogant.
It was a shame that this thread was hijacked by Cardy and his childish name-calling. Thankfully it appears to be back on track. As for David Palmer, he certainly does not need me to stick up for him. All I can say is that I wish there were many more like him. People who will stand up and be counted and actually do something positive to bring about change, rather than just type crap. I also know many taxi drivers and owners and understand what a hard time they are having, at present, in trying to make a living, like many, many other people, it has to be said.
We all must understand that the nature of shopping is undergoing a rapid evolution and will never again be the same. The High Street is changing and shrinking. Shopping online is the future whether we like it or not. HMV is perhaps the best example of why shops cannot compete with online traders and provides a clear indication of how this evolution is progressing. Think rent and business rates and you will see why. Unless these costs can be addressed, high street shopping will shrink even faster.
So I ask, what is the purpose of building new shops, when older units are standing empty and unlikely ever to be let in the future? Look along Talbot Road west of the bus station and basically it is charity shops and empty units. Do we need more in the area?
Maxfan is suggesting the only obvious viable option. The periphery of the town centre, where the majority of empty shops are located needs to be revitalised and converted into useable property. It is clear that retail is never again going to be an option, so what are the choices? Residential use certainly. Is there anything else? Let us see some action on this and at the same time think about the traffic system. Move the town forward into 21st century.
Much as we have needed a purpose built conference centre for some years, it is highly unlikely now, that one will ever be built. Who would fund it? Private Enterprise? I don’t think so.Where would the money come from and what use would be made of the facility outside of sporadic conferences? We have missed the boat I am afraid.
There has to be a way of redeveloping the greater town centre area using private developers ( with planning assistance), re-designing the traffic routes and converting outdated and unwanted retail space into modern desirable and useable housing. Thinking outside the box might be required but is this not what 19th century Blackpool Councillors were so good at?
Tramstop clearly you are not reading these posts correctly its the cab drivers and in particullar David Palmer who started and mainly have done the name calling. I treat people how they treat me.
Secondly were we having these sorts of debates about congestion on the prom and all the other venues the Tory thinking Max fan pointed out.
In their short tenure they have according to Philtheone and many other Tory thinking people created problems on the prom.
Before Phil denies this as he tends to sit on the fence I shall copy and paste this…
The residents know it’s a problem
***** I know its a problem*****
Cab drivers know its a problem
Visitors know its a problem
The council knows its a problem
Phil Jones Associates know it’s a problem
The only person who thinks it’s not a problem is Cardy.
This is Phil stating there is a problem with the prom a problem created by a Tory council.
The really funny thing about the last Tory administartion was reading Callow bleating on about Tory cuts… Now doesnt that tell you everything about the Torys.
They couldnt manage the town on a far graeter budget than this administration are managing with but they did manage by many peoples opinions on here make a right pigs ear of the prom.
I would also like to add I think they did a good job on the prom appart from the usual flaw of quality when it comes to work carried out under a tory council.
Cardy. I could not care less what colour council we have. Experience shows us that Labour/Tory are equally as bad and I cannot understand anyone who blindly supports either. I firmly believe that everyone is entitled to an opinion and just because I don’t agree, does not make others wrong.
I fail to see how you can suggest that Phil is sitting on the fence. Quite the opposite. His comments are quite specific – as you quote -
“The residents know it’s a problem
***** I know its a problem*****
Cab drivers know its a problem
Visitors know its a problem
The council knows its a problem
Phil Jones Associates know it’s a problem
The only person who thinks it’s not a problem is Cardy.
- And I certainly know it’s a problem. I do not think Phil is any way seeking to lay the blame at the feet of Blackburn & Co – rather stating the blindingly obvious that the concept and completion of the prom is a disaster and has been from start to finish. It needs urgent remedial work to restore the prom to a route suitable for North/South commuters to use.
I am afraid I do not understand the point you are trying to make, other than you wish to blame the last Tory Council. No one is arguing with that! What we all seem to want is for someone in office now to rise to the challenge and undertake to rectify this obvious cock-up, not just offer platitudes and hope the problem fades away. It wont go away. Or worse – try and brain-wash us into believing that the prom is great.
By the way I went to the Elton John concert on the headland. What a total mess. I never expected the entire prom and tram system to have to close down for days each time a ‘big name’ is due to appear. That is only part of the problem. What sort of addled half-wit came up with that! It is not fit for purpose – by design. Yes it was the Tory Council – being advised by the same idiots who are still in post now. Is it any wonder no-one will take responsibility. I think the fact that you are of the opinion that a good job has been made of the prom explains why you cannot agree with the weight of feelings of those who are suffering daily because the this blight.
Excellent post tramstop. My thoughts entirely.
Good post tramstop, distribution and warehousing may be the future as shops go online…….the clowncil have no idea about Blackpool,full stop.
“Maxfan is suggesting the only obvious viable option”
Thank you I have been saying publicly and making sure all the councillors I have come into contact with knew it privately. It is THE ONLY WAY to stop the rot.
I tend to be a bit careful about personal information but I used to run a business that was “all the rage”. Things changed and I knew when it was all over for that type of business and moved on.
Retail has changed massively on line shopping is so big now that it has to be part of your business plan itself, sure there is room for niche unique retailing but far too many businesses rely on the past and haven’t changed. The guy who quotes me makes EXACTLY the same point I have frequently made that ALL OF TALBOT RD DOWN FROM THE TRAIN STATION to the prom could be relocated nearer Hounds Hill. A brave and bold council would have done several things: start relocating the businesses with incentives and vigour – think it wouldn’t work – think again. What if Wilkinsons and Home Bargains just closed ? What have you left – err let’s see: A chemist that could be moved (PREFERABLY AWAY FROM THE TOWN CENTRE DUE TO IT’S METHADONE PROGRAMME CUSTOMERS) then a RSPCA Charity shop then a Age Concern charity shop then a downstairs bar then a bookies a diner then a small mobile shop that will likely close anyway then a bargain shop then what 2 pubs then a PDSA charity shop then what Jessops (closed) then a florist then a NHS/ youth advice shop then restaurants. On the other side Wilkinsons (could close anyway) Then Ma Kellys then I think empty shop then pub then Home Bargains then Rawcliffes then I think charity shops etc I mean come on !!
The charity shops have it too easy and it’s too easy to be labelled as a charity shop I mean that KIDS shop does that look like a proper charity shop to you guys it’s a dump a hovel full of piled up shite FFS Has the council checked it out it’s a disgrace !!
ALL of those businesses could be relocated all of them Talbot Rd could be developed into decent modern town housing. Think of it as a reversion back to how things once were.
Sure you would all like probably shops everywhere but it won’t happen ! Those days have gone.
There will be more businesses closing than opening and it’s time for big old thinking to happen
Businesses to close I honestly believe Wilkinson’s will go the small phone shop will be gone and empty again there will be another closure on Abingdon St with the Santander being merged – and that’s another big site.
Y0u get the drift things have to be consolidated
Thank fook Blockbusters isn’t on Bank hey St too !
Oh and DSG possibly
WH Smiths maybe – that would fook up the post office thing wouldn’t it
Knowing the council they will offer some fantastic incentives to fill these retail spaces, cheap rental and business rates just to save having egg on their faces. I just hope that retailers don’t relocate like they have done moving to the Houndshill and leave more empty shop units within the town centre. If they do offer incentives I hope it is for new businesses moving into Blackpool.
Sorry Dave they need grouping together and whole areas converting back to housing be it in hounds hill or wherever
There are simply TOO many empty units in TOO many streets
Look at Talbot Rd without the charity shops look at Clifton St etc
And they are creating MORE retail space in the old Bus Station FFS
I Agree with you Maxfan but you know how the council works and we will end up with the town centre being split in two with empty shops in the middle.
You are on the right track Maxfan – the current supply of retail units far exceeds demand. Supply is due to increase whilst demand is steadily falling so all that happens is that the older less desirable property falls into disrepair and stands empty.
A radical change in thinking is needed and planning departments must rise to the challenge now. We all know that many of the retail units around the town centre will never again be used for retail purposes. (Think of Central Drive/Dickson Road/King Street/Cookson Street and Church street, to name but a few)Joined up thinking is needed to find a solution that will redevelop entire areas of the town whilst at the same time redesigning the traffic system. Why on earth out of town development on brown belt is needed beats me. We should be encouraging builders into these central sites by the use of incentives. I am not suggesting renovating – we need to think bigger than that – demolition and redesign is called for.
I am reasonably sure that we have no-one in the council or employed by them who has the imagination and drive to bring this to fruition.Sadly that has got to be top of the list.
If the clowncil had decide to build a conference/entertainments centre onto the station instead of shitty clowncil offices,that would have ignited interest and investment, shops etc,but no…………..fuckin bastards.
Phil you obviously overlooked the pop at free bus passes …ditto to your comments about reading
As usual clowncil stooge cardy takes words out of context, then spins it. Makes me more convinced he works within the council in some capacity.
follow the light as it moves from side to side you are feeling sleepy very sleepy repeat after me there is no congestion on the prom there is no congestion on the prom trafiic flows smoothly when I click my fingers you will awake and you will see that there is never any congestion on the prom
I see the gazette have published the story online now and are allowing comments as well. Not read the full article in the paper itself yet. I was at a private party for Robin Duke last night at EGO bar and the gazette editor was in attendance,I was hoping to have a word in his hear about some of the biased reporting in favour of the council, but unfortunately the Whisky got the better of me. Oh well at least it was a good night with many faces from the past. Even our council leader got a mention from Robin, when he was on the Mic but it was not very complimentry.
did you notice if wetherspoons had reopened, Dave? They were closed from 3 cos the prom contractors cut thru an electricity cable – they hadnt reopend at seven when i went past on my way home. The Mitre also affected
Power is working ok at EGO bar which is between these two pubs.
Unfortunately this post has degenerated far away from the original topic, the point to or otherwise of The Fairness Commission
Can we move on please
How about whats going to happen when the UNIVERSAL BENEFIT takes over all other benefits watch the proverbial hit the fan then. Just to throw nother spanner in the works.
I beleive the system is fucked and whilst its a good idea, it will be a massive fuck up, so my sources tell me,its behind schedule.
The whisper is they are trying to bring in the same system as the Aussies. The Universal benefit scheme wont help those who are not computer savvy, or dont have knowledge of the card system. for the ATM’s
got this email from the ‘fairness commission’ asking for questions for their next meeting – anybody got any good suggestions
Dear Fairness Supporter,
Please find attached the minutes of the ‘Our Blackpool, Your Voice’ event, held on Monday 7th January…
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A couple of questions were handed in during the event; these will be passed on to the Steering Panel for consideration at their next meeting on the 7th February 2013. The minutes of this meeting will also be circulated soon afterwards.
Further public meetings will be planned throughout the rest of the year to keep the dialogue between the Steering Panel and the public / wider Fairness Commission open. It is also anticipated that working groups will be formed to tackle some of the issues raised through these events / steering panel’s recommendations in the coming months.
The Steering Panel’s next meeting will be held on 7th February. The agenda for this meeting will be circulated later this week so that the Commission / Public can question or make suggestions which will be included within the meeting.
In the meantime please get in touch if you have any questions or concerns.
Kind Regards,
Corporate Development and Engagement
Blackpool Council
In what ways is Blackpool an unfair place to live?
What has alcohol licensing hours got to do with fairness?
I’m spent.
you could argue that is unfair on the working man who subsidises the influx of excrement that comes to sponge here, reducing the quality of their lives as well as dragging the town down and deterring investment.