So how is your local council wasting your money today?
So how is your local council wasting your money today?
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Papa Hotel

Original Poster:

12,760 posts

213 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
I'm at a winter garden at the minute, a lovely place to take my daughter on a bracing Scottish summer day. I've just seen three minibuses pull into the carpark, all were carrying people with Down's Syndrome. "That's nice", I thought. Except one bus had one person in it, the second bus had two, the third has three. So, three minibuses, one capable of holding 9, the others look like they might hold 15 or thereabouts. Why not pool your fking resources and use one frigging bus? It's worthy of spending money on, absolutely... But three buses and three drivers where one would suffice? That's idiocy.

Another one that upsets me is Edinburgh City Council's insistence on putting lollypop men (and wimmin) at traffic lights. I've paid for the traffic lights, why am I paying for some old codger to get out of the house?

Timmy35

13,014 posts

229 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
£40m for 'cyclist killer' bendy buses, that nobody asked for, will be a nightmare on the narrow windy streets of the city I live in and will just add more empty seats to already half empty buses.

To be paid for by......a tax on the parking spaces provided by companies at the offices people work in. Usually underground car parks beneath the office blocks. The stupid money grabbing s.

steveo3002

11,236 posts

205 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
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south cambs send round a street cleaner thing just before the binmen come and litter whe whole street , youd think it could be arranged to go after the binmen and make em look clever

Jasandjules

72,662 posts

260 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
Paying staff who are rude and incompetent. The same as everyday.

Miguel Alvarez

5,183 posts

201 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
To the OP. How do you know they are all from the same agency? They could be 3 seperate care homes.

The council where I work want us to reduce our car parking space and have us bus/train/fly/hopscotch to work as opposed to drive in and park in our adequately spaced car park. My exact words in our site stake holder's meeting was and I quote.

"why don't you tell the council to fk off?!?!"

RemaL

25,103 posts

265 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
Bristol and south glos council spending money on bus stops. Why a pain in the ass. they are moving them out into the road more to stop people overtaking them then they pull over to let people on and off. FFS.

Papa Hotel

Original Poster:

12,760 posts

213 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
Miguel Alvarez said:
To the OP. How do you know they are all from the same agency? They could be 3 seperate care homes.
Admittedly, one was unmarked but all three arrived in convoy and two were liveried Edinburgh stty Council. I'm prepared to give the benefit of the doubt to the unmarked vehicle but still, the 2 other vehicles were capable of holding 30 between them but had 2 drivers and 7 others. That's just wrong.

aclivity

4,072 posts

219 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
We are getting a blue wheely bin.

To add to the Brown (dry mixed recycling), Green (garden waste) and two black wheely bins (general rubbish). We will have 5 wheely bins.

I am not entirely sure what the blue one is for, though, as I don't ever find myself with left over recylable rubbish?

Ben106

72 posts

187 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
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Mines digging up the same bit of road for about the 5th time this year

Timmy35

13,014 posts

229 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
Ben106 said:
Mines digging up the same bit of road for about the 5th time this year
Maybe they're looking for gold?

CedGTV

2,538 posts

285 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
Not today but St. Albans City Council wasted circa £1M on a ill fated one way system in the town centre years ago, it was only in force for a few weeks all in all. People leaving cars in the street for days on end where the snarl-ups forced them to do so, motorbikes on the pavement etc etc.

Just Googled it and found out it was over 20 years ago

yikes

S18DMW

20,079 posts

198 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
Most of Staffordshire is being covered in the horrible stone chipping sh*t at the moment instead of resurfacing the roads properly.

Papa Hotel

Original Poster:

12,760 posts

213 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
binned

Seriously, if you're replying to my post, that isn't clever or funny.

Mod note: Agreed.

Edited by justayellowbadge on Wednesday 17th August 12:33

rxtx

6,053 posts

241 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
Jasandjules said:
Paying staff who are rude and incompetent. The same as everyday.
You must have spoken to the East Herts council tax collection people, the ones that messed up our direct debit, threatened to take me to court for 'non payment', constantly put the phone down on me whenever I pointed out that there's no point in getting angry with me just because they didn't instate the DD, and make me pay the entire year up front.

CzechItOut

2,156 posts

222 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
Swindon Borough Council "lent" £450,000 to a company who would install wi-fi across the whole borough.

Nearly three years on and they claim to have covered a small town to the north of Swindon, but nothing in Swindon itself.

Continual claims from the council of a new deal being signed with a major telecoms company always seem to come to nothing.

jenpot

472 posts

218 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
Not a waste as such but mine have started emptying the glass bin in our area at 6.30 in the morning, either on a saturday or a monday. Can never get back to sleep after before the alarm goes off.

A30

64 posts

196 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
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Most councils have 'get in touch' types forms on their websites and I know from experience working within a council as a contractor that they do get read/reported on internally. Or issues can be raised on a website such as: http://www.hereuncovered.com or even Google: http://maps.google.co.uk/maps?hl=en&tab=wl There are plenty of places now to contribute to the 'discussion' about local amenities and even influence change. God I sound like a politician!

rxtx

6,053 posts

241 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
jenpot said:
Not a waste as such but mine have started emptying the glass bin in our area at 6.30 in the morning, either on a saturday or a monday. Can never get back to sleep after before the alarm goes off.
Mine does that, 6am some weekday I'm woken to the sound of crashing glass for 20 minutes.

Similarly our local milk float, it delivers at 3am and is a diesel so sits outside rattling while he delivers on foot.

marcgti6

1,357 posts

244 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
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How about blowing £24.4m on a 'City centre park' that nobody actually wants?

It's already behind schedule which will no doubt mean that it's going to be well over budget.

http://www.yorkshire-forward.com/news-events/news/...

I'm seriously starting to think that the members of Bradford Council simply sit in City Hall with their crack pipes, off their faces, dreaming up bull st like this. They've got a lot to answer for.

Zod

35,295 posts

289 months

Wednesday 17th August 2011
quotequote all
marcgti6 said:
How about blowing £24.4m on a 'City centre park' that nobody actually wants?

It's already behind schedule which will no doubt mean that it's going to be well over budget.

http://www.yorkshire-forward.com/news-events/news/...

I'm seriously starting to think that the members of Bradford Council simply sit in City Hall with their crack pipes, off their faces, dreaming up bull st like this. They've got a lot to answer for.
and meanwhile, Lister Park looked an utter tip last time I drove past with waist-high weeds growing on the banks leading down to Manningham Lane where once were lawns and in spring flowers from bulbs planted by council gardeners.

I could think of plenty of ways of better spending £24m in Bradford.