April 24: Very little to show for town's quango
With the resignation of chairman Keith Barwell last year, then chief executive Mike Hayes, perhaps it should come as no surprise to us that Stephen Kelly, director of planning at West Northamptonshire Development Corporation (WNDC) is following hotly in their footsteps.
I wonder if the last person to leave WNDC will switch off the lights at the Saints' massive but hardly used car parks when they go?
In spite of the endless spin from WNDC about its achievements, I think it will now be obvious to everyone that the achievements of this quango have been almost negligible.
To date it has:
Failed to build a needle statue,
Populated St James' island with 43 traffic lights with no noticeable improvement to traffic flow,
Caused massive disruption to the shopkeepers of Gold Street while they repaved it,
Added 20,000 to the cost of new "affordable houses" as a roof tax at a time when houses are plummeting in value, and
Managed to start building the so-called West Northampton Orbital Bypass, which turned out to be a single carriageway road that (if it is ever opened) reaches to the middle of Norwood Farm and then stops dead.
The cost of all this ineffective infrastructure provision?
In 2006, WNDC broke even because the Government invested 15 million of taxpayers' money.
In 2007, it lost around 18 million without much help from anyone.
We're still waiting to see the 2008 accounts.
As Mr Kelly takes up his new post at Harrow, he can take comfort from the fact that, although very little of true value was achieved for Northampton, his short time at WNDC earning 75,000 per year plus accruing a pension that most ordinary folk would expect to receive for a lifetime's work has been a success for Mr Kelly at least.
Goodbye Mr Kelly.
Roger Kingston,
Northants Residents Alliance, St Crispin, Northampton.
No home? Then don't have babies
Referring to letters from Mrs Paterson (April 10) and Mrs Morin (April 16), who almost seem to be scoring points about their rights in obtaining local authority housing, I have never expected anyone to house me but myself . . . it is my responsibility.
It appears also that families are a priority too. Why should this be?
No-one orders them to have offspring. Surely one should wait until they have got their own accommodation before they even contemplate bringing another life into the world. Procreation should not be a token for a council house.
I have every empathy for those who have families who have had their homes repossessed and are looking to be re-housed, at least they have tried to provide for their children, however I have no sympathy for those who expect others to provide simply because they choose not to provide for themselves and their responsibilities.
Maria Cunningham,
West End, Bugbrooke.
Let's have new blood on council
Surely the simple facts of the county council's Carilliongate saga are that the Tory administration has not had its eye on the ball.
It has chopped and changed the personnel without achieving anything.
Also it has many other distractions. Take Brian Binley. He has his business, parliamentary and family interests to attend to, so he simply has not the time to focus on his responsibilities as a county councillor too.
Harker and his Tory cronies should take the opportunity provided by the forthcoming county council elections to step aside and allow new individuals to come forward who are willing to give the commitment to the county council that it, and the public of Northamptonshire deserves.
David Brede,
Blossom Way, Little Billing, Northampton.
Officers should have a reply
I have read County Councillor Harker's laboured excuses for the Conservative Party's calamitous 32m contract blunder.
His latest contribution stands slightly head and shoulders above the standard partisan drivel that graces the letters page week in and week out because it goes beyond the usual needling of political rivals to have a bit of a non-too-veiled go at officers as well.
Those senior officers that the Conservatives have relied upon to do their bidding have let them down, so it's their fault!
Unreliable corporate governance, county council not
performing as efficiently as it should have been . . . dear me.
I'm not so sure the political prima donnas of the letters page will be eager to remind us of this point, but Harker's governance-based excuses would sound less lame if those officers being pinned with the blame for the blunders were allowed a right of reply when a senior councillor goes off on this tack.
Now I should think that would make for an interesting letters page.
Martin Ellison,
Ashburnham Road, Abington, Northampton.
Uplifting day at the urban farm
April 19 dawned as a beautiful day, suitable for everyone to explore.
I took myself to the open day of the Urban Farm Project and it turned into a most uplifting experience.
Here among the houses was a patch of green that exuded what our countryside used to be like.
I wandered around this area for two hours talking to those whom I recognised and those I didn't know. The feeling of positiveness was in the air.
The happiness that could be seen in the faces of all the families that I met was inspiring proving that we all need and missed areas should as this.
It was evident that someone had recognised that here was a piece of our countryside that we need to keep hold on.
To do this we must, as organisations and individuals, become involved. Remember it is People Power that wins the day.
Be aware of the next open time to visit this area. If you cannot do the physical part then give your imagination on how to create a successful project that we can all enjoy.
Kate Connell,
Claughton Road, Northampton.
Bring back the Crispin Fair
My family and I always attended the Crispin Fair when it was in the town and I thought it was wonderful for Northampton.
Mr Howes's letter of April 8 had a lot of anger in it. I cannot believe that it was cancelled by Conservative and Liberal Democrats, just out of political spite. I cannot believe the Liberal Democrats actually made a decision, usually they sit on the fence.
If, as Mr Howes claims, the fair did not cost the council tax payers of Northampton any money and if I win my seat in the forth coming election on June 4, I would be willing to meet him and work together to bring back the Crispin Fair to our town centre.
M J Ford,
Gloucester Avenue, Delapre, Northampton.
Crowded streets, empty car parks
In your article of April 21 regarding the problems faced by residents of Duston Road, due to obstructive car parking on Saints match days, Councillor Terry Wire asks "why don't supporters use the designated car parks that the Saints provide".
Perhaps a more pertinent question for the councillor and one that he could directly influence is "why don't the council open its car parks in the same area on match days?"
There is a vast area of parking space opposite the Saints parking area, that appear to be council-operated, that remains stubbornly locked up on match days.
David Cotterill,
Mere Close, East Hunsbury, Northampton.
Email to a friend
Print this page- BREAKING NEWS: Man dies following motorway smash on Northamptonshire border
- BREAKING NEWS: Police inundated with hundreds of complaints over snowball fights
- Huge cigarette haul by masked burglars in armed raids at Northampton stores
- BREAKING NEWS: Police name man killed in crash on motorway in Northamptonshire
- Student flats planned for Northampton town centre revealed
- BREAKING NEWS: Fishmarket art gallery offered new home
- Student flats planned for Northampton town centre revealed
- New manager of Northampton’s Grosvenor Centre says ‘This is the beginning of a new era’
- BREAKING NEWS: Police inundated with hundreds of complaints over snowball fights
- Neighbours raise concern about bid to build new house three inches from their home
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Northampton
Friday 10 February 2012
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: -6 C to 1 C
Wind Speed: 13 mph
Wind direction: South east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: -5 C to -0 C
Wind Speed: 7 mph
Wind direction: South east
