Tuesday, 19th November, 2013
Ace in the hole
However hard some might try to convince you, it can never be claimed that jacobwilliams.com isn’t a force for good.
You’ll remember my last article referred to comments made by Cllr. Jamie Adams, the council leader, who, in full corporate management speech mode, briefly outlined his support for his cabinet’s decision to increase car parking charges.
So that the council could continue to provide ‘Safe and well maintained parking opportunities,’ accordingly.
I then contrasted this with a photograph sent in by a reader who, having heard the leader’s comments, wished to showcase one of Pembrokeshire’s parking ‘opportunities’ that looked anything but ‘safe and well maintained.’
The same mole now says that somebody must have been reading the site because within 24 hours of the post going live the potholes were patched up, in a manner of speaking.
Before:
After:
My only concern is that with this 100% success rate I’ll be inundated with maintenance requests from all over the county accompanied by photographs of potholes and poorly maintained road surfacing.
I don’t expect I’ll receive many grumbles from the Maenclochog area.
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Dreadful standard of repair which won’t last long. Let’s have another photo in a month.
The cynic inside me perceives this as a good metaphor for the state of the County. Maybe, like the German octopus at the last World Cup, it will foretell how our economy will fare in the rocky times ahead. As it waxes and wanes, its state of disrepair will keep us more informed than I suspect others will do! 🙂
I am very impressed that this was done at such short notice.
But who could put together a taskforce and pull off this job within just 24 hours? I reckon somebody quite senior would’ve had to be the foreman, it is just too unlikely to be a coincidence.
Obviously somebody with a lot of skill and experience with tarmac. The question is, by leaving it get into this state in the beginning, and then having to do running repairs like this, you have to ask is it a false economy? Or does the taxpayer still gain in each and every way?
That’s the way I understand it.
As my husband would say “A cowboy job!!!”
This is the embarrassingly shoddy state of repair we have come to expect in Pembrokeshire. Dealing with the symptoms and not addressing the cause. A CEO on a film star’s income and road maintenance funded by what he probably carries in loose change.
What a shocking repair!
How much did it cost to do those repairs? I thought PCC provided good quality services. If this is good, what is bad like?
Some years ago, the External Auditor commented adversely on the state of PCC maintained roads. This was followed by an enhanced investment programme which improved standards. Who needs Councillors, when the Auditor can effectively direct matters?
The Council has now admitted to a lack of maintenance at Sunnybank, a poor mobile library service (no wonder people don’t use it). This has happened over a number of years.
Cabinet delegated, or renounced responsibility for the Council’s property/asset management plan.
In October 2004, a report by the Director of Development stated that the Operational Asset Management Plan includes the designation of the Chief Executive and the Director of Development as the “Corporate Property Officer” with delegated responsibility for the effective management of property assets.
WE are now entering a phase where poor maintenance, and the cost of providing assets fit for purpose will be an excuse for closing our services.
Who is accountable?