Incompetence: CCBC (and other Public Bodies and Statutory Undertakers...)

[SteveH]

What;s new ? ?

Gwynedd council tried to stop hotel's solar panels even though HQ has them just next door.

Planning inspectors have overturned the refusal of planning permission for solar panels on the roof of a Gwynedd hotel, despite the council having such panels on the roof of its own headquarters just yards away.   ref DP

[Blongb]

Planning inspectors have overturned the refusal of planning permission for solar panels on the roof of a Gwynedd hotel, despite the council having such panels on the roof of its own headquarters just yards away.   ref DP

Is the Gwynedd Hotel a listed building? The Council building next door isn't, so it wont be subject to the same regulations. It will be no different to me looking out at the Monstrosity they are planning to build right in front of my place, where they will enjoy the benefits of modern double glazing but I can't put it into mine. Its a mad world we live in and no mistake.

[SteveH]

Possibly what the future could look like ..............

Bingo machine used to select chair of top council committee - and the winner got £8,700 pay hike
A row has broken out among Labour's Conwy council group after group leader ousts sitting chair.

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/bingo-machine-used-select-chair-19169175

[norman08]

No Steve but this idiot that is the leader of the labour group needs stringing up. Whoever voted him in needs their heads testing.

[SteveH]

Not local, but loco........

In this day and age I would think the NHS requires the funding rather than a seemingly unnecessary tunnel costing £2.4 billion 

 A controversial plan to dig a £2.4bn road tunnel near Stonehenge has been approved by Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.

The A303, a popular route for motorists travelling to and from the south west, runs within a few hundred metres of the world heritage site.
The plan to build a two-mile (3.2km) tunnel out of sight of the monument was approved despite objections.

Cont https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-wiltshire-54919205

[SteveH]

Is anyone surprised by this type of news anymore   ?

Audit shows Rhyl Queen's Buildings development costs doubled and questions 'contract procedure rules'
The report was kept private and discussed by councillors behind closed doors

The costs of the first phase of the renovation of Rhyl's Queen's Buildings "doubled" and Denbighshire Council failed to stick to "contract procedure rules", a damning internal audit shows.

The initial three phase project to redevelop the Queen's Buildings into a mixed residential, retail and night-time economy scheme was projected to cost £30 million.

But by September last year the first phase was said to be 57% over budget with costs spiralling to £11,734,571.

The latest report - the full details of which were taken into private session - show the costs are now nearer £15m, with the demolition having only just started.

Also in September Denbighshire's cabinet voted to plunge another £1.5m of public cash into the scheme just to get it demolished and asbestos removed.

https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/audit-shows-rhyl-queens-buildings-19720975

[Hugo]

That type of thing has been going on in Rhyl for generations.    In the 1970's when I lived in that area the Councillors were mainly prominent business people who had a vested interest in decisions made or even rejected.
Nothing seems to have changed in the meantime

[SteveH]

A "shaming catalogue of errors" led to the leasing of a multi-million pound HGV depot that can't house the vehicles it was built for.

One councillor labelled the £3.6million project at Mochdre Commerce park as the "biggest financial liability" in the history of the county which taxpayers could be funding for decades.

The "not fit for purpose" privately built depot can't be used by heavy vehicles as the floors aren't strong enough.

And to compound the blunderConwy county council was tied into a 35-year lease, initially with Conygar Investment Company PLC (Conygar Strand Ltd), when the site was completed in 2016.

It is currently being used for the "storage and distribution of pandemic related equipment". It was also placed on standby as a temporary morgue during the Covid crisis but it has not been needed.

An independent report into the debacle was commissioned by the authority with solicitors DWF LLP, based in Newcastle.

cont   https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/hgv-depot-cant-house-trucks-19917725#comments-section

[bigbadhenry]

Council Top man should fall on his sword, he's useless. Look at all the money he's wasted during his time in charge.

From the Daily Post:-

Forces For Good £125,000
Maesdu bridge £1 million overrun on £1.5 million project.
Coed pella road offices initial building cost estimate went up from £23 million to £39 million
and now this vehicle depot debacle .Don't blame the councillors the officers run the councils,
councillors are nodding donkeys who rubber stamp the officers learned recommendations.

[SteveH]

The real story of Mochdre's unusable HGV depot

The mistakes surrounding Conwy county council’s £3.6m white elephant project to site an HGV depot at Mochdre Commerce Park can now made be public.

It’s a sorry tale highlighting a lack of leadership, policies ignored or misunderstood and no one being held to account for organisational failings which permeated the authority’s project management.

Cont  https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/19125731.real-story-mochdres-unusable-hgv-depot/

[SteveH]

I don't know whether to laugh or cry.....................     Maybe being unfair under the circumstances, but .................

Conwy councillors debate what should happen to its offices if working from home stays 'the norm'

During a meeting of the authority’s democratic services committee on Monday, the issue of how councillors conduct future meetings was discussed, with findings from a survey of their attitudes.

What is now being developed in readiness for an eventual return to normality is a hybrid solution to committees, supported by around 70 per cent of the county’s councillors.

https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/19145755.conwy-councillors-debate-happen-offices-working-home-stays-the-norm/?ref=rss&IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[Hugo]

I've had two reminders from the DVLA to say that the car tax for both my cars is due on the 31st March 2021.    No problem as far as I'm concerned and will pay them both tomorrow.
Is it fair though when someone I know has six cars, five of which have no MOT and four have no tax either

The DVLA know, the Police know and so does CCBC but nothing has been done.    If anyone reads an article about the DVLA having a blitz on untaxed vehicles take it with a pinch of salt as it's only publicity.        If it was a private business it would have gone bankrupt years ago they are as effective as a chocolate tea pot           

[SteveH]

Councillors met secretly on Monday to discuss the latest on the legal position of “unfit” business units earmarked for use as a temporary morgue during the pandemic.

Units 6, 7, 8 and part of unit 5 on Mochdre Commercial Park were originally supposed to house Conwy county council’s fleet of HGVs, such as bin lorries and gritters, but defects in the building meant they couldn’t be used.

A damning independent report uncovered a lack of “physical due diligence” among what one councillor called “a really quite shaming catalogue of errors”, and the study highlighted 21 issues with the buildings and land.

It also revealed a lack of leadership, policies ignored or misunderstood and no one being held to account for organisational failings which permeated the local authority’s project management.

Welsh Government money has gone into the units because they were being used a regional overspill morgue during the pandemic, although the site was never needed for that purpose. Latterly, it has been used as a store for PPE.

cont  https://www.northwalespioneer.co.uk/news/19356523.conwy-councillors-meet-behind-closed-doors-councils-unfit-mochdre-business-units/?ref=rss&IYA-reg=49560bcd-5a9c-47f0-8fc5-ba2e71710589

[Hugo]

The DVLA has been out in Prestatyn today clamping untaxed cars and that's really good news to hear.    I wish that they would come to Colwyn Bay because there is a problem with untaxed vehicles here
I've mentioned it before but one guy with 6 cars parked in his garden has only one of them that is legal to be on the road

The loss of revenue from this type of fraud must be costing the UK well over a £100 million each year and at a time when the UK needs that income more than ever

[SteveH]