Me being a cynic....and looking at how much of jaywicks regeneration money has been spent on "other projects" ....i`d give you one good guess who pays who....
old chinese saying....to make money in this town, it no matter wot you know, but who you know, and for long as possable too.........
Even the guy`s from EDF energy were all parked on some of the blue badge bays in station road too.....
Hope they got parking tickets Ivan but I bet they didn't.
As a point of interest, rumour has it that although ECC had a say in what was done in the Town Centre, the idea of the white paving slabs and the fountains was all TDC own i.e. the previous alliance administration.
Seems that ECC were against the white paving but TDC insisted.
Lets hope that one day we find out exactly who should take responsibity for this mess instead of the "nothing to do with me gov" attitude that we are currently seeing from the Cabinet members.
Pepsi, you shouldn't have mentioned the white paving slabs You've triggered one of my attacks now. In a minute I'll take a tablet and lie down. But first..............................
The white slabs are only one of the many things they got wrong.
I'm irritated that MY money was used to repave the area outside The Baker's Oven. I get no benefit from this (I can't walk on it) as the tables and chairs outside have reduced the pavement width by more than half so that their customers can spill food and drink all over it. I want to use the pavement I paid for.
I sat on one of the new seats outside the Nationwide last week. They are made from steel and are so cold to the touch that I had to get up after a couple of minutes. The pavement around the seat was so dirty that I could feel the detritus underfoot.
Stand outside the Edinburgh Woollen Mills (or grab a can of Special Brew and sit on a cold seat) and watch the grass as it grows between the joins in the paving slabs.
Why isn't there a mini-roundabout where Rosemary Road West (Rosemary West Road?) meets Pier Avenue?
Why isn't there a crossing at the end of Ellis road so that the many people who park in the Waterglade car park and walk into town (it's the only sensible alternative left) can do it without endangering their lives? Didn't the planners know that there would be additional traffic along there? We did.
Who decided to cull the population by designing comedy traffic lights so that you have to look behind you to see whether it is safe to cross? There are no lights facing pedestrians.
No I tell a lie. At the double crossing outside Magnet House you can see a green light telling you it's safe to cross. Unfortunately the light applies to the next crossing along and it's amazing how high and how quickly old people can jump when they find themselves halfway across with a bus bearing down on them.
Does the road outside the arcades in Pier Avenue serve any purpose?
The only light relief was the Conservatives questionnaire asking questions like, "Is access to the Town Centre better or worse? Answer yes or no. Priceless. And "Would any further changes be an improvement?" Duh!
One councillor praising the scheme said, "You won't have lots of people driving around the town looking for somewhere to park." He's right. They are probably driving around Colchester and Ipswich where the shops seem to be thriving.
On looking at the overall picture the disruption and expense has not been justified by the results. I don't think it was broken. It didn't need to be fixed.
Well Vicar, in the main I fully agree with you, I am waiting for them to bring on the lawnmowers in front of Ediburgh Wollen Mill.
The only feature which I think would have benefited the town centre is the idea of a central square, but without cutting the road in two to provide it.
A square does tend to provide a central point to any small town and it would have been nice to use it for things like small bands in the summer and carol singers etc. at this time of the year but that is about the only thing that I would say was a positive [if it had been done correctly].
The rest of it is just a mess and the sad fact is that it will not now get changed no matter how much we complain about it.
The money has been spent for good or [mainly] ill and we can now sit back and watch our town die a slow and painful death because you are right, people are shopping in Colchester and Ipswich, they can park, there is a good variety of shops and it is all much more customer friendly.
I totally agree about the town square concept. Let's wait and see if it's used as an asset for the town. Heaven knows we need something.
On a more positive note I intend shortly to organise a bowls tournament on the newly established greensward outside the Woollen Mill. Eat your heart out Frinton. You can keep your posh latrines and your sad gate. We've got a playing field at one end of the road and free, I said "FREE", showers at the other.
As a sort of reply to the above....am i waffling again...i have had to point out to Highways, the "unsafe" positioning of the warning road signage as you approach the time prohibition area in Pier Avenue.
If as a driver, you was following a big smelly bus as it continues in its route into Pier Ave, at the point of prohibition (the road signage) can be lost from vision until its to late. when its too late you can either continue on and be at risk of a fine, or stop, reverse backwards the wrongway down a one way street illegaly, reverse backwards over the crossing preceeding the prohibition area, then turn left into the only exit thats legal to drive down in the hours from 10am till 4pm..
Now all of the above (except the last bit) renders vehicle drivers open to prosicution, so why can / does it happen..
The warning road signage is wrongly placed, as to be NOT giving vehicle drivers advanced warning of the prohibition timed zones in the road ahead (pier ave)
Yet another case of "too little - too late" thats i`m afraid is our councils current strategy with anything that concerns our future.
While i`m at it in my moaning mode, after many emails any motor cycle can now turn left from Pier Ave into Jackson Road as to proceed to the motorcycle parking bay situated on the right as you turn out of Jackson Road (and we thank you for that)..BUT...i cannot access my right to turn left into Jackson Road from 10am till 4pm because of the prohibition time zone.....speechless is not my first thoughts or words that describe the situation..
As i`ve banged on about elswhere, in Colchester, legaly you can access town centre direct through the centre of town by use of the bus / taxi / motorcycle routes that put the other vehicle drivers on a ring route.
The whole idea of cycle or motor cycle access is to be less polluting, easy access, into and out of town centres, but not if its being penalised from 10am till 4pm in our town centre...
Another thought for the day..........
Did you know that T D C`s "asperations" are to turn our town centre into a "shopping Mall" type area to shop.....one guess as to where the new roof will be put up....................
Well ,if they are using the same contractor to put the roof on ..I for one will not use the town centre to shop whilst the roof is being done.
I have witnessed so many 'near misses 'when they were putting the trees in ,pedestrians forced to jump into the road to avoid being hit by a largish tree suspended from a crane swinging around with one bod hanging on for dear life ,pavements having to be dug up due to poor foresight ,grass growing through paving slabs (obviously the council has never heard of GeoTextile membrane) ,electric cables exploding resulting in power cuts ,wonky paving ,gaps between the slabs ,signs that lead you out of where you wanted to go...........
If they have this many problems whilst working at ground level ...heaven forbid just what thye will do when 30 foot in the air.............
PS I agree with the Vicar about the seats .....now where did I put that thermal cushion ???? I expect they will have to appoint a winter warden to defrost and remove anyone who dares sit on them.....ever put your tongue onto frozen metal......hmmm same effect??????
PS I agree with the Vicar about the seats .....now where did I put that thermal cushion ???? I expect they will have to appoint a winter warden to defrost and remove anyone who dares sit on them.....ever put your tongue onto frozen metal......hmmm same effect??????
Hmmm, our Lin, if, just if we get a cold spell, we have a ready made ice skating rink outside the NAFFI....should keep the "no win-no fee" mob in work...
As regards the cold seats, well its easy, just ask the vicar if we can borrow some pew cushion`s for the cold spell...
If they have this many problems whilst working at ground level ...heaven forbid just what thye will do when 30 foot in the air.............
PS I agree with the Vicar about the seats .....now where did I put that thermal cushion ???? I expect they will have to appoint a winter warden to defrost and remove anyone who dares sit on them.....ever put your tongue onto frozen metal......hmmm same effect??????
Quite clearly Lin, the idea should be the issue of one cushion per person on entering the town centre, strapped to the rump for instant warm seating or dual purpose for use as a helmet from flying debris.
Did you know that T D C`s "asperations" are to turn our town centre into a "shopping Mall" type area to shop.....one guess as to where the new roof will be put up....................
Hmm, doors too? Sell the rights to private company? Charge us for entry?
Ha Ha Amenity
The very thought of little old ladies stuck to the seats did make me chuckle ....good idea about the cushions but I don't think TDC appreciate anything that encourages anyone to stay in the town centre for too long....see ,us locals make it all grubby for the (I am not worthy.....bow tug my forlock sir)Hoiday makers.
Talking about the town centre seating: I don't think there are enough benches.
Three down the bus-side of Pier Avenue (usually filled with folk waiting for buses) and three down the other side. There's some by the fountain but I still don't think there are enough. Only enough room for three people per bench.
As for traffic lights: The ones at Wagstaff corner - since the re-routing of traffic and the so-called improvements I've noticed that it's quite easy to cross there without waiting for the little green man.
There just isn't the amount of traffic that there was.
This might be good for pedestrians but is this a sign of cars avoiding the town centre?
If more of my council tax is going to be squandered on signs erected by TDC (The Demented Cretins) along the length of Pier Avenue stating, "Licking these benches is strictly prohibited", then I'm blaming Lin for putting the idea in people's heads.
The roof will be erected only after completion of the pig's landing strips on the sites previously occupied by shoppers car parks.
Got a rotten cold (not helped by being forced stand on the seafront this morning taking photos with an 11 year old ) ,so feeling quite blue........
Thanks for making me laugh Vicar
Got a rotten cold (not helped by being forced stand on the seafront this morning taking photos with an 11 year old ) ,so feeling quite blue........
Thanks for making me laugh Vicar
my goodness young Lin, do hope you feel better.
Elsewhere i wrote an acount of me and my No.1 son standing by the slipway by the lifeboat station and getting very wet with the brillient surge tides breaking over the stepped edges of the lower promanade.
Before our dunking, i took the Mrs back to the safety of the "avenues" and on returning along the front road i saw a lady with a young lad getting out of a silver car parked along there, both looking a bit cold...
So it was not only us watching the display of the seas power in anger...
ha..ha..ha.... my son said "the seas not that cold is it"..??.....
so me standing with soaking wet legs / feet and other parts was supposed to feel warm in the wind of the north sea............lol....give me some of that super mouse stuff please......at least i could run around in circles to get warmed up a bit.....
Hot tea or chocolate seemed a better deal after fresh lower limbed clothes.
It's a small consolation to know that we are not the only ones in a silly situation. This article is from the current issue of the Herts Advertiser.
No amount of elbow grease will get the paving clean
Paving stones put down in the centre of St Albans as part of the multi-million-pound St Peter's Street enhancement scheme should be allowed to get dirty as there is no satisfactory way of cleaning them.
This is one of the suggestions of experts following a test of the paving slabs used and which have become disfigured by oil and food dropped from market stalls.
It is another blow to the long-running saga of the city-centre scheme which was supposed to cost £1.8 million and ended up costing almost three times as much despite the fact that the project was never fully completed as envisaged in the original plans.
It also meant that the city centre was closed to traffic for long periods, the trees were uprooted and market stallholders were moved around as the work went on.
But as soon as the market moved back onto the new paving, the stains began to appear and despite attempts to pressure wash and seal the slabs, the stubborn stains remained.
Last March St Albans District Council asked for tests to be carried out on the paving to find the best way to keep it clean and the experts' report was due to be presented to the council's Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting last night (Wednesday).
The tests which were carried out by local company STATS in September found:
1.) The paving stone was significantly prone to dirtying, especially due to the presence of foodstuffs on the surface;
2.) The stone does not appear to self-clean effectively when it rains;
3.) The routine power washing which the district council has been undertaking does make a significant difference - but only for a short time;
4.) This power washing is damaging the grout between the paving slabs;
5.) The stone area on the opposite side of the road which has not been cleaned is not significantly worse in appearance to the areas regularly cleaned.
So the experts suggested that the council consider the option of not cleaning the paving as the appearance of the stone was unlikely to deteriorate further "once a certain level of dirt accumulation was reached".
The tests to find the best cleaning method or material were not very satisfactory. To successfully get rid of oil, an oil-stain remover would need to be left on the surface for up to two hours. However the stone would then get dirty again quickly unless the surface was sealed - but this protection would itself last only a short time. Though it would be easier to then clean the stone, it would have to be done rapidly after spillages and frequently.
Herts Highways, responsible for the city-centre scheme says that the supplier of the paving does not recommend sealants and that normal cleaning with water should suffice.
The council must employ a professional buyer, after advice from a surveyor a contract should be drawn up that protects ratepayers. The job should be suitable for the purpose intended.
These councils seem very good at getting the money in but don't display much savvy getting rid of it.
As i missed an opertunity earlier on " We've got a playing field at one end of the road and free, I said "FREE", showers at the other."
At our Towns arrival of the 1,000 (ok, maybe less..lol.) anual scooter run to Clacton next year on March 30th, after a long hot (who am i kidding in march) run to the coast, many of the scoots and weary riders can perform feats of outstanding complexity while eating from the NAFFI on the long walk to the pier via the fountains of yoof............
Its a good job us modern scooterist wear waterproof ex army parker`s ...
if its good enough for the army`s of the world, its good enough for the run to the sun`s scooter riders.........not sure about the upward gushing frothy spotlit waters of the yoof though, or where it will enter....ooopps........lol....
I see in Clacton Gazette that our dearly loved white pavements are going to be washed 4 times a year.
Now ,I have never aspired to pretend to be a specialist cleaner but 4 times a year ?????? .
Now I know that if I put a white carpet in my lounge and only had 5 people walking on it ,in slippers ,not chewing gum ,not eating Macccies ,not spitting on it (or doing what comes naturally after 15 bottles of alcopops ) and if I only cleaned it 4 times a year it would bear no semblance to what was originally put there .
Surely 4 times a year is insufficient ? and whats more ..just who will be paying for this ....cue Vicar
So what is the true financial cost of this act of common sense flying out of the door ?
How many people did the council plan would use these grotty slabs to walk on ??
Are there real reasons for guiding anyone out of the town before they get out their cars ? Is it because they don't want us in the town messing up the white paving slabs?
'Scuse me while I find a nice little cupboard to go to and SCREAM!!!!!!
The picture accompanying that article shows Councillor Shearing in full protective gear pressure-washing the pavement. Is that his full-time job?
Or is it some form of community service? He appears to know what he is doing. Perhaps he helps out between meetings? Is there an opening here for work experience for younger councillors? I think we should be told.
Nah thats not his jacket ,I reckon he borrowed it from the dressing up box at the Town Hall.
If it is his jacket he obviously does not do any work in it as it is dirt free ,wish my hubbies Hi -Vis was as clean as that when I wash it.
Looking at it again ,I would definitely say that ,that jacket has never seen a stroke of work ,all it has ever probably seen is the inside of a plastic bag that wrapped it in the factory.
As for and his big bro in Hi -Vis jackets ...oooooh not a good colour when you have the facial colouration of a Ruddy Duck (or a Baboons bum so my 11 year old says ).
Douglas Carswell has this snippet on his blog site.
Surely TDC should go back to the builder and say this fountain is not fit for purpose and can we have our money back.
My local council spent £137,000 making 30 of these holes in the pavement
Local folk in my constituency have just received their council tax bill for next year from Tendring district council. For the umpteenth year in a row, the district council has increased the council tax to … um … well, the maximum they think they can get away with, it seems.
With all that extra cash, can we expect an increase in services? Are they going to start emptying the bins more, or providing more services? Of course not.
So, what have they done with the extra cash?
One thing they’ve done is build a fountain for the centre of Clacton at a cost of £137,000. Great idea. Or rather, it’s supposed to be a fountain, but it doesn’t actually work. It's only ever worked for a few weeks.
The design means it picks up various dirt and bugs – I’d told. And no one thought to ask. So, to stop it becoming one big germ incubator, it’s had to be switched off until an expensive new purification system is added to it.
That means that for that £137,000, so far we’ve got 30 holes in the pavement to show for it all.
Amenity,
While not in Clactons town centre, but other towns,
are we not forgetting the millenium loo block @ £500,000
(i say millenium, as its a once in a 1000 year event, or so were told ? in frinton)
While over your way, the portfolio holder for loo`s has stated that block built toilets can be built for a tenth of that @ £50,000..
umm, let me see, ....£500,000 for one....
Dovercourt and Harwich at £50,000........
ummm.........who`s getting a b*m deal here....
Even if you put the cost of 2 together @ £100,000,
your peninsular is still short of £400,000 on underspend.
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and his big bro in Hi -Vis jackets ...oooooh not a good colour when you have the facial colouration of a Ruddy Duck (or a Baboons bum so my 11 year old says 
).