Entries from December 2009 ↓
December 31st, 2009 — Ipswich Port Noise Abatement
Is it me or are Southern Cement being quieter recently? I’ve definitely had fewer complaints.
Is it some permanent change that they’ve made, an operational change that can be quickly reversed or is it some environmental factor connected to the weather over which they have no control.
The frustrating thing is that they are not talking to anyone and so we don’t have a clue.
(By the way a big hello to Barclays Bank, who’ve been looking up Southern Cement on the internet recently. Make sure your Corporate Social Responsibility department get them to talk to the residents.)
December 30th, 2009 — Ipswich Borough Council
One of the great things about the internet is it allows us to indulge our passions. With me it’s the area I live in, other people, the Omnibuses blog, are interested in the way the bus industry is reacting to modern pressures. And at the moment they are interested in Ipswich Buses going to Go Ahead, and they’ve got an interesting view on what Chris Mole will do.
Ipswich Leninist Andrew Coates also sounds pleased as it looks like he’s got a campaign he can get his teeth into.
December 29th, 2009 — Uncategorized
On another note, to all those people who’ve been asking, the ice did clear from
Belstead Avenue.
December 28th, 2009 — Maidenhall Estate, Wherstead Road
Ipswich Council is in talks to sell off Ipswich Buses to the Go Ahead group. No doubt certain councillors who never use the buses (or live in the ward) are preparing their leaflets now. It’s a good thing I’m not standing as a Conservative in the next Borough elections. Oh wait, I am.
The truth is that subsidising just about anything, and that includes Ipswich Buses, is impossible in the current economic climate and all three parties know it. We are the last of the G20 countries to climb out of the recession.
The most important thing that concerns this ward is whether the bus services in the Maidenhall Estate will keep at their current levels and whether the progress that is slowly being made with coordinating the bus services on the Wherstead Road is continued.
I will continue to be looking at this and report back.
December 25th, 2009 — Uncategorized
Merry Christmas to all my readers. If you object to the term Christmas or to such an overtly Christian celebration, a doubly Merry Christmas to you as well.
We’ll be making more trouble next year.
December 24th, 2009 — travel
Why are some through routes gritted and others aren’t?
Will our road be treated?
When you phone up to warn of impending accidents and told that the road will be gritted, why isn’t it?
I think we’ve got to be honest and say that people have been very confused as to the response of Ipswich council on the gritters. But the problem is not that there isn’t a gritter up every street, it’s just we don’t know where the gritters are.
The council needs to tell people before hand whether or not there road will be gritted. This will mean that people can prepare, by for example keeping rock salt. If they want to elect someone who’s going to tax them till the pips squeak but put a gritter up every path and side road (and run out of rock salt within three days) then they can vote Labour. That’s what a democracy is.
It’s the not knowing that’s really infuriating. Both on the Ipswich Council site and the Highways department there’s no update or advice. There’s no explanations as to why no pavements are treated, even busy ones such as those leading down from Belstead Road and into Burrell Road. There’s a perception that gritting is much less than in previous years.
One of the most troubling worries is that council officials (I know that there is a taboo on publicly criticising council officials, but it needs to be done) will come down on people like a ton of bricks if they clear the road or pavement. This perception doesn’t come about by accident.
So we need to be informed of whether or not the roads and pavements we use will be gritted. We should be kept informed through the cold period as to what’s going on. And we need to be told clearly that we will not be punished for helping to maintain the safety of our streets.
December 21st, 2009 — Uncategorized
It’s not just Belstead Avenue that isn’t gritted, but also Turin Street, Vaughan Street, etc. If anyone is getting fed up of the impromptu ice rinks, there’s a link to an on line form here:
https://www.ipswich.gov.uk/site/scripts/xforms_form.php?formID=152
As Belstead Avenue is used as a through road by drivers who dislike the incline on Luther Road this is not acceptable. I’ve seen two near accidents in the last few days.
December 20th, 2009 — Uncategorized
On the weekend evenings you realise the difference between Belstead Avenue and Rectory Road, there are not the hordes of people very loudly coming home from the pubs and nightclubs. However what can sometimes be a blessing can also be less of a blessing at other times.
The fact that Belstead Avenue is slightly cut off means that the gritter lorries don’t come by and the road is an ice rink, at least the two thirds that is not linking Luther Road and the Maidenhall Estate.
What was dispiriting was talking to a couple of the neighbours, public spirited people who have cleared their drives and helped their neighbours. When we were moaning about the lack of grit on the steep and sharp downhill bend that is Belstead Avenue. I suggested that we get some salt and put it on the road. ”The council won’t let us do that on their road” was the reply.
Whether or not it’s true (and to my shame I don’t know whether that’s the case) it just goes to show what the health and safety nonsense is doing to communities up and down the country. We all moan about it but still it seems to pile on, and that’s before we get to the snow. It doesn’t seem to matter who’s in charge the health and safety rules still come, and worse there’s a paralysis that comes to any community organisation.
December 19th, 2009 — travel
My wife works in London on Saturdays. Last week and the week before she lost clients because cable thieves took the wire. This week she’d had enough and she decided to stay in London last night. There was no way to get any information over the phone (they could only give the normal timetable and tell us there may be some changes), so we simply had to walk down to the station and find which train was or wasn’t cancelled.
This week also saw me having to return to Ipswich on Monday and losing a day’s holiday. On Thursday both me and my wife caught the 9.30 train and arrived at 1.15 AM, two hours late. In the last two weeks I have been late more often than I’ve been on time, needless to say it’s starting to be noticed. Thank God that I’m going to be able to extensively work from home next year.
At least in Ipswich we can vote out the minister responsible for railways.
December 15th, 2009 — Uncategorized
One of the biggest problems that is annoying the Maidenhall Estate has been the new door times that Ipswich Borough Council have changed due to the security problems in the Station Street flats.
There have been some succesful petitions, particularly on Cardiff Avenue. What needs to be done is to raise a residents’ petition for the four flats in the block. It is important that all four flats agree, so you may want to discuss this with your neighbours first. But then raise a petition saying:
1. Which flats are covered (number and address)
2. What new times you’d like the the tradesman buttons to work
3. The name, signature and address of each of the four residents in the block.
If you hand your petition into the Maidenhall Residents’ Association on Maidenhall Green they will see that it goes to the right person.
I’ve just picked up this piece in the Star talking about fury at the ungritted paths. One of the more interesting comments at the bottom of the article was this:
…How about … clearing the path for yourself? No if somebody slips on the path you have cleared you will be sued. Society is caving in on itself! Compensation culture and a lack of community spirit are destroying Britain.