UNDECIDED?........DON'T BE....

This election is probably the most important election for generations. The outcome is far from decided and it's going to be tight all the way to the finishing-line.

Normally I use tactical voting, I vote Conservative to keep out Labour, this election I wont, I'll vote with my head and my heart.

I've spoken to many Conservatives, some even diehards, who, like me, do not like the way things have gone or how certain policies have been prioritised and the idea of increased Foreign Aid whilst pensioners starve and freeze is repugnant.

I've put this argument to many would-be Tory voters who, like I did, are thinking anything to keep Labour out...... but let's imagine if we did have a Labour MP and a Labour Government how would it change our lives? We already have a dysfunctional Labour led council who consider nobody but themselves and treat Conwy as their personal fiefdom so no change there then.

But......can you imagine a Labour/SNP Government, that is what it will need for Labour to take power, can you imagine those two in coalition??? YES! It will be a disaster, a train wreck, with the SNP pulling Milliband,s strings....YES! They will wreck the economy, they will undo all the work we have had to endure to clear up their last mess. They will drive away business, destroy small businesses and totally fuck-up everything! Scotland will get it's referendum as part of the deal, it will get it's independence and the UK will fracture BUT.......and here is the real deal.......after such a catastrophe and the loss of the Scottish support LABOUR WILL NEVER COME TO POWER AGAIN......it has to be worth the suffering for that to happen!

So, this election I'll vote UKIP, along with those I've already influenced, and I'll do it with a clear conscience because it's a NO LOSE vote.  

THOUGHTS OF OSCAR; WHAT A PITY.

In these ever increasing times of suppressing free speech we see the premier blog of North Wales forced into closure by a petulant and cowardly Guto Beeb. Beeb used Parliamentary Privilege to attack David Jones and Dylan Moore yet had the audacity to accuse Nigel Roberts (Oscar) of hiding behind anonymity. One rule for them and another for us I suppose.

Whilst I always got on with Oscar I often envied him, whatever I have wrote within these pages I always had to back it up with proof, Oscar, on the other hand, was the maverick I longed to be. His sources of information were enviable and his attitude, if a tad cavalier, was to be admired. Beeb, with his strop, has shown himself to be the gutless wonder that he is and the utter contempt in which he holds his constituents, we can only hope the local Conservatives, if that is what they really are in this day and age, see through this charlatan and drop him at the earliest opportunity. (Don't hold your breath)

I suppose now we will see the Night of the Long Knives and Nigel will be the subject of recriminations, I only hope his long list of admirers stand by him, if asked, I know I will. He only said what many of us thought. CCBC must be celebrating heavily, they can now continue with their dubious practices without the fear of being brought to task by the pages of Oscar and/or Councillors indulging their expenses without Oscar's scrutiny, their oldboy-network safe once again from prying eyes.

My door will always be open to Nigel and a hand of friendship there if he needs it, too many of us hid in the shadows at least Oscar had the bollocks to walk in the sunshine.

GOOD LUCK TO YOU MATE. 

ONE RULE FOR THEM......

It has been brought to my attention that CCBC may be changing the goal-posts to suit their friends, ex-colleagues and a certain Councillor.

Colwyn Bay has a regeneration area, encompassing houses North of Abergele Road, Greenfield Road and Easterly as far as The Dingle. Some of the property owners within that area have asked for work to be done under the regeneration scheme but been put off or told “no”, some are still waiting for assessments and others haven’t even been told about the scheme.

It is rather strange then that properties in Rhiw Bank Road (not within the regeneration area) are having work done to them under the scheme. These properties belong to Cartrefi Conwy whos Chief Executive is Andrew Bowden (ex CCBC head of Housing) and whos Board members include none other than Councillor Chris Hughes. Cartrefi Conwy, you might remember, were criticised in 2009 for upping their wages by 20% when they took over CCBC housing.

If there is a designated area then the houses within that area should benefit from the scheme and NOT those of a Housing Association outside the area, someone, somewhere in CCBC has approved this project and to me it stinks of corruption. Those people within the regeneration area who have had their applications turned down may well want to start asking some very awkward questions of CCBC and of their elected councillor who happens to be.....oh, Councillor Chris Hughes

HE OPENS HIS MOUTH AND SHITE COMES OUT

I had to just nip-back on and have a laugh at Cllr Chris (headless-chicken) Hughes. His latest shout of “Everybody panic” had me in stitches....droves of west midlanders invading Welsh shores to avoid benefit cuts!

It is laughable on so many levels that one wonders where Chris the Crunch has been keeping his head these past few years? Does he know it was his party, Labour, that opened our doors and allowed the overwhelming influx of immigration never before seen where there were “droves” of invaders allowed in. Does he also, conveniently, forget that it was also his party, again Labour, who tragically left this country in such a financial mess that we have had to, and will continue to suffer, such deep cuts and austerity?. Was it not his party that orchestrated our benefit culture by raising benefits to such a degree that it wasn’t worth going out to work....the man is a complete twat!

If we break down what Humpty Dumpty Hughes is saying we will find it flawed from the outset. All we need to do is look around us now, here, in Conwy, we have a huge cosmopolitan mixture of people escaping our major cities, they have been doing that for years. Recently one will also notice the different nationalities of these “in-comers”, black, brown, yellow and white. The UK, in general, is overcrowded, our archaic infrastructure was never intended to take the strain that the Labour party put it under. So yes Christopher, you plank, people are going to move to where life is a bit easier.

Our transient population started a long, long time ago when our rogue landlords started advertising in our cities to come and draw your dole by the sea, where was Aunty Chris then? Nobody heard him shouting “NO” and why should he? After all these were Labour voters he was welcoming into the fold. Colwyn Bay is still suffering for his ineptitude and we are still struggling to get rid of the rogue landlords and agents.

I can understand Chris whinging and whining, I have heard rumours that he is jostling to become the new Labour candidate for 2015, undermining Donna Hutton, so, unfortunately, we will have to listen to more of his bullshit before brains speeches in the months to come.

My only regret is that Labour WILL WIN the next election due to dithering Dave’s lack of decision on the in-out vote over the EU, I, for one will not vote for the Conservatives again, nor will others, it will split the Conservative vote and Labour will win. I can only hope that the folks around here will see what a morally corrupt prick Chris Hughes is and don’t vote for him....but I aint holding my breath.

And It's Goodnight From Him.....

This will be my very last blog entry, *sound of loud cheers emitting from council offices* after a long slog of trying to bring out the truth, change the public perception and generally make the council more accountable I have to admit failure. I have had my victories and brought some officers to account, but, in reality, I haven’t changed anything and we are back to the same old crap we always had.

The Local elections did not bring about the changes I had hoped for, save for the odd one or two we are still left with the morally corrupt, dysfunctional and useless Councillors we had before, the re-election of Chris Hughes proves my theory that if you put a red rosette on a pig or a donkey then the Labour voters will vote for it!

I took a gamble standing in Betws-yn-Rhos, a gamble that didn’t pay off, but one I would take again under the same circumstances. I was urged to take a safer approach for the Town Council but I had promised people I would stand in Glyn so I did knowing I had little chance against the big Parties electoral machinery, no Independent has the ability to put out so many people and I take my hat off to those that actually won against the major players.

I do not expect to see any significant changes to the way the County Council is run, we will still have the monumental financial cock-ups, the sweeping under the carpet of Council Officers mistakes and the same Old Boys Network running things in the council chamber. We will, of course, have all the bravado and bollocks of how things will change, but we are so used to hearing it that none of us will be impressed and within a month or two we will be back to the “Public and Press Exempt” shielding that the Council love to employ to keep us sheep in the dark.

Will I miss being on the Town Council? Not sure yet but I don’t think so, I certainly will not miss the boring, monotone and bullshit speeches doled out by Chris Hughes, he could make a Samaritan slit his wrists. I’m still getting the phone calls from locals asking for assistance and even after explain I’m no longer on the council they still want my input but, I presume, the message will soon get across and those calls will fade. One thing I will miss is some of the friendships I have made over the last 4 years, not always seeing eye to eye politically hasn’t stopped some feelings of mutual respect and there are some Councillors who really do care about their communities and who I cannot fault.

That’s about it, time to fade off into the dying sunset, hang-up my political hat and settle down to a peaceful, less complicated life. A big thank you to all of you that have continued to give support and for all your comments over the years, I wish you all long life and happiness.  

AT LAST!!!

At last the press are taking an interest, lets hope some very awkward questions get asked of our Councillors..

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/2012/04/11/veil-of-secrecy-over-colwyn-bay-pier-must-be-lifted-says-mp-55578-30734602/

THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND CCBC

David Jones MP has further blogged on this issue, here, and I can only support his call for greater transparency, our council, for the last 4 years, have shrouded themselves in secrecy, treated us like children and wasted hundreds of thousands of pounds in the process.

I certainly believe that heads have got to roll for this latest, now well publicised, cock-up. Cllr Edwards needs to be questioned about his part in all of this, for example; were the full council made aware of the 3 lease options? And why was the pier purchased prior to the results of the funding when it didn’t need to be. What, if any, input was there from local Colwyn Bay Councillors, I know funds were withheld by Cllr Chris Hughes whilst he was chairman of the pier’s charity but what other involvement has there been?

We have to take our hats off to David Jones, at least he is trying to force the Councils hand, like us, he too wants the truth to come out

The pier is now in the hands of the tax-payer, any further meetings MUST be held in public and open to scrutiny, let us shake the barrel squarely and see what rats run out.

THE PIER'S VERY MURKY WATER

http://davidjonesblog.com/2012/04/06/colwyn-bay-pier-a-long-and-sad-tale/

Murky waters, indeed, surrounding the pier but if one digs deep enough one can always find what one is looking for.

I believe it was Cllr Brian Cossey at the first meeting with David Jones MP and Steve Hunt at David’s office, he thought the proposals for the pier were a step forward and was even hopeful of a positive result.

The problems came at the second meeting, held at Bodlondeb, David Jones MP, Steve Hunt, Ken Finch, Iwan Davies and Cllr Goronwy Edwards were all there. At the meeting 3 different lease options were put on the table, I think it would be unfair of me to discuss all of them but I can say that all 3 options were at a lower rate per sq foot than what the Council currently lets it’s seafront property out at.

Cllr Edwards got the hump about what Steve Hunt had wrote about him and allowed his personal feelings to get in the way of conducting a very important meeting about the pier’s future.

Now I cannot tell, because meetings were held under the 12a rule, press and public exempt, but I do wonder if the full council were ever made aware of the 3 offers that were put on the table, one that even started at a peppercorn rent.

This whole shambolic issue is going to cost the tax payer a lot of money, basically because one Councillor couldn’t keep his cool and, in my mind, had a personal vendetta to settle. We may never know the depths that this goes to but until someone at Bodlondeb starts to be open, honest and transparent I, for one, will have no faith in anything they do.

Now, I think, as soon as I press “print” on this article someone, somewhere is going to start accusing me of breaking the purdah rules.....well, maybe I am, maybe I’m not but personally I don’t give a flying **** I think the whole thing stinks and if they want to start accusing people then lets start at the very top shall we?

OH DEAR...SHORE(LY) NOT

REPRODUCED FROM THE THREE TOWN FORUM

Statement
Heritage Lottery Fund statement - Colwyn Bay Victoria Pier, Conwy
Wednesday 28 March 2012

The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has assessed a £4.9m application from Conwy Borough County Council (CBCC) towards the restoration of Grade II listed Colwyn Bay Victoria Pier. After careful consideration, it was decided the Fund was unable to support the project.

Jennifer Stewart, Head of HLF Wales, said:
“We were impressed with the Council’s imaginative plans to transform Colwyn Bay Victoria Pier and its Art Deco pavilion into a much-needed community and tourist centre.
“This month’s HLF Board meeting was very over-subscribed. The quality of bids was exceptionally high and, regretfully, we just didn’t have enough money to support all the applications we looked at on the day. We will be meeting with representatives from the Council shortly to discuss the best way forward for their project.”


Background
To date, HLF has made awards in Conwy totalling £8.5m.
CBBCC has received previous grants totalling £5.8m for a number of HLF Townscape Heritage Initiative and parks projects.

Notes to editors

Using money raised through the National Lottery, the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) sustains and transforms a wide range of heritage for present and future generations to take part in, learn from and enjoy. From museums, parks and historic places to archaeology, natural environment and cultural traditions, we invest in every part of our diverse heritage. HLF has supported more than 30,000 projects allocating over £4.5billion across the UK, including more than 2,000 projects totalling over £217million in Wales.


Further information

Please contact Katie Owen, HLF Press Office, on tel: 020 7591 6036 mob: 07973 613 820

As I stated before, my fears are now that we will be burdened with the very costly upkeep of the pier

WILL THEY DO THE RIGHT THING?

The High Street is dying, not just here in Colwyn Bay but everywhere throughout the Country, here we see empty shop fronts growing at an alarming rate only to be replaced by charity shops, pay-day loans and pawn shops....what can we do?

The Council have now purchased the Old Market Hall in Colwyn Bay and I still believe that they intend to use it for their own purpose ...

http://voicesofcolwynbay.blogspot.co.uk/2009/05/old-indoor-market.html

We cannot blame the Council directly for the decline, on-line shopping, increased business rates and the current financial crisis must also take their part of the blame but what the Council can do is give the people a reason to come into Town. Use the Old Market Hall as a magnet, turn it into something to draw in the shoppers, I’ve already made my suggestions for its use but they were scoffed at.

If the Council do build their offices then it will turn Colwyn Bay into a virtual ghost-town, we need them to be far sighted and radical, we need them to visualise the future of what their decisions could entail but, most of all, we need them to think about the people and not themselves.

PIG'S PLIGHT

For some obscure reason my dog, Pig, has, on our walks in the woods, started collecting his own pets.... Ticks! In the five years we’ve had him he may have had one or two but this year its gone absolutely silly, he must have at least 6 clinging to him!

We’ve tried the usual treatments flea/tick collar, the stuff you put on the neck and base of the tail, we’ve tried covering them in Vaseline, nail polish and nail polish remover (alcohol) We’ve managed to pull out a couple using tweezers and used some stuff that the pet shop sold us but the majority of the tricky little buggers refuse to shift.

Pig’s a resilient little fella but he’s a tad pi**ed off at me yanking these little blighters out of various parts of his body and we both decided it might be for the better if I left the one near his bum hole for just a little while longer!

So....if anyone has any helpful hints or tips Pig would be mighty grateful and if any of you are contemplating tackling the one near his bum I must warn you...the other end has a lot of teeth!

NOT SO SURE THING

Colwyn Bay Pier (Victoria Pier) falling (pardon the pun) into the hands of CCBC may not be the good news we all think it is. Shore Thing, the “front-men” for the Council have come up with some ideas that look good on paper but, in reality, may not work.

Call me a sceptic but unless the Pier hits the ground running as a commercial venture then it is doomed to failure and, if that happens, it will be the local tax payer who is burdened with the cost of it and that could dwindle on for many years.

I remain convinced that the only viable way for the Pier to succeed is in the hands of a private company, if that company is a gaming company and they want to open a casino then so be it, let them. If Shore Thing remain in control and only partially refit the pier, as and when funding is available then we are back to the way that Steve Hunt was trying to do it, building it up when he could afford it.

I was there when the original “Shore Thing” was set up, their main criteria was that no Councillors were to be involved with its workings yet I know of a couple who are skirting around it and, in my opinion, pulling the strings.....the Council remain in control but at arms length so, with running costs and maintenance estimated at over £50,000 a year who do you think will end up paying for it?

Please God....let me be wrong!

THE WHITE LION

A massive congratulation to Simon and Nina at the White Lion for their Best Beer Award, well done!

Simon and Nina not only keep exceptionally good beer they, themselves, are fantastic hosts and there is always a warm welcome to anyone who enters…..surprisingly that includes me! There is a warm, friendly atmosphere throughout the pub and restaurant and the staff do an exceptional job of serving up some really tasty grub from a varied and full menu, there is always local produce on the menu and some really delicious “specials”. If you haven’t tried it I fully recommend it and guarantee you’ll make a second visit.

Well done again to them and I look forward to a free pint for this plug!!!

In all seriousness I strongly do advise you to give it a try, you won’t regret it.

CLLR MARGARET LYON

This blog and therefore I have, in the past, openly criticised Cllr M. Lyon and what I called the “Lyon Clan” but I raise no cheer for the way she was treated by the Conservative Party whom she as served well over the years, their actions speak volumes and goes to show the back-biting and stabbing that is prevalent in local politics.

As a contradiction to that I will also say that it is perhaps better that she may not be a Councillor for much longer, to my way of thinking Margaret epitomises all that is wrong with the Council and it’s deeply entrenched “career” Councillors.

For too long now the “old-boy” network of stuck-in-the mud diehards have ruled the roost of the Conwy hen-house, stuck in the glory days of ages past with barely a good or new idea between them. They have allowed Council Officer after Council Officer to dictate the terms to them, allowing the tail to wag the dog, it should be that people tell the Councillors what they want, the Councillor tells the Council and the Council tells the Council Officers. Unfortunately we (the Council) have now allowed the Council Officer so much power that he/she tells the Council what the people cannot have!

It is high time for a changing of the guard, the old fuddy-duddies have had their day and out lived their usefulness, time to change the sheets and bring in a new freshness, Councillors with enough bollocks to stand up to the ever demanding Officers who through glory, power or high wages think they are in charge and not the people who pay their very high wages and perks.

As for Margaret, I don’t know her personally, but I wish her well. I do know her daughter-in-law, Lynn, through the Town Council on which she sits. After a frosty few weeks I found her to be a mine of information on local commerce and we, as a Council, could do well to listen to her and the local trader’s input on many issues…but that is another story!

TOWN MANAGER

http://www.northwalesweeklynews.co.uk/conwy-county-news/local-conwy-news/2011/10/06/colwyn-bay-councillor-questions-funding-of-town-manager-55243-29545202/

The “unnamed Councillor” was, of course, me but I didn’t ask to be unnamed I merely stated that because it was a closed meeting I could not make an official statement, the Weekly News chose to “dress it up” the way they did for their own reasons, I don’t hide behind anonymity.

Chris Perry is right; we cannot afford to throw £10,000 at a Town Manager and that money could be a lot better spent elsewhere in drawing people into the town, his example of an ice-rink is a good one but so are many more.

The shopkeepers and traders of Colwyn Bay are the ones to ask if a Town Manager is worth the money and I can tell you their answer right now…”No”. On speaking to a few of them they do not know nor have ever met the Town Manager, the Chamber of Commerce do not even have a member on the Town Management Board denying them any voice in the progress of Colwyn Bay as a shopping destination.

The Town Manager, in her latest report, cited a list of initiatives she claims were hers but they were not, she may have had a hand in them but most were the work of other people. The one initiative that was hers, that she failed to mention in the report, was All the Little Shops, an internet based website for Colwyn Bay businesses. Ingrid Lewis came to us last year and asked for, if I remember correctly, £15,000 to set it all up, when asked she said a survey of shop keepers interested was very high but didn’t have the figures to give us but her enthusiasm was backed by her line-manager Rob Dix so we gave her the money. As of last week there were 18 shopping categories, 137 adverts, all very good until you look deeper and see that out of all that only 13 shops/businesses are actually doing the advertising! Works out it costs the council £1,153.84p per shop, not bad ‘eh! One of the shops has emailed the Town Manager to say they will not be re-advertising next year but so far haven’t received a reply, mind you they only sent it two weeks ago!

The Town council is requesting a job description from the County Council of the Town Manager as we believe her duties do include Rhos-on-Sea, the West End and Old Colwyn but again the shop keepers in these areas have never heard of her. An argument was put forward that she has sourced funding for the town but to me that doesn’t hold water, there should be a Council Officer appointed to source funding for the entire area not just town regeneration. She came to us not long ago to ask for £10,000 to pay for a consultancy firm to carry-out a survey to see where 3 pieces of art should be placed within the town! AGAIN why isn’t there a Council Officer employed to carry out surveys instead of spending 100’s of thousands on companies that come back and tell us what we already know? (she didn’t get the £10,000 by the way!)

To my way of thinking the County Council is full of none-jobs, jobs that are created when there is no real need for it, a creation of talking shops, where none jobs get together and talk about things that never come together but cost us, the tax payers, £1,000’s every year….what a very sad state of affairs.

Since posting this I have been reliably informed and have the paperwork to prove it that CCBC also put in an additional £15,000 to set up All The Little shops, that is a staggering £30,000 of tax payers money spent on what I believe to be a total wasteful project.

Don't take my word for it, check it yourself but don't count the adverts, count the shops...

http://www.shoppingcolwynbay.co.uk/