Saturday 2 April 2011

Oh, Those Awful, Savage ‘Cuts’…

…just look how they are biting into Southend council’s frontline responsibilities:
As many as 8,000 Southend residents could soon be advised on how they could get to work more efficiently.

The council wants to handpick people who could ditch their cars and make the most of public transport, bikes and walking.

The idea is part of the authority’s bid for £8.3million green funding from the Government to overhaul Southend’s transport network.
Wow, those cuts, eh? Just savage
John Wallace, 32, of Ambleside Drive, Southchurch, said: “It’s just another example of the Government and officials trying to run people’s lives.

“I can’t see why we need this. If you want that advice, it should be available already. Pushing it like this is just interference.

I can sort myself out, thanks very much.”
Naturally, such forthright opinions won't be heeded at all by the people who are paid to clean the streets, take away the rubbish and keep the parks tidy, and nothing else:
Paul Mathieson, Southend council’s special projects manager for transportation, said: “We are looking at identifying 8,000 households in the town whose residents would most benefit from an individual travel plan, which we would draw up for them.

“If they expressed an interest, we would ask detailed questions about how they travel around the borough and work out for them the most sustainable and cost-effective way they could do this.

“This has been done elsewhere in the country and has led to a reduction in car usage of between ten and 15 per cent.”
Frankly, Paul, I'd have thought Southend's art abomination could be responsible for twice that. It's hard to drive while you're shielding your eyes from the horror...

I mean, you haven't even convinced the Greens!
However, Michael Hoy, spokesman for the South East Essex Green Party, warned the changes should not just be seen as a gimmick.

He said “Anything which helps to reduce the impact on the environment is to be welcomed.
“However, there can be a tendency to bid for Government money just because it is there. I would not like to see that.”
Really? That must make you rather unique...

5 comments:

Woman on a Raft said...

We need a word to apply to every job and official which can safely be dispensed with when we spot the waste of money at local level.

The initiative – known as individual travel plans – has already been introduced by other councils after the Department for Transport launched them in 2009.

And that's a section at the DfT which can also go.

Every little helps.

Rob said...

By "more efficient", of course, he means "less efficient".

Strange that the council thinks people are taking an inefficient method of getting to work, because everyone likes to get up earlier than necessary just to piss about in their car.

John said...

Message to anyone who completed the Census:

Wait until they've put all your home/work routes through the big computer. You'll all be getting nagging letters in the post pointing you to the nearest bus stop soon.

Glad you filled it all in..?

JuliaM said...

"And that's a section at the DfT which can also go. "

If I were in charge of the cuts, this sort of thing is exactly what I'd be looking for...

"Strange that the council thinks people are taking an inefficient method of getting to work, because everyone likes to get up earlier than necessary just to piss about in their car."

Indeed - what with the cost of fuel, the potholes, the undocumented and unlicensed immigrants adhering only to their own country's traffic laws, driving's no fun.

It's always preferable to the bus, though.

"Glad you filled it all in..?"

I don't doubt that there are people who are genuinely grateful to have someone tell them where to go, what to eat and drink, and what opinions to have.

I didn't think there were so many of them, though!

Anonymous said...

On my census form, I decided to call myself by a contraction of my middle name, which I have never, ever used before anywhere. So, if I get patronising crap sent to this particular name then I know precisely where and who sent it, and where the data leaked from.

Flogging this story to the press ought to be entertaining, to say the least.