| 6 matches for "Woking Council" in the Tag Cloud |
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| Fri, 16 Jan 2009 09:26:01 +0000 |
| Woking and cycling.. duh!.. |
| With the (slightly old) news that Woking is to become what's intriguingly known as a "Cycling Demonstration Town", I'm pleased to be able to bring you pictures of the first faltering steps towards promoting cycling. "Woking has succeeded in its bid to become a Cycling Demonstration Town. This will bring UKP 1.8m over the next 3 years to develop cycling in the town".. and indeed, the roadside sign pictured is big enough to be read by even the most cellphone-conscious Surrey motorist. Unfortunately, the sign will never be read by the people that need to see it: view the pics to find out why :-) |
  [P]  Add a comment!   More! Entry #2972 posted by MH Media (GB) tagged under Woking Council |
| Sat, 06 Dec 2008 08:06:24 +0000 |
| Get your fecking priorities right!.. |
| More Woking Council madness! During a long-overdue visit to my barber yesterday it was inevitable that the topic of Xmas came up, and the discussion turned to the latest example of the cock-eyed Woking Council thought process. It seems that my barber watched a TV commercial (GMTV) for the Woking Pantomime, broadcast in the morning slot when it was no doubt Very Expensive Indeed: "another waste of our exorbitant Council Tax" we declared, and even more so when the "stars" of the show this year are a couple of minor-celebs (Bradley Walsh and Eric Potts) from Coronation Street! Last year we had Henry Winkler who apparently rocked the house and enjoyed himself immensely. We both grumbled about the waste of our Council Tax and completed the haircut. Then, on returning home I read that the Council have decided to shelve a visit from Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton on the grounds that it'll cost too much!!! What?!?! Now let me see.. on one hand we have a childrens' pantomime with a smattering of big(gish) names, pitched against a world-renowned superstar who has a tremendous public appeal to a wide variety of age groups? Not only that but the McLaren team have their headquarters in Woking?! Here's what the Council had to say: "A spokesperson for the council said: 'We regret that, given the council’s current financial position and the national and global economic climate, Woking Borough Council is unable to fund an event that would enable members of the public to safely participate in the celebrations. Provisional costing showed we would need to find up to £110,000 to deliver a safe public event. Lewis’s current popularity would undoubtedly attract thousands of people into the town and, sadly, we do not have the resources to put the necessary measures into place to fully guarantee the safety of the spectators'". Unbelievable; and how much did that commercial+screen time cost? So in the middle of a recession that's hitting the town very hard indeed the Council is not willing to accommodate thousands of people who'll not only come and see a hero but might also want to spend a considerable amount of money in the town as well? Come on Woking, get your priorities right. Just for once! If you really want to, you can watch the panto commercial here, on YouTube, or Lewis Hamilton here. |
| [P] Add a comment! More! Entry #2928 posted by MH Media (GB) tagged under Woking Council |
| Fri, 28 Nov 2008 07:47:00 +0000 |
| The Save Woking Park Campaign: UPDATE.. |
| Folks, there is now an online petition that you can sign - even if you don't live in Woking you can still sign it. To my knowledge (probably wrong) this is the first time that a UK Council has so brazenly decided to decimate a public space and I don't want them to set a precedent. The link is in "More". If we can't save Woking Park, your park could be next.. The link for the petition is: http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savewokingpark/index.html |
| [P] Add a comment! More! Entry #2920 posted by MH Media (GB) tagged under Woking Council |
| Wed, 26 Nov 2008 18:15:03 +0000 |
| The Save Woking Park Campaign: UPDATE.. |
| I spent most of yesterday evening sending out a mailshot via email to a variety of businesses in the town, mainly composed of Estate Agents. Although there appears to be a tenuous connection between the campaign and this market sector, I reasoned that once work commences they will have to work even harder to sell properties in the area surrounding the Park, some of which are very large indeed. This morning, the campaign manager emailed me links to the Council/College proposals which look as though they'll be approved "without too much difficulty": they haven't reckoned on the public reaction though, and even as I type this posting the Woking News and Mail is getting an article together based on comments from members of the public. Yes, I was one of those members, even though I had to phone back as even I draw the line about being interviewed in the bathroom.. I have a meeting next Monday with a couple of the campaigners who appear to live even closer to the Park than I do(!) and between us we'll work out a plan of what to do next. What incenses me about this project, apart from the fact that they can even consider such a location is the heavy-handed attitude of the Council who clearly state in one report that "Officers be authorised to enter into negotiations with Woking College and the Learning and Skills Council for the use of part of Woking Park for the provision of a new Woking College and to report to the Executive for the approval of the use of the site and the terms of its use, subject to Planning Consent.", with the rider of "The Executive has authority to determine the above recommendations": nowhere do I see any mention of The Public who'll lose a substantial part of a badly-needed recreational facility. More later! |
[P] Add a comment!  More! Entry #2916 posted by MH Media (GB) tagged under Woking Council |
| Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:59:43 +0000 |
| The Save Woking Park Campaign.. |
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Last month I wrote about Woking Council's crazy plan to usurp part of Woking Park for a replacement site for Woking College. Since then I had received a flyer from Frank Davis, Chairman of the Woodlands Community Group, who has launched a campaign to save the park, which, if the plan went ahead would result in the loss of 5615 square metres (1.4 acres) of badly-needed leisure space. He's urging concerned residents and their friends to write to the Council, local MP and the local paper to protest about the proposal and I'll be doing this in due course. It's interesting to note though, that the local paper, Woking News and Mail has for some reason still not reported this newsworthy item: at this stage I'm not sure why that is but I have my theories which may or may not be proved later..
I'll be publishing more details later as the campaign gathers momentum and will also be putting up a special campaign page on the main site. Until then, if you want to write to people, here are the details:
Woking's Local MP: Humfrey Malins Write to Cllr John Kingsbury, Woking Borough Council's Leader of the Executive: Woking Borough Council Civic Offices Gloucester Square Woking Surrey GU21 6YL |
| [P] Add a comment! More! Entry #2909 posted by MH Media (GB) tagged under Woking Council |
| Thu, 30 Oct 2008 19:28:23 +0000 |
| Say goodbye to Woking Park.. |
| I'm indebted to the Surrey Herald for publishing a disturbing story about Woking Council's chief executive Ray Morgan (the man that brought us the white elephant canopy outside the station). Apparently he wants to use "some" of the beautiful and tranquil Woking Park to build a new 3-storey sixth-form college! He "appreciates that there may be some emotional reaction" to such a decision but feels that replacing the existing building will "stop the leakage of young people from the town". Well, perhaps if Woking wasn't such a fine representation of a dormitory town then this wouldn't happen, but Morgan seems to have his heart set on the destruction of a much-needed and loved public space which has apparently been around since 1924. The existing college has probably reached capacity and is probably reaching the end of it's working life: one solution would be to build on the existing playing fields to expand the facility, but Mr Morgan - who has some very fancy ideas about making Woking into a hi-rise showcase by demolishing most of the existing town centre and building skyscrapers instead - seems to think this impractical, and allegedly the existing college is "too far out of town": what utter rubbish! Would it cynical of me to suggest that the land on which the existing college is based would be sold off at a very handsome profit to property developers for yet more prestigious housing? Of course it's impractical to demolish the existing building and rebuild as that would leave the town without a college, but to use the Park? I had my doubts about Morgan before but now I think it's time to get him replaced. He seems hell-bent on the erection of a series of large and expensive structures in the town, presumably so that the grateful citizens of Woking can remember him as the true burgher of the town that he seems himeself as. Another interesting fact is that the local snoozepaper, the Woking Times and Mail has not bothered to report this story: it's actually ironic that they decided (not) to do this while just the other day they decided to bitch long and loud about the same loony council's decision to stop backing the campaign to reverse the decision to keep the "bunker" Post Office in WH Smith's basement. There'll be more on this as it happens, and see the original article here. |
| [P] Comments.. [2] More! Entry #2892 posted by MH Media (GB) tagged under Woking Council |
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