REGARDING the article: ‘New parking spaces after work finishes’, in the Redditch Standard.
Work, the article states, was completed in March. If this is so, why are garages L to Q in Frankton Close still extant, as these were also
scheduled for demolition, yet are still standing?
According to your article, the borough council ‘transforms pockets of older infrastructure in consultation with residents’.
I have spoken to the people who used these garages (L to Q), indeed I rented ‘Q’ for over 10 years myself.
None of us were consulted in any way, the first knowledge of the ‘improvements’ was a Notice to Quit through the post!
Even the households who paid extra for the garage when purchasing their house were not consulted prior to the ‘eviction notice’.
I would also add that RBC charged me two weeks rent on the garage after ‘eviction’!
Five of the six garages were occupied at the time of notice. The empty one, mine, was only so due to the door mechanism being broken. Ergo, the statement regarding ‘under-used garage complexes’ is totally ‘fake news’.
Your article also states RBC is ‘bringing … significantly improved parking’ and ‘safer spaces for people’s needs today’.
There is a known issue of vehicles being broken into and/or stolen in the area, so garaged parking is, I would hazard, almost a necessity. Our car insurance previously stated that we garage the vehicle overnight, as we always have.
As we will no longer be able to garage our car, there has been an increase in premium.
B Wass, Matchborough
I AM deeply saddened that the Seven Principals of Public Life no longer seem to mean anything to the Prime minister et al.
We have heard many heartbreaking stories of the sacrifices made by us ordinary folk whilst adhering to the law.
I am curious to know what happened to honesty, leadership, integrity, openness, selflessness, objectivity and accountability in the heart of our democracy.
Law makers can’t be law breakers, and those that break the law must face the consequences as our MP rightly pointed out on a recent episode of the Midlands Politics show.
For those who will say, ‘So what, it was just a party, get on with it,’- I say, ‘it’s easy to forgive if you’ve nothing to forget’.
So Rachel can we assume that the letter to the chairman of the 1922 committee Sir Graham Brady is in the post?
Name and Address supplied
I READ with absolute anger in last week’s Redditch Standard how our local Tory councillors are backing both the PM and the Chancellor even though they broke the law on attending ‘parties’ in Downing Street as well as Rachel Maclean (who I expected sadly).
Many people – not just here in Redditch – sacrificed a lot during the pandemic and followed the rules to the core.
During the pandemic Mrs Maclean was on social media telling the people of Redditch to ‘stay at home, protect our NHS and to save lives’ only to find out late last year they (meaning the PM and Chancellor as well as their advisers) partied whilst most of us couldn’t meet up with our families and friends because of being scared of ‘being found out’.
Yet when she was on ‘Politics Live’ back in January she said she too “felt angry because I couldn’t see my elderly mum in a care home” yet she still stood by Boris Johnson.
I’m also angry at Councillor Dormer’s response of ‘let’s move on’ – the electorate won’t forget.
Yet again it’s ‘One Rule For Us And One Rule For Them’.
This country needs a leader like Sir Keir Starmer – honest and trustworthy.
H McGahan, Headless Cross
LAST week we saw breathtaking levels of hypocrisy from our Member of Parliament.
On Wednesday, she defended our law breaking Prime Minister, then on Thursday repeatedly inferred that asylum seekers were coming to the UK illegally.
You would hope that someone of Mrs Maclean’s standing would know that claiming asylum in the UK is not illegal, and that the only legal way to do so is once you are on British soil.
Is it the law of the land that matters to our MP, or is it the people she’d have you believe were breaking it?
Either way, her blind allegiance to Johnson and Chums shows no sign of breaking any time soon.
She, like many within politics and media are only too happy to use word like asylum seeker, refugee, migrant and illegal immigrant interchangeably.
This absolutely must stop.
They are very different groups of people and distinguishing between them is imperative if we are to have meaningful discussions about migration to the UK.
A Smale, Church Hill
I AM putting on a Sign Language choir class together at St Andrew’s Church in Church Hill from May 6 from 7.30pm until around 78.45pm each Friday.
The aim is over the few couple of weeks to teach and run through some songs ready for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June.
Learning songs in Sign Language is not as hard as people might expect and it’s a great deal of fun.
A love of performing an enjoying being in front of a crowds is a must.
Cost? A small donation of £2 to cover the cost of room hire.
Interested? Please email: [email protected] or text 07401 603087 and I’ll get back to you.
G Faeroy, Winyates
THE Redditch Standard on Friday April 8 reported our MP, Rachel Maclean, is pleased the e-scooter trial has been extended.
This is without any public consultation!
A constituent in Redditch asked our MP several questions about these e-scooters; the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State responsible, Trudy Harrison MP, replied in a letter in which:
(i) She fails to provide any details of the comprehensive monitoring and evaluation that is supposed to be going on.
(ii) There is no specific date provided when the report about the trials should be published.
(iii) There appears to be no guarantee (a check) that the summarising of the findings will be accurate – based on what is referred to as ‘comprehensive monitoring’ .
(iv) It only says there ‘may’ be further consultations.
(v) There is nothing about the public having access to the evidence collected in the trials.
There are influencial people strongly opposed to e-scooters.
One is Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Conservative), viewable on the Parliamentary TV Channel in the House of Lords on April 6 at about 19:42
[ https://parliamentlive.tv/event/index/f0d5f146-7ce6-4721-80e3-7dacdea01d23?in=19:42:56 ]
She also has concerns about alterations to the Highway Code – Rule 149 (You MUST exercise proper control of your vehicle at all times).
The full details of Baroness McIntosh’s ‘Motion to Regret’ is given in Hansard.
Has our MP read it?
P Bladon, Southcrest
I HAVE sent this letter to our MP:
Dear Rachel,
I find it absolutely unfathomable as to why your department thinks that Rwanda, a country torn by war, genocide, factional violence and a leadership with extremely questionable morality is a suitable place to hold immigrants; illegal though they may be.
Surely even you can see that this is absurd even if the Home Secretary creature can’t.
Have you all lost your tenuous grasp on morality and reality?
I am appalled
N Braithwaite,
Headless Cross
I WAS saddened but not entirely surprised to see Rachel Maclean MP attempt to excuse her bosses – the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Prime Minister – for breaking their own Covid-19 legislation.
Two of the most senior members of this government have been found by the Metropolitan Police to have broken the rules put in place by the government during the pandemic.
It’s clear they feel that are above the laws that they set for the rest of the nation.
Our MP must now call on both to do the right thing, and stand down from their respective high offices.
Rachel you were elected to represent the thoughts and wishes of the people of Redditch, not run interference for Boris Johnson and Co.
M Tomes,
Liberal Democrat candidate for Church Hill
ARE Redditch residents really interested in reading the ramblings of an egotistical ex-Conservative Councillor who lost his position as portfolio holder in finance earlier this year (Redditch Standard).
Realising that the game was up, Coun Thain has proceeded to scaremonger Redditch residents that Redditch Borough Council is going bankrupt, which incidentally is not the case.
He was merely trying to cover his own short comings.
Not happy with the lack of attention he received he decided to join The Green Party, even though all through his time as a Tory Councillor as far as I am aware he has not shown the slightest interest in the green policies we have in place or those in the pipeline.
I note from the article that the Green Party are delighted to have him on board.
Maybe when they discover how big his carbon footprint is and lack of experience in green issues and finance, they may regret welcoming him with open arms.
Time will tell.
K Ashley
Conservative Councillor for Church Hill
I AM told that Councillor David Thain is now distributing leaflets printed all the way in Southend-on-Sea just to tell people he’s defected to the Greens.
When you add that carbon footprint to his numerous overseas trips it’s quite the carbon cost for someone who claims he is now extremely worried about climate change.
He also states he was elected in 2018 as a Town Councillor.
The fact is he was elected in 2019 as a Conservative Borough Councillor – a Town Council is a step below.
This is typical of David’s inability to grasp even the most basic facts and details, and he wonders why he lost his job in charge of the council’s finances.
Name and Address Supplied
THE cost of living is rising day by day, wages are down while inflation rises.
Petrol and diesel at an all time high as many are now worried about how they are financially going to manage.
This is the message that I am hearing on the doors and in my work place while out on the campaign trail.
Where are the solutions from our MP and the local Conservatives.
Yes you have guessed it nothing, silent as always.
It’s time that they put themselves into action and start petitioning their leaders to start acting in the interests of those they claim to represent, and not misleading the country into thinking its everyone else’s fault.
Rachel McLean can start by writing a letter to demand that Boris Johnson resigns, not only has he broken the law and taken us for fools, but he has lied to parliament, which in its own code which would lead to most decent MPs handing in their resignation.
Redditch deserves better than this, we deserve representatives that will stand up for us and hold our leaders to account, and start to fix this financial mess.
It is now your opportunity to send a message to the Conservatives by using your vote on May 5 by voting to elect people who actually care about what is going on and will speak up for those they represent, its time to end the silence and let our voices be heard.
J Baker
Labour Candidate for Batchley and Brockhill
