Clean up operation needed

[Andy Macfarlane]

Ah right I see. Okiedoke.

[Jeffwill]

No not all public events, but this is proposed on Council property which makes it mandatory.

 

Be very very careful if the local council own it because if you ask them (parks development) to sort it out they will spin you a yarn about it being easy for you to get grants and they have no money and they will help you all the way etc. In my experience this is all lies to get you to do it. They just want the community to do the work for them.

 

For you to do it, you will have to take out a lease to get grants, usually 10 years (though I insisted on 5), and then you are responsible for the site, and before you know it, you are buried under rules and regs, responsibilities etc and other council depts will come out of the woodwork, being dogmatic and dictatorial. Believe me its a nightmare.

 

My advice to you is to get up a petition signed by local people, as many as you can, and pester your local councillor saying you have proved that the community wants the site regenerated and that you want a project started, run by the council, to enhance the public amenity.

 

I have spent 6 years working on a project, almost single handed. I also had to go round the houses collecting names for a petition and a questionnaire, which was one of a great number of things I needed to do to get grants. You will need to do this either way.

 

Also you will find that grant providers will not particularly want to support a group of fit able bodied anglers! It took me two years to get funding for my project and I work in the local authority finance dept! Get the council to do it. They get paid for it and can apply for grants themselves.

[bluerinse]

Its offical Andy

 

Britain has gone mad, 30 years ago you could have asked the local scout group to do it and they would have swung into action.

But these days its all forms, lawyers and officals.

 

Crazy world

[barry luxton]

I was thinking about trying to organise a clear up operation and getting some volunteers together, maybe even get the local newspapers involved to at least highlight the issue.

 

Where do I start?

Has anyone done this sort of thing before?

 

Got a postcard that might be of use, kindly given to me by Mike Concannon from his dartmouth web site.

 

 

and another, although it's relating to an area of sea, it still has the same idea. Thanks for your assistance Mike.

 

Edited October 4, 2008 by barry luxton

[fruitloopy]

I really like those signs Barry. At the very least I may try and see if the council will let me display them at the site somewhere.

 

Of course, as this is Peterborough (and many of the beer cans are Polish) I may have to get a few different translations for the myriad of nationalities we have here.