24 September (Part 2) - Another sham consultation
I
was away all weekend and put into action my ‘what if the police carry out their
threat of April 2011 and put me in a cell for criticising Bexley council’
routine so the weekend stories were posted from a volunteer in Welling. Being
away meant I couldn’t attend Gareth Bacon’s Parking Consultation in The Mall on Saturday
morning - so I sent a volunteer to that too. Who better than Nicholas Dowling
who picked gaping holes in councillor Peter Craske's false accounting a couple of years ago?
Nick is nothing if not thorough and has sent me something of an essay on his
foray into the shady world of Bexley consultations. Of particular interest to
even the most disinterested of bystanders is that none of the staff on duty were
from Parking Services. So much for them taking the issue seriously, they didn’t
even make a note of the points made and could answer only the most simplistic of questions.
When questioned about the parking revenue surpluses going up again, as well they
might after the prices doubled, no sensible response was forthcoming. When asked why
Bexley council favourably compares its parking charges with neighbouring
boroughs which only charge for ten hours a day instead of Bexley council’s 24,
again the staff on duty were nonplussed.
Nick, unlike myself, knows how to use a mobile phone. It may well take rather
naff photos but it does do audio recording rather well. Hence Nick’s fulsome report which may be
read here.