You have to smile!

I mean another set of consultants. As I have said before you really cannot make it up.

Why not ask those who regularly contribute on this forum and save yourself a few quid?

More jobs for the council member’s friends no doubt!

Let us call this lot Little Renaissance or more likely little idea.

You read my mind Dave! Agree with you entirely. Had posted on the other story that's the same. So in case it gets deleted, here's what I said before:

Have to agree with the opposition here - the ideas and suggestions should be from the locals, the people that will be affected, not some shipped in consultants from outside the borough - just look at a high percentage of the Renaissance Southend members, they're not even from Essex.

Ideas and suggestions from LOCALS wouldn't even cost half of what they've spent so far on consultants - what about sending out a questionnaire with options etc that people could return - the printing and postage would still be less than what they've wasted already.

I despair. What DO we pay those lot to NOT do, again and again. This lot should be investigated by an outside body, and quick.

May be they should take some advice from Rochford Council, they've kept character and improved that area and stuck to their word through and through.

The sheer amount spent on consultants could easily be channeled into maintaining a small in-house team to do these jobs (which are necessary), like at the council I currently work at.

Absolutely outragous spenditure, What idiots voted this lot back into power i seriously ask.
Maybe they need investigating and big time .

Agree Dan, but they ALREADY have a LARGE in-house team that we're paying for and they can't manage it! ;-)

This just beggars belief - this bunch of ineptitudes was voted in to work for the people of Southend. If thewy have to consult Renaissance Dreamland or any other outside consultants before wiping their backsides, then I would suggest that they are totally out of their depth and not fit for purpose and should be removed forthwith.

I work for a consulatncy company and i have to admit it is a bit of a con, we are doing very well out of councils and private companies who pay us lots of money to investigate various schemes but at the end of the day there is little chance of them ever being implemented.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - It is immoral to squander thousands of pounds on expensive consultants when money could be better spent on subsidising bus services and improving public amenities.

Also, it is clearly evident that parts of the Renaissance Plan for the town centre are seriously flawed. The plan to rip our public swimming pool out of the town centre is just one example of its flawed vision.

Steve wrote:
This just beggars belief - this bunch of ineptitudes was voted in to work for the people of Southend. If thewy have to consult Renaissance Dreamland or any other outside consultants before wiping their backsides, then I would suggest that they are totally out of their depth and not fit for purpose and should be removed forthwith.

Steve,

They can't be removed forthwith.

The people of Southend had the chance to remove them just two weeks ago. They voted them back in with a massive majority.

So this story should be without comment. Just a fortnight before the elections it was reported that the Council faced a huge consultancy bill for the Priory Park Road survey, for which Councillor Waite had no explanation of, and clearly no control.

Did it make a difference to the electorate? Did it feck.

Poor Paul van Looy must be going mad wondering how on earth he didn't get elected.

Does the Blue Brigade of the present council only have one brain which they all share. I'm sorry they haven't a clue befits all of them.
The residents know the problems but the tunnel vision of this elected councilk fails to recognise any of them .

Steve wrote they cannot be removed, somewhere along the line the phrase "Taking money by false pretense2 comes to mind, also there must be a law concerning the utter and complete waste of "Public Monies"

I'm behind you Mike, Renaissance don't give two hoots about what happens to the PEOPLE here - look what they did to the Herbert Road residents, to the Pier Hill Entrance... look what happened when they ripped up the established trees at the top of the high street for the ice-rink that never froze for a few days, apparently due to global warming! How ironic.

They have wasted our money since the day they were set-up - I don't care that people say we don't pay for them out of our council tax - we pay for them through other taxes and don't have a say in anything they're doing and most importantly they're still unaccountable to the people that pay their wages!

I'm kinda angry about them getting away with this right under our noses (and behind our backs).

It's been said before I know, but there's too much "behind closed doors" with Southend Council, Renaissance and their pals/old mates.

I am SO glad we have Geoff Percival to investigate on our behalf.

Mike, do you know anyone that we can complain too/get them investigated etc?

Steve wrote:

Steve wrote: This just beggars belief - this bunch of ineptitudes was voted in to work for the people of Southend. If thewy have to consult Renaissance Dreamland or any other outside consultants before wiping their backsides, then I would suggest that they are totally out of their depth and not fit for purpose and should be removed forthwith.

Steve, They can't be removed forthwith. The people of Southend had the chance to remove them just two weeks ago. They voted them back in with a massive majority. So this story should be without comment. Just a fortnight before the elections it was reported that the Council faced a huge consultancy bill for the Priory Park Road survey, for which Councillor Waite had no explanation of, and clearly no control. Did it make a difference to the electorate? Did it feck. Poor Paul van Looy must be going mad wondering how on earth he didn't get elected.

Too true, unfortunately it seems that the electorate voted because of national issues rather than local ones!

The election was only 2 weeks ago and the Tories are already wasting money on more consultants.
Wasn't Nigel Holdcroft supposed to be listening to the electorate? Well he must be stone deaf because SOUTHEND DOESN'T NEED OR WANT ANYMORE CONSULTANTS.

There IS a body that should check fraud and overspend.

This is from Northumberland Local Government website - not too close to us but it surely must apply down here?...

"The primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud and corruption rests with the audited body and its officers. Section 151 of the Local Government Act 1972 and the Accounts and Audit Regulations 1996 require local authorities to appoint a responsible officer to make arrangements for the proper administration of the body’s financial affairs. These arrangements should include instituting an adequate system of internal control incorporating security, segregation of duties, proper authorisation procedures and an effective internal audit function."

Anyone out there know who our "auditor" is?

complete and utter waste of money, i asked once why the lights on the high street pavement were wavy,(as a drunk would walk) they said it was a very nice view from the sky!!!!! i am dumbfounded.

One thing I will say is that I occasionally look at the Renaissance Southend Website and there doesn't seem to be much going on on the news update side of things. The last newsletter they produced was in February and it was only in draft? Surely there must be some movement/news to report on a monthly basis? I will say that I do agree with many of the things that Renaissance Southend propose, unfortunately Southend has been badly planned since it was demolished in the 60s one thing I will say is that I have always been in favour of opening the High Street up for traffic again to create an atmosphere of safety etc at night but now that it has been repaved then it is too late for that now I guess.

Dan wrote:
The sheer amount spent on consultants could easily be channeled into maintaining a small in-house team to do these jobs (which are necessary), like at the council I currently work at.

Oh no Dan PLEASE, we have seen some of your ideas. What we need is a Proper Town Manager And some sort of forum that includes the people that can actually get things done. Sadly Consultants tend to try and impress rather than improve They have to justify there inflated fees
I did help Paul van Looy with his campaign and there is a lot of disillousioned Residents out there the tories pulled some stunts but the B.M.P. polling over 400 votes affected the result.
Maureen the lights were only meant for interior use and filled up with water.

"We have all these interim managers in the council who are like consultants and don't know anything about the town.

"If we are looking at what should be done in the town centre area, we should be asking local people and not outside consultants all the time."

Is this for real? Somebody on the team who speaks some sense?

Can we have him preserved for posterity in the Natural History Museum?

I thought common sense had died out with Spangles and Formica furniture..

Southend Coucil full of bull, silly ideas, waste money, and absolutely do nothing.Yet all the daft idiots vote them back in power again. Independant is the way to go, if they can't do it then it's easier to kick a few people out, just to make the rest sit up and listen.

I am one of the hated... A Civil Servant!

I live in Southend but work up in London and am part of the department that gave the council the grant that this money is part of.

The council MUST spend this money in strict accordance with the guidelines we set out.

Diverting these funds into other "pots" would have invalidated the grant which would then have been ordered back for redistribution to another local authority that would use the funding in the specified way.

This department could also fine the council for breaching the guidelines set out so the taxpayer would pay even more.

So…

Still think the council is in the wrong.

I would have thought Longley would have know these basic facts before running to his moth piece the Echo.

Civil Servant! wrote:
I am one of the hated... A Civil Servant! I live in Southend but work up in London and am part of the department that gave the council the grant that this money is part of. The council MUST spend this money in strict accordance with the guidelines we set out. Diverting these funds into other "pots" would have invalidated the grant which would then have been ordered back for redistribution to another local authority that would use the funding in the specified way. This department could also fine the council for breaching the guidelines set out so the taxpayer would pay even more. So… Still think the council is in the wrong. I would have thought Longley would have know these basic facts before running to his moth piece the Echo.

Yes I do think the council is still wrong. This is, unless the Echo report is completely worng a 'business grant'.

There are many more effective and useful ways to support business than this.

For example, the airshow costs well over 100K of taxpayers' money, but is justified because it supports local businesses.

Pay for the airshow out of the business grant and use that money for other services. There are ways and means if you can only be bothered to look for them.

If the council doesn’t have confidence in its own staff to do the job, by all means employ consultants in the short term, but make sure the longer term issues of getting existing staff trained or getting the right staff in are addressed.

And please, if there’s going to be another consultation, take account of the residents, not just the businesses, which are often staffed by people who live outside the borough.

Excuse me for airing m thoughts on this matter as I do not live in Southend, but plans that Southend make do effect me.

Paying for consultancy is fine, provided that the there are strict parameters set regarding outcomes.

For instance any plans suggested should be, affordable, achievable, practical and above all acted upon.

There always seem to such ridiculous plans that come out of these consultancies that there is never any chance of them coming to fruition. We have all seen some of the 'plans' that have been published in the past, most have been so outrageous that they have soon been sent to the archives and conveniently forgotten.

Also, everyone should benefit from the outcomes; business, residents and visitors et al.

Corrupt !! The only word that describes This council how can so few spread so much Bad karma what about all the cut backs !! Warrior square, crossing patrols the list is endless ! you guys need to get your hands out of each others pockets and start thinking about the people not your own greedy bank balance.

A very very large amount of money going on yet even more rubbish and waste, If they want to do something worthwhile then why not put it towards some social housing for the local people plus the increase in imigrants we're apparently ear marked for in the next few years.

Cllr Mike Royston wrote:
I've said it before and I'll say it again - It is immoral to squander thousands of pounds on expensive consultants when money could be better spent on subsidising bus services and improving public amenities. Also, it is clearly evident that parts of the Renaissance Plan for the town centre are seriously flawed. The plan to rip our public swimming pool out of the town centre is just one example of its flawed vision.

Mike Royston should know better, it is his Government that are requiring the Council to undertake this work and spend this money. It was also his Government that insisted on forming Renaissance Southend, we oppposed it saying that if the council were to recieve the funding direct, the council could and should do the work but no the Labour Government insisted on a seperate organisation. this Labour Government refused to redo the census which totally undercounted our populatiion this alone is costing us £6m per year. He should also know that money provided from Government for one purpose cannot be switched into another purpose. If this Labour Government honours its promise to fully pay for the concesionary fares which currently cost Southend a small fortune we the Conservatives have pledged to put £1m of our repayment back into further bus subsidies- strange how Cllr Royston fails to mention all these points.
A new pool is being provided with a fantastic new dive facility, the pool is what the clubs want, it will have a use beyond 2012 and will be located along with many other leisure and sport facities at Garon Park, taking advantage of the economies of scale offered etc. The current pool is past its sell by date.
Other comments re 'consultants' are based upon an inaccurate report in the Echo, we are not taking on Consultants to tell us what to do, as quite rightly that is a decision for the residents, their elected representatives and local officers, the money is for the provision of a number of supporting reports that this Government is requesting we do.
This money has been bid for from a Government fund it cannot be used for another purpose, this administration has tried to bid for funding for social housing- to no avail as this Labour Government does not want to support the smaller scale social housing projects that would fit within Southend it is only interested in much larger schemes!
So much anger and vitriole based upon so much misunderstanding and twisted views perpetrated by those that should have more responsibility!

So much anger and vitriole based upon so much misunderstanding and twisted views perpetrated by those that should have more responsibility!

Anna Waite, regarding your comment above.

Sounds like you're referring to you own council there !

Most of the people of Southend are so "Pig Sick" of your Tory Council wasting money that it is a case of "Peter and the Wolf".

You Tories have done so much "duck shoving" in the past that now, (if what you say is true about being forced to have consultants by the Government)no-one believes what any of you say, even if there is a modicum of truth in it.

southendreb wrote:

Dan wrote: The sheer amount spent on consultants could easily be channeled into maintaining a small in-house team to do these jobs (which are necessary), like at the council I currently work at.

Oh no Dan PLEASE, we have seen some of your ideas. What we need is a Proper Town Manager And some sort of forum that includes the people that can actually get things done. Sadly Consultants tend to try and impress rather than improve They have to justify there inflated fees I did help Paul van Looy with his campaign and there is a lot of disillousioned Residents out there the tories pulled some stunts but the B.M.P. polling over 400 votes affected the result. Maureen the lights were only meant for interior use and filled up with water.

Precisely. An in-house team of planning and urban design experts, as opposed to drafting in pricey consultants for short periods of time - it's the equivalent of buying all your food as ready meals instead of buying theseparate ingredients and making the food yourself. Southend's problem perhaps is that it is a small unitary authority and doesn't have enough of a tax base.

In house or outside if an idea is Cr*p then what is the point. Another buisiness closed this weekend. More are very dodgy. What is the point of plannig 5 to 10 years time if the town is crumbling , We need actoin NOW.

Cllr Anna Waite wrote:

Cllr Mike Royston wrote: I've said it before and I'll say it again - It is immoral to squander thousands of pounds on expensive consultants when money could be better spent on subsidising bus services and improving public amenities. Also, it is clearly evident that parts of the Renaissance Plan for the town centre are seriously flawed. The plan to rip our public swimming pool out of the town centre is just one example of its flawed vision.

Mike Royston should know better, it is his Government that are requiring the Council to undertake this work and spend this money. It was also his Government that insisted on forming Renaissance Southend, we oppposed it saying that if the council were to recieve the funding direct, the council could and should do the work but no the Labour Government insisted on a seperate organisation. this Labour Government refused to redo the census which totally undercounted our populatiion this alone is costing us £6m per year. He should also know that money provided from Government for one purpose cannot be switched into another purpose. If this Labour Government honours its promise to fully pay for the concesionary fares which currently cost Southend a small fortune we the Conservatives have pledged to put £1m of our repayment back into further bus subsidies- strange how Cllr Royston fails to mention all these points. A new pool is being provided with a fantastic new dive facility, the pool is what the clubs want, it will have a use beyond 2012 and will be located along with many other leisure and sport facities at Garon Park, taking advantage of the economies of scale offered etc. The current pool is past its sell by date. Other comments re 'consultants' are based upon an inaccurate report in the Echo, we are not taking on Consultants to tell us what to do, as quite rightly that is a decision for the residents, their elected representatives and local officers, the money is for the provision of a number of supporting reports that this Government is requesting we do. This money has been bid for from a Government fund it cannot be used for another purpose, this administration has tried to bid for funding for social housing- to no avail as this Labour Government does not want to support the smaller scale social housing projects that would fit within Southend it is only interested in much larger schemes! So much anger and vitriole based upon so much misunderstanding and twisted views perpetrated by those that should have more responsibility!

Dear Anna.
renaissence are on a 3 year contract. we dont have to renew it DO WE. Did our ex town clerk sign up with Renaissence So the question is DID we have to have them.

The money has to have been bid for if we cannot make good use of it then we should let someone else make better use of it. Or is it a case of lets grab it before someone else does.

Cheeky wrote:
So much anger and vitriole based upon so much misunderstanding and twisted views perpetrated by those that should have more responsibility! Anna Waite, regarding your comment above. Sounds like you\'re referring to you own council there ! Most of the people of Southend are so \"Pig Sick\" of your Tory Council wasting money that it is a case of \"Peter and the Wolf\". You Tories have done so much \"duck shoving\" in the past that now, (if what you say is true about being forced to have consultants by the Government)no-one believes what any of you say, even if there is a modicum of truth in it.

You should stand for election mate - that's spot on.

For Anna Waite to blame all our ills on the national government, when the Tories have had a lock on the council for millenia - and even have a mini-cabinet meeting in secret - is disingenuous at best.

The links between Renaissance and Southend Council are widespread and well-known. Not to mention Tohurst Fisher and Dedmans. The whole thing stinks - it's "jobs for the boys" and mutual backscratching all round. If it's not corrupt then it's a massively negligent lack of oversight - either way it reflects extremely badly both on the council and on Renaissance.

Someone out there is making a mint at our expense. For our elected officials to just pass the buck shows their total lack of credibility.

piano hinges wrote:

Cheeky wrote: So much anger and vitriole based upon so much misunderstanding and twisted views perpetrated by those that should have more responsibility! Anna Waite, regarding your comment above. Sounds like you\'re referring to you own council there ! Most of the people of Southend are so \"Pig Sick\" of your Tory Council wasting money that it is a case of \"Peter and the Wolf\". You Tories have done so much \"duck shoving\" in the past that now, (if what you say is true about being forced to have consultants by the Government)no-one believes what any of you say, even if there is a modicum of truth in it.

You should stand for election mate - that's spot on. For Anna Waite to blame all our ills on the national government, when the Tories have had a lock on the council for millenia - and even have a mini-cabinet meeting in secret - is disingenuous at best. The links between Renaissance and Southend Council are widespread and well-known. Not to mention Tohurst Fisher and Dedmans. The whole thing stinks - it's "jobs for the boys" and mutual backscratching all round. If it's not corrupt then it's a massively negligent lack of oversight - either way it reflects extremely badly both on the council and on Renaissance. Someone out there is making a mint at our expense. For our elected officials to just pass the buck shows their total lack of credibility.

Anna Waite talks absolute drivel. Note the specifics of what she says: "we are not taking on Consultants to tell us what to do" Doesnt' say the council won't be taking on consultants though does it? If there was a small project team at the Civic Centre doing this, why in the hell does it cost £250,000?? I know some consultants will be used as part of this. I challenge Mrs Waite to say they won't. If they won't hire consultants then this money can be put back into a scheme that directly benefits council tax payers.

I know it's not the same but I have worked on & off with IT Consultants on very large projects for over 25 years.

Sometimes you need to make an informed decision quickly or you require specific subject matter expertise.

However, with the type of projects Southend runs, I would imagine that the prime requirements would be:
- good organisation -- asking and listening to residents & business.
- framing a range of options.
- producing a cost benefit analysis.
- identifying risk.
- forming success criteria and option selection criteria.

Most managers with a brain can do this. I accept that a small amount of expertise would be required (days not weeks)to assist in framing costings and options.

These projects are not time critical ( decisons seem to take take months /years) if at all.

Why not run projects in the community with the council inviting volunteers from the community with time on the hands, plus support from full time officials and a small amount of expertise from consultants.

There must be a vast amount of enthusiam, skills and knowledge in the community that is not being brought to bear.

piano hinges wrote:

Cheeky wrote: So much anger and vitriole based upon so much misunderstanding and twisted views perpetrated by those that should have more responsibility! Anna Waite, regarding your comment above. Sounds like you\'re referring to you own council there ! Most of the people of Southend are so \"Pig Sick\" of your Tory Council wasting money that it is a case of \"Peter and the Wolf\". You Tories have done so much \"duck shoving\" in the past that now, (if what you say is true about being forced to have consultants by the Government)no-one believes what any of you say, even if there is a modicum of truth in it.

You should stand for election mate - that's spot on. For Anna Waite to blame all our ills on the national government, when the Tories have had a lock on the council for millenia - and even have a mini-cabinet meeting in secret - is disingenuous at best. The links between Renaissance and Southend Council are widespread and well-known. Not to mention Tohurst Fisher and Dedmans. The whole thing stinks - it's "jobs for the boys" and mutual backscratching all round. If it's not corrupt then it's a massively negligent lack of oversight - either way it reflects extremely badly both on the council and on Renaissance. Someone out there is making a mint at our expense. For our elected officials to just pass the buck shows their total lack of credibility.

Funnily enough, I did stand for election this year and got beaten by the Tories, not by a lot though, I have to say.

I stood because I care about what happens in my area that I was born in and grew up in.

As many people on this forum know i am not a fan of the Tory council of this town.
I base my opinions on what i see going on in the borough.
Without producing another exhautive list of the Torys years of failings and mis-management, let alone its "in-bed-with" consultants attitude, and its "more-than-meets-the
-eye" relationship with everyones favourite un-elected quango Renaissance Southend, i would like to point out a trend i have picked up from recent observations.

A disscussion with my father (who has reason to have an interest in local council and politics) revealed that many within the council (including sitting tory councillors) are increasingly growing more concerned for the damage that a certain Councillor Anna Waite is doing the the long established respect that the tory council have (his words not mine, and he's not even a tory!).
They are of opinion that her ridiculous ideas are nothing but a example of her desperate ego trip to climb the ladder.
Little or no thought has gone into some of the clearly non-workable plans that she loves to promote (no need for me to remind you of them, they are all regulary reported here on this site)
What is a common theme though from ALL her proposals is that it is never for the benefit of the boroughs residents, but an excuse to line her councils coffers, its nothing more complicated than that!

Either she really has some bad advisors or she has delusions of grandeur to be the next Margaret Thatcher (God help us all!)

Cheeky - well played sir, sorry you were scuppered by the inertia and (presumably) ignorance of the majority of the electorate. Better luck next time sir.

Peter - fascinating, and not at all surprising. I'd like to see Anna Waite reply to that one. Presumably she won't though, perhaps she's busy invading Poland or something. ;-)

piano hinges wrote:
Cheeky - well played sir, sorry you were scuppered by the inertia and (presumably) ignorance of the majority of the electorate. Better luck next time sir. Peter - fascinating, and not at all surprising. I\'d like to see Anna Waite reply to that one. Presumably she won\'t though, perhaps she\'s busy invading Poland or something. ;-)

Piano Hinges,

How do you know I'm not a lady ? (wink)

Haha, good point! Except we've spoken before - I think your name is John as I recall? (I may be wrong though, it's been a long day)

What party did you run for? Or were you an independent?

piano hinges wrote:
Haha, good point! Except we've spoken before - I think your name is John as I recall? (I may be wrong though, it's been a long day) What party did you run for? Or were you an independent?

I am a lady (except on the extremely odd occasions when I get cross and then I certainly don't sound like one !).

I ran for Lib-Dems because I've always found, over the years, that as a resident, I've always been given straight answers by the ones in my ward.
If they don't know something, they don't lie, they tell me they don't know and they find out for me.

Do you remember this comment and your reply ?

My post:
I am standing for election this year, I'm not saying where or in which particular ward. What I will say is that I hold a quite a responsible voluntary position with a well known charity and I also do a lot of voluntary work for another couple of charities. Throughout my campaigning I have been extremely careful to keep this knowledge "under wraps". There are people who know that I do this, but I swore them to secrecy, because, should I win, I didn't want it to be "on the back of" any good works that I do in my "private life".

Your reply:
If only other candidates followed your example. All this shouting about "all the work I do for charidee" just makes me suspicious that there's no altruism involved, just cunning. It's all done to look good and gain advancement. Personally I find that distasteful so I respect your stance.

My final word on that thread was:
Thank you Mr. Hinges,
I'm glad you agree with my views.

Should I win, I will know that it is because the residents have faith in me as an individual.

Should I lose, I know that at least I did my best.

I think we have the same views on a lot of things.

Yes I do remember those posts. Sorry for the gender mix-up. Most uncalled for.

I suspect we may well agree on a lot of things. I'm a rum chap to be honest, sometimes I find myself agreeing with Local Boy (Hawkwell) and sometimes even with - gasp - Kim G. It's a strange world.

I guess in the end it's about who expresses themselves well, and in a way that is easy to sympathise with. Quite often people argue well enough to change my views - including LibDems. (Anyone that gets labelled a do-gooder by the reactionary elements is always a good starting point in my book)

Anyways, back on topic... ahem.

Where's Anna Waite? Updating her blog? Watering the opium plants? Delivering brown envelopes to Renaissance? The electorate deserves to know.

Yes I do remember those posts. Sorry for the gender mix-up. Most uncalled for.

It doesn't matter, I never take offence at anything.

My pseudonym would make anyone think it's a fella, that's the idea ! (it's good for the "Craic" as my friend from the Emerald Isle would say!)

Anna Waite is probably poring over the next eccentric idea on her already full agenda.