Greenbelt Latest - Preece's Cock-Up?

Well I did try and warn you but you wouldn't listen.....

On a day when the results of 40 years of Labour misery for "Sadwell" are once again exposed with the Children's Services disaster, it is sad to report that the Darren Cooper dictatorship is pressing on with the plan to force through the erection of 2 colossal "toblerone" advertising signs ON GREENBELT LAND at Ray Hall Lane, Great Barr.

Let us look at the story so far. Sandwell Labour have decided to build these signs but are flatly refusing to say who is going to benefit from all this. It would be bizarre if they have not already done a deal with someone for these wretched things but the obvious candidate, J C Decaux, have said they are NOT involved (although in a curious twist, they say the comrades did CONSULT them about this project!) Just in passing I should just mention that I was on the M5 on Saturday night and the "toblerone" sign J C Decaux DO have next to the elevated section at Oldbury (which is NOT on greenbelt land) was in total darkness just 2 weeks before Christmas!!!!

Sandwell Council's head of planning, Nick Bubalo (who, curiously, has appeared via his post in most, if not all, of the land sale scandals rocking the Council) has applied to his own Council for planning permission. As the Dictatorship have 71 of the 72 seats - thanks to the moronic electorate of the Borough - this was obviously intended to be a mere formality despite the green belt issue. What Cooper and Hussain want, they get.

For reasons unknown, time is of the essence (but seemingly confirming my hypothesis that a deal has already been secretly done with a third party) and so an application of 5th October is being rushed through and was put before a Planning Committee on 18th November with a recommendation for a site visit. This was agreed on that date and the visit will take place this Wednesday (see further below) before the Committee, in all probability, nod this through at their 5pm meeting. It seems that this matter has to go before the full Council and so this all has to be sorted this Wednesday so that the sheep at the meeting on 12th January, 2016 can also do the honours.

But soft! There is what purports to be rebellion in the air with the three Charlemont and Grove Labour Councillors allegedly opposing the application. But are they really?

In my first post on this "socialist" stitch-up, I pointed out that Labour Cllr Liam Preece had started a petition against the signs but I specifically warned locals not to rely on this but to make specific written complaint to the Council since these objections would, as a matter of law, have to be recorded and taken into consideration:

http://thesandwellskidder.blogspot.co.uk/2015/11/urgent-smbc-attack-green-belt.html

Well we know what Darren Cooper thinks of petitions don't we folks? He abused and mocked the thousands who signed the petition about The Public and filed it in the waste bin.....

Preece's petition now has 179 signatures but take a look at the planning report for Wednesday's meeting and see if you can find mention of it? Here it is but to save you the bother of going through it here are the "lowlights":

1  Because people have followed Preece and signed the petition rather than doing as I advised, the Committee report lists just 11 (eleven) objections although it is also stated "Councillor Preece has also expressed concern about the proposal from amenity and public safety points of view". (No mention, note, of any concerns from the other two C & G Labour Councillors, Phillips and Giles?)

2  The Police Central Motorway Group have yet to reply but as we know how close West Midlands Police are to the crafty comrades, this is unlikely to be a problem; and

3  As above, there is no mention of the petition (which is not complete as Preece hasn't hit his target) and the 179 people who have signed it. They are non-persons as far as your local caring Labourites, and more particularly those on the Planning Committee, are concerned.

https://cmis.sandwell.gov.uk/Cmis5/Document.ashx?czJKcaeAi5tUFL1DTL2UE4zNRBcoShgo=nNbq7pgwZr9%2fzTxNPNuFlIvhONM66TkU5p1RicyyDjLCMrrpQnC

It gets worse. Preece is actually ON the Planning Committee but as a result of personally signing his own petition he is now unable to vote on the application!!! Some may think this was a spectacular cock-up by another dismal Labour Councillor but I have also asked Liam whether he is trying to run with the hare and hunt with the hounds.

Anyone who crosses the vicious and monstrous Darren Cooper will know that his attempted retribution will be swift, savage and vindictive. Surely it could not be the case that Preece has played the hero with his voters whilst seeking to appease Kim Jong-Cooper by deliberately ensuring that his protests will be ineffective? I am sure Preece would not sink so low but regret to say that he has not seen fit to respond to my email to him on this subject and so I cannot supply you with his considered response (I also sent a chaser on 2nd December which he has also ignored). Furthermore, Preece is refusing to say what Cooper knows about the commercial side of all this and whether there has been a "backroom" deal we are not allowed to know about (and "we" includes the pathetic grovellers who make up the Labour Council voting fodder).

Here is the email of 26th November which he has chosen not to reply to:

"Dear Cllr Preece,

The decision on whether there should be a site visit to the greenbelt land at Ray Hall Lane fell to be considered on 18th November, 2015 but the SMBC website is not yet showing the result. Can you kindly confirm what happened.

I note that you appear to have shot yourself in the foot in that you had to declare an interest in this matter as you had signed the petition against the two applications. You were debarred from voting on the issue and I assume that will remain the case from now on?

Can you please say for the benefit of Skidder readers:

(a) Did you realise when you signed the petition that you were debarring yourself from discussions on this issue? In other words, did you make a monumental mistake?; or

(b) Did you deliberately sign the petition so as to pretend to your constituents that you were against the scheme but knowing that you would not be able to vote against it and thus upsetting Darren Cooper and his cronies who run Sandwell?: or

(c) If neither (a) nor (b) what was your thinking on this?

I still cannot find any record of any committee of Sandwell Council deciding on this project. Can you point me to where the decision is recorded please?

You must, by now, have had the opportunity to discuss with Cllr Cooper whether a commercial deal has already been agreed by SMBC with a third party. Do you actually know whether a deal has already been done and, if not, why do you not know? If a deal has been done can you release the details? If you cannot will you please explain to Skidder readers why this is the case?"

If you wish to protest against this con-job you can go to Ray Hall Lane at 1.50pm on Wednesday or to the corner of Andrew Road/Manorford Avenue, Great Barr at 2.15pm. Alternatively, you can attend the charade of the Planning Committee meeting at 5pm on the same day at the Oldbury Kremlin.

Even though Preece has accidentally, or purposefully, f*cked up big-style I would recommend that you still sign the petition just in case there are Labour councillors who have a spine and a conscience at their meeting in January - unlikely, of course, given the cant and sham-holiness of most of them:

https://www.change.org/p/sandwell-mbc-no-more-advertisement-hoardings/u/14459826

It is sad that that the "socialists" who control you in Sandwell are prepared to argue, in a planning application, that Sadwell is sh*t and so there is no problem in making it sh*ttier still with these monstrosities. Strange too that an allegedly (!) hard-left - and normally strongly anti-business -Labour Council should be so keen on consumerism and forcing motorists to be bombarded (when they should be concentrating on the motorway ahead) with massive adverts for "stuff" they arguably don't need and probably can't afford. But that is the crazy world of "Sadwell" for you folks.

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