Thursday, March 24, 2005
Trow Quarry
Council declares Trow Quarry safe - (yeah, sure it is!)
Forgive me for being a bit sceptical, but it comes as neither a surprise or a shock that the Council has declared the Trow Quarry infill site to be safe. Following the disclosure in the Shields Gazette in December of last year, that the Council's independent health and safety assessors, High-Point Rendell, had discovered a cocktail of toxins just inches below the surface of the site, an exercise in news management has been put into place, of a scale comparable to Alastair Campbell's best efforts.
The Council's own internal audit report on the matter used the word "mitigate" at least seven times as it set out measures to improve upon the failures and inactivity of officers and departments. The audit itself was an exercise in laundering to mitigate the damage to the Council, it's officers, and it's policies and procedures' as well as reputation. If only they could have behaved like Gateshead, Peter Collins might well have still been employed by the National Trust.
The setting up of the Scrutiny Commission was the "coup de grace" as it could claim to have been inclusive of all interested party's views. I, for one, contributed, the Friends of the Earth withdrew because the Borough Council could not provide them with "timely" information to help them make their case. An "expert" witness was found who could claim the site was safe before High-Point Rendell has concluded their second detailed investigation! (It's a little odd that the Council should pay High-Point Rendell to produce three reports and at the same time find a witness to argue against the findings for the benefit of the exercise.)
Having been heavily leant upon once to water down the contents of their draft report - the final report's wording was a bit sheepish and more appealing - we should not now expect High-Point Rendell to confirm their findings with any strength. The original draft report clearly indicated that the greatest risks would be apparent in the medium to longer term, comments which are still true, but some of the comments about immediate high risks have been hidden by the fog of the enquiry. It's amazing that this declaration of safety can be made before the results of the latest scientific investigations are known, but site remediation must now be the primary aim, to preserve a level of safety for future generations.
Can I ask if it is now safe to remove the signs advising us not to pick up strange objects, or disturb the land?
Trow Quarry may seem safe for now, but the corridors of power in the Town Hall can only be described as a disaster area!
I would urge all readers of this blog to actively voice their displeasure and disgust at South Tyneside Council's "news management" and "laundering", as well as it's apparent non concern for the safety of the public at Trow Quarry by taking the time to write a letter to
The Editor,
Shields Gazette,
Chapter Row ,
South Shields,
Tyne and Wear NE33 1BL
or use the email form in this link
Full report in South Tyneside Today please follow the in-site links
_________________________________________________________________
Forgive me for being a bit sceptical, but it comes as neither a surprise or a shock that the Council has declared the Trow Quarry infill site to be safe. Following the disclosure in the Shields Gazette in December of last year, that the Council's independent health and safety assessors, High-Point Rendell, had discovered a cocktail of toxins just inches below the surface of the site, an exercise in news management has been put into place, of a scale comparable to Alastair Campbell's best efforts.
The Council's own internal audit report on the matter used the word "mitigate" at least seven times as it set out measures to improve upon the failures and inactivity of officers and departments. The audit itself was an exercise in laundering to mitigate the damage to the Council, it's officers, and it's policies and procedures' as well as reputation. If only they could have behaved like Gateshead, Peter Collins might well have still been employed by the National Trust.
The setting up of the Scrutiny Commission was the "coup de grace" as it could claim to have been inclusive of all interested party's views. I, for one, contributed, the Friends of the Earth withdrew because the Borough Council could not provide them with "timely" information to help them make their case. An "expert" witness was found who could claim the site was safe before High-Point Rendell has concluded their second detailed investigation! (It's a little odd that the Council should pay High-Point Rendell to produce three reports and at the same time find a witness to argue against the findings for the benefit of the exercise.)
Having been heavily leant upon once to water down the contents of their draft report - the final report's wording was a bit sheepish and more appealing - we should not now expect High-Point Rendell to confirm their findings with any strength. The original draft report clearly indicated that the greatest risks would be apparent in the medium to longer term, comments which are still true, but some of the comments about immediate high risks have been hidden by the fog of the enquiry. It's amazing that this declaration of safety can be made before the results of the latest scientific investigations are known, but site remediation must now be the primary aim, to preserve a level of safety for future generations.
Can I ask if it is now safe to remove the signs advising us not to pick up strange objects, or disturb the land?
Trow Quarry may seem safe for now, but the corridors of power in the Town Hall can only be described as a disaster area!
I would urge all readers of this blog to actively voice their displeasure and disgust at South Tyneside Council's "news management" and "laundering", as well as it's apparent non concern for the safety of the public at Trow Quarry by taking the time to write a letter to
The Editor,
Shields Gazette,
Chapter Row ,
South Shields,
Tyne and Wear NE33 1BL
or use the email form in this link
Full report in South Tyneside Today please follow the in-site links
About Me
Curly Born in 1956
Sanddancer
Sunderland fan
Male
Retailer
Former Borough Councillor
View my Profile
Contact
Email Curly
south-shields AT
blueyonder DOT co DOT uk
Got a story?
Got a tip off?
Got some scandal?
Let me know!
07941386870
Search
Search this site
Comments
How do I make a comment on this blog?
Links
Curly's Corner Shop website
Curly's Photoshop
My Message Board
Shields photo gallery
RTG Message Board
Sunderland AFC Blog
Site Feed
Blogroll Me!
Past
December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 March 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 August 2006 September 2006 October 2006 November 2006 December 2006 January 2007