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11 comments:
Swanage Apathy,
I wondered why Swanage wasso quiet on Sunday with very little trade in the shops and cafes until I read the Echo report of the thousands who had turned up for the arrival of Father Christmas in Wareham that day. What a contrast to the non event in Swanage on Saturday in the previous weekend.
As there is a direct relationship between the number of people in town and business takings you would think that our local businesses would get together and organise things but not a bit of it. Why? When you talk to them there always seem to be lots of reasons for doing nothing and insurmountalbe obstacles to doing anything themselves. Why do we not have a weekend of Christmas related activities so that the accommodation providers getpart of the action for example. But why, oh whyare they so averse to paying something towards the costs of increasing their turnover?
Recycling Centre
Seems like the campiagners have won the day. I understand the County Council cabinet has supported proposals to develop the Prospect farm site (behind Victoria Avenue industrial estate) as an alternative to the Panorama Road tip (or having to drive to Wareham). BUT I believe the proposal now has to go to the County Council's 'Asset committee" to determine how they pay for it. So battle not totally won yet perhaps..
Mike Hadley
To rebuild or not to .....
6/2008/0784
Application for :- Full Planning Permission Smallscale Major Development.
Mr J Peiser
Demolish existing vacant nursing home and erect a four storey block of 9 two bed flats and 1 three bed flat with basement parking together with associated access and parking.
Rempstone Road (6-Westbury House), Swanage.
Grid references E.402979 N.78971 Parish. Swanage
Case officer: Sylvia Leonard
SGS scandal?
Dorset Police 'Scientific Investigations' unit parked up at SGS.
Anyone heard anything?
NEW SUBJECT
"Cutting Household Bills"
Does anybody have any comments on the best and cheapest Broadband providers in Swanage?
"Best" and "cheapest" ISPs are an oxymoronic combination. Take a look at the website ispreview. They have top ten based on users reviews. Most of the top ten are small companies. O2 is the only cheap operator in it but you need to be somewhere where they provide landlines to get the low rate as well as having a phone and internet package. The only local loop unbundling firm to have got here so far is Taltalk who offer AOL broadband which they took over.
Look at the small print and work out what you are actually getting. The cheap ones are very often very restricted but may be ok if you are a light user. They are moving towards a model in which the connection is cheap and they make their money lessing you other things like downloads, e.g. BT vision which gives you Freeview TV which you can get anyway for free and them charges you for downloaded films and on demand content.
Support varies enormously ranging from one or two people who you get on first name terms with with the small isps and call centres where they work through a standard script. I emailed BT support asking when ADSL2 will get to Swanage but they did not know and did not suggest anyone else to ask. I will not be going to them if they don't have the basic facts about the service they imagine they are supporting.
Local gong.
MBE for Geoffrey Meehan
For public service.
ON WASTED TIME ........
I had always understood that water conservation should be attempted whatever the weather, and that it was best to ‘bath with a friend’ or take a shower. Since the only friends with whom I would like to take a bath are currently married to people who might take a dim view of my doing so, I invariably take a shower. Alone. But last week, my electric shower exploded.
On the advice of ‘Which’ magazine, I bought their ‘best buy’ electric shower; it was reassuringly expensive, professionally fitted and I even took out a 5-year warranty.
I soon discovered the meaning of the three settings. ‘Low’ means Cold. ‘Medium’ means Cold. ‘High’ means Cold unless you turn the graduated knob to about three quarters of its distance, when acceptably hot water pours out at an amazing three litres a minute, i.e. a meagre trickle.
Imagine my surprise when a call to their Customer Service department elicited the suggestion that whilst showering I ‘turn on some other taps in the house – that might make it run hotter’. Hmm. I don’t think that this particular ‘advisor’ had got the point of water conservation.
Clearly she was of the same school of thought as the many Dorset County Councillors who actually suggested that it would be in the interests of Swanage for recycling to be taken by car to Wareham recycling centre, so that the Swanage centre could be closed and turned into a …….. well, whatever daft scheme they have in store for it.
Isn’t it sad that it took a huge petition, an awful lot of lobbying, a few threats and the active involvement of several of Swanage Town Councillors for common sense to prevail. We have now been promised £2.25m to build a new centre in 2010, plus £250k p.a. to run it. Why couldn’t they have said that in the first place ?
But once again, just as I expect ‘joined up’ thinking from the manufacturers of a ‘Which Best Buy’, I expect it from County Councillors.
Silly me.
David Hollister
http://tinyurl.com/9tztgb
Bobby Brown, Fred Crutchfield, Jim Hardy.
RIP.
Many thanks to all concerned in saving these paintings.
Whoops!
If I´d bothered to read the whole thing this is already on
http://lifeboatscrapbook.blogspot.com/
p´raps best left there.
HOUSE CONDITION SURVEY
Is the CPC Survey inspection of our home, Council Tax RE-VALUATION
by the back door ?
Dear Householder
HOUSE CONDITION SURVEY
I am writing to ask for your help with a survey of the housing in Purbeck. The Council has a leqal responsibility to assess the condition of houses in the area to help it make decisions such as how to allocate financial assistance, and how to help improve home energy efficiency~ With this in mind, the Council is about to start a house condition survey. The survey is being carried out for the Council bv~ CPC Ltd, who specialise in this type of survey for Councils across the country~
Your home has been chosen, in a random sample, for inclusion in the survey and I am writing to ask if you would assist in this task by allowing a surveyor to carry out a survey when he or she calls at your home. The survey should take approximately 30 minutes. All information will be treated in the strictest confidence. Following the survey, the Council then recetves collated information, such as the percentage of houses that may qualify for financial assistance for repairs or insulation, and will not use data for any other purpose. Data is presented in a statistical form that does not identify individual property details.
Each surveyor carries a Council identity card, which they will show to you at the beginning of the survey. If you are in any doubt as to the identity of the callerr please do not let them into your home and call one of the telephone numbers listed be’ow. If you would like to arrange an appointment time with a surveyor this would be very helpful. The appointments can be made at a time to suit you including in the evenitigs and at weekends. To do this please contact the CPC Survey Office on Freephone 0800 783 1079 during office hours~ Alternatively you can wait until a surveyor calls on you at your home.
The answers to some frequently asked questions about house condition surveys are set out on the reverse of this letter which has been sent out from the offices of CPC who are carrying out the survey on behalf of the Council. It therefore bears a Portsmouth postmark. Your co-operation with this survey will be of great assistance~ It could help w secure h~creased funding from the Government for investment and assistance in Purbeck. I would like to take this opportunity to thank-you, on behalf of the Council, in anticipation of your help.
Yours faithfully
Mr R. Conway
Principal Environmental Health Officer
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