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Post by Bartonite on Jan 18, 2020 16:55:39 GMT
'...re: Remove Flytipping (Public) and 01505956 re: Remove Flytip'
Some might say I'm overdoing this, but previously, not keeping a public, contemporaneous record of reports/complaints has led to them vanishing into my 'old/sent email' boxes. I'm consequently having problems finding the original complaint referred to below, though I'm pretty certain I made it, and more certain that it was justified by Amey's poor performance in St. James' Park. Immediately below, therefore, is the new or renewed complaint I'm making, with previous correspondence that supports the contention that the city council and Amey have known about the bags for months, and done nothing. I sent it about 15 minutes ago.
---------------------------------
Sat, 18 Jan 2020 16:40
To hth2 hth2@gloucester.gov.uk, highways highways@gloucestershire.gov.uk
CC fran4gloucester fran4gloucester@gmail.com, rebeccatrimnell rebeccatrimnell@gmail.com, richard.graham.mp richard.graham.mp@parliament.uk
The only response I had from Amey was a request to know which street lights I was referring to. Shortly after, before I had a chance to check which numbers (5 and 3) the lights were marked with, the pavement was dug up next to both of them, and one on the the other side, presumably 4, which I hadn't noticed. None of this activity has fixed the lights.
Despite the fact that I reported the two black bin bags behind the riding arena at St. James' Farm nearly three months, and you acknowledged this report (see below), those two bags are still there, although much of their contents have now blown loose. Since a previous complaint I made about Amey litterpickers not picking up such rubbish in the park was ignored, with the promise that Mark Graham would get back to me about the matter not being kept, I am renewing, or if you prefer, making a new complaint that Amey, despite patrolling the park at least weekly, leave such rubbish undealt with for months.
I shall be keeping a close eye for responses to this email, and posting all correspondence publicly.
Joe Kilker
-----Original Message-----
From: ********* <***********.com>
To: hth2 <hth2@gloucester.gov.uk>; customerservices <customerservices@gloucestershire.gov.uk>
CC: fran4gloucester <fran4gloucester@gmail.com>; rebeccatrimnell <rebeccatrimnell@gmail.com>; richard4gloucester <richard4gloucester@gmail.com>
Sent: Mon, 2 Dec 2019 16:24
Subject: Re: Our Reference No: 01505935 re: Complaint and 01505948 re: Remove Flytipping (Public) and 01505956 re: Remove Flytipping (Public) Location: Street Record Mill Street Gloucester Gloucestershire
You can be of further assistance. While the flytipping (a large part of the most recent of which had documents naming 45 Derby Rd in it) has been collected now, the dumped guttering halfway up the (for cars) cul de sac is still there, and has has been there for months. Other than putting a fence across this short-cut, as was done when a stream bank collapsed in Longlevens, nothing would make me happier than for this rubbish to be picked up.
And, of course, for the two streetlights, also broken for months, to be fixed.
Joe Kilker
-----Original Message-----
From: Here to Help <hth2@gloucester.gov.uk>
To: ***************
Sent: Mon, 2 Dec 2019 13:45
Subject: Our Reference No: 01505935 re: Complaint and 01505948 re: Remove Flytipping (Public) and 01505956 re: Remove Flytipping (Public) Location: Street Record Mill Street Gloucester Gloucestershire
Dear
Thank you for your email received by Gloucester City Council's Contact Centre. Your complaint and Flytipping requests have been logged under the above reference numbers. Please quote these reference numbers in future communications about this issue.
Gloucester City Council is committed to improving the quality of the services we provide to you and we take complaints received seriously.
Your complaint has been passed to our partner Amey for action/response - an officer will contact you within 10 working days to respond to your complaint or to advise you of when they will be able to respond.
Furthermore, I have processed your requests for the fly tipping on Mill Street and behind St James City Farm. This matter has been passed to our partner Amey for action/response.
If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Yours sincerely
Amie
Customer Services Officer
Customer Services
Gloucester City Council
Shire Hall
Westgate Street
Gloucester, GL1 2TG
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Post by Bartonite on Feb 4, 2020 13:09:30 GMT
I've had two email about the lighting. The first claimed to have fixed lights that were never broken, and also lights that are still broken. The second, upon being challenged about this, hemmed and hawed, saying nothing. I'll publish them later.
Today, I received this, and considering a response was promised on December 2nd, I should probably prioritise it:-
I'll reply in a bit, asking if larger rubbish is reported by litterpickers, or left to us to report, or not, saving them the effort?
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Post by Bartonite on Feb 4, 2020 14:42:40 GMT
Hi, Mr Matthews,
Three months is a long time to wait for this waste to be removed, so it's nice to see it gone, and the four or five empty whisky bottles along with it. Also the large amount of paperwork, including receipts, credited to a purveyor of 'Herbalife' products, which was dumped by the entrance next to St. James' Church a few days ago. I can't help feeling that there was an intention to get this person in trouble, so I'm not 'naming and shaming', and will dispose of what I collected.
I'd like for long periods of waste going uncollected to be a thing of the past, so can you clarify something for me that others haven't? Namely, do Amey litter pickers, if they can't collect larger bits of rubbish on their usual rounds, report these items so that they can be removed as soon as possible? Given what happened, or rather, didn't happen in this case, I'd assume not, but Mark Graham did give an undertaking some months ago that they would, I'm sure residents and visitors would be more inclined to be responsible with their waste if they think that the council, and its contractors, are doing their bit.
Cheers, Joe Kilker.
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Post by Bartonite on Feb 11, 2020 17:52:05 GMT
Those promised emails about the street lighting on Mill St. In two parts, because they left a bit out of their last response:-
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Post by Bartonite on Mar 5, 2020 12:41:34 GMT
Just sending...
More than a month after sending my last email, the trenches are filled in and tarmac'd over, and the lights still don't work. The alley was never closed, as claimed, and is now being used to do drugs. Why are those responsible for this failure not being held to account?
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Post by Bartonite on Mar 19, 2020 4:18:57 GMT
I followed up with this yesterday*, at 10:04am. For reasons that will become clear, I added Roy Matthews of Amey and Gloucester City Council to the CC.
'More than ten days later, there has been no response to my last email. This is now therefore an official, formal complaint about the failure to effect these repairs, and tell several falsehoods about the non-existent progress.
'Throughout this time, a flatscreen TV has remained in the alley, steadily being trampled into bits of plastic and metal and glass, despite my repeatedly asking Roy Matthews of Amey if his litterpickers report such flytipping to him, so it can be collected. That's more for Gloucester City Council to deal with, though, instead continuing to ignore it.
'What you need to explain is how you can be thinking of rearranging the street lights on my road, Jersey Rd - and, as far as I know, still the road of the Labour candidate for MP of Gloucester, Fran Boait - which will involve moving all the lights around when they were only replaced with new ones a few years back, if you can't even fix three lights on Mill St? I have a letter from you, signed by Lee Cordrey, which takes great pains to tell me that my '[Tory] County Councillor Sajid Patel has been working closely with us in street lighting to try and improve the lighting in your road'. Did you consult with any residents on our street before deciding to shell out what will presumably run into tens of thousands of pounds and create huge disruption to parking?
'That is not a rhetorical question. I'd like an answer, and if it isn't forthcoming in the next week, I'll have to make it a Freedom of Information request. And I'll remind you of the complaint above.
'Joe Kilker'
At around 12:30pm, I got a response from Roy Matthews:
'Afternoon Mr Kilker,
I am sorry that I have not come back to you sooner about the fly tipping the crew will be issued with instructions that has of the 18/03/20 if there is any fly tipping in any of the roads on day that they are there then they must be removed.
I have sent a crew to clear the tv today.
Regards'
In the evening, I saw that the TV was gone, so maybe this means that the message has gotten through, and pickers won't leave large items on roads and pavements (and parks) for weeks. We'll see.
*Make that the day before yesterday now, because I left this to do something else, and just remembered to post it. I'll just note that the lights are still broken, since the general election, four months ago, and the blatant untruths [lies?] about that are inexcusable. Words will be had.
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Post by Bartonite on Apr 15, 2020 14:36:32 GMT
Just sent:
There has still been no response, almost a month later, with the lights still not working. This, at best, acknowledgement, arriving at 4:54pm later in the day, was followed by nothing. Fran Boait's email no longer works, so I guess she's out of the picture (and off my road)?
Is anyone actually dealing with this complaint, or the job?
'Thank you for your email received by Gloucester City Council's Contact Centre. Your query has been logged under the above reference number. Please quote this reference number in future communications about this issue. This matter has been passed to our partners at Amey for action/response.
If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Yours sincerely
Chantelle
Customer Services Officer'
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Post by Bartonite on Apr 15, 2020 17:04:48 GMT
I look forward to receiving something between Monday and Wednesday, then.
But it had better dignify the term, 'respond', by answering the questions I've put to the council and Amey, including those in my email sent earlier today.
-----Original Message-----
From: Here to Help <hth2@gloucester.gov.uk>
To: s*********>
Sent: Wed, 15 Apr 2020 15:35
Subject: Automatic reply: Mill Street Lighting challenge
Thank you for your email, we aim to respond within 5 working days.
If you are contacting us with questions regarding the recent changes to the recycling service you may find the answer to your question more quickly by following the link: Household Recycling
If your collections crew left a leaflet with your recycling to advise that you have placed items in an incorrect box or sack, the details on the website should help you to put this right in time for your next collection.
If you have reported a missed collection please be aware it must be acknowledged by an officer before 4pm the next working day after your scheduled collection. We advise missed collections to be telephoned in on 01452 396396 or emailed to ensure it is picked up within the reporting timeframe.
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Post by Bartonite on Apr 16, 2020 13:09:58 GMT
To:streetlightingenquiries + 4 more Details
And I would appreciate, not 'Kind Regards', but for you to point out any 'threatening' I have done? The threat of a Freedom of Information request? Maybe the threat of a formal, official complaint, except that I haven't threatened that, I've made it, and the county council has apparently ignored it?
And now you are in fact threatening to have work cease over so-called 'further negative approaches from the public or complaints'? As I'm not abandoning my complaint, you may as well announce that cessation now, and then explain your actions to your superiors. Or I could just make a separate complaint about the email below?
For the record, Gloucester City Council are involved with this because the continuing lack of streetlighting encourages 'fly-tipping and other unsavoury behaviour' (as I have regularly kept you informed). Our two councils (maybe they're not yours, and you live in another county) have boasted of closer co-operation in this time of austerity, so you shouldn't have any objection to my inclusion of the City. If you do object, you can always ignore it like you ignored my complaint.
You could, of course, have kept me 'informed' a month ago that the work to fix the lighting was never completed, but as you'd already wrongly claimed they were fixed, along with a couple that were never broken, and ignored me when I pointed out your 'error', I never expected anything so helpful.
The question of who works for who - or if people using council email addresses are actually employed by Amey, etc) is well worth exploring. If you have contact details for WPD, perhaps I can get more informative answers from them?
Joe Kilker
PS I have still been told nothing about a consultation on Jersey Road streetlighting. After some disruption, we seem to have exactly the same number of streetlights, in exchange for considerable disruption, and a cost that will be revealed eventually.
-----Original Message-----
From: Street Lighting Enquiries <streetlightingenquiries@gloucestershire.gov.uk>
To: 'st>
CC: 'roy. matthews' <roy.matthews@amey.co.uk>; 'hth2' <hth2@gloucester.gov.uk>
Sent: Thu, 16 Apr 2020 12:45
Subject: Mill Street
Good afternoon Mr Kilker
I would really appreciate it if you would communicate with me at this Gloucestershire COUNTY Council e-mail address in a polite manner instead of your threatening communications. Here To Help is Gloucester CITY Council who have no jurisdiction over street lighting.
You are well aware (as I have regularly kept you informed ) that there have been challenges for Western Power Distribution to ensure the lights on columns 3, 4 & 5 to be working. Unfortunately there were restrictions on site, stopping them and our contractor from excavating in the alley on the intended dates.
One of our technicians has been out there this week and has made a plan to use an alternative feed, meaning that we have to carry out 30m of excavation. This should start today and hopefully be complete by Friday or Monday next week..
However, you need to appreciate that, should we get any further negative approaches from the public or complaints about the works, the excavation will cease.
Again, I repeat that whilst we can chase WPD to carry out work – they do NOT work for us.
Kindly understand that this is not straight forward, it IS work in progress. Thankfully the days are now longer and there should be far less pedestrian traffic in the alley.
As far as litter & fly tipping issues - these are not within our remit - please only refer to street lighting issues in correspondence to me. If you have a specific complaint you wish to raise – you know the formal process you have to adopt on the website.
Kind Regards
Bee Patrick
Customer Liaison Officer
Gloucester Street Lighting Team
ddi: 01452 583442
streetlightingenquiries@gloucestershire.gov.uk
---------------------------
---------------------------
I sent this to Customer Services immediately afterwards.
Hi,
Is this person really threatening to have work halted because I've complained about the lights in a secluded patch of Mill Street being broken for months, with scant or just plain wrong explanations?
And is my complaint being dealt with?
Joe Kilker
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Post by Bartonite on May 2, 2020 11:33:36 GMT
I received no response from Gloucesershire County Council about Bee Patrick's perverse attitude, but I did get a more useful update, on the 17th of April, on why the work had not been done, as she had claimed previously. This was from
Ken Pitt
Street Lighting Manager
Email: ken.pitt@gloucestershire.gov.uk
Direct Line: 01452 583443/08000 514514
Along with a description of the difficulties of locating a fault underground, he said that:
'I am advised that in the attempts to repair the fault, WPD staff were subjected to anti social and abusive behaviour by certain individuals, which cannot and will not be tolerated. All staff should expect to be able undertake their duties with out fear for their safety.'
I thanked him for his email, and asked if he or his staff had reported the abusive behaviour to the police, citing this, and the repeated flytipping in that alley, and the cracked, leaning wall, as grounds for closing the alley, as was done in Longlevens, with an alley between Kenilworth Avenue and Argyle Place. I concluded with 'If the county council would examine this spot, as they did the one in Longlevens, and inform me of whatever judgement they make as to closure, I'd be very grateful.' He has not replied to this date.
Consequently, after waiting five days, I received this:
Sent: Tue, 21 Apr 2020 15:47
Subject: 11269697 - Mill Street
Good Afternoon Mr Kilker
I hope this email finds you well?
Your recent report has asked about a possible closure for the alleyway between Mill Street and Derby Road due to continual fly tipping and antisocial behaviour. I am writing to inform you that my colleagues at Gloucester City Council undertake Gating Orders on behalf of the County Council. These generally have to be supported by the Police. May I suggest that you contact them on 01452 396396 or email heretohelp@gloucester.gov.uk
Sally
Sally Godwin
Local Highway Manager (Gloucester)
Area Highways - Southern
I responded on April 22nd with this, cc'd to the constabulary's Force Control Room, as well as Roy Matthews from Amey, who is responsible for litterpickers collecting (and often *not* collecting) rubbish dumped in the alley:
Hi,
I find it mystifying that 'colleagues at Gloucester City Council undertake Gating Orders on behalf of the County Council', when they can't seem to co-operate with the county council to pass on CCTV footage of illegally parked vehicles*, including several different Yodel vans, at the junction of Old Row and Millbrook St. Neverthless, if this is what it takes.
I've included the full text of my email response to Ken Pitt below, since neither he nor the council have confirmed that the anti-social behaviour his staff were subjected to was reported to the police.
Cheers, Joe Kilker
*or, for that matter, why I received an extremely rude email from one Bee Patrick of the county council, who accused me of sending 'threatening communications', and loftily asserted that 'Here To Help is Gloucester CITY Council who have no jurisdiction over street lighting.' This was because I accepted the claim that the two councils work together, and rubbish being left in the alley was therefore encouraged by broken street lighting. something Bee Patrick apparently disagrees with.
The fact that a pile of rubbish, including several empty whisky bottles, that should have been cleared away on Monday morning is still there today supports my argument that closing the alley is as applicable a solution here, due to several dangers, as it was in Longlevens.
I received a reply from the Control Room on the same day, with
Good Evening
In relation to your email can you clarify if the anti-social behaviour is in regard to the fly tipping / rubbish in the area ?
If so then this will be dealt with by Gloucester City Council as already advised
Regards
I answered by copying in Ken Pitt's words again, to make the point that this was about actual people being subjected to ASB, not people being anti-social by dumping rubbish (if such a thing is even listed as 'ASB'). There is still no reason to think that Ken Pitt actually reported the abuse of his staff to the police, or any further contact from Sally Godwin on inspecting the alley. It seems like they just really don't want to close it, which means studiously avoiding all the compelling reasons to do so.
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Post by Bartonite on May 2, 2020 11:34:30 GMT
It's really important to stress the contradiction of Bee Patrick throwing me shade for including Gloucester City Council in a conversation, while Sally Godwin informs me 'that my colleagues at Gloucester City Council undertake Gating Orders on behalf of the County Council'. As I said above, the two councils constantly tell us how closely they are working together, but put up barriers the moment it suits them. As good an argument for a unitary body as we could need.
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