Northumberland Cc

[Guest mrsvic]

It's still a bit sunny! The nights are lighter. Getting out in the garden is belta. Our garage is still mouldy though. We really do need a place to put our lawnmower. We've been thinking about a shed for some time, and now since the success of assembling an IKEA settee in less than 4 hours, we feel as though we're up to the challenge.

Sadly, even more challenging is the beauocracy and red tape that we need to go through in order to get permission to build said shed. Forms need to be filled in in triplicate, and a sum of the cost of another shed needs to be paid. This being a central governement issue, means I can't complain in the TOTT section of Bedlington.co.uk, so I wont.

I have, however, attempted to contact Wanbeck on a number of occasions over the matter. I have had no reply. A phone call to the new streamlined NCC informed me that all of our emails must have been lost in transitionary period of changing email addresses. Convenient. I guess this is the same email system that has failed to tell many of the district council workers whether they are returning to their jobs in the coming weeks.

It's been almost a month since the changeover, and other than the top dogs finding themselves new roles in charities, housing associations and the like, very little has been done to support the velvet revolution from Wansbeck to Northumberland. Other than make sure they're getting their money in. But they can't even do that efficiently.

In February, we received a letter from NCC informing us we needed to change over our direct debits for our council tax, to ensure they kept their coucillors in Jags for the transition. Last month we received the letter confirming the direct debit was set up, thus allowing a portion of our wage to be sent off towards artwork in the middle of forests and executive twin town visits. Today, our lovely postman delivered us a letter telling us that if our council tax isn't paid by Wednesday, it's off to court for myself and MrVic!!!!!! Eek! We're both to pernickity to do hard time.

Obviously, it's the weekend, and those left with jobs with the council are off reaping the benefits of swindling the rest of the county, so there's no knacker left to answer our questions.

And when we do get an answer, it will be that the changeover has led to the error. Odd, that the council administration dont seem to have these problems.

I was just wondering really, if anyone else has been having problems?

Not that I expected anything to go smoothly... I may as well stop worrying an get back to mowing the lawn.

[threegee]

This - of course - is almost the very thing we all voted against in the referendum. We were asked if we wanted bigger regional government and everyone with any experience of how these things work said NO!

In fact the only reason we had the referendum was that big government - encouraged by poor deluded political dinosaur John Prescott - thought they could win. It's a basic rule of government never to hold a referendum that all indications say you won't win decisively. The result is then pointed to as conclusive for the next 50 years; except if by some extreme mischance you get the result that you don't want - when you keep asking the same question in a different way until you do get your result.

Well in this instance British "democracy" didn't even get that glaze of legitimacy. So, I suppose we should all write on our Council Tax bills "Unauthorised Application" and send them back.

BTW our new politicos have got off to a brilliant start by holding their very first meeting in secret session. It would be interesting to find out who exactly decided on this and who - if anyone - objected. So interesting that I think I will!

[Hamburger Pimp]

Today, our lovely postman delivered us a letter telling us that if our council tax isn't paid by Wednesday, it's off to court for myself and MrVic!!!!!!

I received a similar letter today, although without the reference to MrVic.

What a shower of incompetent knackers.

[Malcolm Robinson]

A fine oxymoron for a thread title there mrsvic!

If there is any ‘proof’ of trying to get this sorted out before anyone receives a ‘court’ letter I would be tempted to counter sue for aggravation, stress etc due to NCC incompetence. In fact it is starting to look like a class action! It does show just how the seamless changeover everyone was promised was always going to be hot air.

If the whole idea was to bring local government closer to the people it serves and make it more accountable having remote offices and fewer representatives would seem strictly at odds with that scenario?

At the end of the day we own a local council office, its half way up Front Street and perfectly suitable to oversee the Bedlingtonshire area!

Please post an address where we can send the cakes with the files and hacksaws!