Gornal News & Goings On

NEWS

Car Park for Gornal Campaign Abbey St. Gridlock this morning We recently reported on the North Dudley Area Committee Special Meeting, held on the 7th July at the Straits School to discuss local traffic issues (click here). Members of the public were shocked to find that the agenda did not allow the issue of a car park for Gornal to be discussed, and we promised to try to find out how this had arisen. Subsequent emails to Committee Chairman Councillor Stanley and Director of the Urban Environment John Millar failed to elicit any response, but we were prompted this morning to try again by an incident that occurred just outside our Abbey Street office. The driver of a bus found that he could not squeeze past two legally parked cars, and had to wait until an embarassed shopper returned to his vehicle, by which time the gridlock had backed right up into Louise Street. Of course, the Council's proposed traffic restrictions will 'solve' this problem, by placing double yellow lines down Abbey Street. But where will our shopper go? To Merry Hill, probably! This is why the audience on the 7th July continued to make the point that the car park and traffic restriction issues are inextricably linked, and that to put the restrictions first is putting the cart before the horse. So we tried again today to contact Cllr. Stanley. He has previously professed support for the car park campaign, so why had he tried so hard to remove our only bargaining counter (our opposition to the traffic restrictions, until such a time as the car park issue is resolved)? Here is his reply: As you are fully aware from the (full North Dudley Area Committee) meeting at Roberts Primary School on Tuesday 17th June it was decided that item number 23 of that agenda traffic restrictions Gornal Wood and Lower Gornal pages 65 to 75 were left to deal with at a special meeting of the committee, which was held on Monday 7th July at the Straits Primary School. As you are aware this meeting was called specifically for the proposed waiting restrictions in Gornal Wood to be discussed. There is no mention in the report of a car park therefore we stuck to the agenda item namely the yellow lines. Councillor Stanley is becoming quite adept at putting carts before horses. The Special Meeting was not specifically set up to discuss "item 23". On the contrary, the proposal to hold a special meeting had already been made months earlier by Cllr. Stanley's predecessor as Chairman, Cllr. Fraser MacNamara, and "item 23" was shunted onto it when the yah-boo bickering between Cllr. Stanley and Cllr. Finch on the 17th June meant that there was no time left to properly cover a number of important matters. So who is correct on this point, Cllr. Stanley or Yampy? Well, anyone present at the Area Committee Meeting of 10th February 2003 (at Parkes Hall Study Centre) will know the answer, and we reported it at the time (click here). Not only did Cllr. Fraser MacNamara undertake to organise the special meeting following questions from the floor about the car park, but he recalled that some years ago he was involved in an initiative to develop a proper car park for the area, and promised to dig the details out of his file. Cllr. Fraser MacNamara - normally an ever present - did not actually attend the 7th July special meeting, let alone present his car park scheme. That is of no consequence of course, because Cllr. Stanley would no doubt have disallowed the presentation; the car park had by that time mysteriously slipped from the agenda - leaving Cllr. Stanley to defend the indefensible.

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