Gornal News & Goings On

NEWS

Car Park for Gornal Campaign Does this say "traffic proposals"? Gornal Ward Councillor Anne Millward has attempted to refute our recent story (click here), in which we argued that the North Dudley Area Commmittee Special Meeting of 7th July should not have tried to suppress discussion of the subject of a car park for Gornal. Describing Yampy's reporting as "a load of tripe", Cllr. Millward says that neither she nor Conservative colleague David Stanley are wavering in their determination to resolve the car parking issue. Here is the text of her comments to us: What a load of tripe!!! If you had read the Agenda of 17th June, you would have read the following: Report of the Director of the Urban Environment, Gornal Wood Area proposed waiting restrictions and one-way streets. Nothing more, nothing less. The car park issue, I brought into the Public arena, when the original traffic proposals first reared their ugly head, and are aside , a completely separate issue to the agenda as laid down by council. Cllr Stanley felt that this emotive issue should have been discussed at a separate special meeting hence the meeting at the Straits school. Once again the agenda read, as advertised in the press, " traffic proposals in Gornal". Although many people equate the two, car parking and yellow lines, they are separate agenda items, Cllr Stanley realised this as did every officer and elected member and tried to keep to the agenda, as failure to do so could have resulted in him being reported to the standards cmmttee by the opposition. Now I would like to ask you your views of Cllr Finchs' remarks that we will never get the car park as it will cost a million pounds!!! a remark heard by a number of people on more than one occasion. I feel that remark will cause more unrest than the agitation you are trying to stir up. Cllr Stanley has not done a U turn and is actively engaged with myself in behind the scenes hard work to try and give this village what it needs. I am in possession of the original plans if you want to view them, give me a ring, but please let your readers know that Cllrs Millward and Stanley ain't for U turning!!!!!! Cllr. Millward's words certainly make a forceful case - against her argument. Firstly, she manages to state that the 'car park' and 'traffic restrictions' issues are completely separate, in the same sentence in which she claims credit for linking them! ("The car park issue..as laid down by Council"). Next, she continues to ignore the February NDAC Meeting in which the then Chairman, Cllr. Fraser MacNamara, proposed the special meeting - four months before (quote) "Cllr. Stanley felt that this emotive issue should have been discussed at a separate special meeting". Further, she offers as 'proof' the statement that "the agenda read, as advertised in the press, traffic proposals in Gornal". A shrewd point, because while the traffic restrictions matter was a 'proposal', we can't claim that there is a current car park 'proposal'. You've got us there Councillor - except that the advert clearly says "traffic issues", not "traffic proposals"! The difference is just one word, but that's all that a political spin needs, if it is not challenged. Was it not reasonable for meeting attendees who read this advert to assume that they would be permitted to discuss freely a range of related local transport needs? Cllr. Millward says that car parking and yellow lines "are separate agenda items". Who is arguing with that? But meetings can consist of more than one agenda item, surely? And one final argument that we think is a bit of a clincher. We never criticised Cllr. Millward in our original article because at the 7th July Special Meeting, far from considering the 'car park' 'and 'yellow lines' issues to be 'completely separate', it was she who proposed the motion (eventually passed) to throw out the latter until the former had been resolved! Our reporting may be "a load of tripe", but if we threw that insult at someone else, we would at least first make sure that our own words made some sort of coherent point.

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