Response from Doncaster council about my noise complaint. Needless to say, they went to the wrong address. They seem to know where my address is when it's time to send the council tax bill. Also notice the poor grammar.
"I am contacting you with regard to your recent email relating to our response to your complaint.
The night time noise patrol service operates between 21.00 hours and 03.00 hours every Friday and Saturday evening with the exception of the Christmas period. The service is staffed my means of and Environmental Health Practitioner and an Enforcement Officer working together. As the night progresses complaints steadily build up and the calls are dealt with in the order that they came in. This unfortunately builds a delay into our response time. In order that we can be more effective we do ask the complainant to contact us back if the noise nuisance has stopped.
With regard to your specific complaint, I can advise you that I have spoken to the officers on duty that night and read the report logs for that night.
It would appear that the first discrepancy was with the address they had been given by the Police. The address given was ****. Quite some time was lost looking for this particular location. It was eventually assumed to be !!!!. The Duty Officer did attend at 01.35 hours and reported the situation as all quiet at that time.
I feel there is some confusion over the your comment that the Council would be contacting you the following day to update you with the events of the night. Where a client request further contact this can be arranged but it would usually be the following week not the day after as this would be a none working day.
In order to deal with a problem it usually necessary for the Duty Officer to visit the complainant's property to assess the noise nuisance. The officer did attempt to contact you but they assumed on the night that you had gone to bed as the music had stopped.
In conclusion I apologise for any inconvenience this situation has caused you and hope that we can be of service to you in the future."
Showing posts with label Local Government. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Local Government. Show all posts
Thursday, September 04, 2008
Monday, September 01, 2008
Noisy neighbours
On the Saturday night of the bank holiday weekend we had a serious noise problem. Our neighbours across the way erected an immense gazebo in their garden, hired a DJ and started blasting dance music out from 6.30 pm on two speakers which I'm certain were illegal to use in a residential area. With my doors and windows shut and the TV on I couldn't escape the noise. After an hour I went round to ask them to turn down the volume just a little. About 20 houses look onto the noisy neighbours garden and several of our other neighbours had the same idea to complain. Unfortunately, the problem household couldn't hear their own doorbell.
Next step was to call the police. The dispatcher was very helpful and sympathetic. She explained that dealing with noise issues no longer fell under the police remit even if this constituted a breach of the peace (that's right, even if a crime had been committed). I was told that the council environmental health department would deal with it. I was told that someone would be sent out tonight and that I would be interviewed the next day, at the very least by telephone. I was very grateful when the police dispatcher offered to call this through on my behalf.
At 11.30 pm I got a call from a surly lady at the council. I explained to her that my neighbours were having a rave party in the garden and that everyone around was fed up. When she discovered that it was a one off incident and not a recurrent problem her interest in helping me vanished. She was mocking as she said someone would be out eventually and that they'd call me tomorrow and explain what action they had taken. In the meantime I was asked to call back if they switched the noise off because they were very busy.
At 1.30 am, with a pounding headache after seven hours of constant noise and with nowhere else to go to escape, I abandoned ship and went to see the Tinsley cooling towers demolition. When I returned at 4.30 am the music was still at full volume. The council had not been out. I fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion. The next day I was not interviewed or contacted in any way by the council.
My question is; what does a person have to do to get help from the authorities when such a blatant breach of the peace is occuring? And why did the council (who are funded to discharge this responsibility) do nothing at all to help myself and the people nearby who pay thousands and thousands of pounds in council tax each year?
Next step was to call the police. The dispatcher was very helpful and sympathetic. She explained that dealing with noise issues no longer fell under the police remit even if this constituted a breach of the peace (that's right, even if a crime had been committed). I was told that the council environmental health department would deal with it. I was told that someone would be sent out tonight and that I would be interviewed the next day, at the very least by telephone. I was very grateful when the police dispatcher offered to call this through on my behalf.
At 11.30 pm I got a call from a surly lady at the council. I explained to her that my neighbours were having a rave party in the garden and that everyone around was fed up. When she discovered that it was a one off incident and not a recurrent problem her interest in helping me vanished. She was mocking as she said someone would be out eventually and that they'd call me tomorrow and explain what action they had taken. In the meantime I was asked to call back if they switched the noise off because they were very busy.
At 1.30 am, with a pounding headache after seven hours of constant noise and with nowhere else to go to escape, I abandoned ship and went to see the Tinsley cooling towers demolition. When I returned at 4.30 am the music was still at full volume. The council had not been out. I fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion. The next day I was not interviewed or contacted in any way by the council.
My question is; what does a person have to do to get help from the authorities when such a blatant breach of the peace is occuring? And why did the council (who are funded to discharge this responsibility) do nothing at all to help myself and the people nearby who pay thousands and thousands of pounds in council tax each year?
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Doncaster Quality Bus Corridor
Doncaster is currently having a quality bus corridor fitted on two approaches into the town centre. On one of these approaches a dual carriageway is being reduced to one lane and this Sunday (normally a quiet day) I encountered very bad traffic. Of course this will all be worth it if traffic levels are reduced and everyone uses the bus. I asked the mayors office what the traffic reduction and bus passenger increases they were hoping for and how much the scheme would cost. They said
I would advise that the major scheme business case that secured funding of £15.3 million from the Department of Transport, is based upon achieving a 5% increase in bus patronage in the opening year, and an annual increase of 1.5% thereafter.
That's it. £15 million to increase bus passenger levels by just 5% and no targets for traffic reduction. 5% more people using the bus will cut congestion a bit but the bus lanes themselves will create much more congestion than they ease.
I would also like to know if taxi cabs are to be allowed to use the bus lanes. A taxi is a private commercial vehicle and they should not be allowed to use the priority traffic lights to the delay of everyone else. This is where the main congestion comes from; the priority lights. Each time a vehicle passes down the bus lane toward the lights the main body of traffic is halted. In the town centre we have priority lights which cause chaos. We also have priority bus lanes into the bus station which the buses do not use because people prefer to be dropped off in the town centre. However, we haven't been able to gauge the effects of the priority lights in the new bus corridor yet because the buses are not running in any numbers. Why? Because they haven't built the park and ride yet.
You heard me correct. We have bus lanes built and empty because they haven't built the park and ride yet. Why didn't they build it first?
I would advise that the major scheme business case that secured funding of £15.3 million from the Department of Transport, is based upon achieving a 5% increase in bus patronage in the opening year, and an annual increase of 1.5% thereafter.
That's it. £15 million to increase bus passenger levels by just 5% and no targets for traffic reduction. 5% more people using the bus will cut congestion a bit but the bus lanes themselves will create much more congestion than they ease.
I would also like to know if taxi cabs are to be allowed to use the bus lanes. A taxi is a private commercial vehicle and they should not be allowed to use the priority traffic lights to the delay of everyone else. This is where the main congestion comes from; the priority lights. Each time a vehicle passes down the bus lane toward the lights the main body of traffic is halted. In the town centre we have priority lights which cause chaos. We also have priority bus lanes into the bus station which the buses do not use because people prefer to be dropped off in the town centre. However, we haven't been able to gauge the effects of the priority lights in the new bus corridor yet because the buses are not running in any numbers. Why? Because they haven't built the park and ride yet.
You heard me correct. We have bus lanes built and empty because they haven't built the park and ride yet. Why didn't they build it first?
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Traffic hell (again and again)
This morning I had an important appointment to keep (a timeslot booked on a microscope at the York nanocentre). My usual commute takes 45 minutes. An hour and twenty minutes before I had to be there I checked the traffic news; my normal motorway route was down to one lane and the queues were already 7 miles long. I was immediately filled with panic that I was going to be late. With an hour and ten minutes to go I set off along an alternative route that was shorter by distance but on smaller, lower speed limit roads. I arrived twenty minutes late and lost a quarter of my microscope time. This is the second time this week that the A1 motorway has gone down. Today was not as bad as monday but the delays still caused a 12 mile tailback and 2 hour delays for those determined to plough through.
There are simply too many vehicles on the roads. People cannot live near where they work because of the nature of the housing and jobs market. A couple who live in Doncaster might individually have jobs in Leeds and Sheffield and their home is a halfway point. Homes are expensive too and difficult to sell so people can't always live in their choice location. The authorities don't make things easier. There seem to be very few contingency plans for when one of the motorways in Yorkshire goes down. The diversions don't seem to work. One day in 2005 the M1 was closed so they diverted onto the A1 which got blocked by an accident and then the last escape route, the M18, was blocked by an accident. The resulting jams I will never forget.
So in a week like this what do we need? What we don't need is Doncaster council conducting a traffic census on one of the approach roads that feeds the A1 motorway and central Doncaster itself. They forced the road to one lane and slowed this down as they called people over to get a sample of travelling habits. Result; tailbacks for miles and miles and miles back into South Yorkshire. Idiots. Not a good idea to make the rush hour worse, especially considering the commuting hell that this week has brought.
There are simply too many vehicles on the roads. People cannot live near where they work because of the nature of the housing and jobs market. A couple who live in Doncaster might individually have jobs in Leeds and Sheffield and their home is a halfway point. Homes are expensive too and difficult to sell so people can't always live in their choice location. The authorities don't make things easier. There seem to be very few contingency plans for when one of the motorways in Yorkshire goes down. The diversions don't seem to work. One day in 2005 the M1 was closed so they diverted onto the A1 which got blocked by an accident and then the last escape route, the M18, was blocked by an accident. The resulting jams I will never forget.
So in a week like this what do we need? What we don't need is Doncaster council conducting a traffic census on one of the approach roads that feeds the A1 motorway and central Doncaster itself. They forced the road to one lane and slowed this down as they called people over to get a sample of travelling habits. Result; tailbacks for miles and miles and miles back into South Yorkshire. Idiots. Not a good idea to make the rush hour worse, especially considering the commuting hell that this week has brought.
Friday, August 03, 2007
Health and Safety
The largest free music festival in Europe has been cancelled on health and safety grounds. The event, centered around the Beatles weekend in Liverpool has been run ever since 1993 and has been growing in popularity. The council have decided to ban all of the outdoor events because the large amount of building work in the city might be dangerous. There have been construction sites in Liverpool for a few years now and no one has ever been hurt at the Matthews Street festival. Might I suggest that the council is trying to save money by cancelling the event. Road closures, extra policing and litter collection are all expensive for such a large event and the council should just be honest and say it does not want to foot the bill.
In a related story kids in Bournemouth are not allowed to borrow arm bands when using swimming pools. The official line is that germs will be spread as people inflate them. As one parent said 'they would rather let the kids drown than have them catch a cold.' Methinks the real reason is cost. They don't want to have to buy spare armbands for people who forget theirs and they don't want to be sued if a kid drowns because of faulty armbands that they have supplied.
In a related story kids in Bournemouth are not allowed to borrow arm bands when using swimming pools. The official line is that germs will be spread as people inflate them. As one parent said 'they would rather let the kids drown than have them catch a cold.' Methinks the real reason is cost. They don't want to have to buy spare armbands for people who forget theirs and they don't want to be sued if a kid drowns because of faulty armbands that they have supplied.
Friday, June 29, 2007
Floods
South Yorkshire has been devastated by flash floods and there are many dead and homeless people. Worst of all I heard speculation that the environment agency sacrificied the village of Toll Bar to spare Doncaster Town centre. No-one lives on the ground floor in Doncaster town centre. Oh well, I'm sure the insurance companies see it as the lesser (cheaper) of two evils.
Friday, May 04, 2007
UK Elections
Nearly 40 million people got the chance to vote yesterday in local elections. I didn't vote. Not because I'm lazy. I have received no information about any of the candidates, no visits to my door and I have seen nothing on the web or in the local press. I don't know what any of the candidates would do for my village or for the city as a whole. I decided not to vote along party lines because I'm not interested in sending a message to No. 10 because that will be ignored or spun. I despair. My local council seems to be run for the benefit of the councillors and their business friends. In my village most people pay no local council tax so the ones who do pay tax pay more than people who live in equivalent properties in other areas. I would have liked a say about how my village and the wider city is run but I was denied a chance by inept and lazy campaigning.
On a lighter note soldiers in Iraq have been wearing t-shirts that bear the slogan "I'm Harry!" in a Spartacus like show of solidarity.
On a lighter note soldiers in Iraq have been wearing t-shirts that bear the slogan "I'm Harry!" in a Spartacus like show of solidarity.
Friday, March 16, 2007
Bus lanes and traffic chaos
Many cities are now setting up bus lanes. These are a good idea if they encourage people to get on the bus and not drive into busy city centres. One problem is when they hit traffic lights. Buses are given priority here and the main traffic stream is stopped. This is a bit annoying but what makes it supremely frustrating is when taxi drivers use the bus lane and the priority at the lights. A taxi is a commercial vehicle just like a delivery truck. They should not choke the main traffic stream up by using the bus lanes and turning the lights red. And taxis aren't green either; they often contain just one driver and a passenger.
While I'm at it another thing that really burns my waffles is when people park illegally (in my city often on a dual carriageway on double yellow lines) with their hazard warning lights on. Like that makes it OK. There is nothing more annoying than queuing to get round someone who is pretending to be broken down while they pop into a takeaway.
As you can probably tell I'm fed up with traffic. It's bad enough the roads are busy without sneaky or lazy motorists playing the system. The city of Doncaster has just moved its bus station on top of the train station and under a busy shopping centre. This has created CHAOS. The main road that feeds the train station is now severely choked and to make matters worse it has five sets of traffic lights in the space of a quarter mile. The problem here is that the buses don't go down the bus lane into the bus station. They go into the town centre to drop people off then cut into the main road to get into the station. Result; traffic lights going red every twenty seconds and the main road through Doncaster choked.
Doncaster has horrendous traffic problems. There is really only one way in or out and to get from one side of town to the other involves a trip into the town centre. There are partial ring roads but they aren't enough. One such road is unfinished and it will link two major traffic hotspots (the football stadium is in this area) and bypass the town centre, providing major relief. The reason this hasn't been completed and opened up is that the Asda supermarket nearby have objected on the grounds that customers will have easy access to the nearby Tesco and they will lose trade. How dare a supermarket dictate traffic planning and road building.
While I'm at it another thing that really burns my waffles is when people park illegally (in my city often on a dual carriageway on double yellow lines) with their hazard warning lights on. Like that makes it OK. There is nothing more annoying than queuing to get round someone who is pretending to be broken down while they pop into a takeaway.
As you can probably tell I'm fed up with traffic. It's bad enough the roads are busy without sneaky or lazy motorists playing the system. The city of Doncaster has just moved its bus station on top of the train station and under a busy shopping centre. This has created CHAOS. The main road that feeds the train station is now severely choked and to make matters worse it has five sets of traffic lights in the space of a quarter mile. The problem here is that the buses don't go down the bus lane into the bus station. They go into the town centre to drop people off then cut into the main road to get into the station. Result; traffic lights going red every twenty seconds and the main road through Doncaster choked.
Doncaster has horrendous traffic problems. There is really only one way in or out and to get from one side of town to the other involves a trip into the town centre. There are partial ring roads but they aren't enough. One such road is unfinished and it will link two major traffic hotspots (the football stadium is in this area) and bypass the town centre, providing major relief. The reason this hasn't been completed and opened up is that the Asda supermarket nearby have objected on the grounds that customers will have easy access to the nearby Tesco and they will lose trade. How dare a supermarket dictate traffic planning and road building.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Council Tax
Average weekly earnings after income tax and NI - £343 *
Average council tax bill per working person per week - £10 +
Average hours worked per week - 40
Time at work required to pay coucil tax bill - 1 hr 10 minutes
That's right. That last miserable hour on a Friday.
* Based on £23900 net per year
+ Based on £1,056 per year per household and two working adults to pay the bill
But... that's for
Schools (ie state organised babysitting for the workforce)
Rubbish collection (imagine having to go to the dump all the time)
Libraries (yes, all those Mills and Boon books)
Police (but don't expect them to help when you get burgled)
Fire (No arguments here. Hire more. Give them a pay rise)
Local Council Admin (Doncaster Council has to be the biggest joke ever)
It's also means tested but not based on how much a person earns or has in savings. It is worked out on the basis of the value of the property a person lives in. If you rent in a building that's worth a lot (as I used to) your tax is based on the assets of someone else. And if you don't have kids you are effectively paying for other people's kids to go to the local school because most local council tax is spent there.
That's Local Tax. What about Income tax. The average person above would pay £75 a week in income tax. How does the government spend that? In 2005 the government spent
On the 'This Week' politics talk show last night they pointed out that the British economy has been supported for the past decade on the unholy triptych of inflated house prices, consumer debt and no consumer personal savings. The average Italian family saves three times as much money for the future as a British family. Or should I say a Scottish/English/Welsh family. The concept of Britishness is taught in English schools but not in Welsh or Scottish schools. Wonder why. The three most important figures in a Gordon Brown government would be Scottish. They would sit in the English parliament but not be democratically accountable to English voters.
Have a good weekend (all 30 of you.)
Average council tax bill per working person per week - £10 +
Average hours worked per week - 40
Time at work required to pay coucil tax bill - 1 hr 10 minutes
That's right. That last miserable hour on a Friday.
* Based on £23900 net per year
+ Based on £1,056 per year per household and two working adults to pay the bill
But... that's for
Schools (ie state organised babysitting for the workforce)
Rubbish collection (imagine having to go to the dump all the time)
Libraries (yes, all those Mills and Boon books)
Police (but don't expect them to help when you get burgled)
Fire (No arguments here. Hire more. Give them a pay rise)
Local Council Admin (Doncaster Council has to be the biggest joke ever)
It's also means tested but not based on how much a person earns or has in savings. It is worked out on the basis of the value of the property a person lives in. If you rent in a building that's worth a lot (as I used to) your tax is based on the assets of someone else. And if you don't have kids you are effectively paying for other people's kids to go to the local school because most local council tax is spent there.
That's Local Tax. What about Income tax. The average person above would pay £75 a week in income tax. How does the government spend that? In 2005 the government spent
On the 'This Week' politics talk show last night they pointed out that the British economy has been supported for the past decade on the unholy triptych of inflated house prices, consumer debt and no consumer personal savings. The average Italian family saves three times as much money for the future as a British family. Or should I say a Scottish/English/Welsh family. The concept of Britishness is taught in English schools but not in Welsh or Scottish schools. Wonder why. The three most important figures in a Gordon Brown government would be Scottish. They would sit in the English parliament but not be democratically accountable to English voters.
Have a good weekend (all 30 of you.)
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