Wirral Leaks Weekly Dispatch #21

POSTCARD FROM CORNWALL

Yes we know the picture isn’t from Cornwall – it is the latest artist’s impression from Wirral Waters. What’s more we admit that we’re beginning to lose track of developments. This latest one is is described as an ‘amenity hub’ :

Developer Peel has submitted a planning application for its £3.5m amenity hub at Egerton Square, designed by architect OMI and featuring a dockside restaurant, gallery, retail, and events space.

The £3.5m project is focussed on delivering amenities for the business and residential communities planned for the area, and will also play host to arts facilities and a waterside events space.

Located at Four Bridges next to Wirral Metropolitan College, it will sit alongside the proposed £6m No 1 Tower Road South office block and the planned Maritime Knowledge Hub, proposals for which were outlined earlier this month. Full story : Wirral Waters Amenity Hub

For one of our readers the Wirral Waters is reminiscent of developments in Cornwall which are detailed in the excellent ‘Cornwall – A Developer’s Paradise’ blog and in particular their latest post which is titled ‘Fantasy and Reality ‘ which concludes with the pertinent observation :

Behind the flannel, is that what their ‘vision’ really amounts to? Is this it? Is this all we have to look forward to? An endless, shallow future of ever more mindless consumption, traffic, congestion, and corporate placelessness? Full story : Fantasy and Reality

As our source asks : “Remind you of another council?”

ESSENTIAL LOGIC

With the recent news that Wirral Council’s Labour administration are committed to spending only on what is considered ‘essential’ a Wirral Leaks reader has questioned where the following jobs that are concerned with gaining World Heritage status for the vandals haven that is Birkenhead Park  fits with this logic . See here : World Heritage Jobs – The Guardian

Wirral Council are advertising two jobs in the Guardian (where else?)

World Heritage Project Manager: salary up to £37,107

World Heritage Project Officer.: salary up to £27,358.

The object is to gain World Heritage Status for Birkenhead Park.

Quite why it needs two well paid staff to do this I cannot understand.

Surely an application to World Heritage, with some documentary support, would be enough?

AND FINALLY …..

We’ve compared the intrigue of Wallasey Town Hall to the Booker Prize winning novel ‘Wolf Hall’ written by Hilary Mantel before. See here :  Uneasy lies The Head That Wears The Crown

However we are particularly grateful to yet another one of our readers who is a Wirral Council retiree who during their long promised lazy summertime reading was struck by the following passage from ‘Wolf Hall’ and how it reminded them of their days in the corridors of power at Wallasey Town Hall :

 

Uneasy Lies The Head That Wears A Crown.

Her Ladyship has been avidly watching the BBC adaptation of Wolf Hall which details the intrigues of the court of Henry VIII and she couldn’t help but draw comparisons with the modern day machinations of Wallasey Town Hall……….

As we know our new king-in-waiting Eric “Feeble” Robinson, currently deputy CEO and “Director of People” at Staffordshire County Council, is on his way in ,whilst it would appear that someone who was the power behind the throne may be on their way out ……

Curiously we understand that Eric Feeble tried and failed to get the top job at Staffordshire – and so it would seem that Staffordshire’s loss is Wirral’s , er, loss – especially as sources describe him as ” dull”.

What’s more he’ll soon have to ditch his dictator-like “Director of People” tag and realise that there’s only one “Director of People” round here isn’t there Frankenfield?

Under the circumstances his appointment comes as a great disappointment to us at Leaky Towers as our last monarch Comrade Burgesski proved to be an endless source of material for satire – especially towards the end of his tenure – talk about there’s no fool like an old fool!

Which brings us seamlessly on to our next subject who apparently has suddenly taken to that old standby of “feigned victimhood” and probably on legal advice has realised that if you’re possibly going to bang in a constructive dismissal claim then turning up for work and smoking fags out the back of the Town Hall every day won’t help their case.

Of course one of Eric Feeble’s first (of many) headaches will be to sort this particular pressing problem. Certainly it would seem the Labour group urgently want this latest development “sorting” – ie, yet another big bung before the election. However the tried and tested formula of trying to make the person concerned redundant and pretending to delete the post would mean this decision would have to be discussed at full council, something that would prove highly problematic for certain councillors…….especially if the usually docile elected members wake up and cynically smell a political opportunity.

What’s more this Boleynesque “tragic heroine” figure does indeed know where all the bodies are buried (and even further has regularly been at the graveside casually dragging on a fag as someone else’s career was turned to ashes in the name of reputation management ).

This is indeed turning out to be a salutary tale of how the the court of Wallasey Town Hall operates – the once highly favoured courtier eager to serve those ruthlessly abusing their power who misjudges their influence and authority and swiftly becomes a liability and a target of the self-same tactics they themselves once espoused.

Under the circumstances we predict this case will be expedited quicker than Stevie Wonder singing “Signed,Sealed,Delivered” on amphetamines….especially when an old alliance has been “reignited” (pun intended) with an equally addled nicotine fan. This is particularly curious development as there were all kinds of lurid accusations flying about Wallasey Town Hall before our main protagonist became suddenly indisposed.

Not indisposed enough to prevent applying for jobs elsewhere however …and where was they making that last failed attempt to jump ship? Why could it be Staffordshire County Council?, currently home to one Eric ” Feeble” Robinson…………… we can almost hear the cries of “The Queen is dead – long live the King….” ringing round the corridors of our very own local version of Wolf Hall .

Wolf Hall – Daily Mash Style