TAMESIDE COUNCIL TO RENAME POPULAR GARDENS, ‘BRASSIC PARK’

It is hard to see why anyone would indulge in mindless acts of vandalism in our town centres and parks, but in Tameside it appears that one of the most malicious and serial culprits are the bureaucratic council officers, ably abetted by the councillors themselves.

Not content with letting once proud buildings stand empty; flattening Hyde’s Victorian Baths and latterly Hyde’s iconic Grammar School building, they now seem hell bent on demolishing the Victorian Conservatory that once stood proudly, open to the towns folk and visitors in Stamford Park, Stalybridge.

Now you might think that calling our councillors ‘vandals’ is a bit strong but, if you have the time and inclination to look it up, the definition of the word states: Vandalism is a malicious act and may reflect personal ill will, although the perpetrators need not know their victim (that’s us, the taxpayers) to commit vandalism. The recklessness of the act imputes both intent (which they have announced as their intention) and malice.

Because the destruction of public and private property poses a threat to society, modern statutes make vandalism a crime.

To obtain a conviction the prosecution must ordinarily prove that the accused damaged or destroyed some property, (that’s what they have passed in cabinet) that the property did not belong to the accused, (it belongs to the people of Tameside and is only held in trust and maintained by the council) and that the accused acted wilfully (which they have announced in the press) and with malice.

It would be interesting to know; perhaps from one of esteemed solicitor practices, whether a public body that commits ‘vandalism’ may be sued in a civil tort action for damages, so that the damaged property can be repaired or replaced.

The imposing Stamford Park Conservatory, which sits in the Grade-Two listed park, was closed to the public in 2015 over safety fears about its deteriorating state. A fact that in February 2018, whist commenting in the Stalybridge Correspondent, Cllr Welsh, whose ward includes Stamford Park, said he was unaware of! - Nice to see that our elected councillors are on the ball!

Also, ironically, back in January 2011, £1.3 million was spent on the award-winning parks pavilion, which was funded through a Heritage Lottery funded scheme as part of a major multi-million park restoration project. On its completion in March 2014 - Cllr. Lynn Travis Tameside Executive Member for Neighbourhoods said, "We are delighted that the project has received this award for this is a fantastic amenity for the people of Tameside to enjoy. Now the current generations can enjoy Stamford Park in the same way previous generations have."

Well so much for that!

Fast forward to 2019, and after 5 years of neglect, nameless council chiefs say that the parks Conservatory cannot not be allowed to ‘rot any further’ and tough decisions have to be made amid a climate of cuts and shrinking budgets.

So now, Tameside’s executive cabinet has voted for the structure to be knocked down and replaced with a new formal garden. Apparently, this represents the best ‘value for money’ and long-term sustainability, according to the town hall!

Admittedly, the 102year old property is in poor condition with spreading dry rot, and has been shut for some time because of “structural issues” but is demolition really necessary? Afterall, the fact that the conservatory is in such a poor and dangerous condition, is entirely due to the total incompetence of the council, through lack of effecting repairs, as and when they were needed!

Have the people at ‘Tameside’s Brains Trust’ ever considered that leaving any building unoccupied and not maintained for a number of years, that critical damage would be the obvious result? In spite of everything, that was their reasoning behind demolishing the 45year old Town Hall and then splashing out £36m to build the New Town Hall phase of the massive ‘Vision Tameside’ development. Not to mention the ‘unpublished amount’ they will now be paying to furnish it!

This is just another example of Tameside council vandalism where the citizens of our borough have no input and no choice while the council officers pay themselves big salaries and the cost inevitably falls on rate-payers to find more, year on year; this year we saw residents paying at least an extra £59 a year in council tax.

Let’s not forget, the council holds tens of millions in reserve. As well as millions invested in shares in ‘private companies’ This dear reader is not their money. It’s come from our taxes, business rates, licences and parking fines and charges. Even the funding that is grated by central government comes from our taxes!

A petition against the decision has already been signed by hundreds of angry residents. You can see the petition at www.change.org/p/tmbc-save-the-stamford-park-conservatory. 

More details can be found at www.facebook.com/events/324298981847962.

Originally built in 1907, the conservatory was completely rebuilt and restored to the original Victorian design from 1982, reopening three years later. And a further extensive refurbishment was carried out in 2003. But the report presented to councillors’ states that it currently ‘poses a risk to the safety of anyone entering the building’.

However, restoring it to its former glory was deemed ‘high risk’ as it was likely that costs would rise and work would be ‘complex and costly’. It is estimated that replacing the rotten timbers and repairs to the windows and doors would set the authority back around £119,000. And costs could escalate further if more deterioration is found during building work. Which suggests that the survey to repair and restore the conservatory was not all that thorough!

Interestingly, despite the latest figures, in February 2018, Cllr Welsh said: “We were shown some photographs that revealed significant damage due to wear and tear and told the cost of repairs could be between £80,000-£100,000, which is a considerable sum.” – just goes to show how estimates submitted to council managers shoot up, whilst they dither!

However, what is really alarming is the council statement saying that repairs could not be guaranteed for much longer than five years, and it would not be a ‘long term solution’.

The article goes on to tell us, ‘Officers say demolishing the structure is likely to lead to some ‘initial reputational risk’ but since when did a bad reputation for ineptitude bother the members of Tameside Council?

Emma Varnam, assistant director of operations and neighbourhoods, told the meeting demolition of the replica Victorian conservatory was the council’s favoured option.

“It’s been in poor condition for over four years, we’ve had to have it closed for over four years due to the disrepair and it’s not being safe for the public to enter,” she said. “This option will give us the most appropriate use of this space within this beautiful park and it will be value for money.”

She went on to say, “We will be able to include many different kinds of community groups in the upkeep, and many volunteers in this new form of garden will be able to use this space again.” This translates to: get some unpaid volunteers to do the work we, the council used to do!

She than goes back to brandishing questionable figures.

“Building a replacement would cost in the region of £250,000 to half a million pounds. By contrast, knocking it down will cost a fraction of that at just £11,250!” How can anybody accept that if they have fully investigated the cost of building a new conservatory, and been told by qualified craftsmen that it would cost £250,000, how could they issue the statement that it might cost double, to £500,000?

She added, “Designs of the proposed formal garden show ornamental planting, benches, paths, and pergolas created from the original ironwork within the conservatory. The new garden would cost approximately £39,654.

Heritage Lottery Fund have been consulted and while they are ‘disappointed’ the conservatory is to be lost, they are ‘realistic about the pressures on local authority budgets and have accepted the proposals’, the report adds.

It had cost £10,000 a year to heat the conservatory as its boilers required oil fuel, and a further £2,000 has been spent in recent years repairing vandalism.

The Council’s website continues to inform us that Stamford Park attracts thousands of visitors every year, and is registered under the Historic Buildings and Ancient Monuments Act 1953.

Well it won’t for much longer!

Councillors voted to approve the demolition of the conservatory, which will take place from September 2, lasting four weeks, and landscaping and planting will run until the end of the year.

It’s like the once popular Tameside theatre that now stands derelect in Ashton – For years it was running fine, then it closed and the council told us contracts could not be sorted – some 12 months later it need 5million spent on it ?

Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?