'IN THE KINGDOM OF THE BLIND THE ONE-EYED MAN IS KING.'

Welcome to Tameside, I hope you 'went' before you left home?

…a phrase which when applied to the ‘bosses’ of Tameside council, means: Even those without much ability or talent are still viewed highly by those with no ability or talent at all.

On reading Tameside Executive Leader’s blog the other week, Kieran Quinn quite rightly pointed out; with Bank Holidays on the horizon and good weather forecast - that a visit to Stamford Park on the Stalybridge – Ashton border, which, he pointed out, most people would view as Tameside’s flagship green space, would be a great family day out.

In trying to sell the venue as a great place for family entertainment, he explained how the park had recently undergone a multi-million pound refurbishment to give it modern facilities such as the Highfield Pavilion now with a cafe, modern toilets and the spectacular water feature, while preserving its 19th century features and monuments.

He went on to say, “I’m delighted to tell you that Stamford Park, which already holds an award from the Royal Institute of British Architects, now has another piece of “silverware”. It has come first in the restoration and regeneration category of the British Association of Landscape Industries Awards.”

“It’s very satisfying to know that Stamford Park is gaining national recognition. It is a place for the term “much-loved” properly applies. On sunny weekends it’s packed with hundreds of people.”

So, here we have a massively restored public asset, funded by the Heritage Lottery to the tune of £4.5million which included the new construction of the park's main pavilion. A pavilion that is so good that as well as it being awarded the BALI Principal Award, during 2013, the pavilion also achieved a RIBA Regional Award, and 'Best cultural, sport and leisure building’ at the Manchester Society of Architects Awards, it also tells us that this major undertaking has been completed with expertise and sensitivity by the contractor, resulting in excellent client satisfaction."

However, placing this valuable award winning public asset in the control of Tameside council, knowing the total mess they make of everything, is like giving a brand new Rolls Royce to a Stock Car driver and asking him not to scratch it and therefore if we, the taxpayers are to enjoy the full benefit of this major investment, the facility needs to be run by experienced hospitality retailers and marketed with expert guidance.

Nevertheless, despite my pessimism, last weekend, sun shining and with the grandchildren in tow, we set off to spend a fun day in Stamford Park.

It was evident that others too, had thrown caution to the wind and indeed the park was crowded with lots of families all set to enjoy their day.

Now some time ago, having dispensed with the services of the once loved and well respected ‘park-keepers’ who looked after our public parks and maintained its buildings, some bean-counter in the Town Hall decided it better to hand over the vast majority of council property to be run by private ‘contract management’ companies; a decision that is proving to be such an expensive shambles, it couldn’t be made worse if the councillors concerned had all washed their Gremlin’s after midnight!

Award winning pavilion closed due to H & S issue!

So, there we were, after spending an hour or so playing footie, found ourselves parched and ready for a cuppa and cold drinks, so off we went to refresh ourselves at the ‘award-winning architectural marvel, the park’s grand Highfield pavilion’ However, on pushing through a grumbling crowd, we found that ‘due to an apparent accident with the doors at the pavilion entrance, the cafe had been closed by the ‘management’ for ‘Health and Safety’ reasons

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So, here we have a busy park, packed with hundreds of thirsty visitors on a nice warm sunny day, now leaving this flag-ship recreational facility in droves all because it has closed its refreshment and toilet facilities,  although, to be fair, there was a notice saying ‘the toilets on Darnton Road were in use, but apparently for ‘ladies’ only!

If this had happened at say, Alton Towers or some other such popular family venue, do you think they would have closed the facility? No! They would have had someone there to fix the problem,' toute suite' and devise a solution to keep the facility open whilst it was being done.

This was another missed marketing opportunity proving once again that political righteousness and commercial insanity doesn't just run through our council, it positively gallops!

It would be nice, if just for once, Tameside council ‘bosses’ could focus their collective brains to work against the nature of things, and at least try to present a temporary lack of chaos to visitors.