Hello and a very Happy New Year to you all!
I hope everyone had a safe and peaceful Xmas and New Year albeit perhaps a little quieter than previous years.
The fickle hand of fate stepped in to help us with this ongoing saga over the holiday season, and you will see attached what the Lashbrook was doing just after Christmas on 28 December, when a torrent of water was gushing along this tiny drainage ditch. Photos and also this video footage have been sent to SODC with a request that they be added to the file of objections made against this crazy proposal from Taylor Wimpey of what to do with the large volumes of water that they will end up with on their site once it has been made impervious. Simple common sense (which appears to be quite lacking here) would say its nuts to even think about doing this. It is quite clear that they and their engineers don't really have a proper understanding of Lashbrook and what happens to it with alarming regularity. Anyone who has spent any time at all in the area realises that this is just a drainage ditch and no more, and that pumping large volumes of water into it from a mile away is simply going to make the problem much worse.
Just before Christmas, SODC responded to our complaint. And would you believe it......despite all of our communications with them, they still went ahead and got a senior officer who was personally involved in the case already to 'investigate' our complaint. You can almost visualize it.......looking in the mirror as she asks herself the question....now what do I think about how I have handled this matter......the frightening thought is that she might even have got a response back!!!!
I am not one to knock our Local Government system usually as they do a difficult job and have to put up with abuse and tantrums that most of us would not wish on our worst enemies, but I have to say, this one takes the biscuit! If ever there was going to be a good reason to complain about the workings of Local Government, then a decision that someone should investigate their own handling of a particular matter even if others were also involved......well you have to laugh!
So we have moved on to SODC's phase 2 complaints procedure..........this is due to happen and be handled by the Head of Service for the service that is being complained of, and within 15 days of escalation. In reality that is the person who should have been the phase 1 investigator so that phase 2 could have been handled more objectively by someone senior from a different department eg. the CEO or their Head of Legal Services, but unfortunately SODC don't quite seem to understand that a degree of detachment is needed with complex complaints such as this.
Anyway, I have little doubt that we will either get the obligatory closing of ranks or worse still the 'lessons will be learned' response......and then the complaint will have to be taken up with the Ombudsman. We'll give the CEO of SODC one final chance to put his own house in order before going off to the ombudsman, but to be honest with the quality of decision making we have seen so far, I am not going to hold my breath.......as I might very well end up going very blue in the face!
Once we have the next thrilling instalment of this saga I will circulate another update, but this web site has probably served its purpose as far as this matter is concerned and gathered the support of over 1,100 of you, which has given TFAG the ability and also platform to say that there is huge opposition to these proposals and so do please sit up and take notice to the various statutory bodies involved.
So thank you one and all for your ongoing support and watch out for updates on the Shiplake Villages Website click here, where most of our update posts will come from going forwards.
Peter Boros
Thames Farm Action Group