East Ayrshire Forums

Sun Hypocrisy

admin — Sat, 04 Sep 2010 08:05:15 +0000

We are all well aware of the stance of the SUN Newspaper, Tory supporting and loves to have a go at anyone on a government benefit. Scroungers, parasites etc, they never let the facts get in the way of a good front page. Yet the other day I witnessed the sheer hypocrisy when they stated that the minimum price for alcohol as advocated by the SNP would hit the poorest in our society the hardest!!

Is this a change of heart by the SUN? They have no problem advocating cuts in benefits thus plunging more families into poverty, yet they have no problem seeing the same pour cheap booze down their neck. So what’s the answer SUN pray tell, or would that just get in the way of a good story.

On a Lighter Note

admin — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 22:45:24 +0000

Being a big Shadows Fan and to bring some entertainment to the site, I posted a few videos of my poor guitar playing to uTube, hope you enjoy.

What are EAC Priorities for cuts??

admin — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 23:10:39 +0000

This week has seen some emotive and frankly alarmist rubbish printed online and on News bulletins from COSLA, Glasgow City Council Leader, Gordon Matheson, who also wants to scrap the council tax freeze. What they all seem to have in common is the desire to do a bit of scaremongering. First was the moaning about health budgets getting extra cash to protect services, councils were unhappy they would have to shoulder more of the cuts as a result. Then Gordon Matheson says ”Options include boosting charges for care for the elderly, cancelling disabled play schemes and reducing the number of support teachers.” In East Ayrshire we are now seeing the start of savings by the back door targeting School Buses, changes to pickup points and today a report about looking at the distance a child lives from school to get free transport. Yes I know there was no consultation with parents, yes I know the change was notified during the holiday period but come on, this is an SNP administration renowned for riding roughshod over any consultation process. I am also not surprised that the two SNP and Labour councillors have failed to reply to emails sent regarding the Crookedholm fiasco.

Are we to believe that targeting the most vulnerable first are the main priorities for the council, are we being told by local authorities that their services are more important than the NHS, our hospitals and intensive care units. Where are the job loss figures, why is the knife not being wielded against middle management (no not redeployment) where are the redundancies, why are we not looking at closing down vanity projects, get rid of the Chip van, TIS, close Libraries and community centres, Warden Service, grants to community groups and tenants associations, scrap the preferred contractors lists and put every job out to tender, lowest price wins, the list of lower priority services is long and expensive. No one wants their community centre closed, but when the choice is between that and overcharging frail elderly residents or targeting schoolchildren I know where my vote goes, hard as it may be.

If things are so bad and I believe that they are much worse than we envisage at this time then there are hard decisions to be taken and priorities must be set early. What we don’t want is jobs for the boys being the main priority and our elderly, children and those most vulnerable facing increased charges to keep them in a cushy job.

Also get rid of the Chief Executive, an unelected post that makes you wonder why we pay over £100 grand for a council leader. Also dump the post of Housing manager, never understood why we have Area housing managers and a Head of Housing with this post stuck in the middle doing what exactly??

The Scheme

admin — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 16:57:25 +0000

Episode 3 of the above has been leaked to the internet and is available in 6 parts on Utube. A few new faces appear in this episode. Wonder how long, before the 4^th programme is available. As I froze the video during playback, to try and identify the location, it struck me just how much more noticeable the sad state of the area is when watching this on screen.

NHS Protected, Councils Moan

admin — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 09:23:39 +0000

JOHN Swinney is on a collision course with councils over his plans to protect the NHS from the swingeing cuts that will hit the public sector over the next few years. So how can councils save money? Easy, let’s go back to paying attendance expenses only for councillors. To pay over £15,000 a year for a part time job where most have kept their day job is an insult to those slogging their guts out for the NMW. Then let’s look at the inflated salary of Departmental heads, then at the over staffed workforce, (jobs for the boys). Then we can rest our attention on the corrupt preferred contractor’s lists.

An insult for ordinary people

admin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:37:39 +0000

A recent Freedom of Information request has shown East Ayrshire Council to be one of the biggest spender’s when it comes to running two official cars, both Volkswagen Phaetons, at a cost to the taxpayer of £17,791.97. I may be … Continue reading →

More Housing for Newlands Drive.

admin — Tue, 13 Jul 2010 08:56:24 +0000

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 East Ayrshire Council has been given the green light by the Scottish Government to build six new council houses at Newlands Drive, Kilmarnock and four new council houses at Rosebank, Kilmarnock. These are in addition to … Continue reading →

New garden for Onthank Nursery

admin — Mon, 05 Jul 2010 15:47:22 +0000

ONTHANK Nursery is now home to a magical new garden thanks to a £10,000 grant and a generous sprinkling of community spirit. Youngsters at the nursery are delighted with the impressive creation, which includes flowers, sandpits, willow dens, a playhouse and the pupils’ very own art work.

Have you not seen the new garden yet? Pop over and have a look, it’s a fantastic place for the kids, well done to all concerned, it really is first class.

Newlands Drive Plan

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:41:44 +0000

I have uploaded the plan for the Newlands Drive housing development. It also shows the Phase 3 site marked by a Blue border, please note that at this time no funding has been secured for this though the council have submitted an application to the Scottish Government. Building works are due to start by October 2010; however the outcome of the phase 3 bid will not be known until around mid July 2010. It looks like in total 26 homes will be built on the site (subject to a successful phase 3 bid) otherwise 16 have already been approved, subject to planning permission. I am wondering if time constraints allow scope for the outcome of the phase 3 bid to be known prior to the planning meeting or, will there be two planning applications? I am also concerned that no Environmental or transport impact statement has been sought in respect of this development. NO doubt EAC will argue that the development by its size does not require these, however the adjacent recreational ground does increase traffic within the area therefore road safety issues for the tenants children are in my view a material concern.

Link to view plan

Salmond in Kilmarnock

admin — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 23:35:40 +0000

First Minister Alex Salmond announced that his Cabinet would hold four meetings outside the usual venue of Edinburgh during the summer months. Ministers will spend two days on each tour stop, with events including an official meeting of the Cabinet, a public question and answer session and a reception to promote Scotland’s 2010 year of food and drink.

The date for the Kilmarnock venue is September 6th and 7th I look forward to the public session.