The bourough seems to be healthy, the people awake and thinking, it's the council and the business enterprise that are rotten, making deals with huge corporations, selling off land and property to the highest bidder, without the slightest idea of what culture, community and health mean, in 2009. Dudley is a beautiful bourough, the people from Dudley are down to earth folk, mostly working class folk governed and bullied by a conservative, old World War II government, still today, we are governed by dinosaurs. Out of touch with the revolution, connectivity, change and scientific research opposed to faith-based thinking and faith-based policy.
"Dudley is slammed as a 'rotten borough'
12:00pm Wednesday 9th September 2009
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A FURIOUS baths campaigner slammed Dudley as a ‘rotten borough’ with a Scrooge council - fast on its way to becoming the most unpopular in history at meeting this week.
Angry Brian Guest, who has campaigned passionately to try and save Coseley Baths from the axe, unleashed a no holds-barred attack on Dudley Council when he got his chance to speak at Monday’s meeting of the select commitee on regeneration, culture and adult education.
Referring to a letter about the Conservative controlled council’s handling of the baths saga which features in the current edition of Private Eye magazine - he said: “Dudley is now classed nationally as a ‘rotten borough’.
“It shows this council is the most unpopular in Dudley’s history.”
He also hit out at the council for having the “audacity” to approve a 25 per cent pay rise for councillors shortly after offering “Dickensian” late night and early morning swimming times to young members of Brierley Hill Swimming Club - which has since been forced to close; and for hiking the prices of meals on wheels for the elderly by more than 50 per cent last year.
He continued: “I think everyone in Dudley would be ashamed if this is the best this administration can do.
“Everybody in Dudley is angry with this council, which is now known nationally as a council with no heart.
“This is a Scrooge council - but when the ghosts of Christmas past, present and future appeared to Scrooge he did put things right - proving he had a heart. But we know this council does not have a heart.”
Leader of Dudley Council - Councillor Anne Millward - said afterwards: “If we’re so rotten - why are we a four star authority?
“We have got to do things we don’t really want to do because the of recession and financial situation we find ourselves in.”
What do you think? Is Dudley a rotten borough? - http://www.stourbridgenews.co.uk/news/4588476.Dudley_is_slammed_as_a__rotten_borough_/
"£300,000 losses at baths says leader
A Black Country baths was losing more than £300,000 a year before closing last month, it was revealed today.
Dudley Council leader Councillor Anne Millward said it was costing them hundreds of thousands of pounds to keep the pool open.
She said the council was snubbed by private leisure centre owners who said the Pear Tree Lane pool was “unviable”. The baths closed at the end of August. The council says the baths need £1 million of urgent repairs to make the roof safe and a further £1m of works to bring the building up to scratch.
Councillor Millward today said the council did not have the resources to keep the baths open – but reiterated that bids from any interested parties would be considered.
“If there is someone who has got the millions to bring it up to scratch and can then take a hit of more than £300,000 a year running the baths, I have said it before – we will speak to them,” she said. “But Coseley was making losses of a third of a million each year.
“We have spoken to private providers, we did that before the decision was taken to close the pool. They just did not see Coseley as a viable enterprise.”
Save Coseley Baths campaign spokesman Brian Guest said that it came as “no surprise” the baths were making a loss because the council had not shown the necessary commitment to the pool.
“I’m not surprised it was making that sort of loss because they reduced the staff and reduced the hours to such an extent it was not going to make money,” he said.
“Everyone knows swimming pools don’t make a profit and have to be subsidised but it is a service which should be kept for the community.”
Campaign leaders are taking legal advice about the possibility of mounting a courtroom bid to prevent demolition. Mr Guest is due to hear from barristers in London early next week. - http://www.expressandstar.com/2009/09/12/300000-losses-at-baths-says-leader/
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