Dear Members,
Peter Lee FRICS (Local Surveyor), kindly sent me a copy of the letter below that he wrote to the WH Times, and sent a copy to Mr Verwer at Govia Thameslink. Who are owned by the Go–Ahead Group plc who started life as Go–Ahead Northern Limited in February 1987 on the privatisation of the National Bus Company.
Bottom line is that they have significantly cut the services from Welwyn and Hatfield to Kings Cross.
As a regular traveller on the line, I can tell you that their New German Trains (Why?) keep breaking down, and the staff tell jokes about it. The other day, I just missed a train, the next one was cancelled because another new train broke down, and I had a two hour wait. We talk about bad productivity in the UK. I can tell you why.
Anyway on a more serious note, Welwyn Garden City’s’ economy, is very much dependent upon it’s commuters, who rely on the trains and are the high net worth spenders in our community. At a time when we are probably losing Debenhams, now might be a good time to stop the rot. This in turn raises the question
WHO is responsible in the Public Sector for making the case for Welwyn and Hatfield?
There are a lot of people getting paid to do it, (I won’t list them here) but outside of the local plan, which is all about where are we going to have houses and more overseas people forced upon us, I have struggled to find anyone with a vision of a better future.
Trevor Saunders had a vision, and so the Council sacked him. Look at Hatfield – Where is the Vision there?
Given that WGC is a Garden City, and that Hatfield in the days of Hatfield Poly was actually a tourist destination, the people in charge have not only failed to deliver a vision, but actually the situation has got very much worse.
So I would like to ask the questions
- Who is responsible?
- What is their vision?
- Not in the Local Plan, but on one page of A4. We will deliver the following for the community in this timescale.
- How much do they cost us every year?
- Any how they will justify their salaries, both histroically and in the future?
These are not unreasonable questions. They are the simply the real world. People get paid for solving problems.
When you start paying people for not solving problems, you get trouble.
See our National Debt.
If we repay this debt at the same rate we repaid the Americans for their help in the Second World War, it will take our children 2000 years to repay it. The people who get paid for not solving problems have incurred this debt in the last 30 years.
It simply is not sustainable.
I am on my hobby horse about this because I am writing a book on the subject called “The Crime of the Century”.
The book basically asks and answers the questions above. it is a work in progress.
The train issues are just another subset of this.
PS Well done to Grant Shapps and the community team for saving Gosling Stadium. Which the council would have just let go.
Nick
Peter’s Article Below
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