AUDI ALTERAM PARTEM  

The eagerly-awaited October edition of ‘Partnerships West’ tells us that CWAC will shortly undertake a major consultation exercise on a ‘Sustainable Community Strategy, Local Development Framework Core Strategy’ and the ‘Local Transport Plan’.  That’s after they’ve consulted on sustainable communities, sustainable transport and anything else that’s remotely ‘sustainable’, not to mention the business about ‘LDF Core Strategy Topic Papers’ (which presumably just established a sustainable view of what to incorporate into the even more sustainable vision which is to come).  For clarification, ‘sustainability’ in CWAC parlance is supposed to mean something along the lines of ‘meeting the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations to meet their own needs’.  So, taxes are obviously sustainable because they meet (or used to meet) the financial needs of present tiers of government and don’t compromise the needs of future generations to meet their own needs unless they get hammered by Inheritance Tax.  Obviously that provides all the necessary dosh to hallucinate about sustainability whilst emitting endless CO₂ travelling to meetings. 

 And, at the risk of being repetitious, talk is all it’s about.  Amongst other things, they’re:  

·                    ‘focussing on priorities for action’,

·                    considering ‘proposals for the structure of the Partnership’, and ‘long-term information and intelligence needs and how those needs might be most effectively, efficiently and economically met through closer Partnership co-ordination and collaboration’,

·                    examining ‘evidence surrounding the economy and sharing a draft recession action plan’,

·                    agreeing to establish a ‘multi-agency Practitioners Group’ to ‘take forward’ a ‘localised Community Survey .... to supplement the bi-annual national Place Survey’,

·                    developing ‘mechanisms to co-ordinate work’,

·                    discussing the ‘impact of illicit tobacco’ and recognizing that ‘alcohol-related harm affects a wide cross section of the community’,

·                    setting out ‘a framework for better working relationships through shared principles, undertakings and actions’ and

·                    identifying ‘short, medium and long-term projects .... which will demonstrate added value and promote innovation in Partnership working’.  

When are they going to work out that we just want our roads, drains, dustbin service and Police Force  repaired and maintained in a sustained attempt to prevent long-term build-up of effluent on the streets and meet the needs of both present and future generations?  No chance, that means listening to the other side.   

Theoghinus Nuttors, 27 October 2009.