Councillor Robert Rams announced today, via his little read blog, that the Councils plans to open a "landmark library" at the Arts Depot has collapsed. This library was part of the promise to the people of Friern Barnet when he announced his deeply unpopular plan to shut Friern Barnet library.
In Rams blog today, he shows his total incompetence. In his blog, he explains that the Arts Depot wanted too much rent for the space. Having run a business for 33 years, the one thing I know is that before you plan any business relocation, you check what the rent will be. For Rams to announce, a year after the plan was announced and six months after he shut Friern Library, that the rent was too high, exposes him as a plonker of the first order. His claim that the Arts depot "show little understanding of the financial pressures facing us as a council" reveals a level of commercial naivety beyond anything I've ever seen.
He also claims that members of the community want a landmark library in Friary House. They do not. The only people who do are Roberts imaginary friends who come out to play when he visits the fairies at the bottom of the garden. Rams has refused to meet with members of the various community groups, sending in hapless lackeys with no power to make decisions.
Rams also produces completely discredited figures about the running costs in his blog. The Save Friern Barnet group were able to show that these figures were completely false, based on five full time librarians at the site. As the library was only open for 33 hours a week, and no one had seen more than two, this was clearly a rather dodgy piece of accounting.
I wonder if Robert Rams colleagues read his blog. If they do, I am sure they will be appalled. I have berated the local Conservative councillors for their lack of understanding of the issues facing small business. Rams has demonstrated that they have absolutely no business acumen at all with his ridiculous statement
You can read the whole sorry tale on Rams blog.
http://robertrams.wordpress.com/2012/10/30/artsdepot-library/
Today marks a new low in the already sorry tale of this Conservative Council. Tonight the Conservative Group has a meeting to decide the fate of Brian Coleman. I'd suggest that whilst they are at it, they should sack Rams and replace him with someone who has a modicum of integrity, common sense and business acumen.
“To make any scheme work we would need a firm basis of trust and partnership. But the board have decided that key staff cannot either speak or meet with both councillors and officers. In these circumstances I just cannot see how the project can go forward." It's a bit like a certain councillor failing to show up at meetings about libraries.
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ReplyDeleteI just want to know about How to Plan for Permission of Street Lighting. The decision of whether or not street lighting gets added to a certain area is usually up to the city council.Thanks
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