Rochdale's billion pound one-legged arse kicking contest?

Let's return to an ongoing theme for RAW:

Spin, Corruption, Cover-up, Mismanagement and Failed regeneration projects.

"Rochdale is booming" announce the faded signs next to many Rochdale "bombsites".

Failed regeneration, compulsary purchase, demolition and wildflower planting aplenty. Most of our town's promised "billion pound bonanza" remains with the Rochdale cowboys who "aspire" and "facilitate" the "exciting" future for our town. But as Nero seems to fiddle, Rochdale burns.

The Mafia of the Mediocre use our money to crow about their "dreams" and vain, 'white elephant' projects. Senior officers from Rochdale Council and its partner "agencies" such as the RDA, Impact Partnership and Link4Life hoover up obscene amounts of salary and pension provision as "savage cuts" are made elsewhere.

The public servant senior executive roll of dishonour is lengthy. It includes Messers Ellis, Hudson, Zuntz, Ewbank, McAteer and Lavery. These men have huge salaries and pension provision (well in excess of £100,000 per year EACH). Yet look around Rochdale and ask if YOU have received value for YOUR money.

About £2,000,000 a year is also spent on 'positive media messaging'. Other regimes would come clean and call it good old fashioned propaganda. We pay dearly for this drivel. First in the wallet and secondly as a result of deluded decision making by these senior unelected officers and the 'puppet' politicians that are appointed to their boards and willingly do their bidding.

An example of how this sorry scheme operates is the board of the Rochdale Development (sic) Agency. Leader of the Council Alan Taylor is a member. His business credentials are given as part of the RDA speel. But does this hirsuite retired "retail fruiterer" know one end of a banana from the other? He should know a lot about past town centre redevelopment disasters given he was Cyril Smith MP's agent during the "wonderland years". Alan was also around during the time of Cyril Smith's "plum squeezing" allegations.

Take the farcical Rochdale Town Centre redevelopment. £200 million, £250 million, £500 million are all figures that have been quoted for more retail and office space in an area with thousands of empty square footage and under-utilised space already. If the contractural fees for future decades of planned PFI "partner services", plus compounded interest charges are added, the final bill for a series of bland, identikit, tin and glass sheds, with a 30 year planned life, will pass the one billion pound mark. Of OUR money.

The latest (£20,000+) edition of Rochdale Council's glossy brochure "Local Matters" gushes about the frantic commercial competion to bid for the redevelopment of Rochdale Town Centre.



But does it appear the only thing Rochdale Council and the RDA have been economical with - is the truth?...

It has now transired that ONLY ONE developer has currently made the grade- "Genr8".

Rude local commentators are clear about this unhealthy lack of competition.

After years of fanfare and spin to have only ONE developer willing to gamble on Rochdale's regenaration has been likened to a one-legged arse kicking contest.

As for uniped-based punishment, there are too many highly paid 'executives' that need their arses kicking in our town!

Rochdale deserves much better than this.