For many years I have complained about the local council, and the corruption that is apparent for all to see. Well the past few weeks another example of how little they are prepared to help their residents has been highlighted. Before I go any further, I ought to point out some previous mistakes they have made to force me to come to this decision.
Brecknockshire Borough Council is based in Brecon, and it is a third of the larger picture that is Powys County Council. The council has proved time and again that they are happy to take money, but not to spend it where it isn’t deemed necessary. Such luxuries like housing benefit, transportation, and fire services. They make a large amount of money by denying most people wishing to build in the area on the basis "It’s a national park," but grease the right palms, and an extension to a porch can become a new 4 bedroom house. They are not proud of the fact that they would be the most expensive council tax in the UK, so they actually change the banding of the properties. My old house was a very small 2 bedroom bungalow, probably worthy of a band B or maybe C (source: Valuation Office Agency) classification. But in their infinite wisdom I was categorised as Band G meaning my annual bill for living in the county was £1400+.
Two Years ago, they moved the goal posts again. They decided they didn’t want to utilise the main fire station for the valley unless they could help it. They’d take the money, but just not use it. How did they do this? They closed the nearest fire stations at night, meaning that the nearest open fire station was in another county. Who foots the bill? Our neighbours.Well what’s upset me this time? The truth of the matter is it seems unimportant. About 8 weeks ago they made a big thing about the fact that tax payer’s money was being put to good use, and they were going to resurface the main road past our local town. This road is notorious for big trucks carrying coal and other heavy industries up and down it, so the road was in a very poor state of disrepair. The speed limit is only a maximum of 50, with a lot of places being restricted to 40. So 6 weeks ago in come the heavy plant (where’s a triffid when you want one?) and tear up the road surface. The signs showed that the work would be carried out for about a week, so the inconvenience wasn’t too bad. They stripped about 4 miles of main road back to the hard core surface, and then started to lay nice smooth tarmac across the top. Somewhere down the line, some bright spark has pointed out that this isn’t in their favourite place (Brecon) and so they withdraw ALL of the contractors. What is left is a nice new stretch of road for about 3 miles, and an additional mile of rough surface with loose stones, bricks, holes and skeletons of dead councillors. The fact of the matter is that if someone has an accident and sues the council, it will just stay like it for longer. If they’d decided they didn’t want to resurface it we would have understood. At least the old potholed road was drivable.
This wouldn’t happen in the tourist haven that is Brecon.
