So now, due to yet another hole in the ground that the Council is not competent to ensure is completed on time, Bradford loses out - to the direct benefit of Leeds - on a huge Curry competition Great. If there was one thing I'd have thought the Council couldn't possibly wreck, it would have been the ability to organise a curry festival in Bradford, the local gastronomic equivalent of a piśśup in a brewery. I gave them too much credit.


[url=http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/news/9244631.City_Park_delay_means_Bradford_can_t_host_Curry_Festival/?ref=mc Full T& A article[/url

It's almost beyond belief. Is there not at least 1 person there who knows what they are doing?
It appears not.

Well "they couldn't organise a curry night in Bradford" has a certain ring to it.

Got no idea where Victoria Gardens is? looked on the map and still no clearer

It's in front of the Art Gallery near the Cenotaph apparently.

It's only got about 4 trees so 'Garden' may be a slight over exaggeration.

Seriously, what's the solution? A directly elected mayor?

Turn the whole middle of the "city" into a city park, and start again a few miles away.

Seriously; how has Ian Greenwood managed to stay involved all this time?

I WAS being serious.

And probably knows where the bodies are buried.

Tragic. Seriously, no one wants him as a leader, yet he weasels his way back in time and time again. Not often I think John Prescott is onto something, but at least with a directly elected mayor we'd get that chance to kick him into touch.

We elect the council though, it doesn't make a bit of difference. Or is the incompetence filtered down from the top?
Cue the other thread....

It doesn't make sense to me. Ok so the park in Bradford isn't finished but why not host it somewhere else in Bradford? What they've done is shift it to a nearby city on a small scratty bit of land in front of the art gallery. You could find a similar patch of land anywhere in Bradford city centre. I really am mystified.

I feel like doing something pointless and unproductive like setting up a facebook group about how appalling Bradford council are. Ooh I could crush a grape.

When did anything involving Bradford Council ever make sense?

Bullseye had a right go at me a bit ago when I referred to Bradford as Britain's first failing city. We HAD a rival for that in Wolverhampton, yet they have managed to get themselves an Enterprise Zone. And, only today, I read that has led to a new JLR engine plan there. Have WE managed to get ourselves an Enterprise Zone? Have we bollox. But Leeds has.

Sorry, but QED?

Or when did the Bradford public ever make sense? Voting in a Tory-led council when Labour are in Government, and then a Labour one when a Tory-led government is in power - good thinking, Batman.

I am no defender of Greenwood & have stood against him in local elections several times. Blaming him & this current incompetent administration for the incompetencies of the last few is a tad unfair. The loss of the curry festival is fairly inexcusable given Stevie Wonder could see the site would not be ready in time & a contingency put in place. However, the non-completion of the site would appear to be down to the contractor, I'm pretty sure Greenwood & Co are not operating the diggers & laying paving slabs in an effort to finish a contract out in place by the last Council. What should be included within the contract between the contractor & Council is a damages clause for anticipated loss of profit for non-completion. That way at least the council should recoup some financial compensation. But I would suspect that standard clause was removed to make the scheme more attractive to tendering contractors. As it was with the Westfield fiasco.

If you don't like how local democracy works do something about it. Form a political group, get involved in an existing one, stand for election, offer an alternative. It's like wanting to sack the Bulls' board but offering no alternative. Though who would want to get involved in running this godforesaken city is beyond me.

This would be a good argument if theses people hadn't been around since God was a boy. Is this how they deflect blame. I'll blame you for the position we are in and screw it up and then we can all reverse roles at the next election.

I don't know if Greenwood has blamed the last lot, I certainly would. But everyone on here seems to be blaming Greenwood, when it is patently not his fault.

So the reason we couldn't have a contingency patch of land, say Exchange Square, or the new temporary Park In a Crater, is . . . ?

Doesn't every political party blame the last lot? They blame them for the first three years, then the opposition blame the party in power for the last year, then we have an election.

Re: Greenwood. Tbh that was a bit of a half-cut rant from
me and more to do with his decrying of the survey which showed, quite accurately, that Bradfordians in general think the city is going down the pan and they have no confidence in the council to do anything to arrest that slide.

I think the city is in need of leadership and an executive position we pick rather than the parties would be one way to make that role more directly accountable.

I'd be for offering a massive salary to attract some real talent to the job.

IMO few in their right mind would take on that poisoned chalice. Which means you'd more likely end up with a third-rater who talks the talk, but three years down the track you'll realise no way walks the walk and leaves the place in a worse mess than he found it.

If Bradford Council is awful, surely a highly competent person could make it less awful? Wouldn't be a silver bullet, but it would be better than the current system where people no one wants take the reins time after time.

Have elected mayorships got a track record of success in the UK? If so then why not? However I am suspicious they're just a gimmick, the last thing we need is a populist ego maniac who creates headlines and nothing else. I'm thinking of Doncaster as an example not to follow.

I actually think some headlines would be a start. People down here are appalled by the story of the Westfield crater, but they wouldn't know if I hadn't told them. I'd like to see a fresh face with some ideas on how we improve and no interest in covering up previous council blunders.

I'm all for it too, however I don't think the general population is, anything remotely political in this country ends up boiling down to the usual parties, and it's the mindset of those who bother to go out and vote too.

A few years ago I thought the way that Bradford was being run into the ground would inspire some kind of backlash at local level and some independents to stand up and try and get involved in local government but apathy is the only winner in this city.