.... and in particular sponsored the Ely Bypass (by getting an
under-quote approved, and then paying the overspend) so the level
crossing could be closed, and forced through re-building Soham Station.

And of course the pipe-dream Cambridge Metro.

On local Facegroup Group, an open letter from Leader of ECDC Council
(previous leader resigned from ECDC council when he won the original
Mayoral election, but then lost the 2021 election).

"As a member of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA)
the events following the May 2021 mayoral election have really shocked
me.

Mayor Nik Johnson breached the authority's Code of Conduct on two
counts: civility and bringing the office of mayor into disrepute. The
findings come after multiple conduct complaints were made.

In my opinion, the sanctions available to the hearings panel and imposed
by them fall woefully short of recognising the seriousness of the
underlying issues which led to total chaos and dysfunctionality at the
authority.

Many of the issues revolved around the mayor's relationship with a now
ex-employee who was said to be involved in bullying and toxic behaviour.

[Is that the ex-employee who was toxic, because that's what it
apparently says -ed]

There is not one single member of senior staff...

[Including the still CEO of ECDC, who was seconded part time under the
pre-2021 Mayor -ed]

....or any staff that had regular exposure to the mayor or the office of
the mayor, that was in post two years ago left working in the
organisation.

The authority has been through six chief executives in less than a
two-year period under Nik Johnson.

[He's a Labour candidate, on leave from his day-job as a hospital
consultant -ed]

The costs arising from the conduct of the mayor and his office total
just under £1.1m"

[6x Recruitment costs and redundancy payments? -ed]

Full disclosure: I was one of the tellers at the 2021 count, during
which Rupert of this parish failed in his bid to be PCC. I think he'd
have done a better job than the ex-cop sock-puppet who was elected. But
none of this affected my ability to be an impartial counter of voting
papers.

Until recently, the mayoral office has been co-located on the ECDC
campus in Ely, rejecting the public-transport-challenged new Cambs
County Council site in Bumblefuck, Alcolnbury). The former Mayor
lives in Soham.
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
> ... and in particular sponsored the Ely Bypass (by getting an
> under-quote approved, and then paying the overspend) so the level
> crossing could be closed, and forced through re-building Soham Station.
>
> And of course the pipe-dream Cambridge Metro.
>
> On local Facegroup Group, an open letter from Leader of ECDC Council
> (previous leader resigned from ECDC council when he won the original
> Mayoral election, but then lost the 2021 election).
>
> "As a member of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA)
> the events following the May 2021 mayoral election have really shocked
> me.
>
> Mayor Nik Johnson breached the authority's Code of Conduct on two
> counts: civility and bringing the office of mayor into disrepute. The
> findings come after multiple conduct complaints were made.
>
> In my opinion, the sanctions available to the hearings panel and imposed
> by them fall woefully short of recognising the seriousness of the
> underlying issues which led to total chaos and dysfunctionality at the
> authority.
>
> Many of the issues revolved around the mayor's relationship with a now
> ex-employee who was said to be involved in bullying and toxic behaviour.
>
> [Is that the ex-employee who was toxic, because that's what it
> apparently says -ed]
>
> There is not one single member of senior staff...
>
> [Including the still CEO of ECDC, who was seconded part time under the
> pre-2021 Mayor -ed]
>
> ...or any staff that had regular exposure to the mayor or the office of
> the mayor, that was in post two years ago left working in the
> organisation.
>
> The authority has been through six chief executives in less than a
> two-year period under Nik Johnson.
>
> [He's a Labour candidate, on leave from his day-job as a hospital
> consultant -ed]
>
> The costs arising from the conduct of the mayor and his office total
> just under £1.1m"
>
> [6x Recruitment costs and redundancy payments? -ed]
>
> Full disclosure: I was one of the tellers at the 2021 count, during
> which Rupert of this parish failed in his bid to be PCC. I think he'd
> have done a better job than the ex-cop sock-puppet who was elected. But
> none of this affected my ability to be an impartial counter of voting
> papers.
>
> Until recently, the mayoral office has been co-located on the ECDC
> campus in Ely, rejecting the public-transport-challenged new Cambs
> County Council site in Bumblefuck, Alcolnbury). The former Mayor
> lives in Soham.

And your point is?

In message <ulk4fe$2dcdl$1@dont-email.me>, at 12:16:46 on Sat, 16 Dec
2023, Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> remarked:
>Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
>> ... and in particular sponsored the Ely Bypass (by getting an
>> under-quote approved, and then paying the overspend) so the level
>> crossing could be closed, and forced through re-building Soham Station.
>>
>> And of course the pipe-dream Cambridge Metro.
>>
>> On local Facegroup Group, an open letter from Leader of ECDC Council
>> (previous leader resigned from ECDC council when he won the original
>> Mayoral election, but then lost the 2021 election).
>>
>> "As a member of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA)
>> the events following the May 2021 mayoral election have really shocked
>> me.
>>
>> Mayor Nik Johnson breached the authority's Code of Conduct on two
>> counts: civility and bringing the office of mayor into disrepute. The
>> findings come after multiple conduct complaints were made.
>>
>> In my opinion, the sanctions available to the hearings panel and imposed
>> by them fall woefully short of recognising the seriousness of the
>> underlying issues which led to total chaos and dysfunctionality at the
>> authority.
>>
>> Many of the issues revolved around the mayor's relationship with a now
>> ex-employee who was said to be involved in bullying and toxic behaviour.
>>
>> [Is that the ex-employee who was toxic, because that's what it
>> apparently says -ed]
>>
>> There is not one single member of senior staff...
>>
>> [Including the still CEO of ECDC, who was seconded part time under the
>> pre-2021 Mayor -ed]
>>
>> ...or any staff that had regular exposure to the mayor or the office of
>> the mayor, that was in post two years ago left working in the
>> organisation.
>>
>> The authority has been through six chief executives in less than a
>> two-year period under Nik Johnson.
>>
>> [He's a Labour candidate, on leave from his day-job as a hospital
>> consultant -ed]
>>
>> The costs arising from the conduct of the mayor and his office total
>> just under £1.1m"
>>
>> [6x Recruitment costs and redundancy payments? -ed]
>>
>> Full disclosure: I was one of the tellers at the 2021 count, during
>> which Rupert of this parish failed in his bid to be PCC. I think he'd
>> have done a better job than the ex-cop sock-puppet who was elected. But
>> none of this affected my ability to be an impartial counter of voting
>> papers.
>>
>> Until recently, the mayoral office has been co-located on the ECDC
>> campus in Ely, rejecting the public-transport-challenged new Cambs
>> County Council site in Bumblefuck, Alcolnbury). The former Mayor
>> lives in Soham.
>
>And your point is?

With this shit-show up and running, what realistic proposition is
there for any sensible, deliverable, decisions to be made about local
transport policy?
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
> In message <ulk4fe$2dcdl$1@dont-email.me>, at 12:16:46 on Sat, 16 Dec
> 2023, Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> remarked:
>> Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
>>> ... and in particular sponsored the Ely Bypass (by getting an
>>> under-quote approved, and then paying the overspend) so the level
>>> crossing could be closed, and forced through re-building Soham Station.
>>>
>>> And of course the pipe-dream Cambridge Metro.
>>>
>>> On local Facegroup Group, an open letter from Leader of ECDC Council
>>> (previous leader resigned from ECDC council when he won the original
>>> Mayoral election, but then lost the 2021 election).
>>>
>>> "As a member of Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA)
>>> the events following the May 2021 mayoral election have really shocked
>>> me.
>>>
>>> Mayor Nik Johnson breached the authority's Code of Conduct on two
>>> counts: civility and bringing the office of mayor into disrepute. The
>>> findings come after multiple conduct complaints were made.
>>>
>>> In my opinion, the sanctions available to the hearings panel and imposed
>>> by them fall woefully short of recognising the seriousness of the
>>> underlying issues which led to total chaos and dysfunctionality at the
>>> authority.
>>>
>>> Many of the issues revolved around the mayor's relationship with a now
>>> ex-employee who was said to be involved in bullying and toxic behaviour.
>>>
>>> [Is that the ex-employee who was toxic, because that's what it
>>> apparently says -ed]
>>>
>>> There is not one single member of senior staff...
>>>
>>> [Including the still CEO of ECDC, who was seconded part time under the
>>> pre-2021 Mayor -ed]
>>>
>>> ...or any staff that had regular exposure to the mayor or the office of
>>> the mayor, that was in post two years ago left working in the
>>> organisation.
>>>
>>> The authority has been through six chief executives in less than a
>>> two-year period under Nik Johnson.
>>>
>>> [He's a Labour candidate, on leave from his day-job as a hospital
>>> consultant -ed]
>>>
>>> The costs arising from the conduct of the mayor and his office total
>>> just under £1.1m"
>>>
>>> [6x Recruitment costs and redundancy payments? -ed]
>>>
>>> Full disclosure: I was one of the tellers at the 2021 count, during
>>> which Rupert of this parish failed in his bid to be PCC. I think he'd
>>> have done a better job than the ex-cop sock-puppet who was elected. But
>>> none of this affected my ability to be an impartial counter of voting
>>> papers.
>>>
>>> Until recently, the mayoral office has been co-located on the ECDC
>>> campus in Ely, rejecting the public-transport-challenged new Cambs
>>> County Council site in Bumblefuck, Alcolnbury). The former Mayor
>>> lives in Soham.
>>
>> And your point is?
>
> With this shit-show up and running, what realistic proposition is
> there for any sensible, deliverable, decisions to be made about local
> transport policy?

It’s a malaise repeated up and down the land in all forms of civil
administration. Has it got worse or has it ever been thus?

Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
> Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
> > With this shit-show up and running, what realistic proposition is
> > there for any sensible, deliverable, decisions to be made about local
> > transport policy?

The new Mayor cancelled the old Mayor's pet 'autonomous' 'metro' in favour
of buses. So that's something. The new bus plan for Cambridge looks quite
good; since the locals were not keen on congestion charging I'm not clear
how the funding position now stands.

From afar, the development of greenways (cycle routes to villages)
seems to be proceeding well.

Cambridge South is being built.

The Coton busway is nuts.
(I would give it slightly more leeway though if it was intended to be light
rail in future, when the alignment would make more sense)

Some of these may be GCP things rather than CPCA things, I haven't been
following.

I can't comment on things in Ely or Peterborough as I don't have any local
knowledge there.

> It’s a malaise repeated up and down the land in all forms of civil
> administration. Has it got worse or has it ever been thus?

It should be pointed out that the Leader of ECDC is a Conservative, and the
Mayor is Labour. While it sounds like there are some genuine issues there,
it is possible some of it is political too.

Theo

In message <XQE*IP3xz@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>, at 18:16:41 on Sat,
16 Dec 2023, Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> remarked:
>Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:

>> > With this shit-show up and running, what realistic proposition is
>> > there for any sensible, deliverable, decisions to be made about local
>> > transport policy?
>
>The new Mayor cancelled the old Mayor's pet 'autonomous' 'metro' in favour
>of buses. So that's something.

I don't think the new mayor has done anything but get blackmailed into
bailing out some bus routes that Stagecoach didn't want to run any more.

There's nothing as ambitious as replacing the metro (ill-conceived as it
might have been) with extra buses.

>The new bus plan for Cambridge looks quite good;

Which plan is that?

>since the locals were not keen on congestion charging I'm not clear
>how the funding position now stands.

The main pushback for congestion charging was people living outside the
City, who didn't want to have to pay to visit the hospital etc.

>From afar, the development of greenways (cycle routes to villages)
>seems to be proceeding well.

Which greenways are those?

>Cambridge South is being built.

But no visibility of the stopping pattern for trains. I am not yet
convinced that it can also be a way to get day-visitors to the hospital,
as well as being a railhead for London.

>The Coton busway is nuts.

Is this something to improve the catastrophically bad public transport
in that sector of the necklace?

>(I would give it slightly more leeway though if it was intended to be light
>rail in future, when the alignment would make more sense)
>
>Some of these may be GCP things rather than CPCA things, I haven't been
>following.
>
>I can't comment on things in Ely or Peterborough as I don't have any local
>knowledge there.

We are awaiting the Ely North junction upgrade, which last time I looked
was on the short-list for projects to benefit from HS2 cancelled
funding.

>> It’s a malaise repeated up and down the land in all forms of civil
>> administration. Has it got worse or has it ever been thus?
>
>It should be pointed out that the Leader of ECDC is a Conservative, and the
>Mayor is Labour. While it sounds like there are some genuine issues there,
>it is possible some of it is political too.

The conservative ECDC is violently opposed to the Labour-inspired City
congestion charge. But the county as a whole is conservative.
--
Roland Perry

Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
> In message <XQE*IP3xz@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>, at 18:16:41 on Sat,
> 16 Dec 2023, Theo <theom+news@chiark.greenend.org.uk> remarked:
> >Tweed <usenet.tweed@gmail.com> wrote:
> >> Roland Perry <roland@perry.uk> wrote:
>
> >> > With this shit-show up and running, what realistic proposition is
> >> > there for any sensible, deliverable, decisions to be made about local
> >> > transport policy?
> >
> >The new Mayor cancelled the old Mayor's pet 'autonomous' 'metro' in favour
> >of buses. So that's something.
>
> I don't think the new mayor has done anything but get blackmailed into
> bailing out some bus routes that Stagecoach didn't want to run any more.
>
> There's nothing as ambitious as replacing the metro (ill-conceived as it
> might have been) with extra buses.

https://cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk/bus-strategy/
notably bus franchising.

https://cambridgeshirepeterborough-ca.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/documents/transport/buses/Bus-Reform-Mayoral-Task-Force/CPCA-BSIP-Final-291021.pdf

> >The new bus plan for Cambridge looks quite good;
>
> Which plan is that?

https://www.greatercambridge.org.uk/sustainable-transport-programme/city-access-programme/making-connections/making-connections-2022

> >since the locals were not keen on congestion charging I'm not clear
> >how the funding position now stands.
>
> The main pushback for congestion charging was people living outside the
> City, who didn't want to have to pay to visit the hospital etc.

Yes, I think the hospital should have been exempted, or rebated in some way.

> >From afar, the development of greenways (cycle routes to villages)
> >seems to be proceeding well.
>
> Which greenways are those?

https://www.greatercambridge.org.uk/sustainable-transport-programme/active-travel-projects/greater-cambridge-greenways

> >Cambridge South is being built.
>
> But no visibility of the stopping pattern for trains. I am not yet
> convinced that it can also be a way to get day-visitors to the hospital,
> as well as being a railhead for London.

The Mayor doesn't set the timetable, that's up to the rail industry. We
know how disfunctional that is...

> >The Coton busway is nuts.
>
> Is this something to improve the catastrophically bad public transport
> in that sector of the necklace?

Allegedly.
https://www.greatercambridge.org.uk/sustainable-transport-programme/public-transport-schemes/cambourne-to-cambridge

(a better link from Cambourne is a good idea, ploughing through Coton not so
much. Just widen the road instead)

> >(I would give it slightly more leeway though if it was intended to be light
> >rail in future, when the alignment would make more sense)
> >
> >Some of these may be GCP things rather than CPCA things, I haven't been
> >following.
> >
> >I can't comment on things in Ely or Peterborough as I don't have any local
> >knowledge there.
>
> We are awaiting the Ely North junction upgrade, which last time I looked
> was on the short-list for projects to benefit from HS2 cancelled
> funding.

That's the plan drawn up on the Party Conference bog roll? Sounds like it's
out of the hands of the CPCA.

> >> It’s a malaise repeated up and down the land in all forms of civil
> >> administration. Has it got worse or has it ever been thus?
> >
> >It should be pointed out that the Leader of ECDC is a Conservative, and the
> >Mayor is Labour. While it sounds like there are some genuine issues there,
> >it is possible some of it is political too.
>
> The conservative ECDC is violently opposed to the Labour-inspired City
> congestion charge. But the county as a whole is conservative.

The county might be conservative, but it hasn't been Conservative since
2021.

Theo

On 16 Dec 2023 11:32, Roland Perry wrote:
[snip]

>
> Full disclosure: I was one of the tellers at the 2021 count, during
> which Rupert of this parish failed in his bid to be PCC. I think he'd
> have done a better job than the ex-cop sock-puppet who was elected. But
> none of this affected my ability to be an impartial counter of voting
> papers.
>

*blush*