Email to Update Ben Bradshaw MP
It is good that Exeter City Council seem to have some respect for the Freedom of Information Act. The latest batch of released documents have been very helpful in highlighting some of the manoeuvrings behind the scenes, which show just how much the Club has been kept in the dark. The City Council has much to answer for.
What is not so good is that Councillors and Officers think that they can say and do whatever they like, however wrong or duplicitous, and evade accounting for words and actions.
Jim has been keeping Exeter’s Member of Parliament, Ben Bradshaw, informed of developments, and has appreciated his concern and kind offices. The following email was sent 2nd February 2008, raising an important new point or two, and emphasising some older considerations with clarity.
Dear Ben,
Exeter City Council Perversity
towards Summerway Junior LTC and its Officers
Thank you for your letter dated 22nd January 2008, and your suggestion for a possible
way forward for the Club. It is hard to see this working, given the City Council’s
stated unwillingness “to enter into any long term formal agreement involving Jim”
and their refusal even to deal with me. (This harsh and arbitrary attitude is entirely
one-
The difficulty to which you refer in your second paragraph highlights what seems to be ECC’s modus operandi, which is to do its own thing, destroying anything which gets in its way. By opening up the vandal route, protection of the courts becomes difficult. By blocking vehicular access to the courts exercised for decades, we are forcibly deprived. By unilaterally demolishing the Clubhouse, altogether a sleazy affair, the Club has nothing for which to negotiate. And so it goes on. To me, this is bullying behaviour, pure and simple, and is inexcusable, especially when used as a weapon to terminate ongoing negotiations.
Does ECC provide premises for Tennis in other parts of the City? If it provides the sort of affordable tennis anywhere in Exeter, such as was provided by the Summerway JLTC before the expiry of its lease, it is news to me and I would like to be given details.
Ben, this has become much more than just the survival of Summerway Tennis. While it may seem a relatively minor matter in comparison with some of the terrible things happening around us, this whole affair is really major. Within it can be seen many of the fundamental problems facing society, and principles which shed light on the rift between the electorate and those in government. Proper scrutiny of this whole matter in its fullest context will not only enlighten, but will yield pointers to essential solutions.
The City Council has disenfranchised me, seemingly for exercising freedom of speech and asking unwelcome questions, and has given no satisfactory explanation for this blatant denial of my democratic rights. I have been considerate throughout, endeavoured to be polite, have not felt nor exhibited any personal animosity towards anyone, and bear no malice.
Documents released recently by ECC under the Freedom of Information Act have thrown some light on the Council’s strange attitude towards me. It seems that Councillors and Officers are responding to the wishes of the Leader of the Council, Cllr Pete Edwards. Whether the initial decision to ostracise me was his I cannot say, but there is clear evidence that Cllr Edwards is the driving force behind ECC’s failure to respond to me.
The Council Leader’s aversion to me seems to have arisen as a consequence of his inability to understand the line after ‘Yours sincerely’ of the Summerway Committee’s email to Councillors dated 19 January 2006. He mistakenly attributed the email to me personally, regarded it as threatening, claimed to know nothing about the situation, assured me of his future lack of sympathy, and suggested I should start again! I never dreamed that Cllr Edwards was bearing unfounded malice all this time until examining the recently acquired documents.
No wonder the City has problems with our Council experiencing such leadership. Being completely unaware of his clandestine animosity towards me, and never having met Cllr Edwards, no opportunity to resolve matters has ever arisen. Fortunately, I am of a forgiving disposition, and will not return his ill will.
The trial for that horrendous rape in Redlands Close, a road on the route between my home and the Club, has just concluded. What if the police, on finding the victim, had adopted the attitude that what’s done is done, and we should forget the past and just move on? That would have been totally irresponsible. Why then, should the City Council do what is wrong and be allowed to get away with it on the above grounds? Especially so when ECC seems to have deliberately engineered the situation regarding the Club and the premises. If, in addition to the points noted above, the Council has misled people, ignored their emails, failed to consult meaningfully with the Club, and told lies about us to national television which are recorded and have been broadcast, why should the Council not be called to account for its actions, and justice be applied and upheld?
I have no allegiance to any political party, but I can see New Labour has serious problems when our Labour led Council flouts declared national policies, and is responsible for sowing the seeds of gang culture in Exeter by destroying children’s facilities managed by volunteers, thereby increasing deprivation. For my part, I will support both you and/or Hannah in any political initiatives that will oppose such perversity, and reverse the crimes against the community which have been perpetrated against The Orchard Adventure Playground and the Summerway Tennis Club.
Nothing in this email is confidential, so please feel free to discuss its contents with anyone who can help.
Yours sincerely,
Jim.