Points for Director via Ben Bradshaw MP
The Email below was prompted by Hazel Ball’s Letter dated 21st May 2007 which was sent to Exeter’s MP because ECC is not dealing with the Author of this website. Accordingly, Jim has addressed this Email to Ben so that the relevant issues can be raised with the ECC’s Director of Community and Environment for her response to each of the points raised.
The Email was sent and a Letter posted on 12th June 2007.
Dear Ben,
Summerway Tennis – Your Ref. C/Ind/HARL002
(This letter was composed 7th June but sent later)
Thank you for your letter of 1st June, your readiness to listen and willingness to
act as go-
In a year’s time, should I survive until then, I will be a septuagenarian. Being retired, it falls to my lot to provide the communications at the Club. By its nature, it consists of youngsters’ families, with the parents at a very busy time of their lives. Unfortunately, they are unlikely to have time to write, otherwise I am sure you would have heard a lot more about the Club from the people who matter. Still, I know how much encouragement I am receiving, and there are far more folk following the events than anyone, apart from myself, realises. With ECC refusing to deal with me and trying to contact the Committee through its other members, everything is slowed down, as it takes time for emails and letters to reach me for distribution. This may not be deliberate, but taken with the undue haste with which the ECC are trying to demolish the pavilion, it doesn’t look good.
I would like to comment on Hazel Ball’s letter and Cllr Val Dixon’s email addressed to you, and wish I could do so in a few brief bullet points. Everyone encourages greater brevity. I would love to oblige, but my training and age militate against it. In view of this, you may like to simply forward this email/letter on, there being nothing confidential as yet in the Summerway saga. We are all serving the public, to which we are all accountable. It will save time composing an email/letter if you choose this option. I feel for you, being in the middle like this, and will try to ask as little of your time as possible.
The following points are significant, though not necessarily brief!
l I would like to restate my position with regard to Summerway. If I were to be judged purely on ECC’s reactions to me, people would imagine that I am an obsessed person with a limited viewpoint, rushing around with a bee in my bonnet, and not worth taking seriously. Nothing could be further from the truth. I enjoy a very full and satisfying life, following many interests of which Summerway Tennis is one. Life does not mystify me. I value Summerway for its family values, its benefits to the health and social development of the children, and its genuine democratic management. Tennis is a great game which I support wholeheartedly, but I am not a fanatic. I am not particularly involved emotionally with the outcome of the Club’s future, having given a quarter of a century’s service, but firmly believe in its value to the Community. That is why I am willing to work for the Club’s survival.
l It might also be assumed that I am at war with ECC, which is just as misleading.
In my opinion, the City Council do a splendid job in many departments. My wife and
I walked up the lane and past the reed beds in Mincinglake Valley Park yesterday
evening. While I needed my crutches, this parkland was well kept and accessible
-
l The confrontation between Council and Club ought never to have occurred. If ECC had consulted with the Club some years ago in order to assess the situation fully, and/or negotiated meaningfully more recently, I feel sure things would have been worked out to everyone’s satisfaction. However, the Council’s dictatorial attitude, based on considerable ignorance, has had predictable results. The Club is full of reasonable people, but it is impossible to reason with a public body which refuses to do its homework.
l The Council’s arrogance and inability to cope adequately with diversity is an unfortunate combination for the City’s amenities, as it results in the loss and neglect of a huge resource which would be freely provided to the City by supported volunteers. The volunteers exist, but not the support, unless the organisation happens to fit a rigid specification of a particular type. I note that the list of supported clubs supplied in Hazel Ball’s letter, while absolutely commendable and worthy, all seem to cater for those able to purchase their leisure. While perfectly willing to be corrected, I cannot see one amongst them that matches Summerway’s availability to the less affluent families. In saying that, I am in no way suggesting that any barrier against the less affluent is tolerated by the clubs and organisations themselves. No doubt, all would like their activities to be more widely available to the whole of Exeter, but there are practical constraints.
See http://www.jh.eclipse.co.uk/whydiscrim9yhqsxx.html
l Although it has been claimed that there is one Council unit which looks after all leisure and sports issues, I vigorously challenge that. That may be true in theory as far as administration goes, but in reality the Club and I have considerable experience of two very different types of personnel. Firstly, there is ECC’s Sports Development team. These are folk living in the real world who do a tremendous job in the City. We know their faces well, having worked alongside them over the years, and regard them as true friends of the community. Secondly, there are three tiers of bureaucrats in Community and Environment who have proved themselves to be as destructive as Sports Development have proved themselves constructive. We have seen and recognise the face of the lowest tier, but the other two tiers truly are faceless bureaucrats who have never met with the Club or myself. Under the circumstances, I think that it is really rich that Hazel Ball should claim credit that is properly due to Sports Development when she states, “We have also supported Summerway Tennis Club many times in the past”.
l If I wished, I could ask the question, “Where else in the City does the community receive a five figure benefit for a three figure outlay?” That happens to be true as the figures stand, but it is very misleading. It suggests a hundredfold return, when in fact the return is nearer tenfold, so I have never posed the question. Hazel Ball clearly has no such qualms. Her statement that “it is very disappointing that the club has been unable to agree a constructive way forward” implies that it is the Club which is at fault, and what could be more misleading than that? It wasn’t the Club that moved the goalposts! This technique has been used before. When the Orchard Adventure Playground was ‘constructively evicted’ from its site, a very short passage in the local press gave the reason as the Orchard Committee being unable to reach agreement with the ECC over the terms of its lease. A majority of the readership probably imagined the Committee to be at fault. It is abundantly clear to me now where the blame lies, and who was responsible for the demise of another superb children’s facility, staffed and managed by volunteers, which served literally hundreds of Exeter’s youngsters up until three years ago. Shame on you, Exeter City Council, and shame upon your misleading assertions.
l It is possible to lose the overall picture by being too wrapped up in detail, and I see this very clearly in government, both local and national. I am not questioning the motives or intentions, which I regard as essentially worthy. What I see is the loss of common sense as government tries to press everyone into the same mould. On a national level, the whole question of government targets and their effects needs proper examination, but this letter isn’t the place for it. What is relevant here is the application of common sense to the governance of community. Ben, I would be grateful if you would seek answers from ECC to the following very pertinent questions: (1) Are children there to serve the parents purposes, or are the parents there to provide for the children? (2) Is the ECC there to serve the people, or are the people there to serve the Council’s purposes? (3) Is the ‘system’ there to serve the people and their leaders, or is totalitarianism the order of the day?
l While accepting that Hazel Ball’s directorate consists of intelligent people, I perceive a skewed mindset which divorces them from reality. On glancing through this evening’s (7th June) Express & Echo, I noted two very prominent items (pp 8, 12) on vandalism. These are not atypical, and the Club has suffered considerably from this mindless behaviour in this last year or two following ECC’s changes in the locality. Who are these vandals? Why, the very children and youths Hazel Ball’s directorate is depriving of constructive and supervised activities by destroying such brilliant organisations as the Orchard and Summerway. Can’t Hazel and her colleagues see that they are fuelling vandalism by failing to nurture facilities like ours? Surely, it is stupidity to create vandals by deprivation and then try to deal with the problem by attempting to oppress them out of existence. It’s a battle which society seems to be losing, and it is difficult to see how it can be won in Exeter while ECC indulges in such destructive policies. Prevention is better than cure, as the saying goes, and we should be looking for constructive solutions.
l If I may, I would just like to make a point about credibility. I note the efforts Hazel and her colleagues have made in attempting to undermine my credibility. Perhaps I should point out that I have taught not hundreds, but thousands of children as a schoolmaster before my retirement. As leader of the Pinhoe Road Youth Club for seventeen years, a Club where membership had to be restricted to just over two hundred and the average attendance at each meeting over the year was about one hundred, we are again talking four figures passing through the books. Club membership records could name every one if the facts were questioned. Similarly, as a member of a local Church for over forty years, maintaining the Church Directory for part of that time, we are again talking in terms of meaningful contact with thousands of people. Over a period of ten years, when living in the country beyond Crediton, having over three acres of idyllic Devon countryside, our hospitality was such that over a thousand people signed our visitors’ books. Obviously, we still have these. Summerway you know about. All these people know who and what I am. My credibility is based in the real world, so ECC is hardly earning itself brownie points by using such a shabby tactic.
l Does anyone know where “Jim seems intent on arguing that the club has been treated badly” comes from? The argument that I have been trying to make is far less subjective. I am arguing against local government moving the goalposts, thereby making the Club unviable and depriving the community of its services. The irony is that the Club has only existed for over three decades because there were visionary folk associated with Exeter City Council at its launch, and now it is the blindness of today’s ECC counterparts that is destroying it!
l I have noted the way in which ECC is trying to make out that I am a person who focuses on the past. If they took the trouble to get to know me, they would realise that I live firmly in the present, have a strong vision for the future which is full of hope, and learn from the past. I have little respect for intelligent people who do not relate fully to all three. The ignorant, I forgive. While they may make me smile inwardly, I still love them.
l Whether I was taught it, absorbed it or worked it out for myself I cannot say, but I learnt very early in life to differentiate between people and their opinions. I don’t muddle the two, and my relationships certainly don’t depend upon people seeing eye to eye with me. If someone sees things differently from me, I find them interesting and would wish to strengthen my relationship with them. I might be able to learn from them, much more than from someone having the same viewpoint. There are those at the Civic Centre who still haven’t reached this stage of maturity, as evidenced by the statement, “we don't want to deal with you any more due to the obvious breakdown in the relationship between you and what you term local government”. What breakdown? You must forgive me if I view this as childish, or even pathetic.
l Following on from that, it is highly questionable whether picking on me personally
was proper or wise. Was it proper to refuse to speak with me when my views are virtually
indistinguishable from those of the Club? Is this the way to deal with a concerned
member of the public? Should someone in Hazel Ball’s position be demonstrating such
personal animosity towards someone she has never met? As Hazel seems to be so well
acquainted with “the city’s best interests”, please ask her to explain exactly why
the Council should not “enter into any long term formal agreement involving Jim”.
Having served as one of the Club’s two trustees from 1981-
l While talking personalities, I would like to pick up on the sequel to Cllr Val
Dixon’s email to you of 22nd May, and my response to the Cllr which was copied to
you on 23rd. Subsequently, I received an email from Cllr Dixon the same day to which
I replied. I need to copy these to you so that you can see what I’m up against.
My attempt to encourage an informal meeting to improve understanding received a response
which tried to put me in the wrong. I have always felt that Cllr Dixon is a warm-
l How’s this for a major breakdown of democracy? There is no one to represent the Club to the ECC as our local Councillors will not take the trouble to relate properly to us. At a site meeting, with no representative of the Club present, the ECC decided that the clubhouse should be demolished for high sounding bureaucratic reasons. Were the Club represented, it would have needed to be convinced that the decision was reasonable and sensible, and not just the mindless application of bureaucracy. Cllr Dixon and Cllr Smith seem to have concurred with the proposed demolition, even though Cllr Dixon claims to have had designs of her own on the clubhouse, but in so doing I can assure you that they certainly weren’t representing the Club. For democracy to work, the Club has to have effective representation. This is not happening.
l Yes, denied closure, Jim will certainly wish to fight on. Unlike certain individuals associated with the ECC, Jim bears no malice and feels no animosity towards anyone. Loving my enemies is simple for me, as there is a real sense in which I love everyone. Perhaps my one and only virtue. My campaign will be all about issues, and not personalities. I have made early provision for a new website at
www.keepsummerwayalive.co.uk in case it is needed. The City Council has ignored us for several years when we were seeking answers about the lease, has failed to consult and discover the Club’s needs, dictated instead of negotiated, and earlier this year, ostracised me, possibly for asking awkward questions. I will need to continue campaigning until someone listens. Who will care enough about society and democracy to want to do something about it, I know not, but I will keep looking. This week I requested serious investigative journalism by letter, confirming by email two days later, from the Times, the Independent, the Guardian, the Telegraph, the Daily Mail and the Daily Express. The Daily Mirror and the Sun I have left for the moment as I am reluctant to risk sensationalising the situation, which would be only marginally better than being ignored. I will try to confirm this email with a hard copy by post, and will include a hard copy of my request to the national newspapers for your information. I will also include a few website promotional cards which I am using. I am brimming over with ideas to call attention to the travesty which we are experiencing, when this should be nothing more than the simple exercise of democracy. Someone has to stand up for what is right.
l Point 6 in Hazel’s letter strikes me as very amusing. It begins with an assertion about not ducking issues, and finishes with the assertion, “we do not intend to continue with such correspondence”. Hmmm!
l It is not surprising that Hazel has not seen a letter from DCC, because it has been impressed upon us that she and her colleagues are neither rigorous nor flexible in seeking a solution. The DCC letter has been posted at
http://www.jh.eclipse.co.uk/lgtoben0291b4n.html for over five weeks.
l Hazel states, “Jim has created a website that provides him with the opportunity to give a one sided explanation of the situation ..... ”. Jim has, in fact, taken considerable pains to ensure that the website is properly balanced. Rather than just quoting extracts from ECC communications and responding to them, which might give opportunity for bias, he has displayed the full communications to ensure that the Council’s side is properly presented on the site in their own language. As a token of goodwill in this matter, I will post the whole of Hazel’s letter on the website so that this document doesn’t breach this principle. What is probably bugging Hazel and her colleagues is that the website provides opportunity for the Club and Jim to make their points, those to which ECC refuses to listen, consider and make proper response. The website is forming a counterbalance to the Council’s bullying tactics towards the Club. Hence, this attempt to discredit it by suggesting that it is one sided. The website has been visited by hundreds of different people. It wouldn’t surprise me, however, if those who most need to study it are burying their heads in the sand and ignoring it. It certainly seems that way.
l Why should the Club be seeking a new venue, when all that is required is a suitable lease and proper provision at our traditional site? For ECC to demolish the clubhouse is to join the vandals, but considering their description of them as “naturally curious children”, the Council may feel more at home with them than with the families that form and support the Club. If Hazel and her colleagues had the least bit of insight and vision, they would realise that the clubhouse is nearing the end of its useful life, but still has a few more years left in it. Restoring it at considerable cost makes no sense. Isn’t there sufficient nous at the Civic Centre to see that the Council should be planning and preparing to replace the pavilion with something more substantial in a few years’ time? Ideally, this would be purpose built to provide the Club with the totally secure environment it requires, and also provide rooms, halls or alternative facilities for other uses by the community.
l Also with regard to the Clubhouse, the Club has made considerable investment in it over the years. In its early years, water was laid on and toilets installed at the Club’s expense, and as recently as October 2003, the back of the clubhouse was fenced off to resolve safety issues at a cost of over £650. No one will challenge ECC’s right to destroy the Clubhouse, but we will know exactly what to think about such a callous act.
l With my Council Tax Bill earlier in the year I received a booklet, possibly called “Working together in Exeter”, which I would imagine has been sent to every Council Tax payer in the City. On page seven, referring to major ECC projects for the current council tax year (2007/2008), the very first item under the heading “Other projects include:” is, and I quote,
“Parks and leisure facilities -
Note that this is in addition to the amount budgeted for the maintenance of existing facilities. It is against this background that ECC is unwilling to improve the clubhouse and provide it with protection against vandals as it establishes the proposed Summerway Park. How does the Council justify this discrimination against people?
l Words, words, words! Empty meaningless words! How often has the ECC wished the Club well? Someone I love and revere has taught me, “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them”. ECC’s words and actions are completely contradictory. It is in ECC’s power to turn their professed wishes into full support for the Club. To pursue their bullying to the bitter end and cause the termination of Summerway Tennis will brand them as hypocrites for ever. It should have been done right at the beginning, and it could now be too late, but wouldn’t it be right for ECC to begin consulting the Club? I am convinced that ECC still does not understand the phenomenon that is the Summerway Junior LTC. Its obsession with the Club’s accounts is causing it to miss the whole gist of what this is all about.
See http://www.jh.eclipse.co.uk/tunvis8ud1jzt.html to get a bit closer to reality, for example. If the Council would only pause, overcome its prejudices, realise that it hasn’t grasped the essential issues, open its mind to other possibilities and start thinking constructively, there might be hope. It makes no sense for ECC to be at loggerheads with the Club, unless the Council fails to value the community which the Club is happy to serve.
Ben, I’ve decided that I like bullet points, as I don’t have to put them into order for them to make sense. While keeping them brief is a much bigger challenge to which I’m not yet equal, I hope you will agree that each of them has real relevance. I could add to them, and will no doubt find that I have left out important things as soon as I’ve sent this email. If they are of real significance, perhaps they should be posted on the website. Please present my concerns to Hazel Ball one way or another, and request that she provides a specific answer to each of the points I have made. Generalities and denigration of my views and activities will not suffice.
I feel fairly confident that democracy will ultimately prevail, and this whole matter will eventually be properly scrutinised. The only question in my mind is how far things will have to be taken before this occurs. If ECC is wise, it will cease trying to bulldoze the situation, refrain from prejudicing matters further, and begin a proper democratic dialogue with the Club and myself. My confidence in ECC’s wisdom at the moment sorely needs strengthening.
I apologise for the length of this email, but it only indicates the degree to which it is a labour of love.
With many thanks and warmest regards,
Yours sincerely,
Jim.
Click here to view the astounding response of ECC’s Director of Community and Environment to Ben Bradshaw, Exeter’s Member of Parliament