On the Street

What jumps out and hollers about the Sutton Coldfield Councillors is the dissonance. Dissonance between grandiose and slapstick. Howard occasionally manages to span this in one sentence.

We watch the grandstanding carefully, particularly on the larger scale projects like the Town Centre. We monitor the puffed up self importance and we try to peer through the murk to get to the actual proposals underneath.

We would dearly love to find some signs of ambition in there. We ache for a spark, or may be even a slightly glowing ember with a charred label saying ‘I’d like to make things a lot better’.

Our expectations are often dashed.

And then. Out of a clear blue sky. Howard announces his intent to spend an eighth of a million Bradburys on ‘enhancing the vibrancy of communities’.

Enhancing whaaat?

And he wants your views.

But he doesn’t want your views on the £125k. He wants your views on 8% of that.

He wants to know how you wish to spend on ‘Street Furniture and general improvements’.

But the balance, £115,000 is committed.

He has already bunged Mere Green Library £25,000 for Sunday opening and £15,000 has gone on ‘Additional Clean and Green Initiatives’.

Councillor Howard is unembarrassed.

“This is a real opportunity for local people to have a say”.

It is Howard’s Raison d’Etre. He gets to give out the sweeties.

But please confine your imaginations to the sum of £10k.

And think Street Furniture.

Nightwatchman