The CDBC81 Blog: Glasgow North East

Showing posts with label Glasgow North East. Show all posts

Wednesday, 10 April 2019

The Westercraigs Nusery School saga continues (now almost 12 years and counting)

This is a deliberate direct copy (almost) of the post made in December 2014 and April 2017 as the position has not changed one jot!!!

I have lived in Meadowpark Street for 22 years now.

Having the secondary school opposite was an advantage as it meant an almost open outlook and barring the odd issue with vandalism and litter there was never really a significant problem.

With the arrival of the so called 'temporary' Westercraigs Nursery in summer 2007 all that changed.

The 'temporary' Westercraigs Nursery School in 2007

With the secondary school the times when there is noise were limited to morning before the pupils went in, lunchtime and also when the pupils finished.

With the nursery the noise levels are much greater, and can last all day. To get away from it I moved my main bedroom to the back of the property which has the drawback that is comes directly off the kitchen but this inconvenience is less when compared with being disturbed if I sleep later in the day as I am long term unwell.

I have also had to invest in double glazing at the front to reduce the adverse noise pollution which was a financial outlay I could well have done without since I am living on benefits of about £100 a week, but the resulting reduction in noise has been terriffic.

Of course I can do nothing about the visual polution - rather than an open space used for car parking during the day we are now faced with straggly bamboo trees and half broken bamboo fencing both placed there temporarily after a meeting with the Council in 2011 in front of a grey portable cabin structure which never melts in the background as it is so in your face.

Even if it is warm I don’t usually open my front windows (particularly in the room I am in) as otherwise I frequently cannot hear people speaking on the phone or indeed concentrate on anything (even with them shut this is difficult).

I now also feel really uncomfortable being in the my front garden during the day as I was told on arrival by an employee of the school that I was not to disturb the children by cutting my grass! Nice to know that they consider their neighbours (not!).


The playground for the Nursery School children

I now keep my blinds largely shut during the day and as a result live in twilight world most of the time, but it better than looking out right into to the office of the Nusery School.

I don't really understand the positioning of this school here. It is far too close to homes and is therefore bound to cause disruption. It is also not a suitable location due to the shape of the site. Looking at the picture on the right it can be seen that the playground is divided off from the main school grounds by an access road to Whitehill High School campus. The needless additional hassle to the staff must be considerable on a daily basis as they must accompany the children between each half on each and every occasion. It also must be costing Glasgow City Council a fortune to rent the temporary buildings. They have plenty money for needless alterations to George Square that they can see from their windows but don't seem to care very much for what the residents can see from theirs.

I continue to look forward to the nursery being moved although by the looks of things despite it being considered ‘temporary’ it is becoming more and more permanent by the day (and I also have to say more and more unsightly). So I think I shall probably be dead before it moves at the rate Glasgow City Council moves.

It really has ruined staying in this street as previously it was quiet and tidy looking. I would never have moved here if that had been directly opposite the flat I intended to buy. If my circumstances had been different I would be moving to get away from it, as several of my neighbours have done all ready.

Temporary. almost 12 years and counting!

Previous posts on this subject:

Tuesday, 16 May 2017

The Westercraigs Nusery School saga continues (now almost 10 years and counting)

This is a deliberate direct copy of the post made in December 2014 as the position has not changed one jot!!!

I have lived in Meadowpark Street for 20 years now.

Having the secondary school opposite was an advantage as it meant an almost open outlook and barring the odd issue with vandalism and litter there was never really a significant problem.

With the arrival of the so called 'temporary' Westercraigs Nursery in summer 2007 all that changed.

The 'temporary' Westercraigs Nursery School in 2007

With the secondary school the times when there is noise were limited to morning before the pupils went in, lunchtime and also when the pupils finished.


The playground for the Nursery School children

I now keep my blinds largely shut during the day and as a result live in twilight world most of the time, but it better than looking out right into to the office of the Nusery School.

Temporary. almost 10 years and counting!

Previous posts on this subject:

Wednesday, 8 June 2016

Which costs more? The direct debit for electricity for a 6 bedroom town house, or a 2 bedroom tenement flat?

I have previously written about my issues with my energy supplier Scottish Power and the fact that I can realistically have any electricity supplier I like as long as it is Scottish Power.

Please see the story below...
http://cdbc81.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/change-power-supplier-what-if-you-cant.html

I know I am not alone in the old SSEB (South of Scotland Electricity Board) area in this position. I also know that I am not alone with other people in other areas of the UK being in similar positions with their old geographical electricity supplier. I have also written to my previous 2 Labour MPs on this subject receiving polite but dismissive replies, and am still awaiting for a reply from my current MP the SNP representative for Glasgow North East, Anne McLaughlin who I know and who I assisted in getting elected. However she has the honour so far of taking the longest time of any of them to reply. Hopefully her reply will be worth the wait but that remains to be seen.

Recently my monthly Scottish Power direct debit has more than doubled

I was somewhat dumbfounded to hear from Scottish Power last year stating that with immediate effect my direct debit would more than double from £44.00 to £98.00 per month.

I complained at the time having eventually got a reply and was advised that this was realistic given my electricity usage. Given that I have recently been reducing my electricity usage this was surprise to say the least but did not have the time to look into it due to other commitments.

Then in April this year I got a meter reading and thought surely this direct debit figure must come down. It didn't! My direct debit was raised to £103.00 per month.

This was a prompt, if I needed one, to look into things in detail.

Which of the following 2 properties do you think would have a higher electricity direct debit?

1. A 6 bedroom Glasgow West End townhouse. This is not my friend's property.

2. A 2 bedroom tenement ground floor flat, 2 of the windows in the building shown. This is not my tenement.

Which costs more?
1. the direct debit for electricity for a 6 bedroom town house or
2. the direct debit for electricity for a 2 bedroom tenement flat?

I checked with one of my friends who lives in a 6 bedroom town house in the west end of Glasgow who advised that they were paying £98.00 per month for gas and electricity with EDF. They do not have double glazing.

With me staying in a 2 bedroom tenement flat with double glazing the £103.00 was beginning to look rather ridiculous.

Therefore the answer to the above question is 2 i.e. the tenement flat.

My electricity usage has fallen, the unit costs have remained the same

Further investigation did indeed confirm my electricity usage has fallen, not increased over the last few years.

Also I discovered that the unit rates for charging had remained unchanged for several years.

Scottish Power are PROFITEERING at their customers expense

Therefore my only conclusion is that Scottish Power are operating on the principal that it is better for their 'valuable' customers money to be in their bank accounts rather than their own accounts so they can earn more money (also know as profiteering) for their share holders.

I would therefore advise anyone who can change electricity supplier from Scottish Power to do so without delay as they are not a company who you want to trust with your money. If I could change supplier without incurring a large additional change I would do so without delay.

If you cannot do this make a complaint as I have done, and ask for the vast overpayments which they are holding your behalf back. After all the money is nearly all ways better in your bank account than theirs.

Scottish Power customer service is lamentable at best

And this is nothing to do with their customer service which is lamentable at best for which I have just been advised that I am to receive a £73.00 refund for.

It illustrates the need yet again for energy companies to be brought back into public ownership rather than having big multi-national corporations profiteering at consumers expense for the supply of essential services.

Avoid dealing with this company if you can as it is profiteering at their customers expense

Essential services should be supplied by publicly owned companies not multi-nationals

If the market amongst energy suppliers actually worked to the customer's advantage then that would make things better. In my case I am unable to access that market thanks to the incompetence of the UK Government who privatised these utility companies in the first place and created the market in which they operate. The UK Government in their haste to raise a fast buck have failed and continue to fail their own people in this respect.

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