So now, due to yet another hole in the ground that the Council is not competent to ensure is completed on time, Bradford loses out - to the direct benefit of Leeds - on a huge Curry competition Great. If there was one thing I'd have thought the Council couldn't possibly wreck, it would have been the ability to organise a curry festival in Bradford, the local gastronomic equivalent of a piśśup in a brewery. I gave them too much credit.


rl Full T& A articlerl

It's almost beyond belief. Is there not at least 1 person there who knows what they are doing?
It appears not.

Well "they couldn't organise a curry night in Bradford" has a certain ring to it.

Got no idea where Victoria Gardens is? looked on the map and still no clearer

It's in front of the Art Gallery near the Cenotaph apparently.

It's only got about 4 trees so 'Garden' may be a slight over exaggeration.

Seriously, what's the solution? A directly elected mayor?

Turn the whole middle of the "city" into a city park, and start again a few miles away.

Seriously; how has Ian Greenwood managed to stay involved all this time?

I WAS being serious.

And probably knows where the bodies are buried.

Tragic. Seriously, no one wants him as a leader, yet he weasels his way back in time and time again. Not often I think John Prescott is onto something, but at least with a directly elected mayor we'd get that chance to kick him into touch.

We elect the council though, it doesn't make a bit of difference. Or is the incompetence filtered down from the top?
Cue the other thread....

It doesn't make sense to me. Ok so the park in Bradford isn't finished but why not host it somewhere else in Bradford? What they've done is shift it to a nearby city on a small scratty bit of land in front of the art gallery. You could find a similar patch of land anywhere in Bradford city centre. I really am mystified.

I feel like doing something pointless and unproductive like setting up a facebook group about how appalling Bradford council are. Ooh I could crush a grape.

When did anything involving Bradford Council ever make sense?

Bullseye had a right go at me a bit ago when I referred to Bradford as Britain's first failing city. We HAD a rival for that in Wolverhampton, yet they have managed to get themselves an Enterprise Zone. And, only today, I read that has led to a new JLR engine plan there. Have WE managed to get ourselves an Enterprise Zone? Have we bollox. But Leeds has.

Sorry, but QED?

Or when did the Bradford public ever make sense? Voting in a Tory-led council when Labour are in Government, and then a Labour one when a Tory-led government is in power - good thinking, Batman.

I am no defender of Greenwood & have stood against him in local elections several times. Blaming him & this current incompetent administration for the incompetencies of the last few is a tad unfair. The loss of the curry festival is fairly inexcusable given Stevie Wonder could see the site would not be ready in time & a contingency put in place. However, the non-completion of the site would appear to be down to the contractor, I'm pretty sure Greenwood & Co are not operating the diggers & laying paving slabs in an effort to finish a contract out in place by the last Council. What should be included within the contract between the contractor & Council is a damages clause for anticipated loss of profit for non-completion. That way at least the council should recoup some financial compensation. But I would suspect that standard clause was removed to make the scheme more attractive to tendering contractors. As it was with the Westfield fiasco.

If you don't like how local democracy works do something about it. Form a political group, get involved in an existing one, stand for election, offer an alternative. It's like wanting to sack the Bulls' board but offering no alternative. Though who would want to get involved in running this godforesaken city is beyond me.