cissolt Posted May 2, 2022 Share Posted May 2, 2022 Truly shocking, all capital projects should be frozen and properly assessed by someone with project management skills before allowing the DOI to spent another £1. Changing leadership will not stop the ego driven projects that DOI dream up. 4 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Power Posted May 2, 2022 Author Share Posted May 2, 2022 What is really upsetting is that, as pointed out in the film, this is a failure of successive governments and councils. It's as though they are so puffed up with their own importance that they become blind to sh@thole that we are living in. Is it a lack of ambition or aspiration, and is it a political issue or just once again down to the 'permanent' public servants in the corridors of power? If we can see it, then why can't those, who can actually do something about it? It's a sad reflection on the capabilities of those we elect and the CS in particular! We've seen it for years and it has fallen on deaf ears! 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbnuts Posted May 2, 2022 Share Posted May 2, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Ghost Ship said: *eg on the prom walkway they used to have those repeating octagonal(?) red or pink patterns inset into the tarmac surface. Now they seem to have been half dug-up, and the dug-up bit replaced with fresh black tarmac with no attempt to reinstate the pattern? I accept it was no great piece of design or artwork, but I remember it as a distinctive part of the prom. Absolutely hopeless... Sadly a real nice guy who used to be a Scoutmaster at 1st Douglas worked on the walkway when it was last relaid. Old school and such a hard worker and worked for Oates Asphalt on the South Quay. Maybe early 90's or earlier even. Sadly passed away this last week. Wonder what he made of the tar laying and the mess it is now. RIP Johnny Corlett Edited May 2, 2022 by Numbnuts 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ďouglas Peel Posted May 2, 2022 Share Posted May 2, 2022 3 hours ago, Max Power said: As if on cue, a whole video by Charles Guard of interesting sites to ponder, well done to him for being so honest and wake up DTC and IoMG... Its a pity Charles disabled the comments on this ,The Marine Drive railings and others could be painted now and again and are worth saving.The railings that are only 20 years old are typical of materials specified, that are not fitfor purpose ,common then and now, ive seen (across) the same problems,facing bricks as steps, oh dear,outdoor fences,decks never maintained.Near Arbroath harbour there are the same railings circa 15 years old, as The blue Douglas ones,they too are rotten/ broken, Along from them , stainless, hollow 30mm dia tubes round the harbour were all bent in a few weeks , (saw that coming) Soft red sandstone in busy public walkways, is too soft. A bit of maintenance a goes a long way. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0bserver Posted May 2, 2022 Share Posted May 2, 2022 (edited) It's easy for old codgers to knock together some video like that. But we should also remember that the Government has neglected to spend on the island's social infrastructure - dentists, GPs, mental health... all equally (or probably) more important than some rusty railings and no horse trams. We need to invest in our people first then we can worry about horse trams. The island may look like shite, but people's standards of living aren't great so it would be like putting lipstick on a pig. We all know the walkway is going to be resurfaced... so why pick at that? We know the railings are snagged and are being replaced by a seawall (which if DBC hadn't objected to would be built by now)... so why pick at that? Edited May 2, 2022 by 0bserver 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Power Posted May 2, 2022 Author Share Posted May 2, 2022 8 minutes ago, 0bserver said: It's easy for old codgers to knock together some video like that. But we should also remember that the Government has neglected to spend on the island's social infrastructure - dentists, GPs, mental health... all equally (or probably) more important than some rusty railings and no horse trams. We need to invest in our people first then we can worry about horse trams. The island may look like shite, but people's standards of living aren't great so it would be like putting lipstick on a pig. We all know the walkway is going to be resurfaced... so why pick at that? We know the railings are snagged and are being replaced by a seawall (which if DBC hadn't objected to would be built by now)... so why pick at that? They are all symptoms of neglect and an inability to manage. That includes the social aspects you mention. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0bserver Posted May 2, 2022 Share Posted May 2, 2022 16 minutes ago, Max Power said: They are all symptoms of neglect and an inability to manage. That includes the social aspects you mention. It's a failure of the so-called local authority system. Every time there's work in Douglas DOI/DBC lock horns and make things 10 times more difficult than they need to be. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Bastard Posted May 2, 2022 Share Posted May 2, 2022 (edited) Things have moved on. The days are past when Douglas was a tourist metropolis, when the golden sands were full of paying guests. Now the beach is just rocks covered in dogshit that fills the bathing waters with E. Coli twice daily. Tourism today is a nice-to-have but we're not going to see the beach full of deckchairs, the sunken gardens full of walkers, the horsetrams loaded with people off to see the great and the good at the Lido. There's no winter works programme full of off-season tourist workers to paint and maintain. You have to ask who all this pickled Victoriana is for, now that nobody is here to see it, it just seems like a huge ever-increasing millstone around the neck of Douglas ratepayers. Photograph it for posterity. Fill in the sunken gardens and use them for parking, or for event space, pave the twee flowerbeds, ditch the horsetrams, shut down the MER (leave the Snaefell line) and replace it with an cycle / EV track to the North, take down the cast iron railings and replace them with swap-out metal panels that don't need constant maintenance. Stop pretending that Douglas is some sort of Victorian theme park that needs multiple consultations with the Victorian Fetish Society every time some poor flat dweller wants to replace a couple of windows. Drag the dreary place into the modern world by its muttonchops. Edited May 2, 2022 by The Bastard 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Numbnuts Posted May 2, 2022 Share Posted May 2, 2022 45 minutes ago, 0bserver said: It's easy for old codgers to knock together some video like that. But we should also remember that the Government has neglected to spend on the island's social infrastructure - dentists, GPs, mental health... all equally (or probably) more important than some rusty railings and no horse trams. We need to invest in our people first then we can worry about horse trams. The island may look like shite, but people's standards of living aren't great so it would be like putting lipstick on a pig. We all know the walkway is going to be resurfaced... so why pick at that? We know the railings are snagged and are being replaced by a seawall (which if DBC hadn't objected to would be built by now)... so why pick at that? For the very reason thats at the core of all these issues. Lack of regular maintenance and in most cases a coat of paint every other year. What about the bridge at the grandstand ?. Just a coat of paint now and again and you wouldn't have had a bridge condemned. What was the cost again for replacing !! The Laxey flooding was all about maintenance and upkeep and throw in the DOI and a recipe for disaster. Lots of the issues on that video are easily and for little money fixable but the worrying part for me is nobodies been back or been no supervision since the interim repairs were carried out. Marine drive anyone ?!!! I agree with poster a few posts above. Said it before , needs a halt on any new schemes and all efforts channelled to sorting out historical issues before anything else is looked at never mind started . 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Annoymouse Posted May 2, 2022 Share Posted May 2, 2022 39 minutes ago, 0bserver said: We need to invest in our people first then we can worry about horse trams. The island may look like shite, but people's standards of living aren't great so it would be like putting lipstick on a pig. Its not as simple as that, from a Government perspective which department would any required prom works fall under? they haven’t taken anything out of the Tourism/Economic budget to give to health, nor has DOI shared any of their budget with health. The issue will be the continual muddied waters of what falls under D.B.C, what falls under tourism/economics and what falls under DOI, none of those will work together to find a solution because they like to spend their time blaming each for their failings instead and we all suffer as a result. To use the railings as an example, who pays for any replacements? Who’s responsibility is it to maintain them?, if they haven’t been maintained properly and have failed early as a result, who’s responsible for replacement now? the sections that are missing/damaged, who does that fall under? The original railings/the maintenance looked like the responsibility of DBC, but when damaged the temporary fencing to replace them looks like DOI, so who is actually responsible? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0bserver Posted May 3, 2022 Share Posted May 3, 2022 8 hours ago, Annoymouse said: Its not as simple as that, from a Government perspective which department would any required prom works fall under? they haven’t taken anything out of the Tourism/Economic budget to give to health, nor has DOI shared any of their budget with health. The issue will be the continual muddied waters of what falls under D.B.C, what falls under tourism/economics and what falls under DOI, none of those will work together to find a solution because they like to spend their time blaming each for their failings instead and we all suffer as a result. To use the railings as an example, who pays for any replacements? Who’s responsibility is it to maintain them?, if they haven’t been maintained properly and have failed early as a result, who’s responsible for replacement now? the sections that are missing/damaged, who does that fall under? The original railings/the maintenance looked like the responsibility of DBC, but when damaged the temporary fencing to replace them looks like DOI, so who is actually responsible? You're right that it's not simple, but it should be. We need to knock DBC (and other LAs) on the head and set clear responsibilities for who does this kind of work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wake Up Call Posted May 3, 2022 Share Posted May 3, 2022 Everything is f*cked. It’s not just pavements and railings. We’re paying the price for allowing a.civil service to manage itself without scrutiny. Some distinctly low intelligent people have scaled the ladder via nepotism and being unaccountable. Favours and families have gilded this sorry mess. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cissolt Posted May 3, 2022 Share Posted May 3, 2022 Who used to be responsible? Lots of issues raised by Charles. What ever happened to the DOIs plan to ban cars from marine drive? Have they spent all their money on active travel schemes and substandard road contractors? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoops Posted May 3, 2022 Share Posted May 3, 2022 10 hours ago, 0bserver said: It's easy for old codgers to knock together some video like that. But we should also remember that the Government has neglected to spend on the island's social infrastructure - dentists, GPs, mental health... all equally (or probably) more important than some rusty railings and no horse trams. We need to invest in our people first then we can worry about horse trams. The island may look like shite, but people's standards of living aren't great so it would be like putting lipstick on a pig. We all know the walkway is going to be resurfaced... so why pick at that? We know the railings are snagged and are being replaced by a seawall (which if DBC hadn't objected to would be built by now)... so why pick at that? It isn't necessarily a choice of one or the other, more the effectiveness of how the money is spent, how much is lost in layers of cs management and bad choices, maybe something a bit more sinister? And, of course, there is a correlation between your environment and mental health. As a gardener/head gardener, I know "front of house" is of prime importance. So, as the tourist season kicks in after the travails of the last couple of years, I think that is why Guard highlights the issues he does. Maybe some of the money we put in the pocket of an owner of holiday bungalows could have been bett...................oh, I won't go there 😉 3 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asitis Posted May 3, 2022 Share Posted May 3, 2022 This neglect, lack of maintenance general 'who gives a sh1t' is everywhere, not just Douglas ! Those in charge love the spotlight of the grandiose projects and chest thumping, but when it comes to operational matters those are not rewarding enough in terms of career so are in the pending tray. I dread to think how much cash has been wasted on vanity and how little used for upkeep, it's okay for the politicos to pose at Liverpool on the road to the new tin shed inviting people to visit this shambles, as Charles says we've money for that, but never money or will to sort home out ! I had high hopes of Alf Cannan but he's another compliant muppet ! 5 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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