It seems that yet again Council contracts are so poorly drawn up that quality and the actual works are seldom fully completed.We are seeing it with the very poor quality of replacement street lighting with warped and leaning new lamposts most of which will need replacing by the time the PFI expires, very little of the ground cabling is being renewed which will mean all that will be completely time expired within the PFI but is 'not in the contract'Parks where just the absolute minimum is done, pruning of shrubs is extreme to the point of killing them, Others are removed and grassed over , detrius removal is simply non existent with it simply pushed to another corner by a blower, Even signage is reduced to a sticky label stuck over an unwashed signboard. Sloppy, shoddy and simply not good enough.There is no pride whatsoever.Nothing seems to be overseen. The pavements are in a state almost everywhere and that was mainly caused by settlement after streets were cabled and water pipes replaced over the past several years. Again, no-one ( apart from those residents who do take the trouble to complain - usually to no avail) has been on the backs of these utilities to chase up all the defects left in their wake - even though all the regulatory machinery to do such has been in place for well over 15 years.The roads beggar belief, but it is a scam. The contractors and with the 'expertise' of Hounslow Highways have drawn up and 'easy list'That is streets which are easy to resurface, minimum work, minimum repairs and a quick tart up.What will invariably happen is the contract will be altered, the contract holders will change leaving all the problem roads untreated and 'unexpected costs' making these streets too costly to afford. They will walk away having made easy money and leave the problems to who ever takes over the contract.What is uncomfortable is why authorities and corporations seem so happy to go along with this eyes wide open.It happens time and time again in local authorities. It may not always be their fault as they do not know the company or holding companies strategic intentions.But they should, after almost two decades of this, be wary and canny.Much of the urban damage is not the result of Council works or normal wear and tear and it should not be down to LBH or LBE to repair of put right.But they do and constantly fail to use their powers to ensure those responsible carry out their obligations and to a fully satisfactory standard.A repaired pavement will subside over 12 months. This is all factored in to the legislation for utility repairs but only if it is logged. This it turns out is seldom ever done.Why Hounslow ( and Ealing - who's Councillor Mahfouz has almost single handedly made a gargantuan mess of services) did not insist on the worst roads in the Borough being tackled first with strict monitoring and enforcement of quality a key part of the contract. The present arrangement is no more than a load of bull fed to whatever mug dares to probe.In Lateward Road where potholes have been a bad problem for well over 10 years now, just patching has been the norm for 33 years. Brook road has been resurfaced twice in that time! So naturally the latest resurfacing looks good. That's because the general road and sub surface were good in the first place.Such is the sloppy poor quality, the recent CPZ white lining even has paint dolloped in potholes and cracks.It's third rate, third world and expensive. And we criticise those countries for not delivering what has been funded for.
Raymond Havelock ● 3754d