Let's Get Political!

[Combe Down]

'Save (Y)Our Steel' banner v. Scunny this Saturday?

[Jamiesfuturewife]

I went on a PE conference today and Justin Tomlinson was a key note speaker, rather randomly because he "wants" to be the minister for sport?!

[ronnie21]

Cannot really see the Minister for Wonga being a sports minister!

[Nemo]

Autumn Statement today. Headlines seem to be complete u-turn on tax credits, no cuts in funding for the police and a huge rise in the defence budget. Main losers seem to be student nurses (odd choice considering the difficulty they're having with junior doctors) and buy to let landlords (fucking finally)

Oh, and John McDonnell is the best argument for voting Conservative I've yet seen. He's literally quoting Mao.

[Abrahammer]

I particularly enjoyed the bit of his speech where he told us Labour would cull the debt quicker but spend more on public services! Oh the laughs.

Almost makes you pine for Milliband/Balls as opposed to the current shambles

[Arriba]

Unless you are wealthy I can't see any reason to vote conservative. Even then it would be for selfish reasons and not the good of the nation.

[Reg Smeeton]

 2 concerns....plan to cover the country in housing....house building multi-national's share prices have shot up.  

Statement that Councils have £250 bill of assets to get shot of....in return they can use money to make up cuts. Conclusion....SBC will be looking to get rid of assets like the CG, for housing or a football ground if someone can find the market price, becasue of the Asset of Community Value thing.

[Skinny Pete]

SBC are strange in being a council which really doesn't care for selling assets. The egos of those in power would rather hang on to them than sell them off for someone else to develop a site and not getting any credit for themselves.

The Mechanics is a good case. When BR was nationalised the government forced them to sell off any assets they had if it wasn't directly concerned with the transport side. The Council could have bought the Mechanics for £1 but ummed and ahed and a private buyer bought it for £50,000. Two sales later and the owner, Matthew Singh, did a runner after welching on an agreement to renovate.

The site passed to the Crowns Estate with the council having a charge on the building but don't really want the cost of insuring it or its upkeep.

Yet they won't sell to the Mechanics Trust because their plans for renovating look good and would be popular and the Council don't want someone else getting the credit.

Hence the impasse.

[Reg Smeeton]

 Just as a point of information....British Rail Properties Board, was "sold" in the first wave of Thatcherite gifts to her supporters, in the early mid 80's. The Mechanics went then, like STFC's "A"Ground along Shrivenham Road where the club was evicted from its historic training ground.

The transport giveaway, was a scorched earth policy of the retreating Major government in the mid 90's.

[Skinny Pete]

Reg, as a guess what do you reckon they would sell the CG for?

[Reg Smeeton]

Reg, as a guess what do you reckon they would sell the CG for?

The whole complex, probably between 70-80 mill.

[Skinny Pete]

Fuck me. I thought about £10m.

Other than the ground itself what else comprises the site?

[Reg Smeeton]

Fuck me. I thought about £10m.

Other than the ground itself what else comprises the site?

Cricket Ground.....Extension.....Athletics track.....Bowling green....old kiddy's park....green bit in Shrivenham Road....car park

[Skinny Pete]

Ah, didn't realise it encompassed all that. Thought it was just the CG plus car park.

[Nemo]

Isn't there a specific restriction on it having to be used for leisure purposes though? If it can't be used for housing, that would significantly restrict the value.