donkeys`
critics
get
thrown
off
This
awful summer weather...good for ducks, bad for holidays and bad for
donkeys at the seaside. What about donkeys at the riverside? Or to be more
precise, donkeys at Riverside?
The awful
summer weather has not been good for
Riverside donkeys, a bit stormy, in
fact. The storms have blown in from the many critical people who say that these donkeys are too quiet and docile...spend
too much time nodding.
Naturally
, Riverside defends its donkeys and
says such talk of nodding is insulting.
More than that, says
Riverside, talk of nodding donkeys might
make Riverside react and do some talking
too...to its solicitor!
That is precisely
what seem to be happening, with hints of
Riverside legal action against some of the outspoken critics of the nodding
donkeys. These outspoken critics have now been blacklisted by Riverside. Yes,
blacklisted!.
Blame
this blog for the blacklisting. The otspoken critics used the blog to make the critical nodding-donkey comments.
Readers of the blog may remember the comments, a week or two ago. They were made
by Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation, which incidentally owns the
blog.
Today,
the Federation, now newly-blacklisted, publishes
in full Riverside`s answer to its
nodding donkey criticism.
The
answer is an email from Mr Dean Butterworth, Riverside`s Carlisle Regional
Director, which was sent to the Federation on July 9.
The email
is printed below.
The Federation
considered Mr Butterworth`s email deserves an answer.
That answer- a letter to Mr Butterworth sent on July 27- is printed in full below the email.
Email
dated July 9 from Mr. Dean Butterworth
to the Secretary of Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation
“I
formally acknowledge receipt of your email of the 24th June, however
Riverside will not be formally responding to your request. ( For the starting dates of two promised Riverside forums, for tenants and
for leaseholders).
“While I
accept that your organisation will target me via Community Voice Carlisle,
which reports the views of your Carlisle Tenants and Residents Federation, I
draw the line at the unacceptable and disrespectful language used to describe
members of the Riverside Cumbria Scrutiny Panel, and I quote from the blog
article of the 28th June 2015 ‘Riverside Disrespectful Donkeys Fail
To Get The Nod’.
”This
incorrect and disrespectful rhetoric is unacceptable for a group of tenants who
work tirelessly to try to improve the services that Riverside provides to all
its customers. I will also support the Scrutiny Panel should they chose to seek
legal advice to get redress for these comments
“Therefore,
Riverside will now not recognise the Carlisle Tenants and Residents Federation,
with immediate effect. Regards, Dean Butterworth”
Letter dated
July 27 to Mr Dean Butterworth from the
Secretary of Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation
Carlisle
Tenants` and Residents` Federation at its meeting on July 16 discussed your
email of July 9 in which you stated that Riverside, with immediate effect, will
not recognise the Federation. I was asked to reply.
The email
was in response to a letter from the Federation asking for the starting date of
two new Riverside forums which had been promised i.e. for tenants, and for
leaseholders.
You will
be aware that a Riverside non-recognition decision is nothing new to the
Federation. The Federation was the subject of previous almost identical
Riverside decisions, together with other similar arbitrary and authoritarian
decisions during the time of your predecessor, Mr Patrick Leonard. Some of
these arbitrary and authoritarian decisions are listed below.
Mr
Leonard, you will recall stood as a
party political candidate in the Cumbria Police and Crime Commissioner
election, then stated that if elected he was prepared to do the two jobs
together continuously i.e. that of
commissioner and that of his then current job of regional director of
Riverside. Most people considered this proposition to be ridiculous.
You will
also be aware that the Federation was also the subject of false allegations,
instigated by Riverside, which resulted in the city council arbitrarily cutting
off email correspondence with the Federation. This decision by the city council
was deplorable.
You will
also be aware that the Federation has also been the subject of a Riverside
decision that the Federation will “cease to exist.” (This decision is recorded
in the minutes of the city council Community Overview and Scrutiny Panel).
Riverside had neither the power nor the authority to make such an outrageous
claim. Riverside`s action in this case, again was deplorable.
You will
also be aware that the Federation was
more than once the subject of an obnoxious Riverside procedure, namely
the Persistent Complaints Procedure while it was engaged in the democratic
process of a taxpayer`s right to
participate in the proceedings of the
city council`s Community and Overview and Scrutiny Panel. Riverside`s action in
this case, in addition to being ultra vires, was also an outrageous gross interference in the
democratic process and again, was deplorable.
You will
also be aware of what the Federation considered to be a Riverside campaign of
hostility to the Federation which lasted
for several years. Riverside`s actions in this instance were, once again,
deplorable.
All of
the above deplorable decisions and actions have been the subject of written
protests by the Federation but none has been explained by Riverside. Nor have
they been the subject of an apology. As far as the Federation is concerned they
are still extant.
It is therefore difficult to understand your
non-recognition decision in the context of Riverside`s still outstanding
decision to make the Federation cease to exist; or to understand your
non-recognition decision in the context of the decisions of the still outstanding Riverside`s Persistent Complaints
Procedure; or to understand your non-recognition decision in the context
of the still outstanding Riverside`s
campaign of hostility to the Federation.
Perhaps
you will therefore please further explain these conundrums to help the
understanding of the Federation.
CONTENTS
OF YOUR EMAIL
Turning
now to the contents of your email.
I refer
to your comment that the rhetoric used in the Federation blog is incorrect,
disrespectful and unacceptable to describe your Scrutiny Panel, which you describe as “a group of Riverside
tenants who work tirelessly to try to improve the service that Riverside
provides for all its customers.”
The
Federation comment on this is that these tenants, I feel certain, work no
harder than members of the Federation. But your tenants are fortunate in having
the protection of a massive organisation which allows them to escape such
outrageous arbitrary and authoritarian treatment as that listed above. This
treatment can only be described as Riverside bullying of the comparatively tiny Federation which has
no such protection.
The
Federation makes this further comment: in the light of the comments of the
chairman of the city Overview and Scrutiny Panel on April 9 about the absence
of independence of the Riverside Scrutiny Panel, and in the light of the
Federation`s experience of six years of working with Riverside at meetings up
to four times month, the Federation blog was correct in that it was fair
comment on a matter of public interest.
(The six
years of meetings referred to in the previous paragraph – the meetings were
badly organised and badly run - ended when the Federation was dumped by
Riverside. Throughout the six years, Riverside was only interested in the views of its nominees, what the Federation would
describe as its nodding donkeys. Riverside consistently rejected any views of
an independent nature.)
CONCLUSION
In
conclusion, the Federation regrets that Riverside continues to reject views of
an independent nature and continues to make
arbitrary and authoritarian decisions, such as the non-recognition
decision contained in your
email.
The Federation hoped that with
your arrival in Carlisle about a year ago, and
with your stated aim then to
make changes and improvements in relations with other organisations there would have
been a new beginning for Riverside.
Your two meetings with myself as
representative of the Federation were constructive and helpful, particularly
when you stated that the Federation would be invited to
become a member of the Riverside
Carlisle tenants` forum which was planned.
The Federation urges you to
revert back to your initial policy of a year ago. This initial policy would be to the benefit of your tenants and leaseholders and to all other Carlisle and district
taxpayers.
Community Voice Carlisle is the blog of Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation. Information about the Federtion is available on 01228 522277 or 01228 532803.
taxpayers.
Community Voice Carlisle is the blog of Carlisle Tenants` and Residents` Federation. Information about the Federtion is available on 01228 522277 or 01228 532803.
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