DerekJackson

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  • in reply to: Ty Pawb #248385

    DerekJackson
    Participant

    How did Ty Pawb gain a national design award if non of the expected environmental features to create a sustainable space were not included.

    “The redevelopment was designed by Sarah Featherstone of Featherstone Young and won the Royal Society of Architects in Wales Welsh Architecture Award 2021”

    Many of the costs associated with the running costs have never been set against a Ty Pawb budget line so the true level of losses far exceeds what is in the report. The ‘team’ now tasked with debt collecting will not be charged to Ty Pawb- the total cost of lost income since 2018 is probably in excess of £1.5 million – either due to debts being written off or occupancy by charities and other businesses on a trial rent free basis just to get the stalls full.

    The central costs have never been reassessed to charge the stall holders – how many of the current ones will be packing up soon when they get a new rent. Most rents have not even changed with rates of inflation? Organisers of events are often not invoiced for the hire of rooms. This is bog standards mismanagement of a building not to have systems in place – why has Council Internal Audit not sorted this.

    This has been a Hugh Jones vanity project and he will not accept that this is a massive drain on the rates- how much rent is being paid by the Police for taking over the Oriel Gallery – is that rent going into TY Pawb?

    in reply to: Ty Pawb Report #245765

    DerekJackson
    Participant

    The level of creative accounting in these reports is astonishing. Showing grant income as if it is totally free of any additional expenditure is in my mind a deliberate attempt to distort the overall picture.
    Putting the Arts Council Grant in as a committed sum when they have not made their 2024/25 funding round announcements yet is just wrong.
    How did the design of the building get through the Council Building Regs Department without having all of the heat loss factors taken into account? Who authorised a design that eats up energy? How could the building win design awards when there are such fundamental flaws?
    Did the Lead Member have the right information on which to propose the acceptance of the design? If not why?
    If you strip out the Arts facility from the report finances it looks like all the stall holders need to pay 400% + in rents and service charges for the market element to be anywhere near breakeven!!
    The deteriorating state of the car park which is the key internal part of the building runs the risk of major incident.
    Was the car park build with RAAC concrete, does the Council even know? Massive water ingress is potentially making the building unsafe to the level before Ty Pawb was created when the surveys ‘Tell Tale’ readings was showing the level of deterioration.
    URGENT safety work is needed now or get out of the building until someone give a clean Health and Safety certificate.

    in reply to: Ty Pawb Report #245530

    DerekJackson
    Participant

    Well no surprises in the report for Councilors- this is the position that was projected within 12 months of opening – the doors have only remained open due to the increasing level of subsidy.
    There are a numb er of points Council Members should asking:
    1. Arts Council Grant- has this been confirmed for 2024/25 – Arts Council are having big cuts imposed by Welsh Government and they have not yet confirmed all grants to community projects – https://bit.ly/3TTco7r ?
    2. Car Park – the Car Park was supposed to have applied for the Park Mark Quality Standard to reflect the Ty Pawb image – never been undertaken as it meant £250k plus of electrical works for the lighting alone to make it safe.
    3. The old Market had a number of architects ‘tell tales’ in place due to the level of crumbling concrete around the building. Have all these been removed now or if they are still in place what is the current fabric report indicating regarding the cracks? Where the cracks a result of RAAC concrete problems – has the building been assessed for RAAC?
    4. 85% occupancy level does not mean 85% of projected rental income as a number of units are let to charities on below or free the normal income?
    5. 5 year fixed wiring testing is a statutory requirement so should have been in the budget in the first place?
    6. Energy consumption: Officers in the Council pointed out pre redevelopment that the design did not meet the necessary heat loss or energy efficiency factors but they were overruled by the project team and Council Member as not being affordable.
    7. Footfall: since day one the figures have always included people who just use the car park and the stairs into Ty Pawb but don’t actually shop or attend an event – the building for many is just a link passageway. What is the actual footfall of people engagement in Ty Pawb as this is the figure that any retailer should be working on as potential customers and not the current figures that are being used.

    in reply to: Ty Pawb Report #245465

    DerekJackson
    Participant

    The Advisory Board is a way of the Council blame shifting if things don’t work out- the group don’t have any control or real influence.
    There are just so many flaws in the model from design to management.
    Ratepayers are saddled with huge annual bill.

    in reply to: Ty Pawb Report #245442

    DerekJackson
    Participant

    The funding model from day one has not been a sustainable commercial space- appreciate it is an arts facility and you could argue that would always need a subsidy. but and a real big but is out of all the stalls that are open a number are charities that do not pay rent the Council have them there to try and show a fuller occupancy.
    Many of the initial stall holders left after about 12 months and some (maybe all) did not pay rent as the promised footfall figures to get them to invest were so exaggerated.
    This has been a Council vanity project from the outset with flawed planning, lack of commercial management and moved from what within council reports was a profit centre that would contribute funding to the arts in Wrexham to being a financial millstone.
    There are Council Members that do not live in the real world and keep getting more and more subsidy so they save face by not having to admit it is just not working.
    All of the arty people in Wrexham who sing its praises need to look at the level of subsidy – what would they do if the Council gave them £250k for arts projects – would they keep Ty Pawb open or do alternate things elsewhere.

    in reply to: Mark Drakeford Stands Down #244493

    DerekJackson
    Participant

    The best thing for Wales would be to have an election for new MSs instead of the Croud that are there at the moment – constitutionally I don’t this this can occur.
    Stuck with the three potential candidates they all have a lot of negative baggage – Vaughan Gethin was Health Minister that took Betsi Health Board out of Special Measures when clearly not ready, he was also Health Minister large portion of Covid when it first started – he made many mistakes that can attribute excess deaths to the Welsh Government due to positive testing patients being admitted to care homes. He is also been supporting Mark Drakeford in not having a Wales specific Covid inquiry – he has admitted to the Covid Inquiry that he didn’t read vital briefing papers. He is someone who totally will not stand any scrutiny or questioning issues and even walks out on TV interviews.
    Eluned Morgan – is the current Health Minister and most people realise that Health is in one of the worst states it has been for 25 years of Devolution, she put Betsi back into Special Measures who now say it will be 10 years to improve! In the meantime unnecessary deaths occurring and malpractice reported nearly every week at Coroners across Wales.
    Jermy Miles – Education Minister presiding over the worst PISA comparison results in Wales for decades- more mailing of our young people as they go through learning but end up with very poor attainment levels.
    Outsider is Hannah Blythin from Flintshire – carries certainly far less baggage than the other three.
    The system in our electoral process though is not democratic- unless you are a member of the Welsh Labour Party you have not say in who will represent the country you live in.
    We all need to remember we have the new First Minister through to the next Senedd election in May 2026!!

    in reply to: Labour/Plaid Government Control in Wales #244075

    DerekJackson
    Participant

    Hi sorry to disappoint but we have current Welsh Labour Government in Wales until 2026 we are only voting for MP’s and Police and Crime Commissioner next year.
    The standards in Wales for Education and Health are hitting rock bottom but another 2 years of this appalling Government after 23 years in power is affecting all ages across our families.

    Has anyone ever heard anything from our County Borough MSs – Lesley Griffiths and Ken Skates about the appalling Health issues in the Maelor where patients are at risk on a daily basis. They clearly have an in tray with a too difficult to answer category!!

    in reply to: LDP Thrown Out #243778

    DerekJackson
    Participant

    So the court case has found in favor of the developers and Wxm Council got to find £100k. Our Council is a total farce which is showing that neither Council Members (some at least) and Council Officers have no professional relationship with which to carry out their role.
    Yet against there is a disjoint between Council Members not taking the advice of paid officials – on this occasion Council Members should hang their head in shame as they walk out of the door from the Guildhall for the last time as they resign.
    Wrexham Council needs to be pit into Special Measures and the Welsh Government should send in the Commissioners to sort this out the same as they did in Angelsey a few years ago.
    People of Wrexham deserve more from their elected representatives.

    in reply to: Wrexham Maelor A&E #243590

    DerekJackson
    Participant

    Why does wrexham.com not ask our two MSs Lesley Griffith and Ken Skates? They are supposed to represent local residents, seems a fat chance they will talk about the failings of Welsh Labour in Health Services.
    Clearly they think their car park campaign is more important.

    in reply to: Wrexham Maelor A&E #243397

    DerekJackson
    Participant

    And still no comment about the failings in the Maelor from our two lack MSs Lesley Griffith or Ken Skates.
    Labour run failing NHS

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