In answer to my criticism that I was disappointed that no vision for West Somerset had emerged since the District Council elections in West Somerset, I was pointed in the direction of the West Somerset Sustainable Community Strategy 2007 - 2010 which I understand is the work of the West Somerset Strategic Partnership.
I have read this document and was massively disappointed. In my view it has little or no value at all. I hope little of West Somerset's tax payers money went on this report. Frankly, even the cost of printing the report would have been more than it was worth.
I was going to review it in depth but I now believe that it is not worth the effort.
I will give one example to show its lack of innovation and depth of thought.
Of knowledge based industries it says:
Knowledge-based industries are underrepresented in West Somerset.Wow, is that it?
I work in a knowledge industry. Did they talk to me? No! Did they get my opinion? No!
How many people did they talk to? How did they publicise their investigations? Did they just pop into the bar at the Conservative club and chat to whoever was there?
What practical proposals were considered? How do they propose to change matters?
It is a completely inadequate statement, valueless and, for all I know, possibly inaccurate. If I didn't know they were consulting and doing the report who am passionately concerned for the regeneration and improvement of West Somerset, probably the other, hidden, knowledge based businesses didn't know about the survey too.
What is missing from this report is 'how'. How do we get higher paid jobs into the area? How do we help small businesses to grow and be more profitable? To state the obvious that both these and many more local deficiencies need rectifying is worthless. We need a plan to say how the deficiencies are to be rectified and we need it now!
Worst of all, this valueless report has taken time to produce. Time has continued to pass with no solutions being found. Time during which people in West Somerset continue to suffer from strategic policy neglect!
As I said, I was going to review the whole report but the people who produced this pathetic report were probably paid to produce this monumental waste of tax payers resources.
I, on the other hand, am not paid for my efforts.
If the authors of the West Somerset Sustainable Community Strategy 2007 - 2010 care to see real proposals for the regeneration of this area which are affordable, they can read previous articles on this blog and come online and discuss them with me in public.
I don't suppose they will.
Sorry, I'm too fed up and disgusted to write any more.
By for now
Rob
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