Tag Archives: Mary Ryan

THE GREAT SIEGE OF RICHMOND TERRACE: SOME QUESTIONS

With the occupation at 44 Richmond Terrace apparently winding down, it’s time to start asking some QUESTIONS about decisions regarding the occupation taken by by Bristol City Council.

Specifically questions about what senior bosses at Bristol City Council – who have just been awarded pay rises of up to 20 PER CENT to reflect their ‘expertise’ – have been up to.

To the untrained, non-corporate eye, their decision-making over Richmond Terrace has been consistently CRAP. Why did a group of highly paid ‘strategic managers’ have no strategy whatsoever throughout this whole occupation?

Instead the bosses seem to have staggered from one short term RANDOM DECISION to the next. Either based on Service Director Nick Hooper’s well-known PERSONAL DISLIKE of occupier, Steve Norman, or they have responded to events on the ground as they happened. All the precise opposite of what we’re over-paying these clowns to do.

The fact is the bosses directly responsible – Service Directors Nick “Drooper” Hooper and Mary “Contrary” Ryan and Strategic Director Alison “Three Jobs” Comley – on a combined income of around £310k per year – have been thoroughly OUTFOUGHT, OUT THOUGHT and OUT RUN during the last six weeks by a band of Bristolian activists.

Is this trio of useless twats really the best Bristol City Council can offer to solve our housing crisis?

Here’s some of the questions that the council and its highly paid bosses need to start answering:

1. Why did the sale of 44 Richmond Terrace go ahead at all on 20 April hours after it had been occupied by protestors?

2. Why did both Bristol City Council and their auctioneers tell the buyer the house was “rumoured” to be occupied when Steve Norman had emailed housing Service Director, Nick Hooper, at noon on 20 April informing him he had occupied the house?

3. Why did no one at Bristol City Council visit and confirm if the house had been occupied or not on 20 April before proceeding with the sale?

4. Did Bristol City Council receive confirmed reports from the BBC on 20 April, prior to the auction, that the house had been occupied?

5. Why did Bristol City Council do nothing between 20 April – when the house was occupied and then sold – and 18 May – when the sale should have completed – to regain possession of the home?

6. After 18 May why did Bristol City Council not attempt to negotiate a solution to the occupation until 31 May, once they had dismally failed to evict the occupants after half an hour trying?

7. Why did Housing Service Director, Mary Ryan, visit the occupiers on 23 May claiming she was negotiating a solution with them while offering nothing?

8. Why did Bristol City Council not obtain an eviction order until 25 May, five weeks after the occupation had begun and one week after the sale should have been completed?

9. Why did the council take six days, from 25 May to 31 May, to attempt to evict the occupiers, giving the occupiers time to dig in and secure the house?

10. Why, when the council’s bailiffs visited on Tuesday 31 May, were they not aware the occupiers were on the roof of the house – and had been since Friday 27 May as reported on the BBC – and that a specialist team was required to remove the occupiers rather than the gang of thick, useless oafs they sent.

11. Despite repeated requests to Housing Service Director, Nick Hooper from April 20, why has he never supplied written evidence that Anthony Palmer was not entitled to extra housing priority as an ex-serviceman because he had left the services over five years ago?

12. Why was Anthony suddenly awarded this extra housing priority on 31 May without explanation?

13. Why was Anthony Palmer allowed to be harassed by staff from Connolly & Callaghan, the private owners of his homeless hostel, through regular checks on his whereabouts throughout the day?

14. Why was Anthony Palmer threatened with eviction if he did not stay at his shithole Connolly & Callaghan homeless hostel overnight? Is it a prison?

15. Why did housing Service Director, Nick Hooper, consistently disregard the advice of social services and health visitors in relation to the urgent housing need of Anthony Palmer?

16. Why did the details of 44 Richmond Terrace supplied on the Hollis Morgan website describe the house as requiring “complete modernisaiton” (sic) while the so-called ‘structural report’ produced by Bristol City Council on 25 May says the building has “structural damage”?

17. Who wrote the 224 word ‘structural report’ for 44 Richmond Terrace for Bristol City Council and when?

18. Was this ‘structural report’ sufficiently detailed and complete for a senior council boss to take the delegated decision to sell 44 Richmond Terrace?

19. Which manager at Bristol City Council took the decision to sell 44 Richmond Terrace?

20. Why did the council undertake renovations at 44 Richmond Terrace in the year prior to its sale?

21. Did the council offer the former tenant the opportunity to return to 44 Richmond Terrace earlier this year after the council had completed repairs and renovation?

22. Why did a council spokesman say on 25 May, “Costs to bring the property up to the standard we aspire to for council houses were estimated in excess of £35,000″ when the figure stated in the council’s own ‘structural report’ is £30,000?

23. Why had no one at the council been in touch with the buyer at any point to discuss the occupation of the home they had sold to her?

24. Why did the council tell the buyer information on the occupation was “confidential”. On what legal basis was it “confidential”?

25. Why was the buyer reliant on information regarding 44 Richmond Terrace from the media; from Richard Carey and Steve Norman occupiers at the property and from BBC Radio who had contacted her at various times? Why did the council not communicate with her?

26. Why did the council misrepresent the actual facts regarding the sale during pre-contract enquiries by the buyer?

27. Why had Marvin Rees not seen an email sent to him by the buyer on Thursday 19 May by Monday 30 May despite the sender receiving an automated acknowledgement from Marvin’s council email account? Who had seen that email and who withheld it from the mayor?

We anticipate no answers to these questions as the council, its staff and its councillors will now pour a lot of time, money and resources into defending at all costs the bent, overpaid deadbeats responsible.

BRISTOL HASN’T GOT A HOMELESS PROBLEM. IT’S GOT A HOUSING DEPARTMENT MANAGEMENT PROBLEM

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Bristol Labour’s new housing boss, Paul “Wolfie” Smith lets slip a few very INTERESTING FACTS in a piece of shameless self-promotion he’s written for the Guardian:

“Bristol has a real problem with homelessness, with more than 300 households in temporary accommodation at a net cost to the council tax payer of £800,000 a year; at the same time 550 council homes are empty, losing rent of £2m and £700,000 in council tax. “

Er, sorry, come again? We’ve been handing around a £1,000 a month to private sector temporary housing ‘specialists’ for each homeless family – at a cost he alleges of £800k but is likely to be much more – while leaving 550 council homes they could live in sat EMPTY?

Council homes that could generate almost £3m in income to the city. That’s lots of money and housing stock that we could be using to house the homeless ourselves. Instead our money’s being handed over to DODGY LOCAL BUSINESSMEN to provide a revolting, anti-human homeless service while our own housing resources are left to ROT.

Wolfie’s wrong. This city hasn’t got a homeless problem. It’s got a HOUSING MANAGEMENT PROBLEM. What the fuck is going on at Bristol City Council’s housing department? Wolfie offers us half an explanation:

“six years of austerity, service cuts, redundancies and restructures, all of which have destroyed both morale and provision”

It’s not just morale and provision that’s been destroyed, however. The concept of a social housing department that’s there to serve the public and provide support to the vulnerable has been PULVERISED.

The city’s senior housing bosses – strategic director, Alison “Three Jobs” Comley and service directors, Nick “Drooper” Hooper and Mary “Contrary” Ryan – have obsessively focused – for over six years now – on delivering Tory policies of AUSTERITY, CUTS and PRIVATISATION at the expense of their actual jobs of delivering a housing service to the public.

We’ve had these three fucking idiots systematically SACKING, DOWNGRADING and DESKILLING their workforce for over eight years now while introducing a GORMLESS CORPORATE CULTURE of privatisation, outsourcing, constant restructuring, regular office moves, ‘agile working’, management consulting, ‘demand management’, half-arsed techno solutions, useless software and IT fixes and any other PASSING MANAGEMENT FAD a well paid consultant can pass off on this trio of useful idiots.

These three bosses haven’t bothered running a housing department in the traditional sense for years. They’ve been implementing a right wing, ANTI-PUBLIC SECTOR ideology. DOWNGRADING a vital public service to the point where it’s barely viable. Try phoning (0117 922 2200) Drooper Hooper’s housing department and see if you can even get to speak to a human being.

All three need to QUIT or be SACKED. We need normal housing bosses in our housing department who can quickly provide homes fit to occupy and get families into these homes. It’s not difficult and it’s what a housing department should do. Leaving council homes EMPTY while stuffing the pockets of local businessmen with large amounts of public cash for shit housing is nothing short of a criminal enterprise.

The current housing management needs to go and go now. They’ve fucked up our city up and now they need to fuck off.

44 RICHMOND TERRACE: TICK TOCK IT’S GONE 5 O’CLOCK – WE WIN!

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On the 20 April 2016 housing activists occupied 44 Richmond Terrace, Avonmouth with the intention of preventing this council owned home from being SOLD AT AUCTION later that day to the private sector. They didn’t succeed and the council sold the occupied house to a PRIVATE BUYER.

Earlier today, however, The BRISTOLIAN received news from inside Nick “Drooper” Hooper’s leaky toilet of a housing department that the buyer of the property has PULLED OUT of the sale. After it became apparent Bristol City Council would fail to hand the buyer UNOCCUPIED POSSESSION of the property at 5.00pm today as they were contractually obliged to do when they sold the home.

We are therefore proud to announce that 44 Richmond Terrace REMAINS in public ownership and that the activists are victorious! Mission accomplished. DIRECT ACTION GETS RESULTS!

Congratulations to all involved. Few believed this result possible. You’ve proved them all WRONG while plastering lashings of egg and the odd bucket of shit all over the faces of privatising senior bosses in the council’s housing department and making Marvin “The Reverend” Rees look hopelessly out of his depth as mayor.

So what happens now? The council’s hapless Service Director for Estates Mary “Contrary” Ryan assured activist Steve Norman yesterday that the house would go BACK UP FOR AUCTION as soon as possible if the occupation ever ends.

Although Mary Contrary seems to directly contradict Mayor Marvin “The Reverend” Rees who consistently stated throughout his election campaign that he would NOT SELL OFF any more council homes. A commitment he confirmed on ITV West News just last night.

Who’s running our council’s housing department and setting housing policy then? A bat shit crazy part time middle management housing bureaucrat with her OWN AGENDA or the elected mayor of Bristol? Watch this space.

The triumvirate of housing bosses who have fronted this occupation SHAMBLES for Bristol City Council – Strategic Director Alison “Three Jobs” Comley and Service Directors Nick “Drooper” Hooper and Mary “Contrary” Ryan – now have some explaining to do.

Let’s start with why, if the house was occupied on 20 April, did this trio of useless, unaccountable SHITHEADS not instigate eviction proceedings until almost FOUR WEEKS LATER and only 24 HOURS before the sale of the house was supposed to complete? What was the business case behind that decision?

The BRISTOLIAN’S Council House Kreminologists assure us that the three housing bosses are openly playing political games. Deliberately delaying doing anything about the occupation until after the election so they could dump the large pile of shit they’ve left festering on to the incoming Labour administration’s doorstep.

Why else would they FAIL to either instigate eviction proceedings or attempt to seriously negotiate a settlement to the occupation? The only two realistic options available to them to resolve the occupation that would have the house ready for their buyer to complete the purchase on 18 May.

Steve Norman and Anthony Palmer met with Service Director Nick “Drooper” Hooper’s minions on 28 April 2016, EIGHT DAYS after the occupation began. What agenda was Drooper pursuing at that meeting? The only outcome was a paltry offer of a place on a waiting list at a hostel in Southmead for Anthony. An offer that was then WITHDRAWN two days later by email.

Drooper’s efforts at this meeting were the precise opposite of attempting to reach a SOLUTION. He made it WORSE! And used the occupation as another opportunity to pursue his ongoing pathetic and ineffectve VENDETTA against leading occupier, Steve Norman. Drooper, presumably, believing the Reverend Marvin and his incoming Labour administration would simply go along with this personal-vendetta-funded-on-the-rates nonsense?

The Reverend himself doesn’t come out of this shambles too well either. What’s he been doing for the last TEN DAYS about this occupation? And why did his housing service director Mary “Contrary” Ryan appear at Richmond Terrace to apparently negotiate a settlement on Monday with NOTHING to offer?

Marvin effectively paid Mary Contrary FIFTY QUID AN HOUR of our money to sit outside in the sun at Richmond Terrace shooting the breeze for a few hours achieving nothing. A nice little earner if you can get it!

It’s time for the The Reverend to urgently start kicking some ARSE in his housing department. His senior housing directors are taking the piss. They have DELIBERATELY run up a bill in excess of £170k to enagage in some pretty ugly PERSONAL and PARTY POLITICS while dumping the resulting political mess and public relations disaster in his lap.

Are we now in for four years of IN-FIGHTING between an elected mayor and his cabinet and a bunch of RECALCITRANT senior council bosses determined to fuck up a Labour administration at any cost they feel like charging to the council tax payer?

The Reverend needs to nip this POLITICAL CRAP from his officers in the bud. What have they been playing at for the last four weeks? All three housing directors need to be investigated and called to publicly account for their bizarre and expensive POLITICALLY MOTIVATED decisions around Richmond Terrace.

But don’t hold your breath.

44 RICHMOND TERRACE: THE COUNCIL FIASCO UNFOLDS …

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Bristol City Council appear to have NO IDEA what to do about the ongoing occupation of 44 Richmond Terrace by housing activists supporting homeless dad, Anthony Palmer.

Today – out of the blue – £110k a year job share Housing Service Director, Mary “Contrary” Ryan, showed up at Richmond Terrace offering the occupiers, er … ABSOLUTELY NOTHING in return for leaving!

Where exactly do these overpaid, underperforming Bristol City Council management baboons get off? Does idiot Ms Contrary think she’s so bloody important and authoritative that we will simply do what she says because she’s got some poncey job title, an oversized ego and opens her mouth and makes a DAFT DEMAND?

This might work in that bent, bullying shithole she calls a workplace where her poor long-suffering staff have no choice but to implement her WANK. But is she so so deluded that she thinks anyone else in Bristol – not reliant on her for their livelihood – will take any notice of her? Or have any reason to be in the slightest bit scared of her?

Nick “Drooper” Hooper: repugnant dreg of humanity

Do Ms Contrary and her useless executive colleagues like Nick “Drooper” Hooper not understand they command ZERO RESPECT from the public and we’re not in the slightest bit afraid of these REPUGNANT PEOPLE or their soppy threats?

There’s simply no way we’re ever going to do what these tossers order. We have NO RESPECT for them. They’ve sold out our city; wrecked and destroyed our public services and spend their time fucking up our lives for huge personal gain.

These are people who force vulnerable families to live around RAW SEWAGE while their private landlord associates get signed over huge sums of public money on their authority for fucks sake. Do these MORALLY UNFIT DREGS of humanity really think we owe them anything except our undying hatred?

We suggest next time the council sends one their SHIT-FOR-BRAINS superannuated managers around to Richmond Terrace, they come with a proper offer or don’t bother.

We’re not fucking stupid. When will these overpaid wankers understand that?