Theft from Former Post Office?

Some new info just in concerning the somewhat dodgy removal by NCC of 'Save Carrington Post Office's campaign materials from the former PO site.

It turns out that the campaign has reported the loss to the Police and it has been recorded as theft. Seeing as NCC has admitted that they removed the items this looks like a bit of an open and shut case. The courts really should make an example of this sort of thing.

Anyway, the campaigners have done a bit of rooting around and apparently the affair was triggered by an anonymous call to the fly-tipping team at NCC complaining about "blatantly political advertising". A further phone call complaining about the area looking run down and saying that "that sort of advertising" did nothing to help was found to have been made by a serving NCC councillor who had previously told campaigners that she supported the campaign. This couldn't be a case of a councillor telling local people what they want to hear with one face while behind the scenes working to support the former government's line on closures with the other could it?

Another councillor has apparently privately apologised and promised to make enquiries but as yet the campaigners have heard nothing on this, nor from Jane Todd who they had written to previously.

Compare and contrast this with the account of JoCo's Gordon Brown style granny cuddling following NCC workers' removal of England flags that she had hung across the road. As far as I can see, it was quite lawful for them to do so (although arguably a little unwise but you could argue about that all day) and they did in fact leave the flags behind so there's no issue of theft unlike the SCPO case.

Yet within a day the Leader of the City Council has turned up on her doorstep with apologies and flowers and she has been invited to a 'tea party' with the Lord Mayor Cllr Brian Grocrook who presumably is going to discover that she is a long lost relative and bump her up the waiting list for a new house as part of the charm offensive.

But of course SCPO have yet to hear anything. They need to get an ENG-ER-LAND supporting little old lady on the team.

NCC Gets Stupid Over 'Fly Posting'

The Post had an article last week saying that NCC removed posters owned by the 'Save Carrington Post Office' campaign that they had put up on the old post office site. The council apparently claimed that it was fly posting.

However, in a letter to the Post, campaigner Colin Barratt said that the posters were placed with permission from the owner of the building and that the council should have given them two days to prove that before removing them. He has written to Jane Todd and asked for an apology. I hope he isn't holding his breath. Personally I would have gone to the Police as it's theft but perhaps Mr Barratt is a nicer man than me.

I've written to the campaigners and if I get any more info I'll add it up here.