Being Too Clever For Your Own Good

01/08/2009 by Samantha Hoy.

This post has been submitted by a contributor.  The author of this guest post would like to stress that it an expression of personal opinion and does not represent the opinion, official or otherwise, of the Cambs. County Council, of the owner of this blog (Steve Tierney)  or of any other person or body.  (Future guest posts by other contributors would certainly be seriously considered.  If you are interested - email Steve Tierney with details of what you’d like to write about.)

Being Too Clever For Your Own Good
By Samantha Hoy (FensCF Secretary)

“The council are closing off our road for four weeks to do the paths and road surface. I think I may have messed up their plans when I pointed out that the path in front of our houses belongs to the residents not the council.”

This is what I read on the status of the Facebook profile of an acquaintance. This then caused a huge row between us. Now this is not relevant to Cambs County Council as it’s in Norfolk but I felt the need to vent and a friend’s blog seemed the ideal place to do it.Basically, in Outwell there is a small road which is frequently used as it leads to the school, church and local shops. Because of this use of the road and path, holes have started to form and stones are coming loose.

The council have said that they will come and repair this at the request of the Parish Council. Now one resident who I shall name Bob, pointed out smugly to the council that they have no right to touch the path as the homeowners, whose front doors open directly onto the path in fact own the path. He is correct, it is in their deeds but it left me wondering why on earth would you turn down free repairs?

Many of you will know that it is a great headache to get councils to spend their already stretched budget on repairs, with many people campaigning for months to get a pothole filled. Anyone would have thought Bob would be pleased that he was getting work done, he cant do anything with the path himself (for example: put plants on it) as it is a right of way, so now the responsibility for repairs falls on the owners - and Bob himself.

I talked with him about the reasons, thinking perhaps he had a problem with the inconvenience or the noise, but no none of these are a problem; he just doesn’t want them to do it as it is his property. He says he wants to annoy the council to show them who is boss as they need to: “be told and know my property is my property.”

Now some of you may say: “Why should the council interfere with someone else’s property?” But this path is used by many people everyday and Bob has not asked his neighbours, or pedestrians or businesses on the street - he has just gotten on his high horse and told the council, who were (of course) all too pleased to be given a “get out” on the repair work.

What has Bob won? Perhaps some small amount of pride that he got his own way. But all the mums and children going to school lose and ultimately he will lose when someone falls on that path due to the uneven surface. Who will they sue? The council don’t own the path… Bob may regret the day he decided to be difficult just for the sake of it.

Posted in Guest Post, Conservative Future | No Comments »