Who was it that said "The natives are revolting"? Well this one certainly is!!
This is Nigel's blog for airing concerns about current issues on Alderney, and he invites you to comment too. Add your own thoughts be they humorous, insulting, satirical, critical or even full of praise. This is your chance to join the revolution!
Alderney Campsite
Saye Beach campsite, Sunday 5 August- does this look full to you...?
Made it under cover of darkness and are camping out in a rabbit hole,need food urgently so have you got a menu that involves crisps,chocolate,soft drinks because that is all that's in the excuse for a shop
i find it incredible that the states bought and had built two new shower blocks at the camp site and for that same investment (in fact less) they could have had a sports center if they had voted in favour of contributing match funding, a one month camp site versus a 12 month sports facility that the WHOLE island could have enjoyed ,this is the most perverse thinking, if you want people that are wealth creators to move here( entrepreneurs and the like) you need infa structure ie facilities for a rainy day. This is not rocket science its common sense-when did a man in a tent create one more job or opportunity on the Island ?
You are aware that the existing toilet/shower block had been condemned because it was dangerous? You are also aware that the influx of visitors using the campsite each year, after spending the exorbitant amount required to get here, should expect not to have to go in a bush but use clean and comfortable facilities?
The fact that the construction of the new buildings has been a farce from day one is another matter though. Giving the job of project manager to someone patently not up to the task while other more qualified States employees are available is shocking. An oversized slab, no ventilation, no ceilings, drains that run the wrong way and an internal layout that resembles a bowling alley, and having to call in outside contractors to do the job that the States should be doing themselves is a matter for concern. It appears that no one in a position of authority ever wanted to take charge.
Giving the job of campsite operator to someone from away who thinks that 25 tents means full is also a matter of concern. People come to the island, get treated shabbily and don't return. People come to the island, get treated shabbily and complain to the man at the top of the tree and don't even get the courtesy of "your letter has been received and is being dealt with". People come to the island to camp at the height of our season and have to suffer the rabbit holes and ragwort - it may not be the operators responsibility to carry out the tasks himself but as a States appointed representative he should at least be pushing for someone else to do it. Get the basics right, show a bit of courtesy and who knows, the next person through the door in his campervan might just be the sort of person willing to buy a house and have £20,000 worth of work done on it, keeping a few more people in employment for that little bit longer.
I agree with Reginald Blood, what a farce the new campsite shower block is. Whoever designed and planned this building should be named and shamed. Don’t pass the buck, OWN UP. This is our, the taxpayers money that you are, YET AGAIN wasting.
I would like to know if any plans for the construction of this so called ‘Shower Block’ were put out to tender and IF NOT WHY NOT. It is well known that using the States Department to do any building/repair work will a) cost more and b) take twice as long. It would be interesting to know the costs to construct this shower block (I have heard £112,000 although only rumour) Maybe that is why in the latest Alderney Journal, it was announced that the construction of the recreational building has been put on hold. It is not the fact the States are for once listening to the Islanders, more the case that they have not done their work properly, have gone over budget and just can’t afford it. SOUND FAMILIAR?
No local companies were asked to quote for materials. Everything was sourced off island and imported by the project manager. Great to see the States doing their bit to ensure that local businesses can expect a little bit of help in these austere times.
just a thought here, it does seem perverse that the states have built two new buildings on the campsite which if i am not mistaken is the green belt and yet there is a row of old farm buildings that the owners wanted to get planning permission on right by them, would it not have been more sensible to have either negotiated the purchase of, or compulsory purchased the buildings and moved all the facilities currently housed in other crates and wooden huts into this farm structure as i am sure most will agree what was a beautiful campsite is starting to represent a rambling compound.
This island seriously need to look at the conduct of our "Planning Office" and make changes now! It is becoming beyond a joke and I'm not just reffering to Campsite matters!
You missed out the fact that the operator has now departed from the Island taking all his profit with him. By all accounts it must have been quite some profit as he was turning campers away saying that he had no room and was completely full! Oh well, maybe next season things will be different, convoy's of caravans, shower facilities finished, people able to buy things from the shop and campers able to pitch their tents when they arrive. Oh, look up there..... there goes a pig!
Didn't you know? All the people who live locally are buffoons who would not be able to run a business like the camp site, they had no choice but to ignore the dozen other applicants in favour of the vastly experienced entrepreneur from Ingerland!
The ten men who were elected by us, and who now tower above us, decided that they liked the business plan put before them: Change the regulations to allow 'vans, throw some money at the toilets and encourage them to close up when they liked. Well done chaps!!
I do feel sorry for the elected members, they simply cant do right. The electorate are never happy. Why don't we just put our heads down and let them get on with running our lives for us.
I assume he has done that so he can pass the buck for all the mistakes he has made regarding the campsite. His secretary will probably be put in charge of other mismanaged projects too, again so he can come out smelling of roses.
And why has she been allowed to spend £190k of our money on it? Income from the campsite this year is approx £300! I thought that anything over £100k had to be voted on by the full states and debated at a people's meeting. Personally I think we could have got better facilities for a lot less. Very badly managed project.
Well from what I understand, she has made a complete mess of the whole thing. He should make sure that she sticks to the administrative tasks that she is employed to do instead of mismanaging projects and wasting tax payers money. Clearly she is out of her depth! I hope that the pair of them are held accountable for this mess.
What's all this then?? I have been looking for employment and did not see this one advertised! Without blowing my own trumpet, the project would have been delivered in full, on time and within budget and without the whole Island being in uproar! Come on States, get your house in order!
Good morning campers, the budget for completion of the new shower blocks has now been published and it will come as no surprise to most of us that even more money is needed to finish the job with the aim of having both units open and fully functional by the end of March, only trouble here is they didn't say WHAT YEAR! If the campsite operator opened the shop for longer with more stock and stopped turning campers away he just might generate more than £270.00. (yes, two hundred and seventy pounds). Is he even going to bother coming back this summer? Maybe he has another great idea to increase business, whale watching or swimming with dolphins perhaps?
What an absolute joke, over £200,000 for 2 wooden shacks. I am outraged that the tax payers money should be wasted in this way. If the States had put the building works out for tender, they would have been completed on time and within budget. We are now told that extra funds are being made available for remedial work on the first shower block as the floor levels are incorrect. Who built the floor levels, who was the designer/architect? Answers are required here
It is time for the person/persons to be named and shamed and held accountable for such incompetence.
Nigel just wanted to clarify that the figure of £270 generated at the campsite, was only the States portion and not the Campsite Operators profit. I am of the understanding that a percentage of the campsite site fee is usually given to the States but for whatever reason this year it was wavered to the benefit of the campsite operator. Oh well I suppose it has given the campsite operator more profits to take back to the mainland with him. As I said ‘an absolute joke’!!
You seem a wee bit upset Anonymous? Look on the bright side, at this rate it will only take the tax payers 740 years to get our money back. Surely the public works will have completed the build by then!!
The operator was here recently and at a meeting with the States asked that a purpose built bungalow be constructed on the site. What planet is he from?
I doubt they will, there is something corrupt about a process where locals are overlooked in favour of someone that brought their own food and accommodation to the island in order to run a publicly owned facility.
Did I read correctly that the campsite managers want to encourage more visitors to Alderney? Then WHY have they increased the fees????? I can only assume that they want a hassle free season with as few campers as possible so they can enjoy their new holiday home (paid for by the LOCAL, HARD WORKING tax payer) in peace and quite. A nice life if you can get it and it seems our States Members are happy to oblige.
Reading the minutes of the States meeting www.alderney.gov/meetings I see that the Boxing Club cannot make use of certain rooms at Fort Doyle as the roof beams are rotting and the States, who own the building, have no money for repairs. It was also noted that the cliff by the cutting is in need of meshing to secure it from rock fall, but the States have no funds to repair that either. THEN HOW COME THEY CAN FIND THE FUNDS TO BUILD ACCOMODATION FOR THE CAMPSITE MANAGER. Surely the campsite manager should be funding his own accommodation. There are plenty of houses/flats for rent and to say that they need to be onsite 24/7 is just ridiculous. Where ever you live on this island it is no more than 5/10 minutes away from the campsite. Get real States Members; you are being taken for mugs here at our expense. Which ever States Members voted for this should be held accountable, named and shamed.
An enquiry would be nice, how did this situation develop? The island needs a campsite that is open for business, not operators who are threatening to go on strike because they have not had a house built for them.
If this is full then the operator should have gone to spec savers!
ReplyDeleteMade it under cover of darkness and are camping out in a rabbit hole,need food urgently so have you got a menu that involves crisps,chocolate,soft drinks because that is all that's in the excuse for a shop
Deletei find it incredible that the states bought and had built two new shower blocks at the camp site and for that same investment (in fact less) they could have had a sports center if they had voted in favour of contributing match funding, a one month camp site versus a 12 month sports facility that the WHOLE island could have enjoyed ,this is the most perverse thinking, if you want people that are wealth creators to move here( entrepreneurs and the like) you need infa structure ie facilities for a rainy day.
ReplyDeleteThis is not rocket science its common sense-when did a man in a tent create one more job or opportunity on the Island ?
All round to yours to use the toilets then.
ReplyDeleteYou are aware that the existing toilet/shower block had been condemned because it was dangerous?
You are also aware that the influx of visitors using the campsite each year, after spending the exorbitant amount required to get here, should expect not to have to go in a bush but use clean and comfortable facilities?
The fact that the construction of the new buildings has been a farce from day one is another matter though. Giving the job of project manager to someone patently not up to the task while other more qualified States employees are available is shocking. An oversized slab, no ventilation, no ceilings, drains that run the wrong way and an internal layout that resembles a bowling alley, and having to call in outside contractors to do the job that the States should be doing themselves is a matter for concern. It appears that no one in a position of authority ever wanted to take charge.
Giving the job of campsite operator to someone from away who thinks that 25 tents means full is also a matter of concern. People come to the island, get treated shabbily and don't return. People come to the island, get treated shabbily and complain to the man at the top of the tree and don't even get the courtesy of "your letter has been received and is being dealt with". People come to the island to camp at the height of our season and have to suffer the rabbit holes and ragwort - it may not be the operators responsibility to carry out the tasks himself but as a States appointed representative he should at least be pushing for someone else to do it. Get the basics right, show a bit of courtesy and who knows, the next person through the door in his campervan might just be the sort of person willing to buy a house and have £20,000 worth of work done on it, keeping a few more people in employment for that little bit longer.
I agree with Reginald Blood, what a farce the new campsite shower block is. Whoever designed and planned this building should be named and shamed. Don’t pass the buck, OWN UP. This is our, the taxpayers money that you are, YET AGAIN wasting.
ReplyDeleteI would like to know if any plans for the construction of this so called ‘Shower Block’ were put out to tender and IF NOT WHY NOT.
It is well known that using the States Department to do any building/repair work will a) cost more and b) take twice as long.
It would be interesting to know the costs to construct this shower block (I have heard £112,000 although only rumour) Maybe that is why in the latest Alderney Journal, it was announced that the construction of the recreational building has been put on hold. It is not the fact the States are for once listening to the Islanders, more the case that they have not done their work properly, have gone over budget and just can’t afford it. SOUND FAMILIAR?
No local companies were asked to quote for materials. Everything was sourced off island and imported by the project manager. Great to see the States doing their bit to ensure that local businesses can expect a little bit of help in these austere times.
ReplyDeleteExcellent letter in the Journal, by the way.
ReplyDeleteAll the costs and other details of the camp site work are in the States minutes, which are now back on line after the web site change.
Thanks Martin and yes, I did get your e-mail. I need time to thing on it.
ReplyDeletejust a thought here, it does seem perverse that the states have built two new buildings on the campsite which if i am not mistaken is the green belt and yet there is a row of old farm buildings that the owners wanted to get planning permission on right by them, would it not have been more sensible to have either negotiated the purchase of, or compulsory purchased the buildings and moved all the facilities currently housed in other crates and wooden huts into this farm structure as i am sure most will agree what was a beautiful campsite is starting to represent a rambling compound.
ReplyDeleteThis island seriously need to look at the conduct of our "Planning Office" and make changes now! It is becoming beyond a joke and I'm not just reffering to Campsite matters!
ReplyDeleteNow closed until Spring. No half term, no out of holiday use. Nothing. Disgusting.
ReplyDeleteYou missed out the fact that the operator has now departed from the Island taking all his profit with him. By all accounts it must have been quite some profit as he was turning campers away saying that he had no room and was completely full! Oh well, maybe next season things will be different, convoy's of caravans, shower facilities finished, people able to buy things from the shop and campers able to pitch their tents when they arrive. Oh, look up there..... there goes a pig!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteDidn't you know? All the people who live locally are buffoons who would not be able to run a business like the camp site, they had no choice but to ignore the dozen other applicants in favour of the vastly experienced entrepreneur from Ingerland!
DeleteThe ten men who were elected by us, and who now tower above us, decided that they liked the business plan put before them: Change the regulations to allow 'vans, throw some money at the toilets and encourage them to close up when they liked. Well done chaps!!
I do feel sorry for the elected members, they simply cant do right. The electorate are never happy. Why don't we just put our heads down and let them get on with running our lives for us.
Why has the Chief Executive Officer made his secretary the Project Manager for the campsite? Anyone know?
ReplyDeleteI assume he has done that so he can pass the buck for all the mistakes he has made regarding the campsite.
DeleteHis secretary will probably be put in charge of other mismanaged projects too, again so he can come out smelling of roses.
And why has she been allowed to spend £190k of our money on it? Income from the campsite this year is approx £300! I thought that anything over £100k had to be voted on by the full states and debated at a people's meeting. Personally I think we could have got better facilities for a lot less. Very badly managed project.
ReplyDeleteWell from what I understand, she has made a complete mess of the whole thing. He should make sure that she sticks to the administrative tasks that she is employed to do instead of mismanaging projects and wasting tax payers money. Clearly she is out of her depth! I hope that the pair of them are held accountable for this mess.
ReplyDeleteWhat's all this then?? I have been looking for employment and did not see this one advertised! Without blowing my own trumpet, the project would have been delivered in full, on time and within budget and without the whole Island being in uproar! Come on States, get your house in order!
ReplyDeleteBut you are blowing your own trumpet. Yet you don't have the Ed Balls to put your name to these amazing claims that you have made.
DeleteGood morning campers, the budget for completion of the new shower blocks has now been published and it will come as no surprise to most of us that even more money is needed to finish the job with the aim of having both units open and fully functional by the end of March, only trouble here is they didn't say WHAT YEAR! If the campsite operator opened the shop for longer with more stock and stopped turning campers away he just might generate more than £270.00. (yes, two hundred and seventy pounds). Is he even going to bother coming back this summer? Maybe he has another great idea to increase business, whale watching or swimming with dolphins perhaps?
ReplyDeleteWhat an absolute joke, over £200,000 for 2 wooden shacks. I am outraged that the tax payers money should be wasted in this way. If the States had put the building works out for tender, they would have been completed on time and within budget.
ReplyDeleteWe are now told that extra funds are being made available for remedial work on the first shower block as the floor levels are incorrect. Who built the floor levels, who was the designer/architect? Answers are required here
It is time for the person/persons to be named and shamed and held accountable for such incompetence.
Nigel just wanted to clarify that the figure of £270 generated at the campsite, was only the States portion and not the Campsite Operators profit. I am of the understanding that a percentage of the campsite site fee is usually given to the States but for whatever reason this year it was wavered to the benefit of the campsite operator.
Oh well I suppose it has given the campsite operator more profits to take back to the mainland with him. As I said ‘an absolute joke’!!
You seem a wee bit upset Anonymous? Look on the bright side, at this rate it will only take the tax payers 740 years to get our money back. Surely the public works will have completed the build by then!!
DeleteThe operator was here recently and at a meeting with the States asked that a purpose built bungalow be constructed on the site.
ReplyDeleteWhat planet is he from?
Uranus perhaps. The States could vote for him to kiss their Saturn rings!
DeleteI doubt they will, there is something corrupt about a process where locals are overlooked in favour of someone that brought their own food and accommodation to the island in order to run a publicly owned facility.
DeleteDid I read correctly that the campsite managers want to encourage more visitors to Alderney? Then WHY have they increased the fees?????
ReplyDeleteI can only assume that they want a hassle free season with as few campers as possible so they can enjoy their new holiday home (paid for by the LOCAL, HARD WORKING tax payer) in peace and quite. A nice life if you can get it and it seems our States Members are happy to oblige.
Reading the minutes of the States meeting www.alderney.gov/meetings I see that the Boxing Club cannot make use of certain rooms at Fort Doyle as the roof beams are rotting and the States, who own the building, have no money for repairs.
ReplyDeleteIt was also noted that the cliff by the cutting is in need of meshing to secure it from rock fall, but the States have no funds to repair that either.
THEN HOW COME THEY CAN FIND THE FUNDS TO BUILD ACCOMODATION FOR THE CAMPSITE MANAGER.
Surely the campsite manager should be funding his own accommodation. There are plenty of houses/flats for rent and to say that they need to be onsite 24/7 is just ridiculous. Where ever you live on this island it is no more than 5/10 minutes away from the campsite. Get real States Members; you are being taken for mugs here at our expense. Which ever States Members voted for this should be held accountable, named and shamed.
An enquiry would be nice, how did this situation develop? The island needs a campsite that is open for business, not operators who are threatening to go on strike because they have not had a house built for them.
ReplyDelete