Adrian Stott wrote:
> Captain Beeky <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> wrote:
>
>> I was thinking if I was involved with such a dilemma then instead of
>> picking one project to shelve I might cut support for all but 1 or 2
>> very carefully selected restorations. By showing what a good job I
>> could make of them it might stimulate wider financial support from
>> the government and/or other sources of finance
>
> Colbert is reputed to have said:
>
> "The art of taxation consists in so plucking the goose as to get the
> most feathers with the least hissing."
>
> I think the same principle applies when cutting spending. The cutter
> will want to save as much as possible while triggering the minimum
> amount of complaining.
>
> By chopping the T&S, BW may have felt that it would offend mostly the
> Cotswold lot. If it cut a number of small projects instead, it might
> offend quite a lot more people.
>
> I feel the rational thing to do would be to rank all the projects, and
> then cut from the bottom of the list. However, BW unfortunately seems
> to have got cold feet about updating its seriously-flawed previous
> ("2025 Vision") ranking, or even updating its inadequate set of
> ranking criteria.
Perhaps in reality, BW should rank the restoration projects they got
involved with, relating to the c0ck up they made in dealing with funding
partners/"taking" property instead of cash/property returns.
What was "suitable" property to get involved with in 2002 (or for that
matter as late as Feb2006!!!) has proved to not be the case.
There is rank amateurism here.
The frightening thing is the waterway restoration projects that BW are not
heavily involved are more likely go ahead!
I love the statement that a senoir person in the Driffield bunch said, a
good while back, when asked if BW should get involved, his answer was...
"Not over my dead body"!
Maybe he is being proved right?
"Cotswolds" has as good of killed the chance of ANY other large scale
restoration work going ahead. That is why it MUST be saved.
All this talk of money being tight because of BWgrant cuts / needed
elsewhere, "cloaks" the real reason BW pulled out of "Cotswolds".
--
Neil Arlidge - NB Earnest - Shannon Reg 7410
Read about the TNC Irish travels at:
http://www.tuesdaynightclub.co.uk/Tour_07/index.html
