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Dangerous Pothole
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Repairs Needed Now!
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Watch Out Pothole!
Whilst I accept we had an exceptionally severe cold snap in January 2010, I was dismayed by the apparent lack of urgency in repairing the dangerous potholes that exist on our roads (and getting worse the longer they go unattended). Even weeks later the main roads where I live and work in Beaconsfield and High Wycombe were littered with hundreds of potholes that can seriously damage vehicles and must be a severe danger to cyclists?
I can only hope that all the Council Tax we pay to South Bucks District Council and Wycombe District Council will get them to liaise with the Buckinghamshire County Council Highways Agency to make resolving this totally unacceptable situation an absolute priority. The suspension to my own car had to be fixed recently, so I know what is is like to hit a deep pothole in the dark, partcularly where there is no street lighting and the headlights of the car coming towards you masks your view of the road infront of your vehicle!
Consequently, I decided to see what I/we could do about it and went on to Google and typed in “Potholes Compensation”. The top two generic links that came up were for “What Car?” and “Potholes.co.uk”. Both these landing pages are worth a visit if you want to know how to claim compensation if your vehicle has been damaged by a pothole?
The potholes.co.uk website offers drivers a step by step guide to potholes, contact details for your local council, how to claim, find potholes, report a pothole, ask advice and the facts about potholes.
The What Car? website has a very helpful brief summary of “what you should do if your car has been damaged by poor-quality roads, here’s what you need to do to claim compensation.
• Take a picture of the pothole, including something which shows the size of the damage to the carriageway.
• Take pictures of the surrounding area to show that there’s no warning of the damaged road (such as warning signs, cones or bollards), and take pictures of the damage to your car.
• Get a garage to prepare a quote for the repair work and, hopefully, corroborate your claim that the damage was caused by a pothole.
• Report the road and car damage to your local authority’s highways department, and submit a claim for compensation covering the cost of repairs.
• Ask the highways department if the carriageway damage has been reported before and, if so, when. Ask why it has not been repaired” (Source an article dated 23rd March 2007 on the News page of the What Car? website)
So to ensure Buckinghamshire County Council’s Highways Agency, Wycombe District Council and South Bucks District Council all work together to repair our roads, make sure you claim if a pothole damages your vehicle. And in the ironies to end all ironies Bucks “council chief responsible for roads suffered two burst tyres after driving through a pothole. Buckinghamshire County Council leader Councillor David Shakespeare lost two tyres on his BMW while driving along Maxwell Road, Beaconsfield as the recent snow began to thaw.” (post by Oliver Evans on BFP Website 10/2/10)
CATAGORY|Major Events, UK Politics
According to the Sun’s Deputy Political Editor, Graeme Wilson, in an article he posted on the Sun website on 20th October 2009, entitled “Hovels for Heroes” thousands of Armed Servicemen and women, along with their families live in homes without double glazing, and many live in squalor. The Sun article suggests that “One in three families said that their accommodation was in a “poor” condition – and only half described their homes as “good”. A third said their houses were filthy when they moved in, according to the devastating report by the Commons Public Accounts Committee. Two out of five said they were unhappy with the “state of repair”.
In addition Graeme Wilson points out that “Thousands of homes have no double-glazing, “security defects” and lack modern kitchens or bathrooms.” The article expresses genuine concern that “More than 10,000 houses for our heroes are in a WORSE condition now than a year ago. As many as 9,000 service homes lack proper showers, while 6,000 have wiring nearly 40 years old.”
Surely our service men and women deserve to live in decent accommodation, especially at a time when so many are tragically losing their lives for their country in Afganistan and Iraq. Lets hope the publicity highlighting the problems will cause those in authority to act to rectify this situation immediately!
CATAGORY|UK Politics
According to a telepgraph.co.uk article entitled “Homeowners failing green targets to pay more council tax” by Personal Finance Correspondent, Myra Butterworth “Under the new proposals, the Government would increase Council Tax and Stamp Duty for millions of homes that are not energy efficient. It could also mean families are unable to sell their home unless they spend tens of thousands of pounds on getting their properties insulated and double-glazed.”
Of more concern to homeownersk, the article goes on to say that “It is understood that Government advisers The Energy Savings Trust, wants it to becomes illegal from 2015 to put a home up for sale, which has a rating lower than band E.” Window Energy Ratings (WER’s) vary from A-G, with band A being the most energy efficient and band G the least energy efficient.
Hazlemere Windows offer a range of energy efficient windows that will address this potential problem, in a wide range of finishes, including wood grain effect UPVC. However, due to the extra metal strengthening that has to be added to PVCu wood effect windows, the highest window energy rating that can be achieved for a wood grain effect UPVC window is “B”. If you can live with, or prefer a white finish, you can install A rated windows in your property, which achieve the highest WER energy efficient rating there is…..”A”
Hazlemere supply and fit both “A” rated UPVC and “A” rated aluminium windows that achieve the highest energy efficient rating possible. So if your property has out of date glazing that is poorly insulated and letting lots of heat escape, save money by finding out about Hazlemere’s energy rated windows that will not only keep heat in more efficiently, and offer better insulation, but also reflect heat back, thereby cutting down on the amount of energy you use heating your home, which will in turn reduce your energy bills.
CATAGORY|Carbon Footprint, Saving Energy, UK Politics
“Housing crash is now past its worst”, says Bank of England
David Miles, the Bank of England’s new resident expert on the mortgage and property market, may have announced the best news of 2009 so far. Positive news that will resonate around every home in the UK, and will surely instill confidence with estate agents across the land. If his comments are correct, the UK’s housing market has stablised and is set for recovery and mild growth. This sits in stark contrast to his report a year ago that claimed the economy was the worst it’s been for 20 years. Nationwide, the building society, supported the turnaround by announcing that housing prices in June rose for the third time in four months.
“It may be the case that we get what looks like a very sharp rebound over the next few quarters: one might interpret that as a V-shape but that doesn’t really tell you an awful lot about what the likely path of GDP growth will be,” Professor Miles said. “The prospect of a rapid return to growth doesn’t seem a highly probable outcome.”
Professor Miles knows how much
Professor Miles also added, however, that neither the housing market nor the UK economy could expect more than “anaemic” growth in the coming years due to the severity of the financial crisis that proceeded.
We’re just happy to finally see some prosperous news on the property horizon, and hope that it can be sustained. Hazlemere Windows is unequivocal in its support to the UK’s housing market, and feel confident that we can bounce back as one on the leading economies in the world.
CATAGORY|Major Events, UK Politics
According to an article on thismoney.co.uk on 13th July 2009 by Daniel Martin of the Daily Mail homeowners “who do not have double glazing or insulation would be hammered under proposals drawn up by an environmental pressure group which will be considered by ministers.”
Whatever the outcome, it seems inevitable that homeowners in Buckinghamshire and Berkshire will soon be paying more one way or the other, by either a) investing in energy efficient energy saving windows for their property, thereby reducing their carbon emissions or b) paying higher tax bills until such time as they make their home more energy efficient. It is thought Climate Change Secretary of State Ed Milliband is likely to announce what penalties energy inefficient homeowners could face in the Autumn of 2009.
“John Adams, who came up with controversial proposals for the UK Green Buildings Council, said the green loans idea would take off only if the ‘carrot and stick’ approach was employed. The loans would be offered by the Government to fund environmentally friendly schemes such as double glazing, loft and cavity wall insulation, solar panels and wind turbines.” (extract from an article by Daniel Martin of the Daily Mail)
It does make sense to opt for the greatest return on one’s investment by choosing the best financial combination between thermally efficient windows and how much they cost to install in the first place. My personal opinion is that UPVC or Aluminium “C” rated replacement windows are the best value, as they cost less than “A” rated windows, but offer excellent thermal efficiency. Although UPVC and Aluminium “A” rated windows are obviously slightly more energy efficient, and the most environemtally friendly in the marketplace, the financial reality is that you will probably never get a return on your investment unless you live in the same property for decades.
CATAGORY|Saving Energy, UK Politics, Uncategorized
The Labour MP for Warwick and Leamington Spa, James Plaskitt was recently asked by Kevin Unitt, a reporter for his local newspaper the Leamington Observer, where any profits should go when he comes to sell his flat in future. Labour MP James Plaskitt replied “I put a substantial sum down of my own money to buy it, and have carried out considerable improvements out at my own expense, such as replacing single with double glazing, so part of any profit should surely come to me.”
Fair-play to James Plaskitt, as I suspect many Members of Parliament will have claimed for replacement double glazing as part of their MP expenses. Given the substantial improvement energy saving, energy efficient windowsbrings to a property, I do not believe that MP’s should be allowed to claim double glazing on their expenses. Not only does most high quality modern double glazing improve the look of any property, it increases it’s saleability and therefore increases the value of the property. If they then sell the refurbished property for a profit, it is too complicated to work out/agree who should get what out of the sale if MP’s have claimed double glazing on expenses. Consequently, in my personal view, if MP’s therefore want to do up their second homes they should use their own funds, and not taxpayers money.
All MP’s are facing a hard time trying to justify any of their expenses claims at all at the moment, and James Plaskitt MP is no different. Commenting on the issue on his website he states “MPs’ expenses have dominated the news bulletins in recent days. I have been totally shocked and appalled by some of the allegations. It beggar’s belief how a small number of MPs have claimed for completely unjustifiable costs. But I want to reassure all my constituents that I have always followed the letter and the spirit of the rules.”
This is one MP who is trying to quell local anger and questions by going public. As says on his website “My full expenses receipts will be published by the House of Commons in a few weeks. I have copies of these receipts in my office, but I can’t publish them yet because I am legally obliged to remove personal data – addresses, bank account numbers and signatures, both for me and my staff. The stack of photocopied sheets is about two feet high so it’s quite a job! But I’ve invited the local media to my office to go through all my receipts with a fine-tooth comb and report on anything they find. I believe in total transparency on this issue. People have a right to know how I spend public money, which is why I’ve always published my expense accounts and I welcome the reform of expenses which is urgently needed.”
Unfortunately all MP’s seemed to have been tarred with the same brush, and I certainly would not want to be an MP, now or in the future, as it will take a clear out and an open and transparent track record of years of good behaviour it seems, before the public may once again trust their elected representatives. I do hope the local MP’s in our region of Bucks, Berks, Herts, Oxon. and Middlesex have not claimed double glazing on their expenses, as if any of them have, then they will have a lot of explaining to do what they plan to do with any profits they make from the sale of any second home.
CATAGORY|UK Politics
What on earth is Shadow Chancellor George Osborne up to in an article in the Times today suggesting that there could be a run on the Pound? He “accuses” Gordon Brown of being irresponsible with the British Economy, yet irresponsibly suggests “We are in danger…..of having……a run on the pound.” Is he trying to bring Sterling to its knees? Does he want the Tories to inherit a failing economy? The Tories would do well to bring back the Statesmanlike and respected Kenneth Clarke, who focuses on policies and not personalities like Mr Osborne. Could it be Mr Osborne’s own lack of policies and personality he is covering up for by criticising everyone Else’s?
CATAGORY|Commerce, UK Politics
President-Elect Barack Obama’s “landslide” win with more than double the number of Electoral College votes than John McCain, is totally out of proportion to the number of votes each candidate received. With the destiny of Missouri’s 11 electoral college votes still to be decided, Senator Barack Obama has 65 million votes to Senator John McCain’s 57 million votes, yet Obama has 364 electoral college votes to McCain’s 162, a very disproportionate number, but that is how the system works in America, with whoever gets 270 electoral college votes the winner.
In 2000, the Democratic Presidential Candidate, Vice-President Al Gore actually got 48.38% of the votes, compared to George Bush’s 47.87% share of the vote. However, President George Bush crawled over the finish line with 271 electoral college votes to Al Gore’s 266 by controversially “winning” Florida’s 25 electoral college votes by only 537 actual votes, with the Supreme Court denying the Democrats a recount.
The American system is not unlike our first past the post system, where it is not unusual for a UK goverment to be elected with a minority of all votes cast, with 324 MP’s needed for a Commons majority of the 646 MP’s. Having said that both system’s seem to work, as proportional representation is likely not to give a majority mandate to govern. Nevertheless, for a Conservative country, the U.S.A. have swung dramatically in historical terms to the left, with the Democrats also winning majorities in both the Senate and House of Representatives. The great thing about Obama, was he was first past the post with the most, so has a genuine mandate to implement his policies, lets hope he does and the “change” he and his administration bring about is for the better and not just for change’s sake.
CATAGORY|American Politics, UK Politics
