It is back on. Mathew Street

[miguel]

MATHEW STREET FESTIVAL

THE Mathew Street Festival is going back to its roots – with acts being staged at venues across the city centre this August Bank Holiday.
It follows top level discussions led by council leader Warren Bradley involving the city council, Liverpool Culture Company, Merseyside Police, business leaders and Cavern City Tours.
Acts scheduled to perform on outdoor stages on Sunday and Monday, August 26 and 27 will get the chance to play at more than 40 key city centre indoor venues to satisfy concerns over public safety.
It follows an independent report by leading health and safety experts Capita Symonds Limited, which stated the outdoor stages posed significant risks to the public.
The past few days of intensive discussions has resulted in:

40 city centre venues offering to stage acts
A further 20 are being approached
Of the acts scheduled to play, many already have an alternative venue
All 10 Streetwaves acts will play at The Barfly on Bank Holiday Monday
Key venues with a large capacity that have expressed interest, include: The Krazy House, Mood, Walkabout, Rat and Parrott, University of Liverpool’s Mountford Hall
Talks are to be held with other interested key venues including: The Picket, Zanzibar, Korova, Heebie-Jeebies, Pan-M, Babycream, Blue, Society, La Bateau, Bar L1 Reflex, Varsity, Metro.
Creamfields festival have offered to take acts on Saturday
A full list of venues with listings will be published next week

Lots of family entertainment will also be provided within the city centre as the two-day event aims to cater for people of all ages.

There will also be a full programme of activities for families visiting the city centre on the 26th and 27th August which will lead into the city’s 800th birthday celebrations on Tuesday 28th August.

The annual Liverpool International Beatles Week, organised by Cavern City Tours, will also run from August 22-26, kick starting with a special concert to launch the Cavern album marking the 50th anniversary of the world famous club. There will also be a programme of guest talks, concerts and Beatles-related auctions.

Now in its 15th year, the festival began at The Cavern with the other clubs and pubs in Mathew Street.

Councillor Warren Bradley, Leader of Liverpool City Council, said: ‘’ I’ve been hugely impressed by the spirit of co-operation between the public and private sectors to try and solve the problem – but the safety issue around the outdoor stages has proved to be too complex to resolve for this year and I’m extremely disappointed.

The result of those efforts is a plan which provides the acts and the public with a festival which I believe retains the spirit of Mathew Street, while ensuring there is minimal risk to visitors to the city centre.’’

Liverpool city council Chief Executive Colin Hilton said: “We have been working closely with Cavern City Tours, Liverpool Chamber of Commerce and Merseyside Police, and numerous other partners, to come up with alternative plans for the Mathew Street Festival which address the public safety risks. Their support this week has been invaluable.’’

Professor Drummond Bone, Chairman of Liverpool Culture Company, said: ‘’By moving the acts indoors, people will still be able to enjoy the fantastic entertainment that the Mathew Street Festival is famous for in safety.’’

Bill Heckle from Cavern City Tours and a Director of the Mathew Street Festival Ltd company, who along with three other directors originally set up the Mathew Street Festival, said: ‘’The feel of the event will echo earlier Mathew Street Festivals, which some people actually prefer.

‘’There will be dozens of bars and restaurants staging live music events and we implore stakeholders, who perhaps have not hosted live music in their bars during the Festival before will now find a way of providing such entertainment to satisfy the huge demand that will be evident over the whole weekend. We applaud the initiative taken by many already to do just that.’’

David Wade-Smith, Chairman of Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, added: “The Mathew Street Festival is one of the showpiece events in Liverpool’s calendar and makes a massive contribution to the economy of the city.

“I am extremely heartened that by working together in partnership we have devised an alternative proposal which deals with the public safety issues and enables people to come out and party.”

[Steven]

Well that is good news. Nice one Miguel. I expect to see you there. There will be a pint with your name on it.:PDT_Aliboronz_24:

[Howie]

So the outdoor events remain cancelled. Isn't that confirmation that it is still off. There is to be no Mathew Street Festival staged on the streets this year!

[Steven]

I have been informed that it will go ahead and Seel Street has been selected should the Council do another U turn.

[geoffrey]

COUNCIL leader Warren Bradley today dismissed the Mathew Street festival debacle as “a blip”.

http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2007/08/09/echo-exclusive-mathew-street-festival-saved-100252-19600421/

can you believe this guy?

[Steven]

Has he ever been 'Butted' by an ex-Royal Navy Officer from the Dingle ? Where does he live ?

[gerrydoyle]

The Mathew Street Festival will go ahead, but it will not have any outside music stages, Liverpool City Council has announced.
The event was cancelled last Thursday amid health and safety fears.

Acts will instead play at more than 40 indoor venues across the city centre over the bank holiday weekend.

Council Leader Warren Bradley said he was "disappointed" there were no outside stages and that safety issues could not be resolved.

He also said he was hugely impressed by the way all the different agencies had worked together to ensure the event could go ahead.

The cancellation of the event, which attracts about 100,000 people each year over the bank holiday weekend, was announced last week.

Liverpool City Council said the loss of space at the Pier Head and the amount of ongoing construction work meant there was a "significant" risk to the public.

'Good scousers'

The festival over the bank holiday weekend will lead into Liverpool's 800th birthday celebrations on 28 August.

Professor Drummond Bone, chairman of the Liverpool Culture Company, said: "By moving the acts indoors, people will still be able to enjoy the fantastic entertainment that the Mathew Street Festival is famous for in safety."

The directors of festival said they were shocked and acutely disappointed that the festival would not feature outdoor stages.

But they added that it was not a time for recriminations and said: "This is the time for all good scousers to come to the aid of the party to ensure that this great City has an 800th birthday party to be proud of."

[gerrydoyle]

The directors of festival said they were shocked and acutely disappointed that the festival would not feature outdoor stages.

But they added that it was not a time for recriminations and said: "This is the time for all good scousers to come to the aid of the party to ensure that this great City has an 800th birthday party to be proud of."


Who the hell do they think they're kidding? Do they really think we are so stupid that they can get away with not changing a single thing since last weeks announcement and then pretending that they 'saved' something????

What we have here is a bunch of gigs in pubs and clubs around the City.

IN NO WAY, SHAPE OR FORM DOES THAT CONSTITUTE 'SAVING' THE FESTIVAL.

Don't believe me? Then ask the families and the kids who won't be able to go into the pubs and clubs.

Wasn't expecting anything more out of Bradley but the sheer brass neck on show here is staggering.

As for 'now isn't the time for recriminations' well it never is, is it?

The "Mathew Street Festival saved" headline on Echo is the most pathetic thing I've ever seen.

Instead of nailing the blirts they're aiding and abetting a fraud on Liverpool people.

The headline should have read :

"OFFICIAL: FESTIVAL STILL CANCELLED, COUNCIL STILL GOBSH***S!"

[miguel]

Oh, I love your proposed headline . . . quite classic. That would sell so many Liverpool Echoes. Eat your hearts out sub-editors!
Oh well, let's make the most of it. Remember, this is a peoples party; not Warren Bradley's or any other nincompoop's. Let's not let them hi-jack it.
The best way to win this is to turn OUR streets into OUR outdoor pub and show by OUR behaviour that we the people are a much bigger force of good than the council and its quangos could ever be.
I wonder if Marborrow will be there to make a welcoming speech. Now that would be fun. Bottoms up, lads . . . . girls too.

[Steven]

What can I say:handclap::handclap::handclap::handclap: Hit the nail on the Head Miguel.:handclap:

[Gerard]

Oh, I love your proposed headline . . . quite classic. That would sell so many Liverpool Echoes. Eat your hearts out sub-editors!
Oh well, let's make the most of it. Remember, this is a peoples party; not Warren Bradley's or any other nincompoop's. Let's not let them hi-jack it.
The best way to win this is to turn OUR streets into OUR outdoor pub and show by OUR behaviour that we the people are a much bigger force of good than the council and its quangos could ever be.
I wonder if Marborrow will be there to make a welcoming speech. Now that would be fun. Bottoms up, lads . . . . girls too.


Well said miguel Lad :PDT11

[shank]

No outdoor stages means it is most definitely off honest this council couldn't run a ****-up at a Kirby wedding Ive got friends in the north east just cant understand how they could cancel so late i told them don't worry it will be on trust me.Boy was i wrong

[kat2]

*sobs* now come on, is it on? off? or still not sure, according to the Lunch time news, its still in debate until later this afternoon.

Disgusting god help us for next year if this is anything to go by, I mean all this building work hasnt just suddenly started, I enjoyed the Mathew Street festivals each year, I really would have liked some accurate information. I do feel sorry for the many visitors to the city and wonder if this will put some off coming back next year, Mathew Street seemed to have a cult following, something sadly the council seems to think doesnt matter.
what a mess!
a disgrace upon us by our own council.
no doubt thats going to look good in the news
well, I say it now, I as part of the people of liverpool am sorry for the total C:disgust:****up, that the elected council which represents us has made to our many guests and over seas visitors.
kat

[Squirrel]

Chaps, the Culture Company fouled up, not the council and certainly not Warren Bradley.

This happened when Bradley wass on holiday. As soon as he got back he did his best to salvage what he could from the festival.

It is now far too late to get a safety certificate for the outdoor stages and the plan is to extend the range of indoor venues so that as many bands as possible can be relocated to these locations.

The incompetance of the Culture Company in fouling up and waiting to three weeks before the festival, before announcing that the whole shebang was cancelled was breathtaking. The Culture board, the local MP and Bradley himself said that the Culture Company had given them no indication that there were any problems.

In the circumstances, in flying back into the UK, hosting as many meetings as he could and salvaging what will still be a massive festival in only three days, Bradley did an excellent job. If he could have saved the stages, he would have I'm sure.

The Culture Company f***ed this up. The council picked up the pieces as best they could.

[Howie]

Liverpool City Council Culture Company (I use this phrase as I would Sinn Féin IRA - they are one and the same - Warren Bradley and Mike Storey are on the Board of the Culture Company) have f***ed this up. Register your dissatisfaction here (http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Liverpool-2008/). :angry:

[Squirrel]

And the board, including Bradley, Storey and local MP weren't told about the problems by the culture company. There's something rotten there for sure, but the problem lies with Harbarow and chum, as well as, as for as the council goes, Phil Hilton. The poor dupes in amongst the elected council members were told jack sh**.

[gerrydoyle]

Chaps, the Culture Company fouled up, not the council and certainly not Warren Bradley.

This happened when Bradley wass on holiday. As soon as he got back he did his best to salvage what he could from the festival.



You've got to be kidding.

If Bradley didn't know anything at all then he's a plank and no use to any of us and he should resign.

If he did know, then he's attempting to con all of us and he should resign.

Bradley has suceeded in rescuing precisely nothing!

This fiasco didn't all happen in the last week. It's the result of months of incompetence. The fact that Bradley was on holiday when the announcement was made just underlines the lack of communication between differnt parts of the Council - yes the culture company is just another part of the Council.

Listen to Bradley on Merseyside today and compare it with what he said on Saturday. we've gone from 'I'll save it all' to the festival has gone back to it's indoor roots. that's not just pathetic, it's dishonest. In his own words this is a fiasco, the only problem is that - as usual -he's not prepared to take responsibility for the fiasco.

He finished off by saying that 'I'm not doing this for Warren Bradley, I'm doing this for the people of Liverpool.' Well thanks Warren but we've got enough problems without your pitiful efforts.

[shank]

a
Chaps, the Culture Company fouled up, not the council and certainly not Warren Bra
This happened when Bradley wass on holiday. As soon as he got back he did his best to salvage what he could from the festival.

It is now far too late to get a safety certificate for the outdoor stages and the plan is to extend the range of indoor venues so that as many bands as possible can be relocated to these locations.

The incompetance of the Culture Company in fouling up and waiting to three weeks before the festival, before announcing that the whole shebang was cancelled was breathtaking. The Culture board, the local MP and Bradley himself said that the Culture Company had given them no indication that there were any problems.

In the circumstances, in flying back into the UK, hosting as many meetings as he could and salvaging what will still be a massive festival in only three days, Bradley did an excellent job. If he could have saved the stages, he would have I'm sure.

The Culture Company f***ed this up. The council picked up the pieces as best they could.IS THIS FELLA AVIN A LAFF? OR IS HIS NAME BRADLEY

[Howie]

Stripped-down festival for just 20,000 visitors

THIS year’s Mathew Street Festival will not be the event people “had come to love”, it was claimed last night.

As it was confirmed the event will have no outdoor stages, Liverpool council leader Warren Bradley blamed the fiasco on paid officials and said there had not been the “will” from other agencies to save the full festival.

More (http://www.liverpooldailypost.co.uk/liverpool-news/regional-news/2007/08/10/stripped-down-festival-for-just-20-000-visitors-64375-19603904/)...

[Squirrel]

aIS THIS FELLA AVIN A LAFF? OR IS HIS NAME BRADLEY

What did you not agree about my post?

It is possible that, as Mr Doyle explains, some criticism of Bradley is justified insofar as the Culture Company, which fouled up this festival, did not tell Bradley or anyone else on their own board about the problems that they were having, has been allowed to get away with total incompetence whilst he has been leader of the council.

By point was that, as soon as Bradley knew about the Culture Company's **** up, he tried to move heaven and earth to plan a festival from scratch in only three weeks. Unfortunately due to safety regulations and the opinions of other, non-council agencies this was impossible.

The idea that Mr Doyle has that the coucil and the culture company are one is somewhat problematic. The Harbarowboy does not report to Warren Bradley. However, he, and the rest of the culture company are obliged to keep their own board informed of their progress and any significant problems. Bradley, and plenty of others, are on the board. They were not told. It seems that Bradley is capable of achieving not a little when he feels he can, as the reasonably impressive last minute damage limitation exercise he was able to pull off in three days this week shows. If he, and the other elected members, had been made aware of problems in advance of last week's cancelation announcement by the Culture Company, they probably could have saved much more of the festival.

There needs to be sackings/resignations and they should be in the Culture Company, not amongst the elected members.

Look at it this way, I have a couple of staff. I don't scrutinise and micromanage every single aspect of their working day. I give them responsibilities and targets, and then ask them to report on their progress and bring any problems to me. If one of them managed to **** up their job and then launch a cover up operation, not telling me of a hugely damaging mistake they've made until it was impossible not to, I wouldn't resign. They'd be fired, however.

What troubles me about all of this, is not just the realisation that five months before ECoC, the agency set up to manage the culture year is obviously in disarray, but that, while the board and the council's elected cabinet members were not informed by the Culture Company of their SNAFU, it appears that the council chief executive, Colin Hilton, knew before the announcement and kept things from Bradley. Now, Hilton is meant to report to Bradley. This smells horribly like the old Storey/Henshaw problems, a chief executive happily running the city himself whilst not keeping the council leader fully involved in events.

I agree with Paul Brant for once when he says that the investigation of what went wrong should not be lead by Hilton. It seem that Hilton was part of the problem.

[shank]

What did you not agree about my post?

It is possible that, as Mr Doyle explains, some criticism of Bradley is justified insofar as the Culture Company, which fouled up this festival, did not tell Bradley or anyone else on their own board about the problems that they were having, has been allowed to get away with total incompetence whilst he has been leader of the council.

By point was that, as soon as Bradley knew about the Culture Company's **** up, he tried to move heaven and earth to plan a festival from scratch in only three weeks. Unfortunately due to safety regulations and the opinions of other, non-council agencies this was impossible.

The idea that Mr Doyle has that the coucil and the culture company are one is somewhat problematic. The Harbarowboy does not report to Warren Bradley. However, he, and the rest of the culture company are obliged to keep their own board informed of their progress and any significant problems. Bradley, and plenty of others, are on the board. They were not told. It seems that Bradley is capable of achieving not a little when he feels he can, as the reasonably impressive last minute damage limitation exercise he was able to pull off in three days this week shows. If he, and the other elected members, had been made aware of problems in advance of last week's cancelation announcement by the Culture Company, they probably could have saved much more of the festival.

There needs to be sackings/resignations and they should be in the Culture Company, not amongst the elected members.

Look at it this way, I have a couple of staff. I don't scrutinise and micromanage every single aspect of their working day. I give them responsibilities and targets, and then ask them to report on their progress and bring any problems to me. If one of them managed to **** up their job and then launch a cover up operation, not telling me of a hugely damaging mistake they've made until it was impossible not to, I wouldn't resign. They'd be fired, however.

What troubles me about all of this, is not just the realisation that five months before ECoC, the agency set up to manage the culture year is obviously in disarray, but that, while the board and the council's elected cabinet members were not informed by the Culture Company of their SNAFU, it appears that the council chief executive, Colin Hilton, knew before the announcement and kept things from Bradley. Now, Hilton is meant to report to Bradley. This smells horribly like the old Storey/Henshaw problems, a chief executive happily running the city himself whilst not keeping the council leader fully involved in events.

I agree with Paul Brant for once when he says that the investigation of what went wrong should not be lead by Hilton. It seem that Hilton was part of the problem.
Iam sure Bradley and his party if they wanted could fined 3 outdoor venues where there is no work going on surely st georges plateau for one strange to me that Bradley was on holiday when the news broke out the buck stops with him he is supposed to be the leader. do you think the geordies would pull the great north run 3 weeks before it went or that London would stop the notting hill festival or dare i say it the mancs would stop there gay pride weekend ours is a world wide event i think warren Bradley and the rest should resign over this let alone try to credit the man for trying to keep it on nothing personal against you squirrel but i still think your having a laff

[Squirrel]

Iam sure Bradley and his party if they wanted could fined 3 outdoor venues where there is no work going on surely st georges plateau for one strange to me that Bradley was on holiday when the news broke out the buck stops with him he is supposed to be the leader. do you think the geordies would pull the great north run 3 weeks before it went or that London would stop the notting hill festival or dare i say it the mancs would stop there gay pride weekend ours is a world wide event i think warren Bradley and the rest should resign over this let alone try to credit the man for trying to keep it on nothing personal against you squirrel but i still think your having a laff

Well I don't think that Bradley could have arranged for three outdoor stages to be set up this late in the day. He would have if he could. We have been told that Bradley wanted to save some outdoor stages but that the police and other agencies would not play ball and refused to give the council a safety certificate this late on. The Culture Company gave Bradley the unenviable task of trying to organise the festival from scratch in only three weeks. Nowadays, I am afraid, such events need much longer planning and current laws require that very complex public safety conditions are met before an event can go ahead. The bottom line is that the planning for an event takes months, not weeks. Whether Bradley wanted the stages or not, and it appears that he did, he simply could not bring about circumstance in which they could be permitted.

The blame lies with the Culture Company, who had all year to organise the festival, cocked it up and didn't tell their board, including Bradley, until it was far to late for the festival to be salvaged.

You are right that the fact that Culture Company made its cancellation announcement while Bradley was on holiday is rather fishy. It appears as if the timing might have been deliberate. The Culture Company kept their failures from Bradley, and the other elected members of the council, and made their announcement when he was so far away he couldn't react immediately. I agree with you that this behaviour does seem to warrant resignations or sackings, but in the Culture Company and not amongst the elected council members. You are also right in that I do give Bradley credit for trying (if failing) to keep the festival on in as close to to its format of recent years as possible because this is what he clearly appears to have been doing over the last week.

That said, however, given that it is less than five months until ECoC, clearing out the top brass of the Culture Company would itself be potentially disastrous. I truly worry about ECoC whatever happens now. There's no right way to go. Leave the useless monkeys in the Culture Company management in charge - although I hope, and pray, that their staff are better than their bosses - or fire them have to recruit a whole new management team for a hugely complex programme of events with only a few months to spare? Neither plans exactly fill you with hope for 2008.

Tell me, if your demands were met, the Culture Company management were all sacked and Bradley (who doesn't appear to have been involved in the Mathew St fiasco other than belatedly trying to salvage some out of this disaster) resigned as well, other than making you feel better in that those no-good no marks have been kicked out, what purpose would the sacking and resignation serve and what position would they leave Liverpool in less than five months before the culture year?

I've followed Liverpool local politics reasonably closely over the yeasrs and feel that, whilst the council still appears to have some significant failings, it is today streets ahead of the basket case it was a few years ago. Whenever I have heard Bradley speaking (and don't worry, I don't know the man and I am not a Liberal Democrat) he appears to speak more sense than most Liverpool local politicians have done for a long while, much more than the current Labour leader, Mr Anderson, for example.

Liverpool is a great city with a potentially bright future. However, historically it has been let down by short-sighted, third rate politicians. Some of these have been Labour - I'm not just thinking of Degsy's pantomime of a council, Prendergast's council wasn't militant but was disgracefully indolent and ineffective - some have been Liberal - Trevor Jones 70s councils weren't much better and I believe that the later Conservative councils weren't much cop either.

Since Bradley has been in, and it has not been much over a year, most of his ideas have seemed to have been fine. He want to slim down the maze of overlapping public agencies in Liverpool into one, more effective one. Good plan. Why didn't Storey think of this? He thinks that Liverpool is not getting its fair share of inward investment. He's right. He wants the city to sell itself more to City and other investor to get private sector jobs into the city. Again, obvious but why did Manchester and other big city council's get this when Liverpool's didn't?

You want this guy kicked out for something I don't even think he even was to blame for. Then what? Do you really think that a council lead again by old Mikey Storey or, heavens forbid, batty old dot, Flo Clucas, would be better than Bradley's. Or do you think that the still useless local Labour party, currently lead by a man who cannot open his mouth without putting both feet into it, would be better if they got in? I don't think so.

So, no, I'm not having a laugh. I'm serious. The business of running a city with the sorts of challenges that Liverpool has is serious. Glibly crying out for sackings and resignations whenever any problem arises whilst having no notion of the further, pointless damage that they would do, is not, I'm afraid.

If someone's having a laugh here, it's not me.

[gerrydoyle]

Well I don't think that Bradley could have arranged for three outdoor stages to be set up this late in the day. He would have if he could.

So, no, I'm not having a laugh. I'm serious. The business of running a city with the sorts of challenges that Liverpool has is serious. Glibly crying out for sackings and resignations whenever any problem arises whilst having no notion of the further, pointless damage that they would do, is not, I'm afraid.

If someone's having a laugh here, it's not me.

You've listened to Bradley talking sense? When was that exactly? Because what I've heard this week - on the Pete Price show for example - has been toe-curlingly embarrassing.

I heard a 'leader' who not only didn't know what was happening in his own administration but then 'glibly' professed not to understand the content of the report that led to the cancellation in the first place.

I think the show is available on listen again if you'd like to check it out.

I'm not calling for the resignation of Bradley for fun - or because I want to see him replaced by another Lib-Dem pygmy - but in order to prevent the next monumental fiasco that is inevitable if he stays.

The tragic fact is that Warren just doesn't get it and sadly it seems neither do you.

Btw 'batty old dot, Flo Clucas' probably isn't a phrase you should use if you don't want to come over as Lib-Dem insider sticking up for poor, embattled Warren.

[geoffrey]

Tell me, if your demands were met, the Culture Company management were all sacked and Bradley (who doesn't appear to have been involved in the Mathew St fiasco other than belatedly trying to salvage some out of this disaster) resigned as well, other than making you feel better in that those no-good no marks have been kicked out, what purpose would the sacking and resignation serve and what position would they leave Liverpool in less than five months before the culture year?


Personally, after all that's come out, I think it should be up to the LibDems to decide on their leadership although Bradley's role should be scrutinized by a properly independent enquiry.

As for the top brass of the Culture Company we have been constantly told that the programme is in place. These people have been chosen for their "vision" and by now we have had the benefit of that or, as I suspect, not.

What we need now is a team who can give confidence to private investors not just for 2008 but beyond it as well. There are ambitious plans for the Playhouse/Everyman for example that require asking for great heaps of cash and some credibility will be needed.

[Squirrel]

Personally, after all that's come out, I think it should be up to the LibDems to decide on their leadership although Bradley's role should be scrutinized by a properly independent enquiry.

As for the top brass of the Culture Company we have been constantly told that the programme is in place. These people have been chosen for their "vision" and by now we have had the benefit of that or, as I suspect, not.

What we need now is a team who can give confidence to private investors not just for 2008 but beyond it as well. There are ambitious plans for the Playhouse/Everyman for example that require asking for great heaps of cash and some credibility will be needed.

I agree with you Goeffrey. Having council chief executive, Colin Hilton, conduct the enquiry is hardly the best way to find out what went wrong. It appears, that unlike Bradley, Hilton was in on the problems well before the announcement and did not inform his council leader and Hilton was party to the appalling decision to cancel the festival only three weeks before it was planned. In his report, Hilton is hardly likely to castigate himself and it appears that he was part of the problem.

Like you, I find that this debacle has provided a chilling insight into the competance (or lack of it) of the management of the Culture Company as well what might be a culture of secrecy and covering up mistakes. It makes me wonder what else have they fouled up. And what's worse, if the Culture Company are a useless shower, it is now are too late to replace them and get a decent ECoC programme in place in time.

[geoffrey]

it is now are too late to replace them

I disagree. We now have different needs from when that team was put together.

Mundane implementation of the nuts and bolts, giving credible organizations their head and not dragging them into inept Culture Company hustles and making the clear case, we all know ourselves is there, to investors

Fundamentally we need people in authority who can say "We are not the Liverpool Culture Company".

[Squirrel]

You've listened to Bradley talking sense? When was that exactly? Because what I've heard this week - on the Pete Price show for example - has been toe-curlingly embarrassing.

I heard a 'leader' who not only didn't know what was happening in his own administration but then 'glibly' professed not to understand the content of the report that led to the cancellation in the first place.

I think the show is available on listen again if you'd like to check it out.

I'm not calling for the resignation of Bradley for fun - or because I want to see him replaced by another Lib-Dem pygmy - but in order to prevent the next monumental fiasco that is inevitable if he stays.

The tragic fact is that Warren just doesn't get it and sadly it seems neither do you.

Btw 'batty old dot, Flo Clucas' probably isn't a phrase you should use if you don't want to come over as Lib-Dem insider sticking up for poor, embattled Warren.

You accusing me of lying, Gerry? :rolleyes:

No I'm not a Lib Dem insider, nor one of their party members nor a supporter. In fact, your accusation makes little sense. You feel that I will give the impression of being a Lib Dem man by ****ging off one of their elected cabinet members? Don't get yer mate.

You are entitled to your opinion of Bradley. I hope you are wrong in thinking that he's a doofus. He might be. All I know is that the man has come across better in interviews and spoken more sense than almost all of Liverpool's all to frequently substandard politicians have in recent years.

I've attempted to explain why what went wrong was not the fault of Bradley's administration, as you say, but someone else doesn't seem to be getting something. The council didn't cancel the festival, the Culture Company did. It's easy for you to glibly cry "they're the same, they're the same!", but, as I wrote earlier in this thread, the situation is not as simple as that.

The council set up the Culture Company, yes, and before Bradley's time as leader as it happens, but Bradley is not its leader or manager. He sits on the company's board, yes, and the board is in charge of the company. The company has a responsibility to report to this overseeing panel. They failed to inform all of the board, not just Bradley, in any of the board meetings where one would have expected them to have done so. They, not the council, had been given the job of organising the Mathew Street and when they must have known that they'd f*cked up, they kept it quiet and didn't tell anyone.

The worst Bradley is guilty of is, as a culture company board member, allowing himself to be flannelled by Harborow and the rest of the culture company when they kept information from him and the rest of the board. Did you think he should have been a mindreader?

And if, as a boardmember, allowing the culture company to get away with their in competance and cover up, he should resign than surely should all the rest of the board, including the likes of local MP, Louise Ellman, Phil Redmond, the vice chancellor of Liverpool University, the managing director of Granada tv and the chairman of Merseytravel. They can't all be useless doofers, can they? But the same thing happened to them as happened to their fellow culture company boardmember, Bradley - they were lied to.

[Squirrel]

I disagree. We now have different needs from when that team was put together.

Mundane implementation of the nuts and bolts, giving credible organizations their head and not dragging them into inept Culture Company hustles and making the clear case, we all know ourselves is there, to investors

Fundamentally we need people in authority who can say "We are not the Liverpool Culture Company".

I wish you were right. But it's just too late to replace the culture company. You get four and a half years to prepare of ECoC, you can't set up an organisition to plan and run the thing in the same number of months.

I just hope they haven't fouled up much more else besides.

I think that Bradley's (Yes, Gerry, he's my hero -- swwooon) idea of having a council "minder" in amongst the Culture Company, keeping an eye on how they are getting on, seems to be about the best that could be done at this late stage. If this organisation won't do what its supposed to do and keep its own board informed on its activities, then either, yes, the whole lot needs to be scrapped (and my opinion is that its far too late for that) or the council needs someone in the company making sure that (a) they are doing their jobs properly and (b) Bradley and the other board members are kept informed about the company's progress.

[geoffrey]

I wish you were right. But it's just too late to replace the culture company. You get four and a half years to prepare of ECoC, you can't set up an organisition to plan and run the thing in the same number of months.



Apart from a few set-piece civic willy-waving functions the Culture Company act mostly as facilitators. For better or for worse yes, what's done is done, contracts signed etc. for 2008. The best argument for, rather than against, senior officers clearing their desks is that 2009 and 2010 come next.

[Squirrel]

Apart from a few set-piece civic willy-waving functions the Culture Company act mostly as facilitators. For better or for worse yes, what's done is done, contracts signed etc. for 2008. The best argument for, rather than against, senior officers clearing their desks is that 2009 and 2010 come next.

Good post, Geoffrey. Yes, I agree, the Culture Company can hop it post Culture year as far as I'm concerned. And, yes, their job was to be facilitators but I'm not sure how good they were at being that.

[geoffrey]

I think it needs to happen now.

Excuses, defensiveness etc. It's not something you can sell and it's embarrassingly like the stereotype that Liverpool's citizens have done much to put behind them.

The Liverpool Culture Company brand has been damaged goods for ages. Robust and decisive action is needed not passive making-do. People will think the better of us for it.

[gerrydoyle]

I think it needs to happen now.

Excuses, defensiveness etc. It's not something you can sell and it's embarrassingly like the stereotype that Liverpool's citizens have done much to put behind them.

The Liverpool Culture Company brand has been damaged goods for ages. Robust and decisive action is needed not passive making-do. People will think the better of us for it.

Perfectly put Geoffrey! :handclap:

The temptation in these circumstances is to get sucked into the miasma of committee structures and lines of responsibility, which is precisely what Bradley et al want.

The system doesn't work, it hasn't worked for years and there is no reason to believe that it will ever work. Decisive action is long overdue.

I continue to support the directly elected Mayor model as the best alternative available to us.

[snappel]

What, specifically, were the health and safety issues? And what would've been different to previous years?

[Howie]

‘It’s time for outside probe on Mathew St axe fiasco’
Aug 16 2007
by Nick Coligan, Liverpool Echo

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/icliverpool/apr2006/5/7/B7B133A2-CA93-5662-A84F21505B0DBB0A.jpg

RENEWED calls for an independent inquiry into the Mathew Street festival debacle were made today.

City officials have launched an internal investigation into the circumstances leading up to the shock cancellation of Europe’s biggest free music festival earlier this month.

A d*mning safety report warned of significant risks if huge crowds were allowed to flood into the city centre to watch bands perform on outdoor stages.

But some politicians believe a completely separate probe into what happened must be arranged.

Liverpool’s Labour group feel the council’s chief executive Colin Hilton, who is leading the internal inquiry, is not the best person to oversee it because he was involved in the decision to axe the festival.

The cancellation was made via “leader’s delegated powers”, which means it was approved by council leader Warren Bradley following specific advice and a recommendation from Mr Hilton.

Cllr Bradley believes Mr Hilton can investigate the matter properly because its focus is the circumstances leading up to the decision, not the decision itself.

Council opposition leader Joe Anderson said: “I cannot see how they can hold an independent inquiry after being part of the process.

“This just confirms my view that we need an independent investigation. This has cost the city an untold amount and made us look like fools internationally as well as locally.”

But Cllr Bradley, who has always said he was unaware of safety concerns until the day the decision to axe the festival was made, said the internal inquiry was progressing well.

He said: “First and foremost, this is about the process leading up to the cancellation, not the cancellation itself.

“I want to know how we got to the point where that decision had to be made. That is what the investigation is doing, finding out who was culpable.

“I want it to find out why we were put in that position, which we should never have been in, and why councillors were not kept informed.”

Days after the festival was cancelled, an ECHO-backed plan to save it by moving bands from outdoor stages to indoor pubs and nightclubs was agreed by the council.

nick.coligan@liverpool.com

Source: Liverpool Echo (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2007/08/16/it-s-time-for-outside-probe-on-mathew-st-axe-fiasco-100252-19638370/)

[Howie]

No lawyer for Mathew Street festival probe
Sep 6 2007
by Catherine Jones, Liverpool Echo

http://images.icnetwork.co.uk/upl/liverpoolecho/aug2007/4/4/25B052B0-A55A-F03E-DA59A833052CBAE6.jpg

A CALL to bring in a lawyer to handle the Mathew Street Festival inquiry has been rejected.

At a heated town hall meeting last night, Labour leaders called for a QC to handle the investigation into the fiasco.

But council leaders said such a move could cost the city hundreds of thousands and that the inquiry could be handled internally.

They said an independent investigator would be asked to examine the report’s findings only “if considered necessary by the city council”.

The outdoor Mathew Street extravaganza, which attracts more than 300,000 people annually, was cancelled on August 3, three weeks before the event, on health and safety grounds.

An inquiry was ordered by council leader Warren Bradley, but opposition leaders voiced concern over how it was being handled.

After a debate, councillors voted by 42 to 34 to carry on with the current probe.

Labour described the handling of the Mathew Street Festival as a “catalogue of disasters” which had done lasting damage to the city’s reputation.

They claimed an internal investigation could prompt accusations of a cover-up.

The group’s deputy leader Cllr Paul Brant, himself a barrister, said: “It’s important to understand without any protecting of backs where the mistakes were made so we can ensure a matter of months away from Capital of Culture we don’t repeat those same mistakes.

“The inquiry must be independent of the council. It must reach the right answers and have the confidence of the wider public and wider business community.”

Council leaders said auditors were carrying out an independent internal investigation on behalf of chief executive Colin Hilton.

Council leader Warren Bradley said he had “the ultimate confidence in officers carrying out this investigation.”

Cllr Mike Storey said: “We don’t need a witchhunt. Let’s have the chief executive carry out a prompt and efficient inquiry.”

One of the issues that has arisen from the debacle, and the resignation of culture events manager Lee Forde earlier this summer, was the financing of this year’s event.

Speaking after last night’s meeting, Cllr Brant claimed the already scaled-down £400,000 budget for the 2007 festival had been overspent by at least £80,000.

Source: Liverpool Echo (http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2007/09/06/no-lawyer-for-mathew-street-festival-probe-100252-19743552/)

Seems this Lib-Dem administration has got the city in such a financial mess that they couldn't afford the £2,000 a day it would cost for a QC to conduct an independent inquiry even if they wanted to. :disgust: