UK Strategic Planning

[Tegis]

16 hours ago, sidcow said:

This is part of the problem. Each new vehicle is a massive leap forwards so people are holding off buying for longer in order to get the better version. 

Good old Osborne effect, as prevalent now as in 1983

[VILLAMARV]

21 hours ago, blandy said:

All these places and companies installing, or wanting to install wind farms and solar farms and tidal stuff - they're being held back because the national grid needs upgrading and connecting to these places, and it's like a 10 year wait. It's ridiculous.

There's a place not far from me where I did a bit of work, must be 2 or 3 years back now, and they had just finished installing a load of brand new turbines just over the hill. Some of you may have driven past them on the A44 if anyone heads from Brum to Aberystwyth or vice versa. Literally never turned. Never produced a thing. I think it's 5 years after the first one went up and it was just announced that there's been planning permission granted for a substation to actually bother connecting them to the grid.

Hendy wind farm for anyone that wants to read about how not to build a wind farm.

[bickster]

2 minutes ago, VILLAMARV said:

There's a place not far from me where I did a bit of work, must be 2 or 3 years back now, and they had just finished installing a load of brand new turbines just over the hill. Some of you may have driven past them on the A44 if anyone heads from Brum to Aberystwyth or vice versa. Literally never turned. Never produced a thing. I think it's 5 years after the first one went up and it was just announced that there's been planning permission granted for a substation to actually bother connecting them to the grid.

Hendy wind farm for anyone that wants to read about how not to build a wind farm.

I know the solicitor on that one  

It was applied for with seconds to spare before some grant / planning permission deadline. A few seconds later and it wouldn't have been built.

[VILLAMARV]

6 minutes ago, bickster said:

I know the solicitor on that one  

It was applied for with seconds to spare before some grant / planning permission deadline. A few seconds later and it wouldn't have been built.

I know they knocked up the first one (actual turbine I mean) pretty quickly to comply with an OFGEM grace period for subsidies because it's what's caused the local dismay at the council (Who had initially denied their permission for the site until it was overturned on appeal by the Welsh govt despitethe public inquiry inspector recommending declining the appeal) for not going after the company who had multiple breaches of their planning conditions and built on land not covered by the planning and all sorts, including the bit about having an extraction plan in place before constructon started. It's been an omnishambles to say the least. Bent as **** is seemingly the prevailing take on the whole sordid matter.

[bickster]

1 minute ago, VILLAMARV said:

I know they knocked up the first one (actual turbine I mean) pretty quickly to comply with an OFGEM grace period for subsidies

Yep, that was it, had to get the first one up and it was really touch and go to the wire he was telling me

[VILLAMARV]

I think the sad thing for me, as someone who welcomes the concept of on-shore wind farms round by me, is that there are loads of NO PYLONS, NO TURBINES signs all around the A470 from the brecon beacons onwards.

I'm with them on the pylons bit - i'm sure the poor hard up energy multinationals can afford to bury them at greater cost and service them at greater cost rather than running a load of overhead pylons over the many areas of natural beauty, which is the one thing the middle bit here can boast about, but the no turbines thing is a really divisive issue, when I think most people would be happy enough if they came with joined up thinking to benefit the energy situation rather than a load of corporate interests.

[bickster]

2 minutes ago, VILLAMARV said:

I think the sad thing for me, as someone who welcomes the concept of on-shore wind farms round by me, is that there are loads of NO PYLONS, NO TURBINES signs all around the A470 from the brecon beacons onwards.

I'm with them on the pylons bit - i'm sure the poor hard up energy multinationals can afford to bury them at greater cost and service them at greater cost rather than running a load of overhead pylons over the many areas of natural beauty, which is the one thing the middle bit here can boast about, but the no turbines thing is a really divisive issue, when I think most people would be happy enough if they came with joined up thinking to benefit the energy situation rather than a load of corporate interests.

But the first wind farm round there opposite the Dernol Valley outside Llangurig didn't really cause too much of a fuss did it?

 

[bannedfromHandV]

People want the world but aren’t prepared to compromise.

I work for an energy-from-waste company, we have a handful of plants across the UK some of which process waste wood and the others what’s called RDF (essentially black bin bag, household waste). I’ve seen a big rise in negative news about these plants (in particular the RDF processing sites) now that we’ve switched off the last coal burner. It’s not ideal, yes it smells bad and yes, there is stuff getting into the atmosphere which you’d rather didn’t get there but then we have to do something with the waste, we can’t keep burying it.
 

The ‘news’ seems to be completely omitting this from the articles, we never had a ‘coal problem’, we do however have a massive waste problem.

[VILLAMARV]

1 hour ago, bickster said:

But the first wind farm round there opposite the Dernol Valley outside Llangurig didn't really cause too much of a fuss did it?

You're more connected than me with the Dernol Valley tbf bicks. Bryn Titli in the 90's?

There's another one built that famously lay idle for years up Llangurig way fwiw, same firm as the Hendy mess. Bryn Blaen (see numerous news articles from around covid time)

It's almost as if the game is take the government money and put it in an offshore tax haven bank account somewhere while company lobbyists miraculously end up being Welsh Labour AM's rather than creating an efficient, effective energy supply network eh?

I think it was Carmarthenshire Council's pension investments wing that were wondering how expensive it would be for them to divest from Bute Energy not so long ago.

Perhaps subsidiaries of multinational financial investment firms run out of Luxembourg aren't the best choice of energy providers? Perhaps they don't have the best interests of the residents and planet at heart. But then what do I know. I've a box to get back in by here now.

[bickster]

22 minutes ago, VILLAMARV said:

You're more connected than me with the Dernol Valley tbf bicks. Bryn Titli in the 90's?

There's another one built that famously lay idle for years up Llangurig way fwiw, same firm as the Hendy mess. Bryn Blaen (see numerous news articles from around covid time)

It's almost as if the game is take the government money and put it in an offshore tax haven bank account somewhere while company lobbyists miraculously end up being Welsh Labour AM's rather than creating an efficient, effective energy supply network eh?

I think it was Carmarthenshire Council's pension investments wing that were wondering how expensive it would be for them to divest from Bute Energy not so long ago.

Perhaps subsidiaries of multinational financial investment firms run out of Luxembourg aren't the best choice of energy providers? Perhaps they don't have the best interests of the residents and planet at heart. But then what do I know. I've a box to get back in by here now.

Yep Bryn Titli. Bloke who ran the maintenance on it used live up Dernol, last but one house in the valley. My mates was the last house so we always had to go through his gate. Long time ago now, love you long time ago as my mate went out to Thailand and shacked up with a hooker and hasn't been seen since

[foreveryoung]

8 hours ago, Genie said:

There must be so many fingers in the pie here for it to be this expensive. It’s no surprise we don’t get anything done as the costs quickly become obscene 

bbc

Nearly a third of a billion to upgrade 6 miles of existing road.

Was probably gonna cost as much money to scrap the Manchester project, as it was build it. With a few billion cut backs from the contractors to secure the work, they can shockingly now afford to take it to crewe.

One of the biggest issues with cost has been is the over engineering of the works too. 

[kidlewis]

Government procurement is tough, everyone knows it’s a gravy train and they all price accordingly, there’s also very little competition in some sectors (e.g escalators, there’s about 3…)

and most of these projects are managed by third party consultants as there’s not enough resources within the departments to effectively self manage.

i worked on a ticketing system for rail and the Pr budget was £96m on the news but suddenly found it was £68m and had to make that do…. Project managers must have taken the rest…. There was about 6 of them….. 

 

couldn’t earn that robbing a bank….

[chrisp65]

8 hours ago, kidlewis said:

Government procurement is tough,

and most of these projects are managed by third party consultants as there’s not enough resources within the departments to effectively self manage.

 

yep, that’s pretty much my experience.

A very long time ago I worked for a govt department that designed and built hospitals. Then it was decided the state shouldn’t be involved in such business, the state should buy this service in from the competitive price driven private sector. So we were sold off.

I’m sure everyone has noticed how much cheaper hospitals have become over the last 30 or 40 years. I’m sure everyone is impressed with how the brief is nailed down and the job kept on programme and the building maintained once finished. I’m sure everyone can agree that PFI must have saved the state an awful lot of money.

Those middle men project management companies, acting on behalf of their Client the NHS or the DofE, MoD etc., my word, they earn some fees. 

[Genie]

28 minutes ago, chrisp65 said:

yep, that’s pretty much my experience.

A very long time ago I worked for a govt department that designed and built hospitals. Then it was decided the state shouldn’t be involved in such business, the state should buy this service in from the competitive price driven private sector. So we were sold off.

I’m sure everyone has noticed how much cheaper hospitals have become over the last 30 or 40 years. I’m sure everyone is impressed with how the brief is nailed down and the job kept on programme and the building maintained once finished. I’m sure everyone can agree that PFI must have saved the state an awful lot of money.

Those middle men project management companies, acting on behalf of their Client the NHS or the DofE, MoD etc., my word, they earn some fees. 

Bloke I used to work with’s dad was loaded. They used to always go to Le Mans and would fly in from Coventry Airport to Le Mans airport on a small private plane. Club Wembley Tickets, always at Lords for the cricket, couple of Bentleys. His dad bought his house for him and he just pays him back here and there when he has some money.

I asked what his dad did for a job and he said he did consultancy work for the rail industry. He must have a scary hourly rate.

One of many people bleeding the system dry I suspect.

[Xann]

Thank the pig f***er for nobbling the systems that tried to ensure there was accountablility on spending, and the public were getting value for money.

The engorgement during the Brexit PM's reign? What do say about that? Murderous greed.

[Xann]

High tide today. Putney Embankment is opposite Craven Cottage as it goes. 

There's some fairly dramatic pics from Greenwich too.