Real Northumberland Murky: Northumberland Fire Sale to cover off disastrous spending habits is highlighted through Britvolt site fiasco.

Friday 26 April 2024

Northumberland Fire Sale to cover off disastrous spending habits is highlighted through Britvolt site fiasco.

Politicians twisting the truth appears to have become acceptable behaviour over the last 14 years, we just need to look at the lies told by Boris Johnson and the non-election by Conservative party members of Rishi Sunak whose ideas and tyrannical ranting not only haunts conservatives at all levels its destroying their own beliefs.

At our codgers meeting over the weekend as kids returned to the folds of their families in readiness for school we met in a group members garden which was decidedly warm in comparison with the long and wet months of this winter.

Our discussion quickly turned to opinions on the sale of the Britvolt site to an equity company to build a Data Centre that instead of producing the 8000 job spin off promised by Ian Levy MP to aid the regrowth of Blyth, Bedlington and Ashington’s industrial and hardworking past will according to data centre experts end up being home to an AI managed hub employing about 30 technicians, maintenance and cleaning staff which is 0.375% of the original promised figure. Boris Johnson visited Blyth on a number of occasions to push through the 8000 job growth plan which fizzled out quite quickly as backing from the Conservative Government failed to arrive.

The funding instead slipped over to the second battery plant for Nissan in Sunderland and to Tata in Somerset one of our team recalled that Rishi Sunaks mum in law was a top engineer for them in the past. May only be a coincidence? Leaving Blyth’s retail and commercial sector in tatters and job and jobless figures high right across South east Northumberland for those earning above minimum wage.

Northumberland County Council Whose site it is, really appears to have a death wish when it comes to dealing with business and especially Equity Companies. When it comes to seeking advice over and above their policy of self produced business plans, a poor system if ever there was one, paying for top advice seems to be reserved for lawyers to stop them being sued. Two dodgy companies have been found by Councillor Glen Sanderson’s team with both Britvolt and Recharge showing why more than one opinion when dealing with hundreds of millions of pounds worth of public assets should be taken, not a single report each time to simply produce the headlines for Glen on a regular and ongoing basis.

Headline Sanderson has hailed in the three companies and has expressed his opinion in how lovely they are and how they will bring untold wealth to South East Northumberland announcing a huge number of jobs for the data centre project (contradicted by experts) on the same day that Blyth’s largest company Draeger UK announced its moving away without a single comment in the press from headliner Sanderson.

His latest headliner is all about money, praising the offer of £110 million to sell 235 acres of development land from Blackstone, the third company eyeing up this massive site in Cambois. With land having planning permission for development worth a great deal more taking £468,000 per acre seems to be a gift for Blackstones yet the council only took a single report from land valuers before agreeing to this fire sale price, when with public money being involved they should have at least taken three. Oh well Glen Sanderson is a Conservative after all and just like Boris Johnson, they know best!