Who Cares? Not Chief Exec Alexander....

[steveL]

Guess who sign off the accounts of Who Cares (NE)?

Yup........Angela Wilcox

No wonder Gill Alexander doesn't want to go there. To use one of her own quotes: 'some rocks are best left un-turned'.

[Steely Dan]

Great story for a good local newspaper to get stuck into.


Pity we no longer have one.

[Inspector Knacker]

Good local newspaper ? It fails on two and a half of those three points.

[fred c]

You have to wonder just how deep the HBC Rabbit Hole went, it was obvious to the proverbial Blindman on a Galloping Horse that MRA & WC/NE were inextricably linked, I don't know of anyone who, even now, can believe how or why the council gave the thick end of a million pounds to WC/NE.

[Steely Dan]

The Hartlepool Council, West Rugby Club, Niromax links would be very revealing if only 10% of the tales I've heard are true.

[Land Phil]

I refer to it as Dave Stubbs million pound boozer.

Money should have been spent on Seaton Carew aka landfill city or OSCARS to get them out of the portakabins.

I don't know the rumours and it stinks.

[fred c]

The Hartlepool Council, West Rugby Club, Niromax links would be very revealing if only 10% of the tales I've heard are true.

I have read all sorts of stuff about West Rugby Club, Narimax involvement, bungs, councillors etc etc etc etc........ I have been connected to West for 56 years, from a 3 storey house in Clarence Rd & playing on the Greyhound Stadium, to Brierton Lane & 1st Division Rugby side, to the clubs demise & relegation after relegation.

The club survived only by the hard work & dedication of a handfull of commited individuals, various playing venues & social facilities came & went untill the new clubhouse became possible, yes, the club secured a considerable amount of funding, however that funding 'did not' come from Niramax, I suppose it could be said that indirectly it did, but it was in fact granted to the club via the 'Governments Landfill Tax' that funding coupled with money from Sport England, The Rugby Football Union & various other grants for a sports facility.

The Landfill Tax payments were available to a whole range of organisations for all sorts of things, the simple matter was, If WHRFC had not made an application for a grant, the money would have ended up in the general government tax pot, simple as that.

The standard of the 'Sports Facilities' are second to none, at every stage the finance & building of the club was monitored to the enth degree to ensure those standars were met, the later additional Club Bar was in fact financed by several dozen club members, with the actual construction & decoration completed by members, there were a number of companies in the town that contributed with technical advice &  materials.

I don't need to defend the ethos that has been a part of West Hartlepool Rugby Club for well over a hundred years, literally hundreds & hundreds of young people have had life forming association with the club, not only by playing rugby, but by the quality & integrity of mixing & intergrating with senior members.

The rumour mill will continue to grind I have no doubt about that, but from my close association with the club & its membership, I can only speak of the great respect I have for the West lads I have grown up with for over 50 years......

At the minute I am at 22,000 feet on a north by northwest heading, I fully expect to be shot down very shortly. 

[fred c]

I refer to it as Dave Stubbs million pound boozer.

Money should have been spent on Seaton Carew aka landfill city or OSCARS to get them out of the portakabins.

I don't know the rumours and it stinks.

LPhil...... there isn't a single person in the town who was & still is as vociferously opposed to what was allowed to happen at either end of Seaton, it was & is a Tom Ducking disgrace, but to confuse the issue of planning permission for the dumps, with a grant from the landfill tax to whrfc is a tad misguided.

There are several hundred members of whrfc, lads still pay there subs even though they are scattered around the world, it is & always has been a Rugby Club proud to carry the towns name all over the Britain.

Oscars btw was welcomed to Catcote Rd by West, the facilities were less than solubrious not only for Oscars, but also the rugby club, I understand Oscars are moving elswhere shortly, but I don't know where to.

[Steely Dan]

Fred, the Landfill tax money is for companies that recycle stuff instead of burying it in a hole in the ground. Niromax took the money and still buried the stuff. Due diligence would tell any "interested" parties that.

West have been a credit to the town in hundreds of ways but have always had a "creative" outlook to money matters. Look at the Yuill's debacle as an example.

Drive along Catcote Road past the ground and all you see are Niramax and Seneca sponsorship hoardings. Personally, I wouldn't want to be associated with that when the multi-million fraud case goes ahead.

You may be looking at this through the dewy-eyed, romantic eyes of a West fan but others won't be.

It may be that West are squeaky clean in all of this but the way I see it there are too many West "associates" who have their feet in the camp of council AND Niramax and its associated companies. This may be a complete coincidence but it doesn't look good from where I'm sitting.

PS I was a West member many moons ago.

[Steely Dan]

Funny that you can see all sorts of corruption within Hartlepool Council and local health trusts but you don't see any conflict of interests with Dave Stubbs being chief exec of the council and West's God representative on earth. I suggest you've lost any credibility you had if that is the case.

Just like the Niramax businesses. It stinks.

[fred c]

For all of my faults many & varied as they are, I don't lack integrity, the only reason I can see for the extreme criticism thats aimed at West is because the councils CEO at the time was a club member..... quite where all the other connections come in i'm not sure.

What I do know for certain is, dozens of members stuck their hands in their pockets to help in the funding of the place, as for my own credibility........ I can hold my head up in any company.

[Steely Dan]

Niramax have used the Jimmy Savile methods of working. Everything has been done in plain site.

Before I moved back to The Pool, I used to come back every few months. That became more frequent when we were house hunting. First I noticed the odd Niramax sponsorship sign on a roundabout, then a few more. Then I noticed more. Then it was Seneca. Very soon you couldn't walk anywhere in town without seeing Niramax Seneca. Then they started sponsoring firework displays, charity appeals etc. They got what they wanted - an appearance of legitimacy and a public perception they were the good guys.

I'm sure the good players and supporters  of West (I know dozens of them)  have clean consciences.

Maybe everything will come out when the court case goes ahead but I doubt it. But there will be enough for a lot of the movers and shakers to be very, very worried. You'll see.

[beanzontoast]

This is not a comment as such it is however directed at Steely Dan. I`M wondering if your signature is a reference to that most excellent group of the same name, they were a favourite of mine.

[Steely Dan]

This is not a comment as such it is however directed at Steely Dan. I`M wondering if your signature is a reference to that most excellent group of the same name, they were a favourite of mine.

Absolutely . I've been a fan since I was a kid and have seen them twice. I have everything they e ever recorded as well as the Fagen and Becker solo stuff.