The Owton Manor Mafia

[steveL]

This article is quite useful in demonstrating the blatant bias towards the electoral ward of Cllrs Marjorie James, Stephen Akers-Belcher and Allan Barclay . Other areas of the town appear to have been denied funds without as much as a second thought leaving to the closure of facilities or the selling off of facilities to other Labour councillors on very favourable terms. Likewise Hartlepool Voluntary Development Agency (HVDA) has been left barely ticking over as funds have been denied in order to give preference to Owton Manor.

It's not as if the Owton Mafia can demonstrate a good record. OFCA, steered by Cllr Kevin Cranney, ran up £380,000 of debt when Cranney's off-shoot Mutual Securities went bust with two of its staff ending up in jail and Cranney himself being described as 'incompetent' by a Newcastle judge.

Manor Residents Association, under the 'management' of former Labour Councillor, Angie Wilcox left her facing fraud charges, staff being paid under the minimum wage and the organisation in £600,000+ of debt.

There's an admission here that hardly anyone is actually using these centres at a time when services are being cut left, right and centre. I think Owton Manor has already had more than its fair share of funding and a fat load of good it has done anyone other than Cranney and Wilcox's daughter.

http://www.hartlepoolmail.co.uk/news/community/hartlepool-community-centres-need-80-000-to-stay-open-another-year-1-7462065

[marky]

The new Chief Exec is turning out to be as much use as a chocolate ash-tray - no wave-maker here I'm afraid.

[fred c]

I am afraid the plight of Hartlepool & it's residents has been left to God & Providence..... The advice offered by the Peer Review Group, to choose a CEO from outwith the authority has never been more clearly illustrated than the present time.