thenotsomightyom

Thanks to Dan Martin and BBC Online News for the Headline.

Queniborough, a village in Leicestershire has suffered the loss of a key bus service , because a pedestrian island installed by a Housing Developer proved too wide and resulted in the bus drivers having to mount the pavement to manoeuvre their bus around the pedestrian island. The bus Company cares about pedestrian safety and have withdrawn their service until there is a “safer” option.

The Developer and the Traffic Management Inspectorate of the Council are now in discussions about how to solve the problem. A local councillor is furious as he says that he discussed this with the department responsible for Highways and they assured him that the plans would make it possible for the buses to be able to negotiate the turn.

Apparently the situation has been going on some months and the nearest bus stop to the locals living near the crossing is another 500m away, which is quite a distance if you are not well or are infirm.

Frankly with developers putting all sorts of crossing and roadworks up and down the Country, local planners and Highway Agencies have to listen to local people and their needs and keep an eagle eye on Housing Developers plans , which in this case have caused significant heartache.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

Thanks to Babak Kamiar and Euronews for the Headline

I can’t claim to understand what is happening with the current situation in the strait of Hormuz all I know is that it is causing and will continue to cause everything to get more expensive. Yes what is our inflation figure published by the Office for National Statistics? About 3.1% currently.

Iran, however, and I think more about the people in Iran, not their Government , are now suffering exhaustive hyper-inflation.

In 1979 (the time of the Islamic revolution , the US dollar was worth approximately 7 tomans. 1 toman is worth ten rials. (The rial is Iran’s official currency). Today the US dollar is worth 270,000 tomans on Iran’s informal market, more than double it’s level at the start of this year.

Now that is crippling inflation, one which if we were experiencing would be crushing.

Perhaps this is a war of attrition.

Namaste and Thank you for Reading.🙏

Thanks to James Rodger and Birmingham Live for the Headline

Absentee landlords and Property that is sitting empty because it’s part of an investment portfolio for someone who most likely has little or no connection with the location of the property.

The plan is to give Council’s more powers to commandeer these properties and turn them over to the Council for much needed accommodation .Unfortunately, this means the Council’s themselves will have to bear the cost of bringing them up to standard if they have deteriorated.

I do think it’s a good idea for houses that are sitting empty and that could be used for Social Housing requirements should be put to good use.

However, the counter argument from the Conservatives is that Labour is stealing the right to property ownership from those who own the property. Surely it is the owners right to do what they want with the property. If they decide to leave it empty then it’s their choice.

I think it’s going to prove tricky and expensive to commandeer property, however, owning property and possibly renting it out to others should come with responsibilities which need to be monitored and recognised by the Law. Empty , neglected properties are unsightly in any area and can reduce the quality of life for those living near them, particularly when there is a local need for housing.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading 🙏