Archive for September, 2009

 Adrian and John approached our Environmental Health Department today after John was alerted by concerned residents about alleged recent imports of ‘Tall oil’.   

We are presently checking whether this is the case and, if so, which company imported it.   

 On 13th March this year a local company had been cleaning a tank that contained a residue of “Tall Oil” and there were very bad smells.   But the company gave an assurance at that time that the incident was a ‘one 0ff’.

On this occasion we do not yet know who has imported the substance.   Our advice from the Council’s Environmental Health Department is that tall oil is a non-toxic, but very smelly substance. The company previously concerned claimed that it tried to contain the smells, on that occasion, but clearly failed.  Once they realised this, they contacted our Environmental Health Department to explain what had happened.  Although the smell lasted for many hours it finally faded by the end of the day.  But throughout the day many residents reported that they and their children experienced great discomfort.    

The incident was judged by our Environmental Health professionals to have been dealt with through the “best practicable means” to minimise nuisance, as is legally required, and that therefore that incident did not warrant any further action at that time.

We were assured that the company concerned did not plan to put any problematic chemicals back into the cleansed tank.

Residents wishing to know more about Tall Oil can follow the link below to a ‘Wikipedia’ article.  More information can be discovered by merely Googling ‘Tall oil’ .    

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tall_oil

Meanwhile if any resident has knowledge of the alleged recent imports please send full details to your local Labour Councillors:  

adrianjones.ucu@btinternet.com/ and johnsalter@wirral.gov.uk

Watch this space – we will be following this matter closely.

It was reported at today’s Seacombe Area Group residents’ association meeting that an official Wirral Partnership Homes ‘T’ shirt may have found its way into the wrong hands.    The worry is that if an official item of apparel were to be obtained by anybody with ill motives that person might be able to impersonate an official WPH member of staff.  Vulnerable residents could assume that a visitor to the door, wearing it, was an official employee of WPH and therefore somebody to trust.    

It is being investigated as a WPH representative was present at the meeting.

John was tied up during the second half of today with some very important Town Hall committee meetings.  I attended the start of the Seacombe Area Group’s residents association meeting and then went on to the Allandale Youth Club where I had been instrumental in inviting the Police to attend and mingle with the children and the adult volunteers. 

It was a great success and the children were fascinated by the  ‘freebies’ that are always given away- such as these MPA stick on novelties, biros, highlighters, and keyrings – but most of all they were fascinated by our local CSOs!   Many thanks to the Police for giving up some of their time for the kids. 

And before anybody writes in saying ‘why weren’t they out catching crooks’ the answer is that they all had their radios at the ready for any call but in any case the role of the CSOs is to befriend the people of their localities and enhance the confidence people have in what is now rapidly becoming the best performing Police Force in the country. 

Full marks to them for the splendid way they interacted with the children at the Allandale and our thanks to the Allandale volunteers for providing lots of tea and coffee.