Tuesday 27 March 2012

Elephant and Castle Newtown Powys, and pollution

Elephant and castle Newtown Powys.

river severn pollution.

Finally  someone has woken up as i have had an e-mail 29.3.2012.

Could you please advise us of the following:
  • Exact location of the pollution - either by a post code, grid reference or bridge name
  • Information about scale and type of pollution
  • Details of any dead fish or other dead animals you have seen (numbers and location required)
  • Is the pollution a one off or a regular occurrence. If it has happened before, any further details would also be appreciated.
  • Please also include your day time telephone number, as the Officer who deals with the report may require more information from you.


     so I phoned them on the 0800 80 70 60  freephone number  now its up to them .  Here are a few more photos on what I saw today.




    todays shots are from the dolfor river outlet and around the willow tree about a distance of 50ft along the river severn

    This photo shows how little water is running in the dolfor stream.
    27.3.2012 , lets try the RSPB.



no joy at all again from the environmental lot.or watchdog.

Just an answer E-mail , as if to say So what do you expect us to do,  nothing to do with us.

 Watchdog.  and another waste of time.

[caption id="attachment_2073" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="photo taken on the river severn  Between the Long bridge and Dolerw bridge in Newtown powys 17.3.2010"][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_2206" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Last 2 shots taken on 19.3.2012  Near the Dolerw bridge."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2074" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="One of the pair of mute swans on the severn in Newtown. the swans on the canal one mile from where I took this photo are all white as were the swans I took photos of Near Arundel castle .see the swans click on  swan in the side column, "][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2077" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="the pair of swans on the severn"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2078" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="The swan near Arundel Castle."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2079" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="swans in the harbour at Littlehampton"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2080" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Swans on the lake at Swanbourne lodge near the Arundel wet lands trust."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_2081" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="swans on the boating lake Littlehampton ,,,,, only those on the river in Newtown powys who feed in the river severn have the brown heads  . "][/caption]



After 3 months trying to get the pollution noticed its disheartening to find that no one gives a fig about our rivers or wildlife the only ones who have some interest it seems are those on committees. they seem to be intent on raising money to tackle the problem or want people like myself to do litter picks Etc,

the river authority even though  they get all this moony prefer to pay the staff excessive salaries than confront the environmental issues we the paying public try tell them about.

Pre-tax profits fell to £65m in the six months to the end of September, down from £101m in the same period last year. However, stripping out exceptional items, profits fell 1.9pc to £155m. This was still below consensus expectations.
The company's water services division suffered a £21.9m hit due to refinancing issues in Italy as well as difficult market condition in North America.

Severn has a stake in an Italian water services subsidiary. It said the business had been struggling to refinance loans due to the state of the country's economy and the writedown was a "prudent decision".

The company also reported £70m of losses on financial derivatives used to hedge its business activities, about £290m higher than last year.

In its core Severn Trent Water business, pre-tax profits edged up to £269.3m from £266.5m on sales of £735m, against £702.3m last time.         real money was £1,7bn
why can't they sort problems out here  before Italy or other none uk countries,
 one worker from the council said  "what can we do if the river board can't do anything", he should have said  "won't not can not"  and after all this it boils down to the Elephant and castle and places like this.  such as garages with  car washes and those with cleaning facilities that go into the surface water drains.  they should be fined  make  an example and others will stop .
 It also appears that I have to send a letter to the environmental agency asking for a site meeting to show exactly what my complaint is. so I will try one more time  and post the results on here when and if I get an answer,


[caption id="attachment_1243" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Chandeliers off the willow tree."]12.1.2012  , the first email to Glyn Davies  office ,    As an OAP I can ill afford buy a new £1500.00  100x400 telescopic lens , my hobby is wildlife photography,  which is only possible by walking  about.  the path where I slipped is a public path  its owned by the local council  and as a resident and taxpayer and a heavy rates payer in Newtown I should be able to walk about without fear of injury due to neglect of proper maintenance by the Elephant & Castle hotel.   I walk along the river severn path at least 4 times a week  looking and photographing  things that take my fancy  ironically on the day of the accident I was photographing Ice forms on the river  as a main topic of the days blog.



[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_456" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Ice baubles"][/caption]



On these paths  along the river severn  its bad enough having to look where one goes with all the dog shit .  Pollution of the river is also of concern even though I have sent the river board photos of the pollution  nothing has been done  its still as bad as when I reported it and where it comes from. what puzzles me is this hotel acting as if we live in the 17th century with open sewage and kitchen waste being thrown in the street,
as soon as I reported to the bar woman  a few hours later the sink waste pipe had been moved,
no one has been back to me from the council. so now I have to find a lawyer to fight my case, more expense  and is it worth the hassle. I have made an appointment to see one of our local solicitors" Paul" and have an appointment at 9.00 am  next friday  ,   so will go from there as to what I do.   All I want to know

Who holds the liability???   the hotel that decided the easiest  route for kitchen waste is to put it in the water outlet drains,, the river authority  for not doing anything , or the council for not doing anything even though one of their workers has to have seen this affluent going to the river, 

3.2.12 The rooks are scavenging the kitchen waste,


water culvert to the path leading to St Mary"s church and the old peoples flats of St Mary's close
Raw kitchen waste running into the culvert
inlet drain of the culvert


[caption id="attachment_449" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Pretty photo of soap bubble reflections on the river."]



grease and fat blocking the drain pipe
the waste coming out of the flute in the flood barrier wall
Here I lifted the flute cover and its full of fat solids
these flutes act as a plug to stop rising river water entering the higher level
the frozen sewage water on the lower  path
The ice  on the path.
showing the rear of the hotel and where the affluent is being discharged.
E mail sent to the council 3 hours after I damaged my camera lens.on the Ice,
I have recently returned from Egypt where I lived for several years  and this affluent is as bad as anything I saw in that third world country,
I had rather a bad accident today  smashing my lens and damage to the lens, due to pollution from the Castle hotel  Newtown. I walked the whole length of the public path along Town side of the Severn river  and on this one place I slipped , this is kitchen waste  as the photos  show,    mistake I made  was going in the hotel,
Once I recovered from the shock  I walked in the hotel  asked for the manager, and a very rude woman said to go away I have no time, I said you will have time when I report the pollution to the water board.  I came home  at 1.00 and then went to the council office  at the bus terminus  to report the accident  as it was on one of the council paths.   only to be told nothing to do with us . report it to  the environmental health, then I went to take more photos of the offending area  which is adjacent to the hotel on the footpath to St Marys church  (on  a higher level to the river path)

 tomorrow I will be going to see a solicitor after all the negativity I have received thus far,
update 28.2.12
 friday the 13.1.2012 I went to see Paul at Hanratty solicitors  . most annoying part was the amount of times he asked if I was injured then he finally said we could go on a no win no fee basis,  just goes to show honesty does not pay in this country now I have been informed I can only sue for repair of the lens  meaning that I would have to pay for the lawyer which is for more than what it costs to repair  the lens. the damage to the lens is set at about £200   and I know from experience my lens will never be the same as before the incident. as a bird watcher and photographer I need a smooth operational lens wildlife does not pose for a photo shoot.
No joy from    Glyn Davies  not even acknowledgement of my email.  but then  he is a conservative. and what can one expect. but I did get this

Did your MP reply to your letter?


Inbox
x


WriteToThem fyr-DO-NOT-REPLY@writetothem.com


Feb 17 (11 days ago)



to me
Two weeks ago we sent your letter to Glyn Davies MP, your MP. (For
reference, there's a copy of your letter at the bottom of this email)- If you HAVE had a reply (not just an acknowledgement), please click
on the link below:http://www.writetothem.com/Y/4l4qd3l3a4/dheekpuohtugnoihbo4- If you HAVE NOT had any reply at all, OR you have only had an
acknowledgement, please click on the link below:
see next e-mailhttp://www.writetothem.com/N/4l4qd3l3a4/dheekpuohtugnoihbo4If you feel that neither link is suitable, then please do not answer
the questionnaire.Your feedback will allow us to publish performance tables of the
responsiveness of all the politicians in the UK. The majority of MPs
deserve credit and respect for their conscientiousness as they respond
promptly and diligently to the needs and views of their constituents.
Likewise, we're keen to expose the minority of MPs who don't.The letter you sent to your MP will be deleted from our database within
the next two weeks. Our full privacy policy can be read here:
http://www.writetothem.com/about-qa#personalPlease do not reply to this mail. If you have a question or comment
about the site, please send an email to team@writetothem.com-- the WriteToThem.com teamAnthony Roberts
Bodhyfryd
Llanidloes  Rd
Newtown
Powys
SY16 1HFPhone: 01686 622920
Email: wildaboutwales@gmail.com

Friday 3 February 2012

Dear Glyn Davies
is this a third world country see the photos of a path outside the
castle Hotel.
who is liable for the accident i had  on ice  caused by waste from the
hotel kitchen.
http://photowales.blogspot.com/2012/02/castle-hotel-newtown-powys.html

Yours sincerely, A roberts

90e3008defa20f7720f2/a92468eaa36f066ff9e7
(Signed with an electronic signature in accordance with subsection 7(3)
of the Electronic Communications Act 2000.
well I clicked on the appropriate link as asked, and I get this

claiming.




Anthony Roberts


Feb 23 (5 days ago)

Its absolutely disgusting that I have to sue to get any compensation,  then to  be told that I can only claim for repairs to the lens, because I was honest and did not have any personal injuries.
it will cost more for a lawyer than what the repair will cost. and personally I do not want a repaired lens  as i know from experience i will always have problems with one that has been  repaired.
another grumble is neither you  or the water board cannot even acknowledge my mail .


Deborah Kerr deborah@mysociety.org


Feb 24 (4 days ago)



to meteam
Dear Anthony,I'm afraid you cannot contact your representative by writing to the email address team@writetothem.com . This is the email address for the technical support team for WriteToThem, not the contact address for your representative.Please visit http://www.writetothem.com/ and follow the instructions there to send a message to your choice of representatives.Yours,
Deborah Kerr
  I did .
 but I would have thought he could show I little bit of interest on environment issue.  as  the river s still as bad as it was  but the elephant has at least cleaned up its act  and seems to be putting its waste into the proper channel ,so to speak,
The Elephant & Castle


I know it looks pretty shining in the sun but these are frozen soap bubbles.



pollution from washing machines dispersed direct into the river somewhere between Newtown and Caersws..
soapsuds in the river looking down from dolerw bridge,


[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_594" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="The dipper has to cope with the pollution. I do not have my long range lens  as it got smashed when I slipped on the Ice a few days ago."][/caption]



[caption id="attachment_596" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="This is the end of the culvert of the dolfor stream it is piped under ground from the entrance of the high school on Dolfor rd, and comes out between the park school and the police station.  this is the sluice gate near the police station with all the debris being held in the grid as to what its built for it ask holds back some of the polluting suds   until we have another rain,"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_601" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Female blackbird wondering what has happened to her environment."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_597" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="the stream as it enters the severn passing over the hand made falls and under the new park footpath bridge."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_598" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="The stream as it comes into the river usually there are a lot more soap suds here"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_599" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Reflections in the river severn looking over Dolerw park."][/caption]





[caption id="attachment_604" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Nice to see the council have acted on my complaint of affluent from the Elephant and Castle Hotel. and the area is clear of ice,"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_606" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="Icicles under the longbridge,"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_607" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="And the isobars show ice and more ice with some pollution,."][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_608" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="The isobar pond with the long bridge in the background"][/caption]

28.2.2012  and the river is getting worse'All these shots were taken within a 10 minute walk fromNewtown  Longbridge to Dolfor stream  near the police station entrance.





.

And these oiled suds are waiting at the grid for the next shower to take them on a cruise down the severn,


[caption id="attachment_1479" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="I have a feeling this is toxic waste these shots were taken yesterday from under the Dolerw suspension bridge Newtown Powys. this is  a  flat rocky area that the receding river has left a thin lawyer of mud on, no trick photography the Pied Wagtail landed as I was facing the sun I waited for it to move from the direct path of the sun and I only saw the colours  after downloading the pics on the computer,"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1480" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="eventually the mud of the severn will end up on the mud flats on the estuary known as the Bristol channel."][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignnone" width="640" caption="the sluce gate on dolfor brook,photo taken at 12,00 noon 16 .3.2012"]










this shot was taken with the sun behind me before the wagtail moved 50yards up stream. i.e. the bird is directly on the rocks under the bridge, the only pink in this capture is the crocus  thrown from the bridge 




Tributaries (light blue) and major settlements on and near the Severn (bold blue) the river is the second longest in the british isles  at 220 miles( 330 km) to the  Atlantic Ocean.  the start of the severn in the peat n the plynlimon   mountain is about 30 miles from Newtown.
.

And A bit more  15.3.2012  even though the river is at its lowest I have ever seen it  fishermen complaining  hose pipe bans down south  and if they down south want any water from our river they are welcome to this polluted stuff  .

[/caption]



  Last email I had was they do not know exactly what my complaint is about,

 
I am not entirely sure what your query is relating to, however The Environment Agency takes a serious view of pollution incidents, for which companies or individuals can be prosecuted regardless of the fact that most incidents are caused by accidents and poor management, rather than deliberate action.
To report any potential pollution or flooding incident (i.e. fish in distress, dumping of hazardous waste) please call our 24 hour freephone Incident Hotline on 0800 80 70 60. This hotline is manned 24 hours a day and can deal with your report straight away. You can remain anonymous if you so wish.
Not giving up yet as I had another setback today  My 100x400 lens is unrepairable . so  it looks like I am going to have to sue. .