Yes, Huw wrote to me on a Sunday, not because he was keen to do the right thing but because I threatened him personally with a small claim in Cardiff Courts.
He said he would have the council look into my claims but that I had not provided a great deal of detail. This is my response:
Thank you for getting back to me and on a Sunday too. It’s a shame it takes a threat to get to there but at least we are now communicating.
You have all of the information Huw. I sent it as messages using the councils very own messaging system. Which is the point of pursuing this. As that system is broken. My complaint about footpath signage remains un-answered as does my complaint and invoice concerning roadworks not being signed in advance.
I appreciate running a city is a difficult thing but Cardiff Council have been at it for some time now and so should be able to get some things right…
Re my claim of being lied to…
I was lied to re night time closing of Thompsons Park.
I was lied to or your staff lied to their reporting officer re the Ely trail being monitored for safety.
I have been told on numerous occasions that someone will be in touch and that never happens.
Much more likely is that no one gets in touch at all.
I am waiting upon two responses to my enquiries.
One of the problems in providing information is the way that you have to start a new complaint each and every time you need to communicate to the council. I complain, I get a generic response but one I cannot query further as you use no reply emailing. I therefore have to start again. Not only frustrating but a nightmare when trying to tie conversations together.
I understand there maybe reasons for this but those reasons must outweigh the inconvenience to the customer. Or is it that the customer is not a point of focus here.
So in the first instance I would prefer it for you to gather the information, beginning in May 2020 with a complaint about the state of the Ely Trail which was not responded to. These are my complaints for 2020.
May Ely Trail – was told it was surveyed a couple of times a year. I assert it had not been surveyed for years. Remedial work now done.
Oct Thompsons Park – was told closure at 3.30pm in lockdown in October when dusk was 6pm was due to an increase in anti social behaviour. I asked when the anti social behaviour had been reported and was told there were two cases in April. I believe therefore that I was lied to. No good reason given for the early closure or indeed the closure of this park.
Nov A470 closed no warning given resulting in me unable two re route to avoid traffic and so I was 40 minutes late for my group who were waiting for me to take them on a guided walk. I invoiced the council £25 for an hour of my time as this could easily have been avoided by giving notice, as I believe is the law, to vehicles joining the A470 with signage.
Dec Caerau – footpaths not signed and in the main un usable. A disgrace in fact. Not yet had any response.
I look forward to your considered and informed response.