Remind me to never ever ever
Sep. 27th, 2023 03:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
smokingboot... go into local politics.
The ring road idea is being pushed again for the local hills. It's disastrous for a number of reasons; takes business out of an already dying town centre, horrendous for the local environment, spends taxpayers money on an unnecessary project when existing infrastructure is in dire need of investment. The locals know it and hate it, but this whole thing comes as part of a 'community driven' plan, except it isn't community driven. The community - quite vociferously as it turns out - wants to cram the plan and its creator into a barrel of lit tar and send them gallumphing down the Cnoc. None of this is our business; the charity of which I am a trustee has had to come out against the plan because it is clearly detrimental to the area the charity was created to protect.
The originator has clearly been rattled by responses, but then he reintroduces this idea every couple of years dressed up one way or another, and he knows the residents do not want it so god knows why he persists. Cynics might reply to this with a raised eyebrow and a rubbing of thumb over fore and index fingers. Add an element of the political; residents and council alike were unanimous in rejecting a development in a beautiful part of the area, which was then forced through by the government. Folk are furious. But this seems to be part of the SNP's strange chimera of a housing policy; the houses they want built everywhere are not part of a social plan, but private. Who then do they hope to attract to them? The poor can't afford them, this is for people like me and R, folk who have enough for Edinburgh or Glasgow, need access to those cities' transport links, yet hanker for hills. But you can't carve housing developments into the landscape unless you have access for cars etc, and for that you need...a road. At which point, landowners can sell land either for said road, or to be developed as housing along it. Loud sneers proclaim that thick brown envelopes are exchanging hands; Councillor _'s retirement plan is what they call it.
There's a meeting tonight and he will be at it. We're invited too; last time I was the rep, meant to alternate with another member who has suddenly gone quiet. I did say it was imperative we have someone there, and the resounding silence I got back had shades of 'well you do it then.' So I told them all why this is going to get harder and harder for me. It's not that I can't go in, in fact, I don't mind conflict situations and this is barely going to count as that; at most it will be awkward. It just comes down to governing one's face, listening hard, and taking information back to the others.
But I am meant to stay away from stress, even stress I enjoy like a rush of chocolate; all very well but still not healthy, something to do with norephinephrine. Pfff. The person with whom I was meant to be sharing this role said they were sorry and that was all. Sorry but not sorry enough to do the thing you said you would do, I thought. And though I was gentle and pleasant throughout, reminded myself that maybe she was anxious/ whatever and I couldn't know all her circumstances, I felt my whole body charge with a kind of negative feeling. I find dealing with over-promisers at least as stressful as aggravated numpties spoiling for a rumble.
But perhaps it is for the best. If said councillor plus wife, who is the head of something else, are both at the meeting, there's going to be a need for chillaxe warriors to just sit there in a state of unconcerned concentration. I'll have a mate there who is basically a badger in human form. We'll be fine.
The ring road idea is being pushed again for the local hills. It's disastrous for a number of reasons; takes business out of an already dying town centre, horrendous for the local environment, spends taxpayers money on an unnecessary project when existing infrastructure is in dire need of investment. The locals know it and hate it, but this whole thing comes as part of a 'community driven' plan, except it isn't community driven. The community - quite vociferously as it turns out - wants to cram the plan and its creator into a barrel of lit tar and send them gallumphing down the Cnoc. None of this is our business; the charity of which I am a trustee has had to come out against the plan because it is clearly detrimental to the area the charity was created to protect.
The originator has clearly been rattled by responses, but then he reintroduces this idea every couple of years dressed up one way or another, and he knows the residents do not want it so god knows why he persists. Cynics might reply to this with a raised eyebrow and a rubbing of thumb over fore and index fingers. Add an element of the political; residents and council alike were unanimous in rejecting a development in a beautiful part of the area, which was then forced through by the government. Folk are furious. But this seems to be part of the SNP's strange chimera of a housing policy; the houses they want built everywhere are not part of a social plan, but private. Who then do they hope to attract to them? The poor can't afford them, this is for people like me and R, folk who have enough for Edinburgh or Glasgow, need access to those cities' transport links, yet hanker for hills. But you can't carve housing developments into the landscape unless you have access for cars etc, and for that you need...a road. At which point, landowners can sell land either for said road, or to be developed as housing along it. Loud sneers proclaim that thick brown envelopes are exchanging hands; Councillor _'s retirement plan is what they call it.
There's a meeting tonight and he will be at it. We're invited too; last time I was the rep, meant to alternate with another member who has suddenly gone quiet. I did say it was imperative we have someone there, and the resounding silence I got back had shades of 'well you do it then.' So I told them all why this is going to get harder and harder for me. It's not that I can't go in, in fact, I don't mind conflict situations and this is barely going to count as that; at most it will be awkward. It just comes down to governing one's face, listening hard, and taking information back to the others.
But I am meant to stay away from stress, even stress I enjoy like a rush of chocolate; all very well but still not healthy, something to do with norephinephrine. Pfff. The person with whom I was meant to be sharing this role said they were sorry and that was all. Sorry but not sorry enough to do the thing you said you would do, I thought. And though I was gentle and pleasant throughout, reminded myself that maybe she was anxious/ whatever and I couldn't know all her circumstances, I felt my whole body charge with a kind of negative feeling. I find dealing with over-promisers at least as stressful as aggravated numpties spoiling for a rumble.
But perhaps it is for the best. If said councillor plus wife, who is the head of something else, are both at the meeting, there's going to be a need for chillaxe warriors to just sit there in a state of unconcerned concentration. I'll have a mate there who is basically a badger in human form. We'll be fine.
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2023-09-27 07:04 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2023-09-29 12:20 pm (UTC)I don't seem to be able to extricate myself, but feel I must.