O/T Westgate Fire

[P/T Indie]

To me the loss of 200 jobs (roughly £3 million a year of salaries and taxes lost from the local economy) is far more important than the loss of the The Dome.

Agree with that but in this instance I would suspect a large proportion of the "income" was sent back home!

You just beat me to it Marky how much of this income was actually spent in the local economy .

[Posh]

To me the loss of 200 jobs (roughly £3 million a year of salaries and taxes lost from the local economy) is far more important than the loss of the The Dome.

Agree with that but in this instance I would suspect a large proportion of the "income" was sent back home!

It does employ a higher than average number of people from Eastern Europe but that doesn't devalue its importance. I should add at this point that I know the Managing Director of the Morecambe operations who lives on my street. He says that the the pound / Euro and also the recession has actually seen the proportion of local or British people working in the factory increase significantly over the last six months. Additionally the top earners / management with the disposable incomes and typically homeowners are local people or moved in from others parts of the UK as the MD did. The knock-on effect of that hits all of us.

[Pandalus Paddockus]

I know the Managing Director of the Morecambe operations who lives on my street

Would that street be anywhere within smelling distance of the plant by any chance ?......my gut instict is telling me it probably isn't Let them rebuild near your house, that way the MD can walk to work and you and your pals can endure the stink for a while.

[P/T Indie]

I'm sure the smell has actually got worse in the past year or two.

I used to have a weekend job their years ago bilmey prob about 10 now (I am getting old) and I am sure it was never that bad, or maybe I was just used to it.

[Gnasher]

I do have sympathy for anyone losing their job but I'm quite happy that the smell of greasy chicken won't be lingering over my grilfriend's house any more.

Back in 2007; Two weeks ago The Visitor reported claims that football supporters left early from the Morecambe v Bradford City game because of the "terrible smell" wafting over from the direction of Westgate.

http://www.thevisitor.co.uk/environment ... 3430203.jp

[marky No.1]

I do have sympathy for anyone losing their job but I'm quite happy that the smell of greasy chicken won't be lingering over my grilfriend's house any more.

Back in 2007; Two weeks ago The Visitor reported claims that football supporters left early from the Morecambe v Bradford City game because of the "terrible smell" wafting over from the direction of Westgate.

http://www.thevisitor.co.uk/environment ... 3430203.jp

That report indicates 350 people would lose their jobs not the

It employed 200 people. Bearing in mind that's more than were employed at the Reebok warehouse it means a horrendous loss of jobs and another big impact on the Morecambe economy.

Were there people hidden under the floorboards or does it refer to suppliers etc. The neighbours have been spitting feathers for some time now.

[Posh]

I know the Managing Director of the Morecambe operations who lives on my street

Would that street be anywhere within smelling distance of the plant by any chance ?......my gut instict is telling me it probably isn't Let them rebuild near your house, that way the MD can walk to work and you and your pals can endure the stink for a while.

Sorry I just groaned when I read your post. As with a lot of comments regarding Morecambe by Morecambrians it smacks of misery and moaning but offers absolutely nothing.

The chicken factory doesn't have to be re-built where it is. The local authority and councillors could work with the management to find them an alternative site say on the other side of White Lund and away from residential housing, thus keeping jobs and solving a problem.

[Posh]

P.S. If anyone is interested in the story you can find out more here from the company itself. http://www.2sfg.com/

[Gnasher]

Sorry I just groaned when I read your post. As with a lot of comments regarding The chicken factory doesn't have to be re-built where it is. The local authority and councillors could work with the management to find them an alternative site say on the other side of White Lund and away from residential housing, thus keeping jobs and solving a problem.Morecambe by Morecambrians it smacks of misery and moaning but offers absolutely nothing.

The point being that while it was where it was, nothing was done about the smell of greasy chicken. At least nothing noticeable was done, the aroma of greasy chicken was a daily nuisance.

From the Visitor article

"I'm not denying that we have smells from the factory but we've always tried to minimise the smells for residents and have sometimes invited them in to the factory to show them what we do," he said.
"We also feel there are others who contribute to the smell and Two Sisters sometimes unfairly gets the blame.

Did the smell I'm moaning about come from 2 Sisters? It was like sitting in a KFC so I think the answer is a yes.

The local authority and councillors could work with the management to find them an alternative site say on the other side of White Lund and away from residential housing, thus keeping jobs and solving a problem.

Perfect but what a shame it came to a fire and an insurance claim to possibly get it sorted.

[P/T Indie]

"I'm not denying that we have smells from the factory but we've always tried to minimise the smells for residents and have sometimes invited them in to the factory to show them what we do," he said.
"We also feel there are others who contribute to the smell and Two Sisters sometimes unfairly gets the blame.

Did the smell I'm moaning about come from 2 Sisters? It was like sitting in a KFC so I think the answer is a yes.


You really don't want to take them up on the offer of a guided tour.

The smell isn't even like a KFC sometimes especially on warm days it's absolutly hideous and makes you gag, if you ever get out of your car in Focus car park on a sunny day you will know what I mean.

[Gnasher]

I referenced KFC to give a massive hint that it stunk of greasy chicken fat. Not everyone knows the background to my childhood, trust me, I know what the smell of chicken is like,

[Posh]

Sorry I just groaned when I read your post. As with a lot of comments regarding The chicken factory doesn't have to be re-built where it is. The local authority and councillors could work with the management to find them an alternative site say on the other side of White Lund and away from residential housing, thus keeping jobs and solving a problem.Morecambe by Morecambrians it smacks of misery and moaning but offers absolutely nothing.

The point being that while it was where it was, nothing was done about the smell of greasy chicken. At least nothing noticeable was done, the aroma of greasy chicken was a daily nuisance.

From the Visitor article

"I'm not denying that we have smells from the factory but we've always tried to minimise the smells for residents and have sometimes invited them in to the factory to show them what we do," he said.
"We also feel there are others who contribute to the smell and Two Sisters sometimes unfairly gets the blame.

Did the smell I'm moaning about come from 2 Sisters? It was like sitting in a KFC so I think the answer is a yes.

The local authority and councillors could work with the management to find them an alternative site say on the other side of White Lund and away from residential housing, thus keeping jobs and solving a problem.

Perfect but what a shame it came to a fire and an insurance claim to possibly get it sorted.

Firstly, I wasn't complaining about the references to the smell. It clearly was a problem but you've got to ask yourselves what people with influence did about it?

The company clearly made efforts to reduce the problem but not entirely satisfactorily. They were aware of the problem and clearly open to pressure to resolve it. Yet they're a commercial entity and are clearly going to do the minimum in terms of cost.

So who do you rely on? Perhaps its worth asking the 3 Westgate MBI city councillors; Morecambe's MP; and Westgate's independent county councillor what they did to sort the problem and what they are doing now to retain those jobs? My expectation is that it will be miniscule say compared to the efforts to keep The Dome open.

[Pandalus Paddockus]

So who do you rely on? Perhaps its worth asking the 3 Westgate MBI city councillors; Morecambe's MP; and Westgate's independent county councillor what they did to sort the problem and what they are doing now to retain those jobs? My expectation is that it will be miniscule say compared to the efforts to keep The Dome open.

For someone who offered up an apology for "bringing up politics" earlier in the thread you haven't taken your foot off the gas since, not sure what the Dome has got to do with this thread apart from a grab at a political point. Perhaps labeling Morecambrians as "misery and moaning" types when it comes to the affairs of their town doesn't offer much either, you seem to put a lot of energy into patronising and putting people down which is a bit sad.
Just so that we know where we all stand with this discussion, what area of Morecambe do you actually live in and how did the plant affect your life on a daily basis ? I don't expect your street name of course, just the area in Morecambe where you live will be fine then we can all understand where you're enthusiasm is coming from. Just for the record my postcode area is LA4 5

[Posh]

So who do you rely on? Perhaps its worth asking the 3 Westgate MBI city councillors; Morecambe's MP; and Westgate's independent county councillor what they did to sort the problem and what they are doing now to retain those jobs? My expectation is that it will be miniscule say compared to the efforts to keep The Dome open.

For someone who offered up an apology for "bringing up politics" earlier in the thread you haven't taken your foot off the gas since, not sure what the Dome has got to do with this thread apart from a grab at a political point. Perhaps labeling Morecambrians as "misery and moaning" types when it comes to the affairs of their town doesn't offer much either, you seem to put a lot of energy into patronising and putting people down which is a bit sad.
Just so that we know where we all stand with this discussion, what area of Morecambe do you actually live in and how did the plant affect your life on a daily basis ? I don't expect your street name of course, just the area in Morecambe where you live will be fine then we can all understand where you're enthusiasm is coming from. Just for the record my postcode area is LA4 5

I'm sorry if you felt I was demeaning you in some way. I wasn't patronising you or putting you down. You simply made a negative point and have followed up with more negative points. I'm suggesting you put forward positives ones, instead you're intent on me in some way proving myself.

For the record I don't live in Morecambe, I live in Lancaster. My actions in my community when faced with an issue are as follows (this is a selection):

1/ I lived on the Quay, which was regularly flooded. Together with other residents we setup a committee which worked with the Environment Agency to prove the case for investing in a flood defence wall. We then worked over a three-year period to make the case and deliver the best possible scheme we could. The result is that over 400 homes, that weren't going to be protected now are, and lots of people can now insure their homes.

2/ I wanted to do more for young people in my area following extensive trouble on the Marsh estate. Together with local Green Party councillors and volunteers the Marsh Community Centre is now built and we've since secured £1/4 million in Lottery funding and £1/4 million in various grants to secure the future of the Centre for three years. It now employs five staff and is doing phenomenal work.

3/ Since moving elsewhere in the City I've rejoined the committee of Lancaster Boys Club and in a few short months we've cleaned the land next door, given Dallas Road Primary the opportunity to use the land rather than bus their kids to Central High, changed the name, organised a Royal visit, added Friday opening and now open all of August. This has immediately given local kids real opprtunities and worthwhile activities in my community.

4/ I'm a governor of a nursery school and helped establish as vice-chair Lancaster's first Children's Centre. This facility is now helping hundreds of mums and dads with the stresses and problems of parenthood, as well as putting in a lot of fun.

5/ Through my business I've produced websites free of charge for five local charities plus ones supporting the Rhys Daniels Trust and Southport Lifeboat. We've also produced websites at cost for organisations like Lancaster and Morecambe Athletics Club to put something back into the community.

I'm proud of it all and I get great personal satisfaction from it.

The point is when there is an issue I'm passionate I'd prefer to do something about it rather than complain.

[Pandalus Paddockus]

I wasn't patronising you or putting you down. You simply made a negative point and have followed up with more negative points.

For the record I don't live in Morecambe, I live in Lancaster. :

I suspected that you lived well away from the stink.

1/ I lived on the Quay, which was regularly flooded. Together with other residents we setup a committee which worked with the Environment Agency to prove the case for investing in a flood defence wall. We then worked over a three-year period to make the case and deliver the best possible scheme we could. The result is that over 400 homes, that weren't going to be protected now are, and lots of people can now insure their homes.

2/ I wanted to do more for young people in my area following extensive trouble on the Marsh estate. Together with local Green Party councillors and volunteers the Marsh Community Centre is now built and we've since secured £1/4 million in Lottery funding and £1/4 million in various grants to secure the future of the Centre for three years. It now employs five staff and is doing phenomenal work.

3/ Since moving elsewhere in the City I've rejoined the committee of Lancaster Boys Club and in a few short months we've cleaned the land next door, given Dallas Road Primary the opportunity to use the land rather than bus their kids to Central High, changed the name, organised a Royal visit, added Friday opening and now open all of August. This has immediately given local kids real opprtunities and worthwhile activities in my community.

4/ I'm a governor of a nursery school and helped establish as vice-chair Lancaster's first Children's Centre. This facility is now helping hundreds of mums and dads with the stresses and problems of parenthood, as well as putting in a lot of fun.

5/ Through my business I've produced websites free of charge for five local charities plus ones supporting the Rhys Daniels Trust and Southport Lifeboat. We've also produced websites at cost for organisations like Lancaster and Morecambe Athletics Club to put something back into the community.

I'm proud of it all and I get great personal satisfaction from it.

The point is when there is an issue I'm passionate I'd prefer to do something about it rather than complain.

Frankly speaking I find egotism as nauseating as the smell of greasy chicken.
FFS the lengths some people will go to

[Posh]

Frankly speaking I find egotism as nauseating as the smell of greasy chicken.
FFS the lengths some people will go to

I didn't write that for ego, for praise and for any other purpose but to show you that I think positive action matters more than moaning. You've proved that point to me admirably. You'll never change Neil.

[Pandalus Paddockus]

I will never change Mike, you're right, because there are always people around who exploit their privelages (even being a moderator on a football forum has those doesn't it) but know this, the simple fact of the matter here is that hundreds of families were affected by the foul smells coming from your friends food processing plant, both he and yourself and the families in your street however were not. So what precisely qualifies you (ego aside) to shout myself and other good people down ? telling us we smack of misery and moaning and groan at our posts ? I'd really like to know.
Despite the tag you give us all here in Morecambe Mike I think you might be surprised at just how many people WILL be taking positive action if your friend tries to rebuild his stink business on the same site.

[Keith]

...because there are always people around who exploit their privelages (even being a moderator on a football forum has those doesn't it)

I'm assuming there should have been a question mark there? On that basis, I thought I'd ask what those "privelages" are?

I have been called in to question by other mods for excessive swearing and Posh's posts have been edited even within the last few weeks, so we don't have "privelages" to post in a manner that any 'non-moderator' could not. We do however have the "privelage" of trawling through the message board frequently so that we can keep it clean and friendly, so I suppose if you count spending many extra thankless hours on this, and indeed, paying cash to host the forum as a "privelage" of moderating the forum, then yes, there are some...

Any others that I've missed?

[Posh]

I will never change Mike, you're right, because there are always people around who exploit their privelages (even being a moderator on a football forum has those doesn't it) but know this, the simple fact of the matter here is that hundreds of families were affected by the foul smells coming from your friends food processing plant, both he and yourself and the families in your street however were not. So what precisely qualifies you (ego aside) to shout myself and other good people down ? telling us we smack of misery and moaning and groan at our posts ? I'd really like to know.
Despite the tag you give us all here in Morecambe Mike I think you might be surprised at just how many people WILL be taking positive action if your friend tries to rebuild his stink business on the same site.

OK here comes the patronising bit. Firstly Neil I didn't use moderator 'privelages' (sic) to work out who you are, its perfectly clear from what you say and how you say it who you are. You do like to twist things to suit your argument. For example:

1. I never 'shouted you down', tends to be pretty difficult on a messageboard for starters. I also never disagreed about the smell or the impact of the factory, I simply argued a case for acting positively to protect jobs and the local economy. I've read again and I can see no references to it whatsoever. So either you don't give a shit about the jobs or the damage to the economy, in which case its you who is doing Morecambe down, or you can't reconcile a new factory without improved environmental protection, in which case I give up.

2. I didn't label everyone in Morecambe, yet as is repeatedly mentioned on here, a signiifcant minority of Morecambe people like a good moan and do sweet f*** all about the issue they moan about. Oppose the by-pass; oppose residents parking on Euston Road; oppose Urban Splash; oppose the Splash Park; oppose the scheme for the West End, without ever thinking of a positive way forward that provides a viable alternative. A vocal minority would blame Lancaster for swine flu if they could make a case.

3. When did I say the MD was my friend? I never did and he isn't 'a friend'.

4. You state: "The simple fact of the matter here is that hundreds of families were affected by the foul smells coming from your friends food processing plant, both he and yourself and the families in your street however were not." Correct. However I have been affected, like hundreds of others in Lancaster by the smells from the Fats and Proteins site (aka Nightingale Farm) and by the formers Pyes Feed site on Damside Street. In the former, I was on a Labour committee dedicated to resolving the issue, which was about to be resolved through negiotiation when coincidentally that burnt down to. As regards Pyes, planning permission had been granted about the time I moved back to Lancaster. Instead I fought a campaign to keep open the Three Mariners including getting a piece on North West Tonight, which directly led to Mitchells firing the landlord, taking action against the building firm and revamping the pub.

Finally what qualification do I have. I've got a GCSE Grade 'A' in Having An Opinion, and funnily enough I post some of them on an opinion-led messageboard.

Anyway I'm bored of this. I've got better and more positive things to do than pander to the Pandalus.

[Weetabix Kid]

Rumour I've heard is the Chicken factory will move to the old reebok warehouse?

[Pandalus Paddockus]

Any others that I've missed?

Yes, the one that allows mods to access user registration information and then use it in debate when cleary a level of anonimity and privacy was intentional with the use of a pseudonym.

You (Keith) and Mark S had the decency to respect that so how come the bored bloke didn't ?

[Posh]

Any others that I've missed?

Yes, the one that allows mods to access user registration information and then use it in debate when cleary a level of anonimity and privacy was intentional with the use of a pseudonym.

You (Keith) and Mark S had the decency to respect that so how come the bored bloke didn't ?

Again (see above) I swear that I never accessed the user registration information to check anything about your account and who you are. With the exception of editing / deleting a couple of posts where I always explain why, I've not looked at anyone's account information during 2009.

[bigreddog]

[/quote]
So who do you rely on? Perhaps its worth asking the 3 Westgate MBI city councillors; Morecambe's MP; and Westgate's independent county councillor what they did to sort the problem and what they are doing now to retain those jobs? My expectation is that it will be miniscule say compared to the efforts to keep The Dome open.[/quote]

While you two guys are having your domestic, may I point out for the purpose of clarity only, that the County Councillor that covers the westgate ward (county seat of Morecambe South) is in fact a Conservative, not an independent nor MBI Party member.

[Posh]

So who do you rely on? Perhaps its worth asking the 3 Westgate MBI city councillors; Morecambe's MP; and Westgate's independent county councillor what they did to sort the problem and what they are doing now to retain those jobs? My expectation is that it will be miniscule say compared to the efforts to keep The Dome open.

While you two guys are having your domestic, may I point out for the purpose of clarity only, that the County Councillor that covers the westgate ward (county seat of Morecambe South) is in fact a Conservative, not an independent nor MBI Party member.

For clarity its not a domestic, its a gay lovers tiff.

For more clarity, could you say which party he was a member of when he was elected in 2003 as a County Councillor?

[Pandalus Paddockus]

For clarity its not a domestic, its a gay lovers tiff.

Speak for yourself bitch