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Stockport Council & Other News

Vicki Bates, Stockport Council’s Monitoring Officer’s FOIA Abuses.

Andrew Webb, CYPD, Anwar Majothi, Barry Khan, Common Purpose, Donna Sager, CYPD, Eamonn Boylan, Fir Tree Primary School, Freedom of Information, Ged Lucas, Information Commissioner, LibDem Councillors, Lisa Smart LibDem MP, No Playing Fields, Padden Brook, S Houston Finance Director, Senior council officers, SMBC FOI Posted by Sheila OliverPosted on Sun, November 30, 2025 08:59

30th November 2025

Email sent – Sat 22/08/2009 15:15

Dear Mr Majothi

So by May 2006 the Council is admitting the scheme is £2.40 million over the available funding.

Yours

Mrs Sheila Oliver

Stockport’s Freedom of Information Campaigner

Vicki Bates maintained I was being vexatious for raising this matter. Should she still be in post? In October 2005 the new school was to have cost 5.5 million pounds. By 15th May 2006 it was 2.4 million pounds over budget. They shut me up by claiming my questions were vexatious. They weren’t – they were uncovering fraud and incompetence.



Why Would Vicki Bates, Monitoring Officer At Stockport Council Still Claim This FOIA Request Is Vexatious?

Andrew Webb, CYPD, Anwar Majothi, Barry Khan, Common Purpose, Donna Sager, CYPD, Eamonn Boylan, Fairway School, Fir Tree Primary School, Freedom of Information, Ged Lucas, Information Commissioner, LibDem Councillors, Lisa Smart LibDem MP, No Playing Fields, S Houston Finance Director, Senior council officers, SMBC FOI Posted by Sheila OliverPosted on Sun, November 30, 2025 08:46

30th November 2025

Email sent – Sat 22/08/2009 19:11

Dear Mr Majothi

The Council stated it was cheaper to use the  Harcourt Street site than the Fir Tree site.  Please may I see the documentary evidence of this fact from the very start of this process. There must surely be documentary evidence as this claim was made by the Council.

At the Fir Tree site there would be no traffic regulation orders/work –  £130,000, no CPO costs £70,000, no drainage costs – £75,000, no Services to install – £231,000, no contamination costs – goodness knows how many millions that could be, no Sport England costs – £600,000, no village green costs, no footpath diversion inquiry costs, no outreach costs.

As I understand it the Council has a legal duty to consider alternatives which might present better value to the Council taxpayer.  Please provide evidence that a proper evaluation of the costs of putting the school on the Fir Tree site have been carried out.

Yours sincerely

Mrs Sheila Oliver

Stockport’s Freedom of Information Campaigner



Fraud By Misrepresentation – An Offence Under The Fraud Act 2006. Monitoring Officer Vicki Bates Covers Up This Fraud.

Barry Khan, Donna Sager, CYPD, Eamonn Boylan, Fir Tree Primary School, Freedom of Information, Ged Lucas, Information Commissioner, LibDem Councillors, Lisa Smart LibDem MP Posted by Sheila OliverPosted on Sun, November 30, 2025 08:20

30th November 2025

Email sent Mon 24/08/2009 21:03

Dear Mr Majothi

When the school closure notice was published, (copy previously sent to you) a place was promised to every child who wanted one. This was an untrue statement as soon as it was made because I think even with temporary classrooms placed on the site there were circa 5 children who wouldn’t have a place anyway.  Temporary classrooms were to  be used till the pupil numbers fell.  Please see the attached – the birthrate is rising sharply in the area. Sport England’s demands (bless ’em) mean that there is no room for  any temporary classroom, so the school which is massively overbudget and has no room to expand (as the DCSF would like for new schools) is nowhere big enough for the pupils who need to attend and were promised a place.  There must a financial knock on effect in providing schooling for those children somewhere else, perhaps with the cost of providing temporary classrooms at other schools. Why is this site still being considered if it is not big enough?

I look forward to  hearing from you.

Mrs S J Oliver

Stockport’s Freedom of Information Campaigner



Letter To The Stockport Express From An Intelligent Chap.

Andrew Webb, CYPD, Anwar Majothi, Barry Khan, Donna Sager, CYPD, Eamonn Boylan, Fir Tree Primary School, Freedom of Information, Ged Lucas, Information Commissioner, LibDem Councillors, Lisa Smart LibDem MP, No Playing Fields, NPS Stockport, Polluted Land, S Houston Finance Director, School Places Shambles, Senior council officers, Steve Houston, SMBC, Vale View School, Vicki Bates, Monitoring Officer, Stockport Council Posted by Sheila OliverPosted on Tue, November 18, 2025 15:25

18th November 2025

https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-manchester-news/bill-for-school-to-be-built-on-toxic-minefield-898373

Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 7:20 PM

Subject: Re: Harcourt street risk register

Dear Editor

I was very interested to read your anonymous correspondents views on the motives for the resistance to the proposed school in Harcourt Street. I have no idea whether he is right in his conclusions. I would say however that the Express records a continual list of Council Planning errors and so the probability of Harcourt St being yet another seems much higher than the correspondents claims that the toffs in Harcourt Street are bullying the poor  council tenants in Fir Road. That explanation seems patronising to the point of absurdity. Conversely I have equally no firm idea that Mrs Oliver is correct in her assertion that the Harcourt Street site is seriously contaminated with toxic elements. From what I understand from her letters to this column she claims the ex tip in Harcourt Street is the same as other old tipping sites in Stockport that have been refused planning permission. Furthermore it appears a less than required testing regime has indeed shown serious toxic contamination. Surely any sensible person would expect a proper and full scientific testing of the site especially as young schoolchildren are involved.

In fairness the Council seems to be slightly veering to this view as it now judges the risk of a full scientific examination as Very High. That seems a very significant change in attitude.

Finally the attitude of the ruling LibDem Group seems at odds with the liberal and democratic attitude of their National Party.

3 Cllrs in particular, Cllrs Goddard, Weldon and Porgess seem to have nailed their reputations and possibly their jobs to the mast by insisting without firm evidence that there is nothing wrong with the site. Mrs Oliver has also pointed out that the cost of the new school is considerably higher than national standards and even the cost of other local schools. To borrow the conspiracy theory attitude of your correspondent are these Cllrs protesting too much because they have something to hide especially when a simple survey as required by the Environment Agency would settle the issue.

Yours faithfully

XXXX (name redacted)



Why Didn’t The Contamination Dog Bark?

Anwar Majothi, Barry Khan, Donna Sager, CYPD, Eamonn Boylan, Fir Tree Primary School, Ged Lucas, Information Commissioner, LibDem Councillors, Lisa Smart LibDem MP, No Playing Fields, School Places Shambles, Steve Houston, SMBC, Vale View School, Vicki Bates, Monitoring Officer, Stockport Council Posted by Sheila OliverPosted on Tue, November 18, 2025 15:19

18th November 2025

Friday, July 25, 2008

In the words of Sherlock Holmes. Why didn’t the dog bark?

If contamination is a consideration. If some evidence of contamination has been found. If the risk has even been ‘closed” or resolved. If virtually every conceivable risk has been listed. 

Then why oh why is there not even a mention nor a sniff of contamination in this wonderfully crafted risk register constantly being modified over time and experience?

Do they just not care whether there is or isn’t contamination? No, they didn’t.



I have tried to post up all the genuine, in-the-public-interest questions here, but they crashed my blog (1).

Donna Sager, CYPD, Eamonn Boylan, Environmental vandalism, Exasperated residents, Fir Tree Primary School, Freedom of Information, LibDem Councillors, Lisa Smart LibDem MP, No Playing Fields, Senior council officers Posted by Sheila OliverPosted on Wed, July 09, 2025 06:55

Suffice it to say, not one of them was vexatious. They all referred to endangering the lives of children and local residents with brown asbestos and landfill gases, illegal development of protected public open space, financial and other irregularities which would blow your mind. These can be emailed to any interested party on request.



Sale of Fir Tree School Land

Fir Tree Primary School Posted by Sheila OliverPosted on Fri, March 22, 2013 16:47

Executive Meeting 2/4/13

“Disposal of the site of Fir Tree Primary School, Reddish

Purpose of decision

To approve the disposal of the site to a purchaser to be

identified in a report to be submitted to the Corporate Director

Corporate and Support Services.”

http://democracy.stockport.gov.uk/mgA.aspx?M=4870

Meeting to be held in secret, of course!