A reader has shared with Ferret, to pass on to our Community, the response She has received to a Freedom of Information Request recently sent in to Hemsworth Town Council.
The request was as Follows:
Dear Mr Draper
Treat this as a Freedom of information request if you need to.
Asbestos removal that was found in the digger store behind the Lakeside cafe/Bar when being erected.
Please provide me with:
Dates of when the contract for tender was advertised i.e. start and finish dates.
A copy of the actual tender document advertised
Names of companies who tendered for the removal contract and amounts of money tendered.
Name of successful company winning the tender and final actual costs.
Where the asbestos was disposed to.
Copies of all relevant paper work pertinent to disposal at the approved site
Copies of all invoices or paperwork received from the company with respect to this contract to dispose of the asbestos including VAT reg. Number.
Copy and details of actual payment made to the company, Bacs, Cheque, cash etc. and date paid.
Please respond by email please.
Thank you
Lexi May
Mr Draper response is as below, word for word, and unedited in any way:
Dear Ms May,
The council is not aware of any asbestos found in/around the digger store. If you have information pertaining to this then please let me know.
Kind regards,
Alan.
Ferret and the contributor are both astonished by this reply, as readers of Ferret may also remember an agenda item being added to a Hemsworth Town Council Finance Committee meeting pertaining to asbestos being found in the “free store” that was actually purchased by Hemsworth Town Council.
Apparently, whilst our grounds maintenance team were dismantling the building at the seller’s location they found asbestos in its roof space. They quite rightly stopped work and reported its presence. This apparently came as a surprise to our representatives at Independent Hemsworth Town Council as they had been assured by the seller that it was asbestos free.
“extract from the email sent to councillors”
Hello Finance Committee,
Re:- Storage unit – Hemsworth Water Park
The procurement of the above has already been approved by the council with Jason Begg as the appointed competent person to oversee the project whereby our grounds maintenance team will deconstruct the unit at its current location and reconstruct it in the compound at the park.
The previous owner assured the council that asbestos was not present.
Jason is in the process of obtaining quotes for the asbestos removal and the cheapest price thus far is £3,400.
Further extract from the email:
“So, this can be discussed at the Finance sub-Committee meeting on Thursday (strictly speaking, it’s not an agenda item but we need to move expeditiously on this for the obvious health and safety aspect).”
So, Mr Draper does this jog your memory, hang your head in shame, issue an apology and the full details asked for.
Or is this as was suspected at the time just another scam to misappropriate Hemsworth Town Council Funds whilst the asbestos was unlawfully disposed of?
So they get a free container, while dismantling they find asbestos, it’s going to cost £3400 for it’s removal.
Who paid for the removal? Where did it go? Who did it?
It was spoken about at a council meeting, it was minuted, now Mr Draper says there was no asbestos?
So why was £3400 quoted for its removal? Dodgier and dodgier.
Indeed dodgier and dodgier and the lying spreads and spreads.
Mr Draper what back handers are you getting that makes you tell such bare face lies? Oh sorry I forgot you don’t want to discuss your personal life I forgot.
Resign now Mr draper along with your little mates.
How much worse can this Independant council get,surely now it’s time WMDC ,Health and Safety Inspectors even the police intervened and started a full investigation.The community need to bombard Alan Draper with the same questions as Ms May,email him send letters make him answer ,this is a Town clerk who should show responsibility,show some decency and above all show he as a conscience and tell the damm truth or be made to face as should they all the consequences of their deceit and lies to our community.We must work together as a community and get these people who lie and lie and find answering the truth not in their vocabulary.Each time you go for your daily walk round the water park think about what serious health hazard we will have been exposed to,think about the long term impact on our community if we allow the certain Independant councillors to continue in their self indulgence and disregard the community and all it stands for,time Mr Draper showed some integrity to the community and for once tell the truth as more and more of his lies are being exposed and please time for the other councillors to pull together show the bad apples that they do have integrity and consciences and remember their votes will decide if this deceit is allowed to carry on time to stand as a community and our votes will count at election time,but why wait till then just RESIGN RESIGN .