The first Council meeting at Brent's £100,000,000 Civic Centre was the occasion for opening remarks praising this 'magnificent' new building by Labour councillors.
Then things went downhill.
Councillors' microphones were either not working or only intermittent, making proceedings inaudible to the public and some councillors sounding like short-circuiting Daleks. The speakers' screen that shows the Mayor, who chairs the meeting, who is due to speak was not working. The mobile phone signal in the conference room was very poor and the broadband not sufficient to download the documents under discussion. The display board merely displayed the Brent logo rather than documents, speaker's names or motions under discussion.
The public are now roped off on the same floor level as the councillors with some councillors seated right in front of them, this obscures the view.
More complaints are coming in to me regarding the phone service including residents' calls not being answered, being abruptly cut off, barely audible answerphone messages and the robot switchboard voice recognition 'mishearing' names and departments and making ludicrous suggestions as to what the customer may require.
It is beginning too look more than mere teething problems.
Then things went downhill.
Councillors' microphones were either not working or only intermittent, making proceedings inaudible to the public and some councillors sounding like short-circuiting Daleks. The speakers' screen that shows the Mayor, who chairs the meeting, who is due to speak was not working. The mobile phone signal in the conference room was very poor and the broadband not sufficient to download the documents under discussion. The display board merely displayed the Brent logo rather than documents, speaker's names or motions under discussion.
The public are now roped off on the same floor level as the councillors with some councillors seated right in front of them, this obscures the view.
More complaints are coming in to me regarding the phone service including residents' calls not being answered, being abruptly cut off, barely audible answerphone messages and the robot switchboard voice recognition 'mishearing' names and departments and making ludicrous suggestions as to what the customer may require.
It is beginning too look more than mere teething problems.
4 comments:
I hear there are also problems with weddings - not parking meaning that people are meant to get all dolled up then go on the bus and walk, plus prospective couples are discretely advised 'not to get married on an event day'.
Or change their library books...
Martin,
The Civic Centre seems to be an absolute shambles. Here are the following points that I have received from residents and staff:
1. Incorrect spelling of certain languages (i.e. Portuguese) in the library (shocking!)
2. Lack of quiet seating areas
3. Lacks atmosphere - missing the old, run down, rented buildings
4. A waste of money - decent on the outside, shockingly poor on the inside
5. Lack of clear signage
6. Screens outside the Civic Centre are temperamental
7. Parking system is not always working
8. Shoddy finishing. Especially in the library, which looks more run down than most of the six libraries that were forced to close.
This is a real waste of taxpayer's money and we really deserved more for our hard earned cash. One can only hope that someone in the Council realises this and seeks to remedy the situation. Right now, its a laughing stock. I am definitely not proud of it.
In addition to these complaints, students complain about noise levels making it difficult to concentrate in the study area.
I still suspect that in a few years Brent Council will scarcely exist and the building will have been sold to the Football Association.
Meanwhile we have Morrisons to look forward to - should be great on event days as they've applied for a licence to sell alcohol..
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