Willie Young - corrupt or just incompetent?

[Nellie The Don]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-39717220

 

How is it possible that a council member would have to consult with a solicitor in order to find out whether they owned a piece of land that was subject to council funding?

 

Is it really possible that there's an innocent explanation for any of this?  Maybe someone more knowledgeable about council proceeding can shed some light, because I surely can't think of one. 

 

Thoughts?

 

Aberdeen City Council has admitted to a "serious failing" after repairs worth £200,000 were ordered to a cycle path without proper approval.

Work at the path involving a boundary wall on Wellington Brae in the Ferryhill area has been suspended while an investigation takes place.

Aberdeen City Council said there was doubt over who owns the land.

However, BBC Scotland understands it is owned by councillor Willie Young, the authority's finance convener.

He has denied any wrongdoing, and said he was waiting to hear from his solicitor whether he owns the land or not.

The council said approval for the project did not follow the required governance procedures and was not presented for committee approval.

It said an urgent review was under way.

The path is cordoned off but no repair work is taking place.

The project was to be fully funded by cycling charity Sustrans, which awarded just over £21,000 for preliminary work, with the full funding to be paid when the work was completed.

'Establish clarity'

Bernadette Marjoram, Aberdeen City Council's interim director of communities, housing and infrastructure, said: "The Wellington Brae cycleway repairs were first considered by officers of the council in 2016 following storm damage.

"Aberdeen City Council acknowledges the project did not subsequently follow the required governance procedures and was not presented for committee approval at any stage in the process.

"This is a serious failing by council officers and therefore an urgent review is under way. In light of this, work has been suspended."

Wellington Brae

She explained: "The project, which was to be fully funded by Sustrans, was instigated by staff of the planning and sustainable development service in conjunction with Sustrans on the basis the section is part of a national network.

"It should be stated no works were requested by landowners in the area surrounding the path and nor did any landowner seek funding for repairs.

"At this stage the ownership of the land is in question. Aberdeen City Council is urgently seeking to establish clarity in this respect.

"To reiterate, no elected member of Aberdeen City Council was given the opportunity to consider the Wellington Brae project at committee or was party to any decision taken."

[RicoS321]

It could be that the repair borders on his land or something, and the land was owned by him but a public right of way or some such. There's a road that goes behind my hoose that is owned by the neighbour, thus he is responsible for cutting the grass, yet I own the bit that goes beside my hoose and so am responsible for that which I didnae know until recently. If someone had taken an illegal shite on that part, I would have been none the wiser it was mine until I checked my deeds. Given it's a public path, it'll be an embankment or something that belongs to the property, but the cooncil probably cut the grass or whatever so it is legitimate that thon cunt Young might not have known. Going by the last paragraph, it suggests that he wasn't involved in the decision. Mine, he wasn't getting a hot-tub put in or anything (although at 200K I'd be expecting one) so I can't imagine it'd be a profitable venture.

[Nellie The Don]

Fair enough.  I get that the average punter might not know exactly where the boundaries of their property are.  I'd expect that it should be fairly standard that it would at very least ring a bell with a councillor that a project bordering their property may involve a conflict of interest, and it should be checked out before any approvals go ahead.

 

As for him having no part in the decision, the P&J version of the story seems to suggest something quite different.

 

https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeen/1229641/pay-200000-fix-council-bosss-boundary-wall/

 

Correspondence seen by the P&J indicates Mr Young discussed the project with senior council officers and “verbally approved” the scheme without it ever being taken to a committee.

[Buc]

I've met Willie Young he's a lovely lad.

 

Not sure about his fellow labour lad that packed in can't remember his name but he had an English accent.

He doesn't take a bit of fun not a nice chap at all.

[gogsred]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-39717220

 

How is it possible that a council member would have to consult with a solicitor in order to find out whether they owned a piece of land that was subject to council funding?

 

 

I thought that Willie Young was a solicitor.

[Ten Caat]

i thought he was a big ginger centre half

[Garlogie_Granite]

I've met Willie Young he's a lovely lad.

 

Not sure about his fellow labour lad that packed in can't remember his name but he had an English accent.

He doesn't take a bit of fun not a nice chap at all.

Barney Crockett?

[OxfordDon]

Thank Christ for that, i read the title of this thread too fast and thought Willie Collum had taken a seat on ACC.

[Tyrant]

I don't believe for a second that there's an innocent explanation for this. Corrupt as the day is long.

[Buc]

Barney Crockett?

 

 

No not him .

But the Labour guy had an English accent an fair hair miserable manner was.

 

Barney has been in my house nice lad .

[Buc]

I thought that Willie Young was a solicitor.

 

 

He is and he's also worth a couple of million I've been told new labour then.

 

As I say I've met him before he is indeed a nice lad. Not as bad as folk make him up to be. But I have to admit I'm gobsmacked with this wall at our expense there's more to this I think.

[Tyrant]

 

He is and he's also worth a couple of million I've been told new labour then.

 

As I say I've met him before he is indeed a nice lad. Not as bad as folk make him up to be. But I have to admit I'm gobsmacked with this wall at our expense there's more to this I think.

 

A "nice lad" he may be but he is obviously completely corrupt and should be jailed.

[BigAl]

The aforementioned Willie Young has lost his seat

[Tyrant]

I'd say "faith in Aberdonians partially restored" but of the results that I've seen so far the Tories are getting far more votes than even the next most popular candidates which I find baffling.

[Garlogie_Granite]

I'd say "faith in Aberdonians partially restored" but of the results that I've seen so far the Tories are getting far more votes than even the next most popular candidates which I find baffling.

Winning Shettleston and one in paisley. What the fuck is wrong with these people?

[tom_widdows]

Winning Shettleston and one in paisley. What the fuck is wrong with these people?

 

At the risk of bringing out and old Cliche, deprived areas can be very susceptible to right wing politics particularly if they have a high 'immigrant' population.

'Forget that successive governments have deliberately neglected your area, its all the fault of the <insert Non UK citizens here> and we 'the peoples party' shall stop decanting them to ......shall deport them all!'

[Tyrant]

At the risk of bringing out and old Cliche, deprived areas can be very susceptible to right wing politics particularly if they have a high 'immigrant' population.

'Forget that successive governments have deliberately neglected your area, its all the fault of the <insert Non UK citizens here> and we 'the peoples party' shall stop decanting them to ......shall deport them all!'

 

 

Drives me mad! TV shows like "Benefits Street" are designed to rile up hatred for the poor and thick working class so that corporations like Google and Apple can quietly avoid billions in tax in the background whilst some poor junkies and asylum seekers are blamed for folk having shite lives. The system's fucked. As Russell Brand said it's time for a revolution.

[1903_Redz]

At the risk of bringing out and old Cliche, deprived areas can be very susceptible to right wing politics particularly if they have a high 'immigrant' population.

'Forget that successive governments have deliberately neglected your area, its all the fault of the <insert Non UK citizens here> and we 'the peoples party' shall stop decanting them to ......shall deport them all!'

 

I know what you're saying. At the semifinal a couple of weeks ago i drove down and was going to park on Victoria Road in Govanhill. I got out the car and asked a taxi driver parked behind me if it was ok to park there, he said it was pay and display but if i was to go along the road a little bit and park on one of the side streets on the left i'd be fine, he stressed not to park on the right as it's "like fucking Romania in there, they'll have all the doors on that thing boosted in not time!"

I thanked him and followed his advise, parked the car and popped into the Victoria Bar on the high street. In there we got speaking to a right auld boy, of course he was backing up what the taxi driver was saying about the other side of the road and that the place had gone to ruin, that's when he dropped the SNP bomb.... "it's all Sturgeons fault! She's let them in and she's trying to bring even more in!"

To be fair we walked right through those estates on the way to Hampden and i was pretty shocked by what i saw.... very very few white faces, all the shops were selling those long Indian style robes, halal meats and dodgy mobile shops... must've been networks from India or somewhere, certainly not ones i'd heard of. On every corner we passed were groups of young asians, 10 or 15 at a time.

I didn't realise it was like that there and you can understand the locals getting upset and blaming the SNP.

[donsdaft]

Aye, sari's and halal meat....fuckin Romanians.

[donsdaft]

Mind you, Glezga's always been a shitehole.

 

Catholic minkers

Protestant minkers

 

Minkers in general really.

 

 

I mind one of my first Hampden visits, wee Glezga wifies collecting for imaginary charities, folk with nae teeth spending at least half their lives leaning out the window's of their hovels.

 

Minkers.

[1903_Redz]

Aye, sari's and halal meat....fuckin Romanians.

 

Fair enough DD, I thought myself when walking through it was more Islamabad than Romania but I was so surprised at what I saw that I looked up Govanhill on Google to see what the score was and they do go on about a massive Romanian and Eastern European influx. It was Alison Street we walked down and it was all Pakistani/ Indian. Have a nose yourself.

[donsdaft]

I wasn't having a go at you min.

 

Poverty's the problem not the nationality.

 

Voting Tory will sort that out though, eh?

[Buc]

Winning Shettleston and one in paisley. What the fuck is wrong with these people?

 

 

Unionist marchers in huge numbers .or Rangers fans if labour can't do it and the Tories can vote them in anyone but the SNP .

 

Union rules above all else I've family in Glesga and plenty of them.

 

Some were moving to England if it was a yes vote 2014 ..proud Scots eh.

[donsdaft]

Mind you, the Roma are a different breed altogether and they are probably from India.

 

The Romanians don't like them either.

[OxfordDon]

 

Poverty's the problem not the nationality.

 

 

Have an infinite number of Simmies.