This Is John Best

[jenlyn]

John Best is chair of the South East Waterways partnership. Below is a link to why he left his Milton Keynes council position.

 

http://www.mkweb.co.uk/News/Former-council-chief-executive-John-Best-speaks-out.htm

 

Below is another link to Mr Best.

 

http://m.miltonkeynes.co.uk/news/local/council-boss-urged-to-resign-1-866019

 

Digging deeper, it has to be asked, is this the right person to run, or be involved in a waterways partnership?

[jenlyn]

This is his CV

 

https://touch.www.linkedin.com/?sessionid=1114844994469888&as=false&rs=false#public-profile/http%3A%2F%2Fuk.linkedin.com%2Fpub%2Fjohn-best%2F7%2F961%2F745

 

The partnership has been running for 17 months now, under his direction. Yet little seems to have happened, (other than the south east visitor mooring strategy).

I have met him twice. On both occasions it was obvious he had no interest in boating, or boats being on the canals. My own opinion is he is not up to the job he has been given, possibly time for a reshuffle.

[DeanS]

I reckon everyone should always be given a chance ?

[cotswoldsman]

I have spent a lot of time researching all the Waterways Partnerships and I have to say The South East Waterways Partnership is a complete shambles. They have members that rarely attend meetings Verna Wass being a prime example. Verna Wass's claim to fame is that she is a Morris Dancer (non boater) she was appointed in December 2012 and has not attended a meeting for the last 6 months. Lynda Payton Web Designer, IWA member (non boater) seems to only attend meetings via Skype. Chris Stanley appointed in January a PR Consultant (non Boater) has managed 2 meetings and missed the last 3 meetings though he did put in an appearance in May

They struggle at times to make a quorum at some meetings.

 

Edited for correction: Lynda Payton is a boater

Edited August 4, 2013 by cotswoldsman

[RLWP]

Are the meetings closed, would they accept observers?

 

Richard

[cotswoldsman]

Are the meetings closed, would they accept observers?

 

Richard

No this one won't

[jenlyn]

Are the meetings closed, would they accept observers?

 

Richard

I have asked him in person, face to face if he would mind us observing his meetings. He flatly refused. He did offer to set up a sub group, that he would keep informed. However, he has yet to complete setting up his own group.

[cotswoldsman]

i should add that most off the Waterways partnerships are doing an ok job. The West Midlands one is doing a very good job. I do have some concerns about all of them but we do need to give them a chance but having said all that the South East has no direction and really no idea what it is doing. I know of 2 very good candidates that have applied to become members and both seem to have been rejected though one was put on hold (a polite way of rejecting)

[jenlyn]

As we have stated before, these partnerships need to be noticed. We all need to be interested and informed on what they are doing. They have a big say in the future of the canals.

[RLWP]

As we have stated before, these partnerships need to be noticed. We all need to be interested and informed on what they are doing. They have a big say in the future of the canals.

 

So, to that end:

 

What are they

How many of them

Who attends them

What are they expected to do

 

I'm afraid I don't have knowledge of the management and politics of CRT

 

Richard

[cotswoldsman]

I have spent a lot of time researching all the Waterways Partnerships and I have to say The South East Waterways Partnership is a complete shambles. They have members that rarely attend meetings Verna Wass being a prime example. Verna Wass's claim to fame is that she is a Morris Dancer (non boater) she was appointed in December 2012 and has not attended a meeting for the last 6 months. Lynda Payton Web Designer, IWA member (non boater) seems to only attend meetings via Skype. Chris Stanley appointed in January a PR Consultant (non Boater) has managed 2 meetings and missed the last 3 meetings though he did put in an appearance in May

They struggle at times to make a quorum at some meetings.

 

Edited for correction: Lynda Payton is a boater

I notice that Verna wass did not make it to the July meeting but she is also not listed as sending an apology so maybe she has now been booted out!!! The July meeting again only just made the required 5 for a quorum and if it was not for Jeff Wyatt as an employee of CRT who has to attend they would not have made there quorum. Considering this Partnership covers some important waterways GU up to Foxton and Oxford canal IMO it is a disgrace

[cotswoldsman]

This is an extract from the January 2013 minutes for SE Waterways partnership

 

 

4. Partnership projects

The Partnership has £20k in budget to spend on projects (during 2013/14 Financial year) ideally to be defined by end Feb / early March.

5. Fundraising project

Each Partnership is being asked to propose a project, value up to £25K. Previous experience suggests, the most successful projects are where a local business has an input in the funding.

The fundraising project needs to be up-and-running between May to October (to capitalise on seasonal footfall) and this will be heavily reliant on promotional input by Partnership members, although marketing support will be available from the fundraising team.

Now I have again trwled through the minutes since and can seem to find no further reference to what happened firstly to the £20k in the budget(not sure where that money came from!!) and secondly if the offer of £25k from CRT was taken up

[davidc]

I notice that Verna wass did not make it to the July meeting but she is also not listed as sending an apology so maybe she has now been booted out!!! The July meeting again only just made the required 5 for a quorum and if it was not for Jeff Wyatt as an employee of CRT who has to attend they would not have made there quorum. Considering this Partnership covers some important waterways GU up to Foxton and Oxford canal IMO it is a disgrace

 

 

Sorry if this seems daft question, but who do these partnerships report to, and have boaters got an appeal process to go to if these organisations are failing.

[cotswoldsman]

 

 

Sorry if this seems daft question, but who do these partnerships report to, and have boaters got an appeal process to go to if these organisations are failing.

Not a daft question. I have spent 3 months researching all the partnerships and as I have said some are doing a good job some are average and some well!! These partnerships are presently coming up with a 10 year plan for your local canal these are supposed to be published soon and then come out for consultation. If they fail then they just regroup I guess. My problem with them is that they seem to spend a lot of time talking about non boating issues and I remain to be convinced that they fully understand what they are supposed to be doing. I would hold the West Midland partnership up as an example of how a Partnership is supposed to work but then they have the most boaters on the partnership. It is early days for some (12 months) so I guess time will tell but they need to be watched.

[Tuscan]

I don't think we should value his input as chair of the SE Visitor Mooring workshops. His first words as I recall after ,pleading that the meeting should be kept civil , was to say that he had never been boating and had never been to any of the Visitor Moorings in question. His contrbution went downhill from there in my opinion.

 

You obviously don't need to be a boater to be on the partnership but an awareness of he canals through business, fishing, walking etc etc should be a pre requisite.

[cotswoldsman]

I don't think we should value his input as chair of the SE Visitor Mooring workshops. His first words as I recall after ,pleading that the meeting should be kept civil , was to say that he had never been boating and had never been to any of the Visitor Moorings in question. His contrbution went downhill from there in my opinion.

 

You obviously don't need to be a boater to be on the partnership but an awareness of he canals through business, fishing, walking etc etc should be a pre requisite.

I agree you do not need to be a boater but it would be good to have a decent representation from boaters. I struggle when reading some of the minutes from various Partnerships if some have ever actually been to a canal

One of the few people on the South East Partnership who has attended all the meetings and is very active is

 

 

 

Dick Pilkinton, Partnership member

Current Chair of GUSAC (Grand Union South Angling Consultative)as well as a member of the British Waterways National Angling Advisory Group, Dick has a commercial background in logistics and customer care. More recently Dick has been active on numerous charities and groups across Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire – supporting angling, heritage and local history. He is a tireless advocate for the canal network in its broadest sense across the region.

[alan_fincher]

I applied to be a member of this partnership, but was rejected because they said they were now looking for people with good experience of education, engaging the young, etc, etc.

So my wife, "Catrin"/Cath, who has just retired as an experienced teacher, and is looking for a new volunteer challenge put in her application, with a very detailed description of what she might bring to it.

She has been rejected after 4 weeks of waiting, with no more courtesy than an e-mail, because they will not appoint anybody further until they have acquired members connected to the Oxford, rather than Grand Union canal. At the moment such applicants do not seem to be forthcoming, though.

Either way, despite an apparent lack of any serious involvement on the partnership by anyone actively involved in boating, they have now turned down two willing applicants, whilst people who have been co-opted to the partnership continue to record zero attendance at any of the meetings this year.

Make of that what you will, but I believe this particular partnership has seriously lost its way.

[davidc]

I agree you do not need to be a boater but it would be good to have a decent representation from boaters. I struggle when reading some of the minutes from various Partnerships if some have ever actually been to a canal

One of the few people on the South East Partnership who has attended all the meetings and is very active is

 

 

Is it realistic or proper to invite this type of supporter of the canal network, to become a forum member to see the knowledge and rich opinions that this forum has? In regards to the canal network.

[cotswoldsman]

I applied to be a member of this partnership, but was rejected because they said they were now looking for people with good experience of education, engaging the young, etc, etc.

 

So my wife, "Catrin"/Cath, who has just retired as an experienced teacher, and is looking for a new volunteer challenge put in her application, with a very detailed description of what she might bring to it.

 

She has been rejected after 4 weeks of waiting, with no more courtesy than an e-mail, because they will not appoint anybody further until they have acquired members connected to the Oxford, rather than Grand Union canal. At the moment such applicants do not seem to be forthcoming, though.

 

Either way, despite an apparent lack of any serious involvement on the partnership by anyone actively involved in boating, they have now turned down two willing applicants, whilst people who have been co-opted to the partnership continue to record zero attendance at any of the meetings this year.

 

Make of that what you will, but I believe this particular partnership has seriously lost its way.

I think Verna Wass has gone.......do you have time to brush up on Morris Dancing?

[c c]

they will not appoint anybody further until they have acquired members connected to the Oxford, rather than Grand Union canal. At the moment such applicants do not seem to be forthcoming, though.

 

Either way, they have now turned down two willing applicants, whilst people who have been co-opted to the partnership continue to record zero attendance at any of the meetings this year.

 

Make of that what you will, but I believe this particular partnership has seriously lost its way.

Make that at least three - Being on the Oxford didn't prevent them from rejecting my application.

And just who decides which applicants to accept and reject I wonder.

[cotswoldsman]

Make that at least three - Being on the Oxford didn't prevent them from rejecting my application.

And just who decides which applicants to accept and reject I wonder.

The Chairman has the final word in your case John Best I guess

[Tuscan]

Perhaps the common denominator in rejections is boat ownership? After all you are represented via the IWA trustee boater reps ??!!

Edited August 4, 2013 by Tuscan

[cotswoldsman]

Perhaps the common denominator in rejections is boat ownership? After all you are represented via the IWA trustee boater reps ??!!

Ah one thing all the Partnerships do have in common is members who have held office within the IWA

[Catrin]

I think Verna Wass has gone.......do you have time to brush up on Morris Dancing?

Funny you should mention that. I'm planning on taking it up to improve my melodeon playing. Do you think it would help my application?

[PeterScott]

Ah one thing all the Partnerships do have in common is members who have held office within the IWA

... which is not particularly surprising because we (we the IWA) are a campaigning organisation for the Inland Waterways and we (we the CRT partnership members) are there to support encourage and influence CRT in the management of its part of our inland waterways.

 

who do these partnerships report to, ...

 

There is a diagram (p5) of the relationship between Partnerships and CRT mangement, Trustees and Council in this document "Changing Lives Together" which we (we the NorthEast CRT partnership) presented to a meeting of representatives of regional organisations in Wakefield last month.

 

have boaters got an appeal process to go to if these organisations are failing.

The CRT Trustees, as with most things, are responsible for ensuring that the Canal and River Trust works properly. The Partnerships (we are all volunteers) do not have an executive function: "failure" would be in terms of failing to help raise extra funds for the waterways, failing to influence management in doing their job, or failing to create a coherent vision and ten-year plan for the region's waterways.

 

On the general subject of appeal processes: as a boater, I find the direct approach to issues is to report them to CRT mangement in the first instance: if that doesn't solve the problem, there is a CRT complaints procedure, and our boat has been involved in complaints at all its three levels (manager, director, ombudsman), with some success.