Over the next few weeks something like 130 years of experience will be lost forever to Eastbourne Council, when five senior officers head for the door.
This is a result of the so called 'Drive' project, which cost £105,000 of our money, in an attempt to restructure the council.
I have put in a freedom of information request to find out what the pay offs are to these officers (at least the ones who are taking redundancy, not the two who are retiring).
So what will they be replaced with? And who? Well little is known yet about the new chief executive or deputy chief executive; they start this week.
Presumably all this payout and shake up is designed to make the council more streamlined. I hope it works.
Those going, according to the Herald include Martin Ray, Norman Kinnish, Neil Fuller, Diane Bagley and Mark Probyn.
Don't underestimate what a significant change this is. It represents 75% of the senior team that has run the council for the last eight years. It's a big gamble from Cllr Tutt, the Council Leader, and I hope it pays off.
More Labour insensitivityHow despicable it was to see the IRA's Martin McGuiness, now Northern Ireland's Deputy First Minister, at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, the scene of the Brighton bomb 25 years ago this month.
The former IRA commander was there last week at the invitation of the Labour party at its conference; he was addressing a fringe meeting at the scene of the bomb that was meant to assassinate the Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher in 1984. That aim failed, but there were five deaths, and 34 serious injuries.
As we all know Eastbourne has more reason than many to expect the British Government to show some sensitivity to the victims of IRA outrages, losing our MP Ian Gow to an IRA car bomb in 1990.
To see McGuiness there, unrepentant, makes the stomach turn. The devastation that was caused was beyond belief. I remember seeing it the next day with my own eyes – it was truly horrific.
Following the recent release of the Lockerbie Bomber this is yet another act of gross insensitivity from those that govern us, and who should know better.
All hail to the AleStill, on more cheery things – it's the Eastbourne beer festival this weekend; always a good crack! See you there!
Have a great week friends.
