Just spent a while there. Sporting and leisure facilities that puts our council and town to shame.

No wonder our town struggles so much.

I went there once about fifteen years ago, I thought it was the grimmest shithole I've ever visited.

It certainly looks like it's been through some rough times.

But I wasn't talking about it niceness as a place.

Just it's sporting and leisure facilities.

But it didn't feel grim to me.

Talking about grim or certainly creepy.

There is an old lunatic asylum at a place called gartcosh that I went passed the other day.

Creepiest looking place I have ever seen. Wouldn't go near it in the dark.

Our town struggles for many reasons. One that cannot be ignored is the population of the town.

Constantly slating it. Always moaning about the council etc etc.

Log on to th Hartlepool Post page or the two poliitics ones on Facebook


It's feckin awful reading.

You mentioned facebook, so there was no need for your last sentence.

And I really cant be doing with those other sites.

The faciities I saw today were all council owned and council run.

Anyone thats ever played football knows how grim the pitches and facilities are in Hartlepool.

Like it or not someone is to blame for the state of it all.

The problem with our Council is none of them ever participated in any sport in their younger days and therefore have no interest and have no idea what a decent sporting facility should look like.

So if everyone in the town walked about saying it was wonderful, it would be transformed?
I love how the population of a town can be a problem. You could organise a bit of ethnic cleansing , clear the town out and it'll be great, just you talking to yourself. Paradise on earth.

I think they spent a shitload of EU money really wisely. Our lass has mates there, they like it well enough, despite having grown up in Edinburgh. Like anywhere has a lot of shite bits.

Would THEY be the SNP? not fishing, just wondering if it is since the SNP gained control that things up there are improving?. I know in County Durham if we had left wing councillors rather than New Labour sycophants, I reckon we would see our situation improve, rather than councillors who are going along with the tory cuts instead of opposing them.

No. If we had good councillors.

I spent some time up in the Shetlands working a while ago - in Lerwick there was some of the best sporting facilities I've ever seen, about 5 full sized footy pitches, a swimming pool that puts the Mill House to shame, a decent sized gym and two full sized five a side courts. Outside a big banner saying "lottery funded"...all for a town of about 7,500 residents.. when was the last Hartlepool got any major funding, let alone lottery funding?

At least in part it's down to the Barnett formula that they govermnent uses to calculate public spending. This is part of an article from The Scotsman, a paper not ecactly against the idea of the Jocks getting more than their fair dibs:

"The formula, which is more of a convention rather than a legal obligation, is quite controversial. It was only intended to be a temporary solution to settle arguments over spending. Much of the criticism is down to the disparity in allocations between the nations, which is usually down to the Formula taking into account population. For example, in 2012-13, spending per head in England was £8,529, in Scotland it was £10,152, it was £9,709 in Wales and £10,876 in Northern Ireland.

Read more at: http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/t ... -1-4487014