Greased lightning - council pounce to snatch tables

Gary Fitzpatrick • Published 28 Sep 2012 09:50 23 Comments

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POLICE were called after a bizarre row between council officers and Alhambra theatre staff ahead of a sell-out matinee performance of 'Grease the Musical'.

Local authority workers arrived at the theatre's Green Room restaurant and started removing tables and chairs from the pavement on loading them on to their lorry in a planning application dispute.

There was an impasse when theatre workers sat down on the remaining furniture and the rammy escalated when the council employees tried to remove a Grease banner put up on railings by the visiting company.

The banner was left but the council lorry was driven off with tables and chairs in the back.

The incident occurred as Grease fans started to gather ahead of Friday's matinee performance and marred a successful run which drew audiences of over 7000 to the theatre.

An Alhambra worker said, "The people from Grease were bemused by what was going on. They're used to working in the West End and at theatres up and down the country but had never seen anything like this until they came to Dunfermline.

"One of the council workers was a right wee Hitler saying, 'It's our pavement and we're taking the tables'.

"They drove away with the marble tables wobbling about, unsecured in the back of a lorry and looking like they were going to fall out."

Alhambra owner Bill Fletcher said, "There were three tables put out against the restaurant window so that people eating there could go outside and sit while they had a smoke. Nobody was eating out there and we certainly wouldn't have the pavement blocked outside the theatre.

"It turns out there was a letter sent to the restaurant and so the council can argue they were acting within the letter of the law.

"However, the heavy-handed way they behaved was using a sledgehammer to crack a nut and they certainly hadn't sent a letter about the banner they tried to remove.

"We keep getting mixed messages from Fife Council. They are happy to use the Alhambra as an example of a Fife success story bringing business into the area but they certainly never do anything to help us, quite the reverse.

"We're not looking for special treatment but you would think the council would be welcoming the fact over 7000 people came to Grease in less than week, making it Fife's biggest musical ever.

"I was also under the impression the council is currently trying to revitalise the centre of Dunfermline."

Ian Jones, of Fife Council's Roads Network Management Team (South), said, "Regretfully we had to uplift a table and some chairs from the pavement outside the Green Rooms restaurant.

"To have street furniture on the pavement, businesses need to make an application to comply with the Town and Country Planning act and the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984.

"In this case no applications or permissions had been sought or granted so, after giving the owners advice on various occasions, we had to take enforcement action.

"Unauthorised street furniture on pavements can create serious hazards for people, especially the elderly and visually impaired.

"It is our duty to keep the streets safe for everyone to use. However, we also recognise and support the needs of shop owners and businesses.

"If the owners make an application as required we will be happy to consider it and work with them to ensure all requirements are met."

A police spokesman confirmed officers attended. He added, "We were called there but there was nothing happening when we arrived. We spoke to both sides and the matter had been resolved."

This article appeared in Dunfermline Press 28 Sep 12

Have your say. Post a comment on this article.

maclam
317 posts
Sep 28, 12:09
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try removing all the advertising boards scattered everywhere in the high street if they are serious about removing hazards for the elderly and visually impaired , at present the pedestrianised zone could pass as an obstacle course for any pedestrians in the area.

Recommend? Yes 33 No 3
redrobin
285 posts
Sep 28, 13:29
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Yeah and some of them are nowhere near the business they are advertising.

Nothing surprises me any more with this council!

What's next?

Recommend? Yes 19 No 4
ooonigirl
14 posts
Sep 28, 13:57
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I understand the need for permits and applications but surely the Council has more pressing things to deal with rather than removing a few tables and chairs and creating a scene? Why did it have to be done while people were starting to queue for the show?

Fife Council clearly have prioritising issues, I'm sure we could gather together and give them a list of things that require their attention if they are struggling for ideas!

Recommend? Yes 30 No 4
jaycee1502
11 posts
Sep 28, 14:05
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The obstacles in the pedestrian area are bad enough but those on 'normal' narrow pavements are even worse.

Recommend? Yes 11 No 2
redrobin
285 posts
Sep 28, 15:00
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ooonigirl....two points.

Give them a list?....How many sheets of paper will be needed?....think Pound shop sells 100 for a pound.

Secondly...As the council quite clearly have prioritising issues...it might be a step too far for them to decide which page to look at first.

Recommend? Yes 11 No 8
GrantStevenson
21 posts
Sep 28, 16:35
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I wonder if you would all be so critical of the council actions if they hadn't bothered enforcing the rules and a child or elderly relative had been injured by bumping into one of these marble tables?

"An Alhambra worker" contacts the 'Press and stirs this up; the Alhambra manager then publicly admits that the council had already notified them by letter about obstructing the pavement with furniture? Dear oh dear oh dear.

For once I agree with Fife Council on this.

Maclam, I agree; perhaps some more enforcement of these rules wouldn't go amiss?

Recommend? Yes 23 No 22
ooonigirl
14 posts
Sep 28, 19:30
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redrobin Well of course we would number them in terms of priority- can't trust the council do do that for themselves so make it very clear for them.

I understand the concerns over a narrow pavement and people struggling to get past but its not exactly on the high street where there is a lot of pedestrian traffic so I don't see the problem here.

Recommend? Yes 18 No 4
TheDEXExpress
109 posts
Sep 28, 21:56
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This is not the first time that the Alhambra and the Council have had a difference of view about planning/regul;atory matters and it may not be the last. I suspect that none of those posting here know what actually happened so it is not possible to say who was in the wrong. If there were three tables involved, I note from the photograph that (at least) one is on the back of the van while another one is being sat on by a determined-looking gentleman. Between him and the road there is some pavement and then a railing that would stop anyone falling into the path of traffic coming uphill. The third table is not visible. On the face of it,. it does not look dangerous and one would have thought that 'a quiet word' would have been enough to address any safety concerns.

Given that the current administration continues to make positive noises about revitalising the centre of town and the Alhambra has been a fantastic success, perhaps Councillor Rowley should convene a meeting between the Alhambra management and a few relevant officials with a view to agreeing how they can work 'in partnership' for the greater good of the town. It would be great if this sort of petty nonsense could be avoided in future. More importantly, it would be fantastic if they could agree what the Council could usefully do to help the Alhambra continue to flourish. For example, if there's not enough space outside the restaurant, can something positive be done about that? At the moment, it looks like it's megaphone diplomacy at times and common sense is out the window. Shame.

Recommend? Yes 15 No 9
shaw1761
15 posts
Sep 28, 22:12
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Too many rules and regulations.Doesnt seem too visitor friendly a place

Recommend? Yes 13 No 8
char
131 posts
Sep 29, 01:28
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Are they putting down Caithness slabs on the New Row approaching the Alhambra? Said many times that they should but looked like tarmac going down. Short sighted if that's the case. Put down slabs and put lit advertising boards where the planters that used to be. Could sell the space to Carnegie Hall and the Alhambra. Something similar outside the Usher Hall in Edinburgh.

Have to say it's fair enough for the Council to enforce action but sounds like they were heavy handed.

Recommend? Yes 8 No 8
Ivan K
20 posts
Sep 29, 17:02
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There might appear to be faults on both sides, but the issue could surely have been resolved without such heavy-handedness, and crassly ignoring the negative impact on the reputations of Dunfermline, the Alhambra, and Fife Council!

1. If the tables and chairs were causing an obstruction and the Theatre had been warned about it, should the Council not have had the gumption to first try to persuade them to move them rather than taking action to remove them.

2. Can the Council remove property arbitrarily, without resort to involvement of the police? Removal of property without proper authority is theft!

Mediation and consultation is always better than confrontation, but, as with the imposed changes to the bin collection service, Fife CC seem to prefer the latter approach!

Recommend? Yes 10 No 9
B2theB
145 posts
Sep 29, 22:09
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Removal in this case is not theft, considering the land in question actually belongs to the council.

Items were placed on their property without the correct permission.

agree that although the council may have acted differently here, the Alhambra are the ones in the wrong.

Recommend? Yes 11 No 11
maclam
317 posts
Sep 29, 22:39
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"B2theB" your right , apparently the alhambra staff were advised on several occasions to apply for permission but failed to do so . if the alhambra management had in fact responded to council advice no action would have been required.

Recommend? Yes 10 No 8
kaka30
310 posts
Sep 30, 07:24
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The Council should be doing all it can to help the Alhambra as its doing a great job in providing first class entertainment & enticing people into the Town Centre.

The Council & their employees are acting like cast members in a Harry Enfield sketch, maybe they should all take to the stage.

Recommend? Yes 13 No 7
ItsErnie
202 posts
Sep 30, 12:19
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The Alhambra is doing the same thing as many of the High Street retailers by determinedly cluttering the street with various sorts of advertising and trade hardware. You can hardly walk along the High Street without stumbling into billboards and the like (whilst of course trying to avoid being mown down by one of the so-called disabled hurtling along).

The council have done the right thing here - pavements are for people, not selfish traders. It's only a pity that they don't do the right thing with the rest of Dunfermline's cluttered-up town centre.

Recommend? Yes 14 No 12
sunray
1 post
Sep 30, 17:04
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To comment from B2theb on the statement "the council own the land" the council own nothing they are merely "elected managers" and I use the word manager lightly because they would not last two minutes in the real world of private companies. The owners of the land are the public rate payers ie. us, who in all honesty the council seems hell bent in offending by wasting our money on stupid ideas too many to list.

Recommend? Yes 10 No 5
darkknight
26 posts
Oct 1, 03:48
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Fife council - no thrills and its multiplying.

Recommend? Yes 7 No 3
DunfermlineEast
137 posts
Oct 1, 16:38
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Actually B2theb and sunray the council does not own the land, it merely adopts it. Under Scottish law property owners own the land to the middle of the road. In times gone by property owners swept all of this land as they were responsible for it. The council now clean and maintain it and we pay CT/rates to maintain it.

By laws are in place to stop owners from encroaching on the public realm, just because you own something does not mean that you can do anything, especially making the pavement smaller by extending your restaurant/cafe table numbers. You need planning permission to place tables and chairs on the pavement and it does not sound like they did it here and the council are within their right to stop it. You would expect the council to stop someone extending their property without permission if it was a house for example.

Recommend? Yes 5 No 2
SmarmyGit
316 posts
Oct 1, 19:42
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So then, the what's it to be? The cooncil doing to much, I thought they weren't doing enough? Means another moan tho doesn't it......

Recommend? Yes 7 No 2
SmarmyGit
316 posts
Oct 1, 19:56
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Oh dear ma speeling seams a bit of toodaye

Recommend? Yes 6 No 0
Ben Dover
13 posts
Oct 2, 15:37
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It seems someone at Fife Council has a bit of a chip on their shoulder about the Alhambra.... perhaps their wee brown envelope got lost lost in the post!

If they put in as much effort to sort out the mess that is the High Street and the number of illegally parked cars in the pedestrian zone, I'm sure the shopper's of Dunfermline would feel much safer than if they were to negotiate the Alhambra's street furniture.

Recommend? Yes 11 No 2
SmarmyGit
316 posts
Oct 3, 09:32
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Ooohh Ben, better be careful of that 1st comment, a wee bit of slander there......

Recommend? Yes 8 No 3
SmarmyGit
316 posts
Oct 5, 12:36
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And a press pap there to take a pic at the time, fancy that eh?

Recommend? Yes 4 No 1
******
Mar 13, 09:47
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