The Hub Glentress Snubbed by FC
Stellite
Posts: 544
Comments
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"Do not follow where the path may lead, Go instead where there is no path, and Leave a Trail."
Parktools :?:SheldonBrown0 -
Pretty poor. I'm sure the FC won't let the £ slip through their fingers though.0
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shocking and ridiculous. Utter c**k up by the FC.I like bikes and stuff0
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". . . the tendering process is being carried out strictly in accordance with public tendering for commercial opportunities procedures."
Now why does the word 'backhander' spring to mind . . ?My abundant supply of MTFU is reserved for use in dry, sunny conditions.0 -
joshtp wrote:shocking and ridiculous. Utter c**k up by the FC.
Don't go holding this against the whole FC, there are many who didn't want this0 -
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From what I can remember there was over 50 applicants for the new bike shop/cafe space and one was picked so there should be, yes. There is definitely a space for one0
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It's a crap situation but that article's unbelievably onesided...
"The pair claim up to 30 jobs will now be lost"
The new place of course will be staffed by robots.
"Without them, Glentress would still be a few paths with very few visitors"
Total pish. Without Pete Laing and the FC that'd be true. The Hub's played a part of course but turn it around- they've had an amazing business opportunity because of the FC's investment, european and national funding, etc. Without the trails there'd be no Hub. There were trails at GT before there was a cafe and the modern network's construction had exactly zero to do with the Hub existing- it would have happened regardless and someone else would have taken their place. They might not have been so good, then again, they might not be so pisstakingly expensive for a baked potato with cheese.
"My four-year-old has even been down one of the trails on his balance bike"
A trail built by the FC not the Hub.
"They are responsible for the interest in the place"
No
"and for getting 4,000 mountain bikers there every week."
NoUncompromising extremist0 -
Delta5 wrote:". . . the tendering process is being carried out strictly in accordance with public tendering for commercial opportunities procedures."
Now why does the word 'backhander' spring to mind . . ?
I doubt there would be backhanders involved. More likely that the other bidders were larger organisations who are well versed in bidding for public contracts.0 -
if someone else has managed to make a more successful bid to provide a cafe, whats the big deal?
surely its their own fault?
id be suprised if a cafe was the soul reason for so much footfall at glentress.0 -
Northwind is completely right, how many people do you see at the Hub that aren't covered in mud or in bike clothes? Exactly, hardly any so surely that means the people are there to ride bikes not there for the cafe. And although the bike shop is great, there are others in the area so even if the new one is shite and although the hub will be a great loss, it isn't exactly going to kill Glentress off.
But the guys at the Hub have had a bit of input to some of the trails but it is the FC's land so they are responsible for it and they also have to put up with all the knobs complaining at them and speeding on the roads etc. but do they close the place down, no. Some people have to remember it's a working forest so sometimes things have to change and tracks have to be closed.
Sorry for that last but but it has to be said0 -
Depends on what constitutes 'more successful'. A more successful bid does not necessarily translate into a more appropriate / successful implementation of the project. The criteria for bids all too often overlook the things which make places like The Hub successful, such as dedication, quality of service, and local knowledge.
Bids tend to favour the big corporates and chains who can come in at lower prices (and sometimes even tolerate loss-leaders in the medium term) because of the economies of scale, who have teams of lawyers and accountants to draw up their proposals, and who have directors and chairmen who are part of the old boys club with long-standing connections to the grandees who make the decisions. While the process might all look very objective on paper, the end result is all too often another small business getting blown away and replaced by a soul-less clone like Carphone Warehouse, McDonalds or Tesco. I'm not saying that's what will happen at Glentress, but I believe the process is geared for big business and pre-existing suppliers, and fails to take into account the intangible value of small business and local expertise. All this is MHO of course
My abundant supply of MTFU is reserved for use in dry, sunny conditions.0 -
Don't get me wrong, there's real concerns, I just felt like tearing that article down some
Uncompromising extremist0 -
I though the new "caf" had been built (on the right next to the new field centre ?) anyway as long as it's not gone upmarket and still does bacon rolls and steaming mugs of tea...then that's all In want....
OK the hub may disapear..but business is business0 -
I don't wish to be harsh, but '2 hippies with no knowlegde of tendering processes' springs to mind. They must have known the level of interest and the possibility they wouldn't be awarded the contract.
'We have also been a bit taken aback at how impersonal the whole process has been' it has to be to stop any question of the tender panel failing to be inpartial.
If it's just a change of contractor running the site then what about TUPE?
If the FC are removing the Hub itself, what terms and conditions of notice etc are in the lease etc (if they actually have one)
Sorry to ramble on.........Visit Clacton during the School holidays - it's like a never ending freak show.
Who are you calling inbred?0 -
now, y'see, i was trying to avoid saying this but this is what i think:spongtastic wrote:I don't wish to be harsh, but '2 hippies with no knowlegde of tendering processes' springs to mind. They must have known the level of interest and the possibility they wouldn't be awarded the contract.0
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Yes but they know how to run a cafe that caters for mountain bikers & that surely is the point.0
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ellieb wrote:Yes but they know how to run a cafe that caters for mountain bikers & that surely is the point.
Nno not the point, so they know how to cook bacon and make coffee? Hardly unique skills in the wider workplace. It's all very well having a nice fluffy outlook where the evils of big business are defeated by the wave of a magic wand but in reality this isn't going to happen.
With 30 staff their labour costs alone would put them out of the running.Visit Clacton during the School holidays - it's like a never ending freak show.
Who are you calling inbred?0 -
ellieb wrote:Yes but they know how to run a cafe that caters for mountain bikers & that surely is the point.
This, but then that also depends on whether the sucessful bidders are also bike people,or whether they are just caterers. At the end of the day a cafe is just a cafe, and as long as they listen to what people want and charge the right money for it, people will use it.
It is sad to see people go who have been involved from the early days of anything, but time marches on, what if the new cafe is better, will people still complain?0 -
According to the BR front page news, they're off in 2012 and the FC want to widen the sites appeal, what's wrong with that, plenty of notice and more people visiting?
I think the FC might just need to see a return on their £9million investment, or has everybody forgotten about what's happening with money and the government at the moment. They could probably leave the Hut as it is and then blame them when the whole site has to be sold off?Visit Clacton during the School holidays - it's like a never ending freak show.
Who are you calling inbred?0 -
it is a shame to see a couple of folk so well regarded and well known end up having such misfortune but if you pick the bones out of it, a cafe sells cafe food, im sure the replacemenet cafe will sell the same stuff and be honest with yourself, if you are the kind of person who would visit that trail centre, would you change your mind because of a sandwich?0
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The thing is a lease is a lease....it's a contract...when it expires at best you may be asked if you want to renew...I was in Glentress 3 weeks ago, it was chuffing freezing so had to have me cuppa outside as inside is tiny...it's all okay to say we had plans etc...but if money had been spent expanding in the past (if possible) for the increasing visitor numbers they might have retained it...it was also an independant panel that reviewed the tenders....if someome put in a better bid albeit a better menu or cost then so be it. Tenders such as this have govenment guidelines so all are judged with the same scoring ctiteria.
At the end of the day as harsh as it is they lost (hardly snubbed...compitition is competition....otherwise there will allways be one winner !!) oh and please don't appeal as you will look stupid, work with the FC to ensure the staff are looked after...
Times change and people want something different.....the FC has invested millions in Glentress for us to enjoy for a couple of quid in the car park...
Lets stop the tit for tat...support the Hub until March 2012 and move on...0 -
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sheepsteeth wrote:Pudseyp wrote:
Lets stop the tit for tat.
not now, not ever.
Umm just had a though...perhaps we could get some facepaint....all meet outside the hub and reinact the famous Mel Gibson scene......"freeeeeeedom" might work...0 -
I think some of this debate is focusing too much on the cafe - Northwind's right about the trail development being an independent aspect, but something that is being overlooked is the investment in the shop and particularly the bike hire, which I think is totally down to the girl's efforts and has been a contributory factor in the success of MTB at this particular venue, and hence one of the reasons the FC has the opportunity of developing further.
What I mean is, how many peoples first taste of riding trails has been on their own ride? Lots sure, but many try out with one of the hires and then move on from there. Over the years I have introduced lots of people to riding through a hire at Glentress and some have gone on to fall in love with the sport and buy their own bike and gone back time after time. The guys in the shop and hire business are out of the same helpful friendly mould that is evident in the cafe staff. Sure its business, sure if Emma and Tracey hadn't taken the opportunity someone else might have, but would they have imbued the operation with the atmosphere that so many appreciate? Maybe, maybe not, but its not right that no account of past investment from all parties in a successful joint venture, which has been mutually advantageous results in one party losing out. Pity the FC can't say "This is the way we want to go - can you rise to meet that? You've got first shout and if the answer's no, then we'll go to tender".
If all business were run to the most effective rules, the world would be much poorer for it. There's more to it than £££!You don't need eyes to see, you need vision0 -
As far as I'm aware, all public contracts have to to take the 'cheapest' bidder, which doesnt necessarily translate to 'value for money'. Infact, more often than not it doesnt. I hope the winning bidders arent going to try and run the place on a shoe string and not deliver a decent service. On the otherhand, maybe the existing tenants' bid was wildly over the top, so perhaps chance might be a good thing?http://www.bikeradar.com/forums/viewtop ... t=12613038Cat With No Tail wrote:Anyway, fk dis, I iz off 4 a ride innit. l8rz peepz0
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They weren't the first to offer a bike hire service there though so you could say they just built on what Arthur Philips did before them. The Hub fleet's first class though, best I've seen.Uncompromising extremist0
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Whats up with that new article on here?
There are so many mistakes on it and they are making the FC out to be such heartless pigs when they aren't0 -
rubins4 wrote:As far as I'm aware, all public contracts have to to take the 'cheapest' bidder?
Oh how wrong you are. Only th stoopid 'I'm still pubic sector' people still do that.Visit Clacton during the School holidays - it's like a never ending freak show.
Who are you calling inbred?0
