Scrooge council jibe by MP

WARRINGTON Borough Council has been accused of being so mean they “make Scrooge look generous” by a local MP.
Helen Jones, MP for Warrington North said a disabled woman in Paddington could not get television reception because the council would not cut down tall trees at the rear of her property.
The MP joined Coun Colin Froggatt at the home of Janet Boughey and her mother and father in Heathwood Grove, Paddington to assess the problem.
Ms Jones (pictured) said that Janet was disabled and relied on the television for her entertainment. But the tall trees in the adjacent park were blocking out the television signal.
The situation was slightly better in the winter, when all the leaves had fallen from the trees. But Janet would not be able to watch her favourite programmes this Christmas because of poor reception of the major channels.
The MP said that both she and Coun Froggatt had asked the council to prune the trees which the family said had not been pruned for many years.
She said: “Janet cannot get out and about and relies on television for her entertainment. Despite knowing about these special circumstances, the council continue to refuse to take any action. They make Scrooge look generous.
“It is sad that our council won’t help improve the life of a disabled person by spending a small amount of money on cutting down some branches – after all they were happy to waste tens of thousands of pounds last year on a Ferris wheel which made a huge loss.”
A council spokesman said: “Although the council sympathises with Janet Boughey’s situation, under current legislation we are not duty bound to ensure that trees restricting the clear passage of television signals are pruned accordingly. All available resources are deployed to address council priorities. Therefore we are not in a position to resolve the issue, which is not dissimilar to many other residents experiencing the same problem with television signal reception.
“The council is duty bound to prioritise our work programme to deal with emergencies such as dangerous trees that are a potential health and safety risk to both people and properties.”