I’ve been in business now for 40 years and I’ve learnt every ‘trick of the trade’ to help close a deal when circumstances conspire against you.  When I say a ‘deal’ this could as easily apply to personal relationships, redeeming a loan or as generic as changing lanes in a traffic jam. It all involves relationships with humans and getting the best out of any situation however fraught. Continue reading →

Firstly, Mr Cameron, wisely, has set the date for the Scottish Devolution Referendum much earlier than Mr Salmond would have liked.  To compound matters Mr Carney was invited to Scotland and made it quite clear that for a devolved Scotland to share The Pound as a common currency they would have to cede sovereignty in terms of taxation and spending.  This effectively would defeat the object of the devolution process that is designed, presumably, to give the Scottish people more say in local issues Continue reading →

We have to be careful when there is an outcry for changes in legislation that impinge on the liberty of each individual in this wonderful and liberal country of ours.  There is a substantial cost to an owner of a property (in Bishops Avenue or any other road) together with Council Tax which should deter most people from leaving properties derelict for any length of time.

The problem in Bishops Avenue is that development of these single large properties has taken, in some cases, five years or more (when you take the planning and construction complications into account) and therefore to see 20% of the 66 properties in the road-requiring repair is not so peculiar.

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