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gabbyncatLink to Plot Outline
Back in her own flat Harry typed up her notes into a new folder on the computer. While it was still in her mind she wrote some flavour text describing Alex, Crown Estaste and Luca. She wondered what she wanted to do with the story. There was a definite fluff piece in there about communities which she could churn out fairly easily, interview a few of the residents, find some councillor prepared to make some soothing statements about progress and maybe a sociologist of some kind. It wouldn't take long to write and would justify the time she'd spend so far. The editor would like it for the lifestyle pull-out. The estaste was even pretty enough in a fading grandeur kind of way that they could send a photo-journalist down there to take a few melancholic sepia tinged shots of the place and make it into a "passing of old Illyria piece". In fact it was right up one of the staff photographer's streets, he liked architectural and historical stuff and might even be able to get an exhibition out of it.
The problem was she had an itchy feeling there was a bigger story in there. She tapped her pencil against her teeth as she pondered her next step. One involving city council incompetance and possibly corruption. At the moment all she had to go on was Alex and Luca's paranoia but Alex was right that the resident's should be concerned about what would happen next. They were being offered a lot of promises and not a great many guarantees. City council incompetence was two-a-penny, if it was just the usual muddled thinking and slow action then it wouldn't make many column inches, the lifestyle story would have more impact in fact, and it would piss people off, probably including the editor.
Harry scowled at the screen then fired off an email to the editor and the staff photographer, suggesting a lifestyle photo-feature about Crown Estate and its community. Then she picked up the phone and dialled Clara Dunne.
"Harry, long time no see!" Clara trillled down the phone.
"Clara, are you still working for City Council?"
"Ever and always. They pay a good wage and I get long holidays. Why do you ask?"
"Do you know anything about this Crown Estaste demolition thing?"
"Oh God that things! It's been rumbling on for months and there's some rock star causing trouble over it."
"I've met him."
"Really? What's he like?"
"Cute in a paranoid kind of a way. So what's the story?"
"What's your angle." Harry sighed. Clara was a good friend but she'd been working in the council legal department too long to spill things to a journalist.
"I'm not sure, to be honest. Trying to work out whether the rock star is paranoid with good reason."
"If he's cute I say go with it."
"That's not very helpful. What's process with this kind of thing?"
"There isn't one really, that whole area of town has been protected since the fifties and no one really put anything in place to handle it. They've put together a whole sub-committee to debate process and process is what they've been debating for six months now."
"But the demolition is going ahead."
"Some interim special orders have been put out but the sub-committee has to rubber stamp anything before the bulldozers can actually move in and they can't move them in until the alternative housing is in place. It's all stalled at present while they build frantically. If you feel like trawling through the online council rulings it's all in there."
Harry groaned, she'd had to use the City Council website before. "I guess that's what I need to do then, thanks Clara!"
"No problem! It'll all be deathly dull. You know what the City Council is like, this cute rock star had better be worth it."
"I'm not sure he is," Harry grumbled as she hung up.
Back in her own flat Harry typed up her notes into a new folder on the computer. While it was still in her mind she wrote some flavour text describing Alex, Crown Estaste and Luca. She wondered what she wanted to do with the story. There was a definite fluff piece in there about communities which she could churn out fairly easily, interview a few of the residents, find some councillor prepared to make some soothing statements about progress and maybe a sociologist of some kind. It wouldn't take long to write and would justify the time she'd spend so far. The editor would like it for the lifestyle pull-out. The estaste was even pretty enough in a fading grandeur kind of way that they could send a photo-journalist down there to take a few melancholic sepia tinged shots of the place and make it into a "passing of old Illyria piece". In fact it was right up one of the staff photographer's streets, he liked architectural and historical stuff and might even be able to get an exhibition out of it.
The problem was she had an itchy feeling there was a bigger story in there. She tapped her pencil against her teeth as she pondered her next step. One involving city council incompetance and possibly corruption. At the moment all she had to go on was Alex and Luca's paranoia but Alex was right that the resident's should be concerned about what would happen next. They were being offered a lot of promises and not a great many guarantees. City council incompetence was two-a-penny, if it was just the usual muddled thinking and slow action then it wouldn't make many column inches, the lifestyle story would have more impact in fact, and it would piss people off, probably including the editor.
Harry scowled at the screen then fired off an email to the editor and the staff photographer, suggesting a lifestyle photo-feature about Crown Estate and its community. Then she picked up the phone and dialled Clara Dunne.
"Harry, long time no see!" Clara trillled down the phone.
"Clara, are you still working for City Council?"
"Ever and always. They pay a good wage and I get long holidays. Why do you ask?"
"Do you know anything about this Crown Estaste demolition thing?"
"Oh God that things! It's been rumbling on for months and there's some rock star causing trouble over it."
"I've met him."
"Really? What's he like?"
"Cute in a paranoid kind of a way. So what's the story?"
"What's your angle." Harry sighed. Clara was a good friend but she'd been working in the council legal department too long to spill things to a journalist.
"I'm not sure, to be honest. Trying to work out whether the rock star is paranoid with good reason."
"If he's cute I say go with it."
"That's not very helpful. What's process with this kind of thing?"
"There isn't one really, that whole area of town has been protected since the fifties and no one really put anything in place to handle it. They've put together a whole sub-committee to debate process and process is what they've been debating for six months now."
"But the demolition is going ahead."
"Some interim special orders have been put out but the sub-committee has to rubber stamp anything before the bulldozers can actually move in and they can't move them in until the alternative housing is in place. It's all stalled at present while they build frantically. If you feel like trawling through the online council rulings it's all in there."
Harry groaned, she'd had to use the City Council website before. "I guess that's what I need to do then, thanks Clara!"
"No problem! It'll all be deathly dull. You know what the City Council is like, this cute rock star had better be worth it."
"I'm not sure he is," Harry grumbled as she hung up.