Marvin the Martian returns to discuss 2 local political issues: the Greasby Fire Station saga and the King Street buildings collapse
The below is a fictional interview with Marvin the Martian about two issues Greasby Fire Station and the King Street building collapse. Marvin the Martian is trademarked to Warner Brothers Entertainment. Our legal team point out their trademark doesn’t actually cover its use on blogs but in case they try to argue this blog is an “entertainment service”, it isn’t, so no laughing! Yes I mean it, not even a smile! We also point out it’s not an infringing use of class 9 of this trademark as that refers to its use on goods rather than virtually.
We rely on s.30 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 and class this as “fair dealing” due to the acknowledgement above. As the The Copyright and Rights in Performances (Quotation and Parody) Regulations 2014 have come into force earlier this year, we’ll rely on this too and the new section 30A on parody.
JOHN BRACE: Thanks once again for agreeing to be interviewed about Greasby & the proposed fire station as well as the King Street building collapse. We couldn’t get straight answers on these issues out of anyone else.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: You’re welcome. I live on Mars, but having read your press reports on this I’m confused. Perhaps you could help just briefly explain to your readers what’s happened so far in Greasby?
JOHN BRACE: Well Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority decided to consult on closing two fire stations at West Kirby and Upton and building a new one, their preferred site was Greasby.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: OK, I’ve got that bit. So who owned the Greasby site?
JOHN BRACE: Wirral Council own it.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: So it’s just a cleared site, with nothing on it and has been declared surplus to requirements?
JOHN BRACE: No, it’s got a library and community centre on it already as well as some green space.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: And there are four Wirral Council councillors on the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority?
JOHN BRACE: Yes.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: And the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service stated Wirral Council offered them a lease of the site (subject to planning permission/outcome of their consultation)?
JOHN BRACE: Yes.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: But Wirral Council stated that they didn’t offer the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service (or Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority) the site to build a fire station on (subject to planning permission and the outcome of the consultation)?
JOHN BRACE: Yes.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Ahh so Greasby fire station is like Schrödinger’s cat, it was both offered and not offered to the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service/Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority at the same time?
JOHN BRACE: According to MFRS/MFRA & Wirral Council yes.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: So did someone actually open the box and see if the “cat” was dead or alive?
JOHN BRACE: Some councillors tried to at last night’s Council meeting. The box was opened and it was (from last night’s meeting) a policy decision was formally made not to offer the Greasby site to Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service/Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: So before that was the Greasby fire station dead or alive?
JOHN BRACE: Like the mysteries of quantum physics the answer to that depends on who you ask and when.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Ahhh, it makes no sense at all!
JOHN BRACE: This is Wirral Council. It’s not meant to make sense.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: So let’s move on to something the Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service were involved in, the aftermath of the buildings collapsing in King Street one evening. Who were then owned by?
JOHN BRACE: Wirral Council.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: OK, so why did they fall down?
JOHN BRACE: The “official” version is after they checked the rubble, is that there had been a bodged repair before Wirral Council bought them.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: So did Wirral Council have a survey done before they bought these properties?
JOHN BRACE: Who knows?
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: So did Wirral Council have a survey done after they bought them?
JOHN BRACE: Well once they collapsed and the rubble was surveyed yes.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: No, I mean after they bought them but before they collapsed!?
JOHN BRACE: Oh again, who knows? Although the collapse is being spun as a positive.
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Why?
JOHN BRACE: Well as the buildings were in such a bad state of repair, they’d probably have had to be pulled down or expensively repaired. As they collapsed on their own it saves Wirral Council on some of the costs of demolition or repairs!
MARVIN THE MARTIAN: Your Wirral Council politicians are just as keen to put a positive gloss on disasters as our Martian ones are!!!
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