Tuesday 25 March 2008

IT COULD ONLY HAPPEN IN THANET

I was not aware that Shaw Leisure had pulled its very expensive fair ground rides out of the Margate Harbour area before the storm arrived on Saturday until I read today's Thanet Times. As Norah's pictures show, on an earlier post, that was a very wise decision. What is interesting is that TDC's Tourism 'man' , Councillor Robert Latchford offered Shaw Leisure an alternative site; " We offered them Palm Bay but they refused."

Of course Shaw Leisure refused the offer!

Is Councillor Latchford so out of touch with the weather conditions on the 'North Side' when a Northerly Force 9 Gale is due in, that he does not realise that 60mph winds would also blow over Palm Bay? Palm Bay was not a realistic alternative and surely Councillor Latchford knew this?

(picture courtesy of Thanet Tree Huggers)

Before you groan about Bertie banging on about fences yet again , this next bit is worth waiting for!
The picture above shows a picture of an allotment fence in the heart of Broadstairs that is 2.4m high and by general consensus an eyesore and by the way, not subject to planning consent apparently and in addition, installed with the full approval of The Mayor of Broadstairs Councillor Jason Savage, his Town Clerk and Town Council.

You might be interested to know that Broadstairs Bowls Club applied to instal a car park and yes, ONLY a 2m fence around it, in Broadstairs Recreation Ground at Lawn Road which is less than 200 m from Culmers Land.

Broadstairs TC has given permission for the car park but not the fence. I quote the Times :

'Mayor of Broadstairs Jason Savage said the fence would be "overkill" and added:" It will look awful for years to come".

Which fence is he talking about?

I despair of our local governance and yes, it could only happen in Thanet!

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

There's a by-election next week for Broadstairs Town Council not that anyone would know. The notice announcing that a councillor had stepped down was tiny and barely noticeable. It was spotted, however, and a by-election called. The Town Council has decided not to issue polling cards so unless the good folk of Bradstowe Ward are politically aware or had some election material through their letter box then this event in the area will pass them by totally. Am I cynical or did the Tory-controlled town council plan just to co-opt one of their number straight on to the council? their plan has been hopefully scuppered by two Independent and one Labour candidates standing along with a Tory exercising their democratic right to represent their fellow townsfolk.

Anonymous said...

We could do with an independent voice in Broadstairs TC but a Labour Councillor would do quite nicely at the moment.

Anonymous said...

A few more Labour councillors in general would be nice, too. Thank you for your comment. I have never in 37 years of living here known a council so-hated as this current one.

The notice of who the candidates are is on the town council notice boards but so high up that you'd need to be over 6 feet tall to read them.

What's going perhaps to get folk out to vote is the Culmer's fence fiasco plus the chrages for removing green waste.£25 to hire the bin and 330 per annum for the collection. I thought that's what we paid rates for.

Anonymous said...

Sorry, correction. It's £30 per annum. I mistyped and failed to check it before posting. Also, I know how to spell 'charges'!!

Anonymous said...

Let us remember that this is a none story, it is just a fence!

A quote from "Zen and the Art of Talking Nonsense".

Anonymous said...

It may only be a fence but we council taxpayers have paid for an expensive fence (£55000) to protect private allotments.

Anonymous said...

You have not paid. allotment holders throughout Thanet agreed to the sale of one site to raise the money for fencing etc to the other sites. But the council reneged and allotments are only getting about a third of the money raised

Anonymous said...

Re. the park and the car park for the bowlers who are too weak to carry their bags of bowls from a car park elsewhere, this park was given to the town of Broadstairs by Dan Mason who made a fortune from Cherry Blossom Boot Polish and, according to the terms of his bequest, the land cannot be built on. This may be one reason why the much-trumpeted community centre can't be built there altho' it hasn't stopped the bowlers having a pavilion. it's clear from the club's statement asking for planning permission that it's because they now have to pay to park in Lloyd Road/Lawn Road like the rest of us and feel they're entitled to free parking.

Anonymous said...

I really must keep an eye on old posts that drop down off the initial screen!
13.52, you should have all looked at the Select Committee Report of 1998; it says that the bulk of the proceeds from sale of allotments for development should be re-cycled into 1. purchase of a replacement site.
2. improvement of all other allotments.

12.41, thanks for that! The bowls club members wouldn't happen to be predominantly the old Broadstairs Tory Brigade? In any other place, they would have been told to walk. Nepotism comes to mind, here!