Wednesday 2 July 2008

PROTESTORS FEEL GAGGED?

If you haven't found a copy of Your Thanet today, Sue kindly sent a link on another strand and you can access the electronic version of the paper at www.yourthanet.co.uk/ .


A reader has e-mailed me to say that this correctly spelled message from Amy Murray and her team has some significance that only half the members of The Planning Committee were not shown on the infamous site visit that Ken Gregory so vociferously defends in the paper. I now point it out to them and to those who did not attend.

Firstly they are standing at the NW boundary of the site and about 10m from where the two largest Gateway buildings will end; ie. the X type warehouses. The observant will note that Sparrow Castle Pumping Station is in the background about 250m away. These 'protestors' are standing 50m inside the Source Protection Zone 1 of the aquifer!

A well experienced Chair of Planning , like Cllr Bill Hayton, who 'Mowice' sacked in early May having allowed his Council to gag comments at Planning Visits in April, would have pointed out the way the two X type warehouses with all the major HGV traffic would not only be built on prime agricultural land contrary to TDC Policy CC9; but would also be built on SPZ 1 contrary to policy EP13 but in addition would be the most visually intrusive contrary to policy CC2 and would be the closest point of the Phase 1 plan to the village of Acol. (Acol only has 230 villagers eligible to vote, so they can be ignored of course).

My source tells me that The 'visit' did not even go up the public footpath to see for themselves the way the plans would look on the ground and did not even consider looking at the site from the outside in, to even consider their impact and whether the X types should not be built there but elsewhere in Phase 1.

This of course would have been EVIDENCE pointed out to them had locals, affected by the plan, been able to draw these issues to the attention of The Planning Committee during its 'visit'.

So forgive me if I regard Cllr Gregory's words in Your Thanet as utterly risible. He said ,

"What we should be doing is allowing officers to tell us what is proposed so when ALL THE EVIDENCE IS GATHERED, (my capitals) and it ends up in the chamber at the council, we do it with some knowledge of the area."

The problem about evidence is that what you ignore, leave out, fail to seek or do not search for, is often vital evidence when attempting to make a sound decision and I for one have little confidence that our Planning Committee members are being directed to consider ALL the evidence.

This might help explain why Amy and her team are up in arms and about to roll out another, 20,000 leaflets to encourage the people of Thanet to object to serious aspects of this application that are being treated in what appears to be a cavalier manner by TDC. It's called local democracy and listening to your electorate. A copy is shown below.




You can print it off if you want or wait for it to arrive in a street near you!

24 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nobody is being gagged, and if they were you would not feel that you need to add a '?' at the end of your sentence.

Scare mongering is a nasty business for everyone





Local government officer
(required to be anoymous)

Anonymous said...

Oh dear Bertie it appears that you have upset one of those that allegedly should serve us?

LGO please note my ?????? and their is no scaremongering, Thanet Strife is putting out informed information which is factual, unlike the documents being presented to and by TDC.

Anonymous said...

When will TDC realise that by trying to stifle protest, you just make it stronger?

Bertie Biggles said...

09.20 Thanks for that comment and please feel free to put your case for proceeding with China Gateway. I would however ask you not to play silly beggars, as you do your cause harm by so doing. If you are an LGO as you claim, shouldn't you be serving those who pay your salary rather than starting your morning by littering 'Strife'?

Anonymous said...

Lazy LGO on blogs while we pay you.
We are the people and we call all the shots, don't we Bertie?

Anonymous said...

Bertie is own leader

Anonymous said...

nice day today

Bertie Biggles said...

We should, 18.26 but I don't think we do at the moment and that is the problem.

Anonymous said...

Bertie is only doing this to get elected

Anonymous said...

Bertie wants to be a councillor

Bertie Biggles said...

Quite happy being an aviator with a knackered old Sopwith,22.11.

Anonymous said...

Bertie wouldnt join the tories if he was sensible! Last thing he wants to do is get elected and have to cow-tow with the rest of the rabble! hey Berts better to criticise from outside?
LGO gold plated pensions, time to blogat work, 6 weeks holiday a year we're all in the wrong job blogging in our free time at 10.54!

Anonymous said...

We all know that the new planning Chair, Councillor Callme-ken Gregory, has been making comments here and on ECR, however, he has now gone missing!

After his outbursts about "representing local interests" and his other comments about "fat ugly birds(?)" he has disappeared from the ether, and no amount of calling "Callme-ken, Callme-ken, wherefore art though, Callme-ken" has raised a response.

Please Bertie help the "Find Callme-ken Campaign".

Bertie Biggles said...

22.54, I don't quite know how to put this, but, I am a paid up Conservative Party member as I have had to remind some readers from time to time.

Whilst I am not happy with TDC under 'Mowice's' regime, we still have many fine principled Tory Cllrs in Thanet, together with equally fine and principled Labour Cllrs and Independents. I just wish they would exert appropriate influence and 'independence of mind' outside the Party boundaries.

Bertie Biggles said...

' Call me, Ken' has possibly realised 23.48 that he was perhaps a little un-wise in some of his recent comments on 'Strife' and over at Dickie's site and may be in self imposed 'purdah' or has been told by 'Mowice' to stop f***ing mixing it on the blogs or Bill Hayton will be back on the Chair!

I would be delighted to remove his comment made the other evening, at his request, in the same spirit as I removed an unfair comment about Cllr Wise that I had made myself, (with apologies to him).

I am delighted when our elected Cllrs join in debate, and especially 'Call me Ken' and put their perspective forward. They do however need to be careful on planning issues as they must be seen to be 'honest brokers' or they automatically rule themselves out of the decision making process.

Anonymous said...

i meant you wouldnt join TDC tories not the tory party in general, most of us agree on that one, need a clean sweep of TDC councillors before anyone with any sense is going to be associated with it. Are you listening Laura or Roger?

Anonymous said...

I doubt Laura or Roger have much influence over TDC Tories. I would imagine they both want the local party out there come election-time to help rally the voters to the polling stations.

Laura is too busy being seen round St. Peter's during yesterday Village Tour, hobnobbing with the High Sheriff of Kent to worry about the 'little difficulties' at TDC.

Anonymous said...

We all need get around the table and talk.

Would you like to do that Bertie?


Local government officer
(required to be anoymous)


P.S I'm on tea break

Head, SMEG said...

LGO

9.03 and you are on a tea break? was 9.00 to 9.02 thirsty work?

bertie, the facts get ever more worrying. I wonder if green, call me dave cameron knows what a horlicks this council is making of this application in his partys name?

Ken Gregory said...

I have neither been told to or am not personally avoided the 'blogs' but have been busy with haymaking and business (council) and so have not had much free time. Also a few days hols were well appreciated.

I will not comment on the application, but at the start of the 'site' visit at Manston I did point out to all members present that one of the options in front of them when the matter came to committee would be a ..........site visit. That was because we were dealing with an incomplete application at the time.

Ken Gregory said...

Ps Local Goverment officers now can work flexi time, so a 9am teabreak is possibly ok

Bertie Biggles said...

Glad to see you back Ken and hope the hay-making went ok ( good weather for it) and that you enjoyed a short break.

LGO, afraid to say rather busy delivering leaflets for Amy and her team at the moment but thanks for the invitation to tea. Reminds me of Amy's invite to tea with Woger last month; I think she had to decline as well.

Anonymous said...

Listen Bertie mate, if my boss can take time out to go swanning around Margate, then I can take a few minutes to have a go at you!

My boss has apparantly gone to collect a petition, so by the time he's cracked a few skulls, got bailed, and got back to the office, I should be able to take you down a peg or two!

We LGO's have a lot to do. and need to tell you lot how busy we are!

LGO

'Making Thanet Buterful'

Bertie Biggles said...

LGOs sprouting up all over the place? At 23.00, I don't think so but caused me to laugh LGO of 23.00!