WHAT GAMES ARE KCC PLAYING WITH US AND CGP AT MANSTON?

The plan above shows who owns what at Manston for Phase 1 of CGPs Gateway Project that is still being looked at by TDC Planning. The KCC owned property is the light shading.

One of my researchers sent KCC a Freedom of Information request concerning what they owned and what they were doing with it. It ellicited this interesting reply:

" Dear Mr X, Thank you for your request for information. I can confirm that Kent County Council does own land at Manston Business Park and the Title Deed is K704995. The status of the land is COMMERCIALLY SENSITIVE at this time and therefore exempt from disclosure to you under Section 43 of The Freedom of Information Act 2000."



What I find odd is that KCC and TDC formed East Kent Opportunities LLP and 'pooled' their holdings of land at Manston and Eurokent sites.


So whilst CGP is trying to squash too many sheds into an inadequate space (the darker shading is 'theirs'); put redistribution warehouses (X types) with 100+ HGV bays onto the most sensitive part of the site in terms of threatening our drinking water and spoiling the lives of Acol residents; avoid 30m screening planted belts and proper closed system drainage off hardstanding areas through interceptors and into balancing ponds, KCC and TDC are playing 'silly beggars' with its own recently formed 'Development Company'!

The solution would be quite simple one would have thought.

Tell CGP it can have space at the Airport end of the site (away from the most sensitive part of the aquifer and away from the poor residents of Acol) to put its X type warehouses and have space for proper safe drainage into lagoons and for 30m wide screening tree belts.

So if the information about what KCC is up to is 'Commercially Sensitive' let Bertie's team speculate on what is so sensitive.

1. CGP has to buy land fron KCC to put its ' Welcome to Gateway Buiding' on the site it is presently shown on in its plans.

2. KCC has a stranglehold on access to the North end of the site at the Cummins end roundabout and the 'looping road' (see diagram above) which is described as a 'ransom strip' and perhaps want to make CGP pay through the nose for it.?

3. KCC has a tenant in the middle of the area where CGPs sheds are shown on the plan, with a lease that does not expire until 2013.

While the KCC/TDC 'partnership' is playing the 'speculative developer' game with CGP, the quality of development of this site takes a nose-dive from the high standards already insisted on in the past.

Is anyone out there really concerned about quality development with the best safe-guards for our drinking water supply?