CHINA GATEWAY STALLED WHILST KCC AND TDC PLAY THE EKO LLP GAME?

Its that time of year for CGP to let its shareholders know how its doing or not doing and a Chairman's Report etc seems needed soon. One can expect further paper losses as land asset values have fallen and CGP can only make a profit when it develops and sells.
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Fellow CGP watchers will have noticed CGP becoming one of the AIM 'walking dead' with shares going as low as 3p, rallying oddly in April to 45p following IOTG announcing an offer of £3 million for KCC land at Manston Business Park and settling back to 28p.
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Its holdings at Dover would appear to be going nowhere at the moment; prospects at Westwood Park Wigan are looking dismal with West Midlands Development Agency and Wigan Borough Council rumoured to be considering other options. That leaves Manston Business Park and Thanet's China Gateway project as the main priority perhaps.
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CGP's problem in this recession is simply capital to proceed. Its running costs are minimal but it owes Israel Discount Bank £28 odd million that originally had to be paid back by Nov 2009 (6 months away). One can discount the recent MOU with UNIDO; CGP had an MOU with Chinamex and others in 2007 and collecting MOUs is perhaps the new version of stamp-collecting. However, if CGP is to proceed its only likely source of serious money is from China and China has lots of it and will beat both the USA and the UK out of recession and come thundering back onto the world stage.
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What has this got to do with KCC and TDC and EKO LLP (their little property company that is not under democratic control.)? The map above shows the land KCC owns at Manston Business Park; CGP's approved plans and existing development. TDC and KCC have been urged by me and others to release this land to CGP to enable it to proceed to develop an environmentally safer and less disturbing development to Acol. If this land had been made available last year as I urged TDC to do, sensible job creating development on Manston Business Park becomes a reality. This is what the TDC Councillors decided in October 2008 , after all.
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The problem is that KCC and TDC (EKO LLP) have been holding CGP to ransom, demanding £2.25 million for 5 acres for the envisaged Gateway building and a small ransom strip, whilst retaining the rest it owns. Just to make matters worse KCC paid over £6 million for 70 acres (which also includes strips and bits) in 2006 at the top of the market and even then it was reputed to be an excessive price.
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The IOTG reported on 17 April that CGP have made an offer to KCC worth £3 million to purchase 27 acres. This is good news. Chinese investment will come to Manston Business Park if the project is big enough; it could be with the extra land. That was 6 weeks ago and rumour has it that EKO LLP has not responded and that no face to face meeting with legal bods attached has yet taken place. How long will KCC and TDC stall on this. E & R reports at KCC, waffle, but still no decision? When will Councils and Councillors realise that business in a fast moving world cannot crawl along at the incompetent and slow pace that seems apparent here.
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If you are wondering why am so keen to see CGP use the whole site you will need to read back to last year's posts. Quite simply, this land is designated employment land; TDC has granted planning consent and yet CGP needs space. The present approved plans are unsatisfactory and pose a threat to Acol and the aquifer. CGP could redesign the whole project with more space and place X type warehouses and all HGV movement close to the entrance of Columbus Avenue, away from Acol and the aquifer.
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With the jobless level in Thanet now in excess of 4,000 it is time for EKO LLP to stop playing at being a property company and think about its priority of inward investment (albeit Chinese) and job creation. Environmentally, CGP could be 'persuaded' at the same as selling it the land, to move the HGV's away from Acol and the aquifer.
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This is a sad case of little men like Cllr Latchford and his KCC 'oppo' playing at property development and politics instead of realising where the priorities lie. It is not a question of hoping CGP's development will raise EKO's prices and thus making a tidy return; the land will remain a weed patch and no jobs will be created. We have a derelict Dreamland and a Manston Business Park empty and land-banked by our own Councils. This cannot be right, can it? If necessary take a loss on the land and get good and environmentally sound development underway as soon as possible. Just forget about Phases 2 & 3 on other farmland though.

TIME TO KEEP A CLOSER WATCH ON TDC

As I have been pounding the concrete in various parts of Thanet recently, I have been surprised at the number of people who have no idea who their Councillors are or what party they represent. I have to say that Conservative Councillors appear to have the lowest profile and it rang a chord with a commentator I heard today talking about the arrogance of MPs in safe seats and whether there was a correlation between expenses claims and the security of the seat occupied. I suspect the same arrogance exists in the ruling party at TDC.
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Ezekiel, sadly, seems secure for another year and has been consolidating his power base amongst his less principled supporters and hangers-on. Councillor Jill Kirby would appear to have been removed from Governance and Audit and rumour has it that she was one of the 12 who did not support him. Rumour also has it that sordid little deals were being made about who would get what etc, but that is what we have come to expect from Thanet Conservatives who seem to lack sufficient Conservative back-ground. Instead we have Labour drop-outs and those who were once Independent controlling the show.
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The area that worries me most is Planning. I believe our opposition candidates and the public in general now need to keep a very close eye on Planning matters dealt with by TDC for the next 12 months. What makes me say this?
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You will need to cast your mind back to August 2008. A certain application by CGP was to be 'nodded' through with minimum discussion by The Planning Committtee but 3 principled Conservative Councillors , Taylor, Jarvis and Bruce wanted the whole Council to view this application and voted with the 5 Labour members to enable this to happen. Rumour has it that they were summoned to explain themselves, although Planning is not a 'whipped' process. The vote was 8 to 7 and I still remember with some pleasure the surprise on the Chairman's face when he realised that even his vote wouldn't get a quick job delivered on the application.
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What those 3 Councillors, Taylor, Jarvis and Bruce achieved was to gain time for a closer look by The Planning Team, All Councillors and the public at a highly important and Thanet altering application and it was eventually approved by Full Council in October 2008 with many safe-guards and restrictions built into the approval. This was, to my mind, how such an important issue should be dealt with.
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The chance of this happening again is now remote. Taylor, Jarvis and Bruce have all been effectively 'removed' from planning and a glimpse at some new faces does not inspire other than in their political solidarity to their Leader. Crotty, Sullivans x2 and Mrs Judith Russell have now appeared. So we now have a motley crew that includes 2 Labour rejects, a local building developer and the wife of a developer, who, rumour has it, has social connections ; together with an Independent who seems to vote Conservative, having been rejected by Labour. I am afraid this does not inspire me with confidence.
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When Councillors say to me apologetically that they feel Thanet Earth and a house in Birchington 'slipped under our radar' without sufficient consideration, the last thing we need is a Planning Committee that has lost 3 Conservative members with integrity and independence of mind. Isn't it strange that at local Conservative level, the 'Leader' quite clearly hasn't been listening to or understanding a word his Party Leader David Cameron has been saying about The Conservative Party he wants to see.

OP CLEAN SWEEP IN WESTGATE TODAY

Regular reader, Chas , informs me that TDC's Op Clean Sweep were on a mob-handed dawn raid in Cambourne Avenue, Westgate this morning.
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"TDC's 'Operation Clean Sweep' landed in Westgate this morning with the multi agency team descending on Logi's Fish Bar in Cambourne Road. It would appear that he was in breach of his planning by opening for breakfasts, and also appears to have upset the Health and Hygiene people as he has been closed all day, with all the staff cleaning the place!"
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Logis Fish Bar has been a recent addition to Westgate's Lymington Rd area, with its handful of shops serving the area and hopefully,now having been 'Clean Swept' will be back to 'frying tonight' shortly.

BERTIE'S BEEN POUNDING THE PAVEMENTS AGAIN

I haven't been converted to the Labour Cause, but a cry for help from ladies in distress and in the interests of democracy had to be answered. So Bertie was up in the 'Tree Estate' at Broadstairs this morning pushing a few hundreds of the above through doors.
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KCC Highways new layer of tarmac looked pretty, even if it seemed unnecessary, and 'Our Ken' will be pleased to know that a number of his TDC constituents didn't want a Labour leaflet, as will Cllrs Hayton and Bayford.
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Found a very glossy leaflet for Conservative Candidates Hayton and Bayford, blowing in the wind so Michelle Fenner and Jenny Matterface do have some supporters up there.
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For my sins I have been asked to do a few extra streets for Cllrs Wells and Jarvis, closer to home, and will regard this as penance.
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My concern is that all this effort to get people out to vote on 4th June will be wasted as events of recent weeks may have hardened the electorate to avoid any main party and convince them to stay at home. It is difficult to get across the message that District and County elections and candidates have nothing to do with the shameful activities at Westminster.

THE FUTILITY OF WRITING TO A CORRUPT MINISTER

Gordon Brown has yet to sack Hazel Blears, even though The Speaker has been 'hung out to dry' today. Here is what Gordon Brown had to say about the 'flipping', ACA claims and avoidance of Capital Gains Tax by his clearly corrupt Secretary of State:

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Ms Blears has admitted not paying capital gains tax on the profit from selling a flat repaired with taxpayers' money and has agreed to repay £13,332.
Tackled about whether further action should be taken against Ms Blears at his monthly press conference in Downing Street, Mr Brown said: "Hazel Blears has paid the money back. She has done so on the advice of me and others.
"But she has not broken the law, she has not broken the rules of the House of Commons.
"It is unacceptable behaviour and she has accepted it as unacceptable behaviour."

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So is it surprising that when a corrupt politician is sent a letter about unacceptable activity about a planning application, NO ACTION IS TAKEN? I show below a letter sent to this corrupt politician in her capacity as Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

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Rt. Hon. Hazel Blears MP
Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government
Elland House
Bressender Place
LONDON SW1E 5DU 15th October 2008


Dear Secretary of State,

THANET DISTRICT COUNCIL PLANNING APPLICATION F/TH/08/0400

You will be aware that I wrote to you on the 30 Jul 2008 concerning the above application. On Thursday 9th October, TDC in Full Council passed this application subject to conditions being referred back to Planning Committee of TDC.

You will be aware that since I wrote to you in July, even more public concern has been expressed in relation to the proposed further development of Manston Business Park, Ramsgate, Kent for redistribution warehouses and related purposes.

We are aware that this land is zoned for industrial use in the Local Structure Plan, has job creation potential and is potentially of importance to the local economy. We do not therefore seek to oppose development of any kind on this location.

However, on the basis that ‘The China Gateway’ proposals have considerable implications for Thanet’s natural aquifer providing potable water to Thanet (the Environment Agency has highlighted this); that the plan would impact on a much wider area than the site itself with upto 5,600 HGV movements envisaged per day (greater than Dover Docks) and that it involves the participation, albeit at arms length of The Chinese Government and that Phase 2 and 3 lie outside the terms of the Thanet Structure Plan, we believe that this application should not be determined by Thanet District Council but should be ‘called in’ for full and detailed enquiry by The Secretary of State.

I would also like to draw your attention to some extraordinary aspects surrounding this application:

1. The applicant first began enquiries in 2006 with TDC Planning and was lead to believe that a suitable case could be made for a development outside allocated development land (CGP’s AIM Document refers).

2. In early 2007 a political donation was made to Steve Ladyman MP and South Thanet Labour Group by Mr Ken Wills of CGP of £25,000. It has come to our attention that at or about the same time donations of £12,500 were offered to each of North Thanet and South Thanet Conservative Associations but were declined.

3. In June of this year TDC announced that CGP (the applicant) had made a donation of £12,500 to TDC’s ‘Big Event’ held in Palm Bay which was accepted by TDC’s Cabinet.

4. In May of this year, Acol Parish Council received a donation for its Fete of a DVD player and flat screen television from the applicant CGP.

5. In November 2007 the Leader and Deputy of TDC and Senior TDC Officers were hosted by CGP on a trip to China (admitted by Mr Ken Wills on the BBC Programme Inside/Out on Wed 8 Aug 2008.) This was shown in a TDC Press Release as organized and paid for by Chinamex and The Chinese Government and declared as such in relevant ‘Interest’ declarations by The Leader and his Deputy without any mention of CGP’s hospitality.

6. In August of this year documents found on Acol Hill regarding the relationship of TDC to CGP were handed to The Serious Economic Crimes Unit of Kent Police at Maidstone for investigation.

7. In March 2008, TDC and KCC formed East Kent Opportunities LLP and agreed to pool their holdings of land at Manston Business Park and at Eurokent. The Deputy Leader of TDC is TDC’s appointed director. It has come to our attention that EKO/TDC/KCC has agreed to sell 5 acres of its holdings on Manston Business Park for £1.25 million and a ‘ransom strip’ for £1 million. This makes TDC a beneficiary of granting its own planning consent.

8. A FoI request has revealed that in 2008 alone, CGP held regular monthly meetings with the applicant CGP from 4 Jan onwards with The Leader or his Deputy attending with Senior Officers and yet none of these meetings was formally minuted.

9. On 9th October, despite all CGP’s own statements on the subject both written and spoken (Mr Wills of CGP on BBC Inside/Out Programme of 8th Oct) and the evidence of the way the application was presented in 2007 for scoping and in 2008, TDC Full Council flew in the face of all the evidence and presented the application to Full Council as a ‘Stand-Alone ‘ application, when it is clearly the first Phase of a at least a 3 Phase application.

10. It has come to our attention that TDC, through EKO LLP, is proposing that the Eurokent Site be allocated for ‘housing’ instead of employment and has set in motion the request to then claim that TDC has insufficient employment land and will then need to re-designate land at Manston adjacent to Manston Business Park that just happens to have been purchased in 2006 and in 2007 by CGP, the applicants.

11. It has come to our attention that KCC has carried out a financial probity examination of the applicant, CGP, presumably in connection with purchases regarding land at MBP ‘owned’ by KCC and that areas of concern were raised but that this report has been left unactioned and suppressed.

12. At the TDC meeting on 9th October, the Chair suppressed the proposal by two Councillors that the re-location of two sensitive X type buildings be made a condition of granting outline planning consent due to the activity proposed (redistribution sheds with 100s of HGV movements) actually located on SPZ 1 of the aquifer and closest to the inhabitants of Acol. This matter is to be raised by Councillors but what was extraordinary was that the TDC Case Planning Officer admitted that ‘he had requested the developer to re-site these X type buildings and they had declined to do so’. I would argue that to allow the redistribution operation to be be sited on the NW corner of this site where it poses the greatest threat to the aquifer and maximum impact on the lives of people of Acol shows utter disregard to the precautionary principle in Planning Law, lack of due diligence and the lack by TDC of its duty of care as the LPA. You may wish to request the recordings of this Full Council Meeting. It is our understanding that no transcript will be made of the meeting as a record!

I urge The Secretary of State to ‘call-in’ this application for all the reasons outlined above. Not only does this whole ‘project’ have major implications for the ground water resources that are already in a parlous state but in terms of HGV movements, will have serious implications outside of Thanet.

There is clearly a lack of impartiality , evidence of bias and lack of independence in the way TDC has handled this application. If TDC has, as decision maker, a financial or other interest in the outcome of this application as cited above, then it cannot be, or seen to be impartial. My understanding is that lack of bias and impartiality “must be observed strictly to maintain public confidence in the decision making process.” This is clearly not the case here. There is a distinct appearance of bias in favour of the applicant that is contrary to the public interest and on such a basis I would suggest that the matter be placed in the hands of an Independent Inspector urgently.


Yours sincerely,
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Why rake over the ashes? The point is simply this. We expect a Secretary of State to act with integrity. How can we expect integrity in decision making when the integrity of the decision maker is non-existent? We need a General Election as soon as possible to rid us of this 'den of thieves' who claim to be our Government.

THANET NORTH - HOW DOES OUR OTHER LOCAL MP COMPARE?

Unlike Dr Steve, who displays a breakdown on his site for the nosey to look at, Roger's site just shows the totals of Additional Costs Allowance (ACA) or second home allowances, without any breakdown and is rather boring.
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What however, is significant, is that as his circumstances have changed, he has reduced his ACA appropriately and I hope will be seen to have been behaving in a manner that will commend itself to the North Thanet Conservative Party and his electorate, unlike too many of his Westminster colleagues.
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A modest series of ACA claims has been the situation since 2005/6 since the high of 2002/3, as the table below shows:
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2007/8 : £ 9,375.00
2006/7 : £ 9,197.00
2005/6 : £ 7,368.00
2004/5 : £14, 873.00
2003/4 : £ 16,293.00
2002/3 : £ 19,558.00
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We should also be aware that Roger has been ahead of the Commons Speaker for some time on the need to reform the unacceptable state of MP's expenses. Here is an extract from Gale's view of July last year:
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Gale’s View - 9.7.2008.
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"I have for years believed that the existing system of parliamentary pay and allowances, widely misunderstood by the public, deliberately misrepresented by the press and exploited by a few has been long overdue for reform. Sadly, last week’s vote in the House of Commons is unlikely to put the matter to rest........".
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Prophetic words from a principled and experienced MP.
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Rumour has it that he stopped the nonsense being proposed by Cllr Ezekiel to accept political donations from CGP for Thanet North and South Conservatives a while ago. It is a pity that too few Conservative Councillors had the same high principles as their local MP, when it came to selecting their own Council Group Leader.

THANET SOUTH - HOW DOES OUR LOCAL MP COMPARE?

Before I get accused of being a Conservative just having a 'bash' at Dr Steve, let me state that I have resigned from NTCA and am feeling Independent minded tonight. I will be looking at Thanet North tomorrow.
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I am all for 'out of town' MPs being able to claim for subsistence through Additional Costs Allowance (ACA) aka Second Home Allowance but clearly the abuse of the allowance is what has shocked us and it needs sorting out and quickly.
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Yesterday's DT had something interesting that perhaps the Telegraph chaps have not commented on yet themselves. When carrying out audits in my military past I was always interested in patterns. When you look at the 'pattern' below you will see what I mean.
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The following MPs had identical ACA claims for certain years: Anthony Steen, Derek Wyatt and Crispin Blunt all claimed exactly £21, 634 in 2005/6. They were joined in 2006/7 by Frances Maude and they all claimed exactly the same again; £22, 110. (Blunt must have been slipping because he missed by £1). In 2007/8, they all claimed exactly the same again; £23,083.
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When you consider that ACA is meant to be an individual claim for precise costs relating to an individual MPs particular circumstances, then this pattern looks odd to say the least.
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Now to Dr Steve. My maths could be wrong but he appears to have claimed £22, 563.22 for 2007/8 and £21,548 in 2006/7. What is interesting is the pattern in each monthly claim.
In a standard month in 2007/8 he claimed for:
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Mortgage Interest: £991.95
Council Tax: £238.63 ( Except in Feb & Mar)
Food: £340.00
Utilities: £ 95.00
Telephone & Comms £ 52.00
Cleaning £ 80.00 (unchanged since 2005; apparently no wage increase for cleaner)
Service/Maint £ 50.00
Repairs/ins/sy £ 72.46

So he had 10 months at £1920.04 and 2 months at £1681.41 (no council tax). What I find fascinating is the consistency of the claim each month. Always £340.00 on food; identical use of phone etc; identical cleaning for 2/3 years. Did he not holiday; did Parliament have no recessions etc.
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The only query by the Commons Expenses chaps was a muddle in Apr & May 2005 where a pro-rata change ocurred for 37 days out of 61 for some reason. However they didn't seem to mind paying out for Council Tax in Feb & Mar of 2006 of £216.32 for those months! (What Council collects Council Tax in Feb & Mar?). Also Dr Steve seems to have gone hungry in May 2005 when he only claimed £50.00 for food as opposed to the normal £300 per month for that year.
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I am not suggesting that Dr Steve has abused or broken any rules but quite clearly the way the claims look, they appear to be a 'blanket' claim system rather than a detailed accounting for his actual Additional Costs. I would be happier to see each MP get a £25,000 pay rise than have this extraordinary system.

NORTHDOWN ROAD FIRE- UPDATE

My thanks to regular reader CJ for sending me these pictures taken at 7.30 this evening. The dampening down was still going on 20 hrs after the first arrival of The Fire Service at 11.40 last night.
There would appear to be 4 shops seriously damaged, icluding Time Tunnel, Beanos and Honda Bikes.

The only good news is that there were no casualties and Kent Fire Service managed to prevent the fire spreading further.

A CATASTROPHIC FIRE IN NORTHDOWN ROAD

At 11.40 last night Kent Fire Service was called to 'Time Tunnel' on Northdown Rd Cliftonville. At its height 16 appliances and 80 firefighters were involved and even this morning fire teams were entering and searching and fighting the fire. Appliances have been in Northdown Rd all day and the dampening down process is still not over. No casualties or injuries have been reported.
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The terrace with shops and accommodation above has had refurbishment of roof and scaffolding work going on for some time and the nature of such fires is that once in the roof the fire spreads rapidly to neighbouring properties in the terrace. The reports are that 4 out of the 14 buildings in the terrace have been severely damaged and that others have suffered smoke damage. It could have been worse if the fire service had not prevented further spread.
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I was unable to get close enough to see exactly what businesses have now suffered but it looks as if Thanet Sports Trophies, an empty shop, Time Tunnel and businesses down to Batchelors Bakery and Coffee shop, might have all suffered with smoke, water and fire damage to various degrees.
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As one who has watched the inevitable decline of Northdown Road due to Westwood Cross and high parking charges, this is a serious blow to all businesses in Northdown Rd. I should imagine that road closure and structural safety problems will be on-going. Martell Press across the road is about to close and how many of the affected businesses will be able to get over this further catastrophic blow remains to be seen.

Is that Tony from Big News?

SQUANDERING TAX PAYERS MONEY IN A RECESSION?

If you thought this item was going to be about Labour MPs squandering tax-payers money, you were wrong. This item is all about Conservatives at KCC and TDC squandering £millions already and continuing to waste tax-payers money in gay abandon as we sit in the worst recession since the 1930s.
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As we see Chipperfield's new Turner Gallery start to arise on a wave swept promenade this week, utilising a £1,000,000 'road improvement' to Fort Hill as its building site, it is perhaps timely to remember that it is not only Westminster's MPs who squander tax payers money in a criminal manner.
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The aborted TC in the sea cost us over £6 million and KCC continues to waste our money in a sad attempt to pursue a claim against Snohetta that has cost us already over £600,000 in legal fees. We have had a Director of a non-existent gallery on the payroll since 2001 and we are now in the second year with a curator of a non-existent collection in a non-existent gallery. We have had £millions squandered on an M&S building that has fewer visitors than our closed museums had and a current wage bill for a gallery that has yet to be built of £427,000 per annum.
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If you missed a snippet from our esteeemed IOTG of 21 April 2009, let me enlighten you. It is expected that staff costs for our Chipperfield TC will need to rise to £750,000 per year or more. Why?
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Apparently TC needs a marketing manager, a finance officer, a formal learning officer, an informal learning officer and a press and marketing assistant. With re-possessions in Thanet rising and our un-employment figures going past 4,000, it is comforting to realise that KCC and TDC are happy to tap into Arts Council (Tax payer funded) grant funding but cannot find any money for our museums.
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The assumption that the TC will carry on receiving its unending tax-payer funding stream when David Cameron and the Conservative Party will have some harsh decisions to make in the near future about the waste in present Government expenditure and try and put the finances of the Nation back in some order, is optimistic. (Don't our troops in Afghanistan need more helicopters?)
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The problem that will face us as TDC Council tax-payers in the very near future is that we will most likely have to pay for this ghastly scheme ourselves. With a projected visitor level of 130,000 and a wage bill in excess of £750,000 you do not need the brains of a fiddling MP to realise that the whole project is economically unsound.
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Let me leave you , not with an excellent quote from IOTG's Plain Jane this week, but with a comment from our new TDC Cabinet Member, Dr Simon Moores from Thanet Life in 2004:
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"Why the fiscally challenged planners at Kent County Council in conjunction with Thanet Council, believe that opening a gallery in a famous artist’s name, with none of his paintings on display, will suddenly transform Margate into a cultural Mecca and attract hordes of cultural day-trippers is anyone’s guess. It’s all rather like the fiasco of positioning the Royal Armouries in Leeds and not London with the net result that it’s losing money hand over fist because nobody wishes to visit Leeds when it’s cheaper and easier to visit sites such as the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao.
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£20 million pounds for the Turner Centre means higher poll tax bills for the local population, already double that I paid in London last year and £20 million wasted, when it could have been put to much better use on other schemes, such as revitalising the crumbling façade of Margate seafront or knocking down the clock tower traffic lights; another one of the council's universally despised "bright ideas". What comes next I wonder, the "Hanging Gardens of Cliftonville"?
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A prophetic, sharp, analytical mind being addressed to a problem 5 years ago, that is shortly to become a reality?

A SAD INDICTMENT OF MARGATE

A Pink or Family Margate? What an apalling programme 'The Apprentice' is, and yet because Margate is featured, TDC think it worthy of a news release.
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The sad reality is that the focus was centred on Margate Beach, a God given asset, and the stark reality of the decline in the past 6 years in particular was ignored. Yes, there was passing and almost missed reference to boarded up premises but what struck me most was the only activity the 'Family' team could come up with for a 'rainy windswept day' was clay modelling in a small local gallery.
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Unless we realise that TC is an expensive irrelevance and that a 'Heritage Funfair' is farcical, bloggers will be writing about Margate's further decline for years to come. An Independent Planning expert has already told us that the Dreamland Site and surrounding area is the key to Margate's regeneration and TDC has ignored his advice.
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When will TDC and others wake up to the reality of our climate and accept that unless Margate has capacity to look after visitiors in 'all weathers' and seasons with suitable facilities that can only be accommodated in the Dreamland/Arlington area, then Margate can never be 're-packaged' as a visitor attraction other than on fine days to visit the beach. The beach is our only attraction and will be for a long time to come by the look of it.
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A rundown Dreamland Amusement Park attracted 4 times as many visitors in a year as TC is aiming to attract, as recently as 2005; doesn't that register with anyone? Clearly not, as we have a thriving and expensive car-park on The Harbour Arm (does it have Planning Consent to be a car park?), the TC Mark 2 under construction and precious little else other than some struggling businesses hanging on for better times that are unlikely to come.
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It would be be petty of me to ask TDC or any of our Cllrs if we have recovered the £45,000 from MTCRC for fencing when we close our Museums for less expenditure and if they were ever serious about compulsory purchase of Dreamland vis a vis the burned down Scenic Railway and TDC's threats to do so 14 months ago if it wasn't restored. Has it been restored and has the tax-payer got £45,000 back yet? What a silly question to ask.

WHERE DOES LACK OF INTEGRITY END AND CRIMINAL BEHAVIOUR BEGIN?

The worst excesses of 'fiddling' expenses revealed so far by The Daily Telegraph seem to me to be the actions of Mr Elliott Morley MP(Lab) and Mr Andrew McKay MP (Con). In addition we now have two Labour Peers found guilty by The Lords of taking money in exchange for attempting to alter legislation as it passed through Parliament.

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Morly seems to have claimed £800 mortgage interest for 21 months after he had paid off the mortgage he was actually claiming on.

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McKay seems to have engineered a 'double flip' with the connivance and involvement of his wife, Julie McBride MP (Con). Having two homes, one in London and one in Bromsgrove, one was the second home for McKay whilst the other was the second home for McBride. This enabled claims to be made on both!

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The fiddling of a travel claim in The Army was normally met with a Courts Martial, dishonorable discharge, possibly a period of detention and loss of pension. The worst case I know of involved a Colonel whose attempt at theft by filling in a leave travel claim incorrectly ended up costing him, in loss of pension alone, over £250,000. Harsh perhaps, but Her Majesty had resided her trust in him when granting a Commission!

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What these MPs and Lords have done doesn't just need immediate resignation from 'jobs', Party, Lords or Commons and standing down from any further political life (none has done this yet) but needs immediate investigation by the police. We are talking about behaviour that long ceased to be about a 'lack of integrity' and now appears to be criminal.

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I trust the Metropolitan Police will be invited by The Parliamentary Authorities to carry out criminal investigations and will take action if it is found necessary to do so.

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I hope that at KCC and TDC level we have higher standards of integrity in public office but the evidence so far does not inspire one with confidence. Perhaps the Telegraph or other newspapers might direct their attentions in due course to Local Government?

TIME TO REMEMBER NOLAN?

As we become aware of the way that a lack of personal integrity seems to have afflicted Westminster en-masse and elsewhere and contemplate what is the real motivation for those who seek and enter public office at National, County or Local level, it might be an idea to be reminded of the 7 principles of Conduct in Public Life as outlined by The Nolan Committee in 1995:
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The Nolan Committee (1995) identified and defined seven general principles of conduct
which should underpin public life, and recommended that all public service bodies draw up codes of conduct incorporating these principles. These principles of public life are:

SELFLESSNESS: Holders of public office should take decisions solely in terms of the
public interest. They should not do so in order to gain financial or other material
benefits for themselves, their family, or their friends.
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INTEGRITY: Holders of public office should not place themselves under any financial or
other obligation to outside individuals or organisations that might influence them in
the performance of their official duties.

OBJECTIVITY: In carrying out public business, including making public appointments,
awarding contracts, or recommending individuals for rewards and benefits, holders of
public office should make choices on merit.

ACCOUNTABILIY: Holders of public office are accountable for their decisions and
actions to the public and must submit themselves to whatever scrutiny is appropriate
to their office.

OPENNESS: Holders of public office should be as open as possible about all the
decisions and actions that they take. They should give reasons for their decisions
and actions and restrict information only when the wider public interest clearly
demands.

HONESTY: Holders of public office have a duty to declare any private interests relating
to their public duties and to take steps to resolve any conflicts arising in a way that
protects the public interest.

LEADERSHIP: Holders of public office should promote and support these principles byleadership and example.
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It came as a surprise to realise that if you are a Councillor at TDC with a members allowance, a Chair's allowance and a Cabinet position, your part-time efforts could rope in £12,000 + a year. Remuneration could thus exceed a 40hr week on minimum wage which is the lot of many in Thanet. Time for me to review how to supplement my pension in 2011?

HOW MANY ARE NOT ON THE ELECTORAL ROLL?

Our KCC Elections are only 25 days away and after doing my bit for my Conservative Candidates yesterday, I had a chat with a friend who was doing a similar job for his Labour candidates in Ramsgate. Something he said, got Bertie thinking.
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There would appear to be quite a few households with occupants not on the electoral roll. Even allowing for a surprisingly large transient population in Thanet, my friend found quite a few occupants who had been living in their houses for more than 2 years and were still not on The TDC Electoral Roll and thus unable to vote. .
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It is an offence to not register and TDC has a duty in law to chase up non-compliance. How well has it been doing in this matter? After all, it collects Council Tax from all house-holds and would know quite quickly whether occupants had not registered.
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I hope that feet have not been dragged in chasing up non-registration? I should imagine that it's potential Labour voters on some of our 'estates' who might be slack in registering; the average Conservative supporter tends to register promptly having moved. If TDC has been slack in chasing up 'non-registration' then it needs to be careful as it could lay itself open to accusations of administrative delay to effectively 'gerrymander'.
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I hope we are not in the situation of a 'reverse' Shirley Porter job in Thanet.

WHOSE CHAIR IS PLAIN JANE TALKING ABOUT?

The IOTG is always worth a read which is more than can be said for the TT at the moment.
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This week, whilst looking at Plain Jane (Jane Wenham-Jones) a snippet caught my eye. Having heaped praise on those at TDC, presumably Councillors, who work extremely hard and who are honest and upstanding of both major parties she then followed with this:
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".....it does not include those who swapped parties in order to be re-elected or who then popped up chairing committees and displaying faulty memories while having a rather tenuous grasp of the rules of English punctuation."
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I cannot for the life of me work out who on earth she is talking about. Do readers have any idea who this might be?

BERTIE'S DILEMMAS

I am about to pound the pavements in Cliftonville in support of my two Conservative candidates for Margate & Cliftonville Ward in the KCC Election to be held on 4th June. I regard them both highly and hope that they will succeed.

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My first dilemma is what on earth am I doing supporting the local Conservative effort whilst pondering leaving NTCA? The majority of local Conservative Councillors seem to have no problems with a Leader who has brought them and his office into disrepute and did not have the decency to resign, so why should I be worried about it? The problem is that I am bothered, as it is a simple issue of principle.

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I think I can resolve this dilemma on the grounds that I made a promise some time ago to assist and will keep that promise. To mis-quote from that classic western, High Noon', " I'm doing it for the singers and not for the song".

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My second dilemma is that I have been impressed by the other two candidates for this election, Clive Hart and Iris Johnston who, whatever fellow Conservatives might say, do a jolly good job as TDC Ward Councillors. But only two members can be elected to represent Margate & Cliftonville at KCC . In High Noon terms ' I also respect these singers but not the national song they sing'.

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I just wish that we could take national politics out of local government. The pavements beckon.

THE EMPEROR STRIKES BACK

Last night's meeting of Conservative Councillors had to consider 3 candidates for the leadership; Cllr Wells, Cllr Gideon and Cllr Ezekiel. It would seem that after a secret ballot, Cllr Ezekiel was confimed in his position as Leader of the Conservative Group.

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This is clear evidence to me that the majority of Conservative Councillors lack integrity, putting self advancement and self interest before principles. As the ballot was in secret, one can only speculate on the size of the majority supporting a Leader who has been found guilty of conduct unbecoming in respect of decent standards of behaviour in public on 3 counts on 2 separate ocassions. I hope the majority was small.

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The price for being principled has now been paid by Cllr Gideon who received marching orders today. If the run-up to last night was a series of meetings and discussions concerning support for a change then quite clearly some dirty tricks and downright lies have probably been par for the course.

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I was going to speculate about who might replace Cllr Gideon in Cabinet but a source has told me that Cllr Simon Moores was sitting in Cabinet tonight discussing SFP and Pleasurama and it would thus seem that speculation is now unnecessary.

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Whilst some might argue that this is politics and the the way of the world, then I must just beg to disagree. I presume that other Ezekiel supporters will now be rewarded in some way , perhaps with additional allowances for being 'Leading Members' or other crumbs from The Emperor's table whilst those with principles and concern about the integrity of the Conservative Party will be cast into the wilderness, if not already there.

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Time for Bertie to consider whether it is time to cancel his DD to The Conservative Party and send back his NTCA membership card as his local party seems to have been hijacked by ex-Labour members or hangers-on, those without scruples and those who clearly have no idea about principles and decent conduct that used to epitomise The Conservative Party. To quote a TDC Cabinet member earlier this year, ' The running of TDC has become like an episode from the Sopranos'.

SWINE FEVER HYPE?

My leaflet came through with the mail this afternoon. I must admit to laughing at this risible 12 A5 sided pamphlet and my thoughts went back to the early 1980s and 'Protect & Survive'.
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How many elderly, infirm and young died last winter with our normal cyclical influenza outbreak? I think the figures run into thousands. The latest figures still show that your chances of dying from a hospital acquired infection far outweigh your chances of dying from normal influenza let alone 'swine fever'.
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I thought that we still had ONE UK Government and 'assemblies' in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland but this pamphlet talks of UK Governments (plural).
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Have we really reached the demise as a country that requires our Government to spend £millions telling us about basic hygiene? CATCH IT, BIN IT, KILL IT? There is no difference in transmission between this virus and the normal range of flu viruses and the common cold virus, so what's new?
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A disastrous week in politics last week for Gordon Brown? An economy in tatters and Government debt my grandchildren will be paying for? What can we distract the gullible plebs with ?
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Downing Street can't scare us with dastardly terrorist plots; that was exposed as wearing thin with Easter's dreadful plot that ended up with 9 'suspects' being no more than students fiddling their student visas to stay in the UK, like countless thousands of others within our shores. (But of course we cannot allow Ghurkas to reside in the UK despite their history of unselfish service to the Crown.)
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So it seems to me that as cynicism is the political game in Thanet as well as in London, on this chilly May evening. Lie and cheat and scare the plebs out there to distract them from looking critically at the shambles we have created by making them worry about 'flu'. I wonder what TDC can scare us with to distract us from the shambolic reality and lack of integrity of local governance in Thanet in 2009? Man eating oysters migrating from Whitstable?

ITEMS TO TAKE YOUR MIND OFF SWINE FEVER

As we await the Government's advice to wash our hands and to use a handkerchief when sneezing, to drop through our letterboxes, I would like to put up two items sent to 'Strife'.
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I am delighted to print John Howard's take on TDC's actions in respect of a perfectly legitimate and Planning Officer approved application for a 'Games Centre' in Birchington and TDC's attitude to development in Pierremont Park, Broadstairs.
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"Bertie,
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When the Pierremont Park scheme to create a Broadstairs Community Centre started some years ago the trustees included a number of local councillors. When it was realised that the same councillors would be part of the planning process they were asked to step down as there would clearly be a clash of interests here. This they duly did leaving the trustees to try to get planning permission and funding.
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Moving on a bit the residents in the roads surrounding Pierremont Park wanted to preserve this much-used public space for the benefit of all despite attempts by other vested interests to try to claim it was never frequented by locals or visitors. They obviously hadn't called by during lunch-times or Folk Week when it most certianly was in use.
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The original plans would have created a large, over-powering building totally at odds with the splendour of Pierremont House and would have led to the removal of many mature trees. A petition signed by 5000 residents was presented with a plea to save the park from development. At a public meeting Cllr. Zita Wiltshire was seen wagging a finger in the face of a protester accompanied by the words 'it doesn't matter what you want, it'll go ahead'.
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Permission was granted for a smaller project that seems to have stalled for lack of funding. Part of the finances depend on the sale of land fronting Alexandra Road by TDC, not yet accomplished. There are still concerns over parking, whether or not there will be a bar, whether there is a demand from local organisations for such a venue. Similar community centres have suffered from lack of long-term funding and vandalism. The aim was to replace Retort House in the Albion Street car park, a building much neglected by TDC in recent years. Admittedly it did need much word done but it was well-used by a badminton group and a stage school. retort House is scheduled for demolition to create more car parking spaces.
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Move forward some time to Birchington where a developer wants to create an 'amusement centre' from an empty shop. Local activists get together, meetings are held, councillors lobbied, letters written to the press just as in Broadstairs but outcome this time? Rejection by the committee and jubilation from the anti-group. What's different this time? The only changed aspect seems to be that the local Tory councillors spoke against the scheme at the planning committee but supported the community centre in Broadstairs.
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Perhaps they'd like to explain the difference between their approach to the two schemes?"
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I hope that Malcolm Rowlett's appeal to an Independent Planning Inspector is successful; there are no reasons on Planning Grounds to not grant his application in Birchington, other than a bad case of NIMBYISM in Birchington. I find it amazing that the good citizens of Birchington get more excited about the use of a shop on their High Street than the over-development of Thanet by Infratil, CGP or Thanet Earth!
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That leads me to Walter's contribution from Ramsgate , quite nicely:
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There's a hole in the corporate plan dear TDC, dear TDC,
There's a hole in the plan dear TDC, a hole.

So fix it dear Developer, dear Developer, dear Developer
So fix it dear Developer, dear Developer, fix it.

With what shall I fix it, dear TDC, dear TDC,
With what shall I fix it, dear TDC, with what?

With a sale of assets dear Developer , dear Developer, dear Developer,
Or with straw, dear Developer, dear Developer, with straw.

DO WE REALLY WANT A CAFE CULTURE IN THANET?

Whilst Margate was pretty quiet over the May Bank Holiday week-end, Brighton was packed, as this picture shows. (My thanks to my good friend Simon at Turtle Studios)

Isn't it nice to see the Police in Sussex actually on foot and getting close to the Community, as opposed to Kent's 'Finest' just driving past or sitting in their parked vehicles around Thanet.

EUROFERRIES NEW BOAT LAID UP?

My thanks to Isabelle who commented earlier today on 'Roll on Bonanza Express' (6 Mar 2009)
If your Spanish is up to it have a go or read the translation and look for Fred Olsen saying the best thing is to put the boat in 'mothballs' in Las Palmas in Gran Canaria.
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"From an original article dated 28th April 2009.....http://www.aol.es/noticias/story/Fred-Olsen-deja-inactivo-el-Bonanza-Express-y-anuncia-un-expediente-de-regulaci%C3%B3n/8468874/index.htmlOriginal Article:San Sebastián de La Gomera, 28 abr (EFE).
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Fred Olsen informó hoy de que dejará inactivo el catamarán Bonanza Express debido a la evolución negativa del mercado marítimo interinsular de pasajeros, turismos y carga por, y anunció la presentación de un Expediente de Regulación de Empleo (ERE) que afectará a parte de la plantilla del buque.En un comunicado, la compañía marítima recuerda que el fast ferry Bonanza Express permanecía inactivo desde diciembre de 2008.Asegura que las líneas marítimas, horarios, conexiones y tarifas actuales de Fred.Olsen Express en Canarias se mantienen y quedan al margen de esta medida.Señala que el ERE, que ha sido comunicado al Comité Intercentros y representantes de los trabajadores, se presentó la semana pasada, y afectará a parte de la plantilla del barco, en concreto a 43 personas.Fred Olsen indica que ha analizado diversos escenarios para el Bonanza Express y la conclusión más viable es dejar al mismo en situación de inactividad, afirma.Concluye que, de este modo, se busca la mejor situación posible para garantizar el futuro de la compañía, reducir el impacto de la crisis económica que afecta a Canarias y mantener así el mayor número de puestos de trabajo posible.In English:San Sebastián de La Gomera, April 28 (EFE) .-

Fred Olsen reported today that the cease inactive Bonanza Express catamaran due to the negative development of the maritime inter-market passenger cars and freight and announced the filing of a Record Regulation of Employment (ERE) that affect the staffing of the vessel. In a communique, the shipping company said that the fast ferry Bonanza Express remained inactive since December 2008. Ensures that the shipping lines, timetables, current fares and connections Fred.Olsen Express and the Canaries remain excluded from this measure. Indicates that the ERE, which has been communicated to the Committee Intercentros and workers' representatives, was submitted last week, and will affect the staffing of the boat, specifically to 43 people. Fred Olsen said that analyzed various scenarios for the Bonanza Express and the most viable is to leave it in idle state, he says. Concluded that this would be seeking the best possible situation to ensure the future of the company, reducing the impact of the economic crisis affecting the Canaries and keep as many jobs as possible."
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Euroferries website still talks of an imminent service and work at Ramsgate and Boulogne; what work?
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I find it extraordinary that our local politicians seem to place more faith in what strange companies put up on their web-sites than what our local blogs and Thanet Strife report. We are not perfect but we do our best to report the truth rather than go out to blatantly mis-lead.