TDC's WARPED VISION FOR THANET

What an extraordinary vision for Thanet, Ezekiel and his cronies seem to have for Thanet's future. If you haven't done so yet, you need to read TDC's vision for The Future that is up for 'consultation' as Thanet's Local Development Framework and can be accessed on TDC's website.
It seems to favour big-business, developers, covering the Isle in concrete and regarding current local inhabitants as deprived, dependent plebs. The picture above gives you some idea of the problem. I find it amazing that the document includes phrases like; "high level protection for the environment" - "sustainable development" and " development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own neeeds". So when the aquifer is gone and Thanet's versatile agricultural land is built on, what about food and drink as basic needs?

The first 50 odd pages seems a justification to redesignate Eurokent (owned by EKO i.e TDC/KCC/us and Rose Farm Estates) as residential land and not employment land as shown in The Thanet Plan 2006. I warned readers early last year that this was likely to happen and in September 2008 this was confirmed by the 'vision' in the pic below and now in the LDF. Instead of employment land, they want Eurokent to be 600 odd houses etc for....... you make your own mind up!
What is one to make of quote after quote of which these are just a few illustrations:
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"a good supply of QUALITY family homes in pleasant residential neighbourhoods (i.e Eurokent)
is an important factor not only to meet existing aspirations but also to attract investors in high value job creating development."
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"discourage in-migration by economically dependent households and meet aspirations of households in high value employment."
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" It is particularly important... to plan for an increase in the type of homes that will meet the aspirations of employers and economically active households aspiring to higher value jobs and to dampen further homes of a type attracting in-migration by dependent and vulnerable people".
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Now forgive me but how many Thanet residents that TDC Councillors represent can afford £250,000 + houses in what will be the 'posh' suburb of Westwood Cross? ( now designated as THE PRIMARY TOWN CENTRE FOR THANET!) Excuse me while I reach into an old Tesco Bag and dig out the bits about about 500 Chinese staff at China Gateway needing housing for their families.
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But you might say, that Ezekiel is on public record as saying that'no further farmland will be designated for employment purposes for China Gateway Phases 2 and 3.' So he is, but what do you make of this from the LDF? You must appreciate that whatever lame excuses used to depart from The Thanet Plan 2006 to re-designate Eurokent as 'housing', the following from the LDF on Page 43 should make you realise that China Gateway or similar can get the go ahead:
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D9: Set out specific based criteria to be WEIGHED AGAINST OTHER POLICIES (all those nice ones about preserving Thanet's highly productive farmland etc) when determining applications for job creating development WHOSE REQUIREMENTS may not be met by existing allocated or safeguarded sites".
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Let me put this in plain English. Most of Manston Business Park has already been developed or has China Gateway Phase 1 approved by Planning last year and if Eurokent is taken out what is left for employment? CGP or CGI has already been in negotiation with EKO about the rest of Manston Business Park. So what this means is quite simple, give TDC a big employment development plan and it will now have the LDF to justify granting planning consent for the building of wharehouses or whatever, on any site left in Thanet on open farmland.
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Who says China Gateway Phases 2 and 3 will not happen?
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This is the same Council that made sure Dreamland's owners doubled the value of its property by a quirky decision that led to its dereliction for 5 years . What other developers will see their land increase in value with this open ended policy that has no restriction to it.
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So the cheap imitation of a poor US shopping Mall, Westwood Cross, is, at the scribble of a TDC pen to become the 'premier' town centre in Thanet whilst Ramsgate, Margate and Broadstairs just have to get on with it. Does anyone in their right mind, other than TDC, think Westwood Cross can be described as a 'town centre'? As for the poor common man in Thanet, you don't come into the equation if you cannot aspire to a £ 250,000 house in a nice suburb that used to be called Eurokent Business Park. Even if you go down to sit on the beach and wonder how your minimum wage salary will get you through the month, you will find that your peaceful view to the horizon, that is meant to be a real plus point for visitors, has been blighted by the positioning of Thanet Wind Farm and The London Array.
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If you have persevered, dear reader, with this post, could I leave you with the TDC view in its LDF document about that industrial estate outside Birchington, called Thanet Earth. (A recent post and its comments confirms that there are few Thanetonians employed there!) :
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"The Thanet Earth was exceptionally permitted on land outside Thanet Business Parks in light of its significant potential to strengthen and diversify Thanet's economic and employment base."
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Really?