Ramsgate Town Council failure

Unbelievable isn’t it.

The first town council in 35 years and its selling the Council chambers of over 100 years.

Its only act in 6 months is to agree to the sale of Albion House – where all the Town Council’s have sat. And to move a couple of hundred yards away to the Customs House.

Absolutely ridiculous.

We seem to have elected a Town Council that’s little more than TDC in miniature.

With the sale of Albion House – which the public own already via TDC and RTC – what benefit is there?

Certainly the sale costs could then be set against moving to the Customs House(!) or more likely to drop into TDC’s accounts to be used for whatever purpose.

Albion House would be lost to development much as the Old Town Hall beofre it, and the public would then be paying RTC to fund its use of the Customs House.

Let’s hope the various costs are published, the developer details and the vote on the move.

We’ve had a delay of 2 years to establish the Town Council and now it’s simply selling off its own assets in its first 6 months.

In 6 months RTC seems to have become merely ceremonial or asset-stripping.

And the traditional council role of huiring more civil servants from a pool of 750 and increasing tax to fund it.

A council of no purpose beyond feeding itself.

This move is simply doing TDC’s work of covering funding failures for it – perhaps not surprising given most of the RTC councillors are TDC councillors: like muck to a blanket they seem to stick and perpetuate the same mistakes.

I’ve my doubts given the performance of TDC as one of Britain’s worst councils whether any funding provided to either organisation would simply be sprayed up the wall much as the existing £60M tax-take or £16M per town.

With none of the councillors even viewing the TDC payroll and costs how can they possibly make judgements on the best use of those costs.

Whether it’s best to sack a few of the civil servants, re-bill the lack of repairs at Albion House, reduce pensions, resale TDC’s offices or any other permutation.

Or even to get the TDC Regeneration Dept to secure some regeneration funding.

No. Better to sell it. And rent a new one.

Rather it always seems to be selling the assets the public actually wants.

And an asset in Albion House that the public already own.

Yet Broadstairs Town Council manages not to sell its offices. Margate Trustees manage not to sell their offices.

I doubt any of the RTC councillors would have been elected with a manifesto on selling Albion House.

And we wonder why the towns are a mess for decades.

Failed.

Failed. Failed. Failed.

Time for Change