Another call over the postal vote muckup.
But very concerned over Ramsgate Town Council the other day.
Every council has to hold the Town Meeting to report on what they’re doing etc.
I turned up a bit late. And there was 2 members of the public.
2.
Also John and Liz as KCC councillors. I would mention John’s looking at reducing signage which is really important in a tourist town and has sorted out a lot of the Westcliff truck drivers – with a ferry and police force it seems incredible they can’t do it themselves when they see HGV’s parked by the beach.
Tax waste on repairing HGV car parks or chewed up grass verges makes the Port seem pointless. The remaining Gang of Four have failed us.
And at the RTC meet were only 8 or 9 of the Town Councillors themselves.
I left after a few minutes as it seemed rather pointless.
It seems very foolish after a year not to have Albion House redecorated (the upstairs could be used as the MP office saving on overbuilding or tax-waste) – and be paying from the rates for the Custom House.
2 buildings on the rates seems daft.
And a waste of a year.
And now with the tourist Centre closed with the usual fake excuse of “improvements” for what is the usual miniMargateism of swapping District budgets between towns and hoping the public don’t notice.
RTC has the support and goodwill of the public and will become far better than the Charter Trustees which seemed largely a talking shop but it’s a year now.
An extra building on the rates doesn’t improve things does it?
Another concern is I remember the petition on reopening Albion House presented to RTC back in September or so yet it still hasn’t been provided to TDC? I’ve spoken about reopening the Pav and heard nothing.
If the public are removed from the Council then it has no validity – hence 2 members of the public hearing what they’ve been doing.
With c.£20M provided in council tax – presumably more in business rates, and Government funds RTC seems to have ground to a halt.
Hopefully there’ll be improvements such as:
1. Detailing the existing £250k “Charter Trustee charity budget” (much of this could be drawn from a hat) and also how the towns £20M budget (and other funds) would be spent
2. Detailing staff costs, minutes and budgets and councillor contact info online: we seem to be hiring civil servants on tax wages and tax pensions – there’s also an extra 30% increase of civil servants at TDC – these are basic transparency points. If our civil servants can’t even do this then something’s wrong.
3. 16 town councillors is too many: 9 seems about right – and I’m concerned about duplication of RTC and TDC roles
4. Detailing how the c.£20M has been spent (clearly rebates for dereliction are due) and how to be spent
5. Helping create Margate Town Council on similar lines
6. Key issues for Town Regen seem to be:
a. Pleasurama – clearing the rubble on what is now a tip in the tourist season
b. Pleasurama: considering an ice rink, height below the cliff, materials and plans etc
c. Ramsgate 2012 Lido
d. Broken benches: repaired to removed or resited
e. Wills fountain working
f. Lido graffiti free and a CCTV/Police patrol – also the Ram statue/screens
g. Tram Shelter extra insurance money
h. Military Arches: missed repairs
i. Boulevard nice stone benches repaired and dog muck free and missing tree and grate
j. Seafront broken flat benches repaired
k. Rezoning Addington St for shops
l. Derelict Old Cavallino building as a Van Gogh Art and Photo Gallery
m. Better street cleaning on the High St crossroads
n. Replacing the Silver Mile tarmac with proper paving (even broken tarmac means people trip and sue the council)
o. Litter removal: cliff top near Churchill Pub and seaward side of Motor Museum – and a theatre/IT cafe again
p. Heritage lampposts – broken one outside the Town Hall and a shipping container
q. Fountains filled with concrete(!) by main shelter
Many of the repairs seem of a “BandQ” style rather than proper town planning and design guidelines.
As the towns collapse and die unless the Town Council get hold of these issues following on from the “clean the town” display then new people are required.
“Recall” of councillors which I understand is 10% of the electorate or the “Kent Kipper” on the ballot to remove councillors shouldn’t really be used, but are there if required along with the usual “vote of no confidence”.
Some outline plans and transparency would really help RTC move the towns forward. Party politics have no purpose – just look at the mess that’s been created. Broadstairs isn’t like that. Ramsgate wasn’t like that.
Hiring more civil servants to write memos and create bumf and bloat to soak up tax won’t improve things.
The public should consider replacing councillors. Councillors should consider resigning or sacking underperforming civil servants. It is democracy after all.
RTC is stagnating after a year.
Thursday, 29 April 2010
Wednesday, 28 April 2010
Boycott the election and council tax - your non-vote
Don't forget to boycott the election. Show our politicians how they've failed us. The hung parliament means the election will be rerun in 6 months anyway.
Good to see the Gasworks being cleaned so as not to poison the public, also Dreamland with a CPO (the cry for TDC has to be "Get on with it!"): 3 years derelict and destroying the area - and successful launch of the Turner with "massive public policy failure".
I'm very concerned at the noise and pollution and cost and value of the Port which seems far better suited to the "Landings" tourism project and foot ferry than an HGV truckstop for lorry drivers to crap in a bag and throw on the beach and park on the verges again.
A horrific meeting last night at RTC's annual meeting which I'll write more later as it does seem to have turned in on itself.
But a very interesting email and reply below on why Thanet's and UK democracy is rather flawed as the main parties collapse and mess with gimmicks such as postal votes or weekend voting - as turnout plummets.
Because we think they're rubbish.
Nothing on right to jury trial.
Nothing on pegging bank interest or banker bonuses.
Nothing on redeploying UK troops from Germany.
Nothing on a Tobin Tax and Tobin Fund for the UN Millennium Goals.
And Thanet policies?
Nothing.
Not even picking up litter or dog dirt.
Not even a derelict building policy for the Van Gogh Gallery even silence on the Pav.
Not a toilet or Albion house decorated.
Not a Film office or Studio and Creative Industry policy.
Not even repairing Broken Benches - never mind Broken Britain.
Politicians and civil servants simply indulging in tax and waste and bumf and bloat.
Big Society? Big Nothing. Direct rule as at Doncaster Council and toxic waste compensation as at Corby Council seems the only option.
Infratil and Thor and Richboro continue to pollute - and party and civil service careers mean your politicians and civil servants will always opt for cover up, lies and whitewash.
That's why Thanet is one of Britain's worst governed areas. The public want good governance. The funds are there. Simply sprayed up the wall.
Certainly with the national parties so close together (2 percentage points) these variances in voting below will have an effect - very bizarre that candidates aren't included from a cutoff date.
You couldn't make it up could you?
Boycott the election and insist on stop the pollution, stop the corruption, stop the construction.
But read for yourself:
Subject: General Election Postal Vote Puzzle...
To: timgarbutt@yahoo.com
Date: Tuesday, 27 April, 2010, 23:23
Hello…
Are you standing as a candidate in Thanet South?
Your name does NOT appear on the postal ballot paper sent to me by Thanet District Council. I have been offered the opportunity to vote for Ladyman, Sandys, Bucklitsch or Shonk.
I mentioned this to a friend who also has a postal vote. He claimed that his Thanet South postal ballot paper had only THREE names on it: Ladyman, Sandys and Shonk!
Anthony
-----
Hi Anthony
I'm not but I only announced this last Monday the day before the registration cutoff date - when was your postal vote received/issued?
Bucklitsch was a fairly late addition so it looks like postal votes were produced/issued before the candidates were announced?!
Maybe the same problem in Thanet North as a few candidates changed around there too.
I hope you don't mind but I've copied Richard Samuel as Returning Officer - who did alert me to deadlines etc and has tightened up procedures for local elections - and this does seem a flaw in the wider system - mainly "sprung" elections rather than fixed term parliaments as in USA - which will change in future elections.
250 years of UK democracy to arrive at the US system - but not quite as good.
You can turn up to the polling station on the day, but obviously it affects the postal vote (10% of the ballot?) significantly - the main parties focus on the elderly/housebound who are a bit more politically active/established - hence introducing postal votes - so it will distort the figures.
There is no online voting etc which seems strange in this day and age and a wider opportunity for TDC as it improves.
Rather feeble too that party manifestos are issued only 2 weeks before an election.
Sadly the UK electoral system is rather shoddy - hence low turnouts (c.30% for local elections and c.60% for national(!)), low party membership (1% of population), almost total reliance on union/big business lobby funding - and running deficits(!), party whips ensuring hand raisers and seat warmers for parliament etc etc.
In many ways taking the politicians out of politics is the way forward.
A big concern though is the gerrymandering of the electoral districts: Margate cut in half - there's no credible explanation for this as the census doesn't record major population changes it looks to be the civil service trying to "fix" the regeneration of Cliftonville (and "balance" Labour and Tory) by shifting it to a Labour area and shifting Thanet North into rural Tory areas.
Understandable - but rigging the two-horse system.
Requiring £500 and signatories for a national election (but not local) is also an undemocratic way to reduce the ballot - I'd suggest only signatories.
My recommendation as detailed on my blog is to "boycott the election" while,insisting on the "stop the pollution" at Manston, Richboro, Thor policies etc and wait for the 2nd election as the hung parliament collapses.
Shocking that the public have to stand for MP on basic issues of good governance like not polluting your own citizens.
Spoiled ballots aren't always recorded although that would be useful as it is a "none of the above" vote to an extent.
Pointless standing twice on the same issues in less than a year.
I'll mention these on my blog as it's an interesting area I'd not considered.
I'm also raising the issue of Ramsgate Town Council - I was one of 3(!) members of the public last night for the annual meeting with only half the council itself(!) which was appalling and indicates stagnation - and establishing Margate Town Council and looking for councillors, voters and volunteers to effect change: too much of the £60M District budget has been wasted given each town has contributed c.£17M in council tax.
Many thanks for raising this.
Kindest regards
Tim
Tim Garbutt
Tel: 07836 275 546
www.sincerityagency.com
www.surinschoolcharity.org
www.surinrestaurant.co.uk
www.timgarbutt.eu
Good to see the Gasworks being cleaned so as not to poison the public, also Dreamland with a CPO (the cry for TDC has to be "Get on with it!"): 3 years derelict and destroying the area - and successful launch of the Turner with "massive public policy failure".
I'm very concerned at the noise and pollution and cost and value of the Port which seems far better suited to the "Landings" tourism project and foot ferry than an HGV truckstop for lorry drivers to crap in a bag and throw on the beach and park on the verges again.
A horrific meeting last night at RTC's annual meeting which I'll write more later as it does seem to have turned in on itself.
But a very interesting email and reply below on why Thanet's and UK democracy is rather flawed as the main parties collapse and mess with gimmicks such as postal votes or weekend voting - as turnout plummets.
Because we think they're rubbish.
Nothing on right to jury trial.
Nothing on pegging bank interest or banker bonuses.
Nothing on redeploying UK troops from Germany.
Nothing on a Tobin Tax and Tobin Fund for the UN Millennium Goals.
And Thanet policies?
Nothing.
Not even picking up litter or dog dirt.
Not even a derelict building policy for the Van Gogh Gallery even silence on the Pav.
Not a toilet or Albion house decorated.
Not a Film office or Studio and Creative Industry policy.
Not even repairing Broken Benches - never mind Broken Britain.
Politicians and civil servants simply indulging in tax and waste and bumf and bloat.
Big Society? Big Nothing. Direct rule as at Doncaster Council and toxic waste compensation as at Corby Council seems the only option.
Infratil and Thor and Richboro continue to pollute - and party and civil service careers mean your politicians and civil servants will always opt for cover up, lies and whitewash.
That's why Thanet is one of Britain's worst governed areas. The public want good governance. The funds are there. Simply sprayed up the wall.
Certainly with the national parties so close together (2 percentage points) these variances in voting below will have an effect - very bizarre that candidates aren't included from a cutoff date.
You couldn't make it up could you?
Boycott the election and insist on stop the pollution, stop the corruption, stop the construction.
But read for yourself:
Subject: General Election Postal Vote Puzzle...
To: timgarbutt@yahoo.com
Date: Tuesday, 27 April, 2010, 23:23
Hello…
Are you standing as a candidate in Thanet South?
Your name does NOT appear on the postal ballot paper sent to me by Thanet District Council. I have been offered the opportunity to vote for Ladyman, Sandys, Bucklitsch or Shonk.
I mentioned this to a friend who also has a postal vote. He claimed that his Thanet South postal ballot paper had only THREE names on it: Ladyman, Sandys and Shonk!
Anthony
-----
Hi Anthony
I'm not but I only announced this last Monday the day before the registration cutoff date - when was your postal vote received/issued?
Bucklitsch was a fairly late addition so it looks like postal votes were produced/issued before the candidates were announced?!
Maybe the same problem in Thanet North as a few candidates changed around there too.
I hope you don't mind but I've copied Richard Samuel as Returning Officer - who did alert me to deadlines etc and has tightened up procedures for local elections - and this does seem a flaw in the wider system - mainly "sprung" elections rather than fixed term parliaments as in USA - which will change in future elections.
250 years of UK democracy to arrive at the US system - but not quite as good.
You can turn up to the polling station on the day, but obviously it affects the postal vote (10% of the ballot?) significantly - the main parties focus on the elderly/housebound who are a bit more politically active/established - hence introducing postal votes - so it will distort the figures.
There is no online voting etc which seems strange in this day and age and a wider opportunity for TDC as it improves.
Rather feeble too that party manifestos are issued only 2 weeks before an election.
Sadly the UK electoral system is rather shoddy - hence low turnouts (c.30% for local elections and c.60% for national(!)), low party membership (1% of population), almost total reliance on union/big business lobby funding - and running deficits(!), party whips ensuring hand raisers and seat warmers for parliament etc etc.
In many ways taking the politicians out of politics is the way forward.
A big concern though is the gerrymandering of the electoral districts: Margate cut in half - there's no credible explanation for this as the census doesn't record major population changes it looks to be the civil service trying to "fix" the regeneration of Cliftonville (and "balance" Labour and Tory) by shifting it to a Labour area and shifting Thanet North into rural Tory areas.
Understandable - but rigging the two-horse system.
Requiring £500 and signatories for a national election (but not local) is also an undemocratic way to reduce the ballot - I'd suggest only signatories.
My recommendation as detailed on my blog is to "boycott the election" while,insisting on the "stop the pollution" at Manston, Richboro, Thor policies etc and wait for the 2nd election as the hung parliament collapses.
Shocking that the public have to stand for MP on basic issues of good governance like not polluting your own citizens.
Spoiled ballots aren't always recorded although that would be useful as it is a "none of the above" vote to an extent.
Pointless standing twice on the same issues in less than a year.
I'll mention these on my blog as it's an interesting area I'd not considered.
I'm also raising the issue of Ramsgate Town Council - I was one of 3(!) members of the public last night for the annual meeting with only half the council itself(!) which was appalling and indicates stagnation - and establishing Margate Town Council and looking for councillors, voters and volunteers to effect change: too much of the £60M District budget has been wasted given each town has contributed c.£17M in council tax.
Many thanks for raising this.
Kindest regards
Tim
Tim Garbutt
Tel: 07836 275 546
www.sincerityagency.com
www.surinschoolcharity.org
www.surinrestaurant.co.uk
www.timgarbutt.eu
Monday, 26 April 2010
Thanet. Boycott the Election. Boycott Council tax.
Why bother voting?
The same tired parties and candidates: not one Thanet policy between them just general points on “reducing crime” and “increasing employment”.
You don’t say.
If Messrs Ladyman, Gale and Sandys could do that wouldn’t Thanet be in better condition than it is?
30 years from Mr Gale of watching Margate burn down.
13 years from Mr Ladyman of Ramsgate falling down.
3 years from Ms Sandys parachuted in to Thanet from Tory head office to say nothing.
And the election will result in a national hung parliament and will have to be restaged within 6 months or so – like every previous hung parliament.
The same farce all over again.
Let the other 1,300 MP’s and Lords vote on minor tweaks to give Britain a US-style governance and constitution - after 250 years.
Use your vote in Thanet well.
Don’t vote.
Simply don't cast your vote.
Or spoil your ballot paper - think of it as “None of the above”. Although spoiled papers are often excluded from the turnout figures and "none of the above" can't be included on the ballot paper for some reason.
With electoral turnout already some of the lowest on record - boycott the election to show the candidates the discontent at ther failure of Thanet.
And boycott council tax.
With £60M in council tax each year plus national funding there is no reason why Thanet shouldn’t be sparkling.
We’re paying the money to out councillors and civil servants and it’s simply being wasted.
Cancel your direct debits.
Pay your tax by cheque but with the wrong amount or instalments.
Refuse to pay.
Delay paying.
Pay in pennies.
£22M spent on civil servant salaries and increasing staff numbers and the rest sent to KCC to be wasted there on bloat and bumf.
Why pay for civil servants and councillors to fail to improve the towns.
And a council that’s rated one of the worst in Britain.
The TDC council has become Thanet Developers Council simply selling off green space and public property for property development and funding payrises and bloat – while the population declines and houses remain empty.
Every problem seems to require the solution of building a new house or road.
Use your vote well.
Refuse to vote.
Boycott the election.
Spoil your ballot paper: either a large “x” through the whole ballot paper.
Or tear it in half and put in the ballot box.
Refuse to elect failed politicians and no policies.
An airport and council deliberately polluting the public.
The highest mortality rate in Kent.
The highest lung cancer rate in Kent.
The removal of noise and air monitors from Manston by Infratil and TDC.
Margate the worst High St in Britain.
TDC Britain’s worst council.
No Climate Change policies.
The decay and dereliction of all our towns.
Let’s have the lowest electoral turnout on record in Thanet: people voting “none of the above”- by not voting at the ballot box.
Stop the pollution. Stop the corruption. Stop the construction.
Boycott the election. Boycott council tax.
Time for Change.
The Town Meeting for Ramsgate town council is tomorrow – no time has been given but presumably from 7pm.
It’s the annual opportunity for the public to formally review the performance of RTC.
Here’s my questions:
1. How has the drinking water supply been protected from Infratil and the MOD Firestation pollution – isn’t it very dangerous?
2. Why are Infratil being allowed to breach the 106 repeatedly endangering the public with noise and air pollution and removing monitors?
3. What are the toxin and cleanup schedules at Thor mercury?
4. Also Richboro and the Gasworks site – isn’t it pointless to fund civil servants to leave them derelict?
5. How has the £175k contribution from Vattenfall for the £500M windfarm been spent and why is the windfarm so close to shore?
6. When will Albion House be decorated and what are its opening hours?
7. Why does the RTC website have no minutes or accounts and salaries/expenses/pensions since November?
8. Have the Pleasurama documents been released and shouldn’t the new building form the basis of an icerink?
9. When will the Bandstand be fully repaired and where are the plans?
10. Why are benches and lampposts and beach shelters left derelict given Ramsgate contributes c.£20M in council tax each year to TDC?
11. Fake 0% payrises are being provided t civil servants – when will these be repaid?
12. MP’s now have “recall” of c.10% of the electorate – presumably this applies to councillors
13. From the “Clean Town” event – what is the schedule of new town events eg Dancing in the Moonlight” etc?
14. Why have flags not been raised on the flagpoles?
15. Why has the petition against Albion House not been presented to TDC after over 6 months and why are 2 buildings sought for the rates: Albion and Custom House?
16. Why has RTC allowed the Tourist Centre to close: the Margate centre hasn’t expanded as stated - it ‘s mere miniMargateism chopping and changing the budgets through the District?
17. Does RTC support a new Margate Town Council and reduced District numbers and cost?
18. What happened to the New Year cancelled fireworks being rescheduled and the funds?
19. Insurance money has been provided for the Team Shelter – when will TDC replace this?
20. Which councillors scrutinise NHS, Police, Education. Coastguard, Ambulance, Fire etc services?
The same tired parties and candidates: not one Thanet policy between them just general points on “reducing crime” and “increasing employment”.
You don’t say.
If Messrs Ladyman, Gale and Sandys could do that wouldn’t Thanet be in better condition than it is?
30 years from Mr Gale of watching Margate burn down.
13 years from Mr Ladyman of Ramsgate falling down.
3 years from Ms Sandys parachuted in to Thanet from Tory head office to say nothing.
And the election will result in a national hung parliament and will have to be restaged within 6 months or so – like every previous hung parliament.
The same farce all over again.
Let the other 1,300 MP’s and Lords vote on minor tweaks to give Britain a US-style governance and constitution - after 250 years.
Use your vote in Thanet well.
Don’t vote.
Simply don't cast your vote.
Or spoil your ballot paper - think of it as “None of the above”. Although spoiled papers are often excluded from the turnout figures and "none of the above" can't be included on the ballot paper for some reason.
With electoral turnout already some of the lowest on record - boycott the election to show the candidates the discontent at ther failure of Thanet.
And boycott council tax.
With £60M in council tax each year plus national funding there is no reason why Thanet shouldn’t be sparkling.
We’re paying the money to out councillors and civil servants and it’s simply being wasted.
Cancel your direct debits.
Pay your tax by cheque but with the wrong amount or instalments.
Refuse to pay.
Delay paying.
Pay in pennies.
£22M spent on civil servant salaries and increasing staff numbers and the rest sent to KCC to be wasted there on bloat and bumf.
Why pay for civil servants and councillors to fail to improve the towns.
And a council that’s rated one of the worst in Britain.
The TDC council has become Thanet Developers Council simply selling off green space and public property for property development and funding payrises and bloat – while the population declines and houses remain empty.
Every problem seems to require the solution of building a new house or road.
Use your vote well.
Refuse to vote.
Boycott the election.
Spoil your ballot paper: either a large “x” through the whole ballot paper.
Or tear it in half and put in the ballot box.
Refuse to elect failed politicians and no policies.
An airport and council deliberately polluting the public.
The highest mortality rate in Kent.
The highest lung cancer rate in Kent.
The removal of noise and air monitors from Manston by Infratil and TDC.
Margate the worst High St in Britain.
TDC Britain’s worst council.
No Climate Change policies.
The decay and dereliction of all our towns.
Let’s have the lowest electoral turnout on record in Thanet: people voting “none of the above”- by not voting at the ballot box.
Stop the pollution. Stop the corruption. Stop the construction.
Boycott the election. Boycott council tax.
Time for Change.
The Town Meeting for Ramsgate town council is tomorrow – no time has been given but presumably from 7pm.
It’s the annual opportunity for the public to formally review the performance of RTC.
Here’s my questions:
1. How has the drinking water supply been protected from Infratil and the MOD Firestation pollution – isn’t it very dangerous?
2. Why are Infratil being allowed to breach the 106 repeatedly endangering the public with noise and air pollution and removing monitors?
3. What are the toxin and cleanup schedules at Thor mercury?
4. Also Richboro and the Gasworks site – isn’t it pointless to fund civil servants to leave them derelict?
5. How has the £175k contribution from Vattenfall for the £500M windfarm been spent and why is the windfarm so close to shore?
6. When will Albion House be decorated and what are its opening hours?
7. Why does the RTC website have no minutes or accounts and salaries/expenses/pensions since November?
8. Have the Pleasurama documents been released and shouldn’t the new building form the basis of an icerink?
9. When will the Bandstand be fully repaired and where are the plans?
10. Why are benches and lampposts and beach shelters left derelict given Ramsgate contributes c.£20M in council tax each year to TDC?
11. Fake 0% payrises are being provided t civil servants – when will these be repaid?
12. MP’s now have “recall” of c.10% of the electorate – presumably this applies to councillors
13. From the “Clean Town” event – what is the schedule of new town events eg Dancing in the Moonlight” etc?
14. Why have flags not been raised on the flagpoles?
15. Why has the petition against Albion House not been presented to TDC after over 6 months and why are 2 buildings sought for the rates: Albion and Custom House?
16. Why has RTC allowed the Tourist Centre to close: the Margate centre hasn’t expanded as stated - it ‘s mere miniMargateism chopping and changing the budgets through the District?
17. Does RTC support a new Margate Town Council and reduced District numbers and cost?
18. What happened to the New Year cancelled fireworks being rescheduled and the funds?
19. Insurance money has been provided for the Team Shelter – when will TDC replace this?
20. Which councillors scrutinise NHS, Police, Education. Coastguard, Ambulance, Fire etc services?
Wednesday, 21 April 2010
Dysfunctional Doncaster Council. Toxic Thanet Council.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2010/apr/19/doncaster-council-failing-and-dysfunctional
Doncaster council is described as “dysfunctional” over at least 15 years of incompetence and now has direct rule by Ministers and the Audit Commission.
This comes some years after the “Donnygate” corruption scandal - which seems very tame in comparison - with councillors and civil servants fiddling expenses and 21(!) of them convicted.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2002/mar/13/uknews
Certainly for far less amounts than MP’s expenses – now nearly 400(!) MP’s have repaid c.£3k each.
One quote today from Labour’s whistleblower Ron Rose who described the Doncaster councillors and civil servants as:
“even being able to drag Zurich down to Third World status”
And the Audit Commission (the Government’s inspector of c.440 UK councils) said:
"The council is not properly run and as a result it is failing in its legal obligation to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which it exercises its functions, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
"Those leading the council - the mayor and cabinet, some councillors and some officers - do not collectively have the capacity or capability to make the necessary improvements in governance.
"The council will not improve without significant and sustained support from external bodies.
"This corporate governance inspection was undertaken because of repeated evidence, over more than 15 years, that the council is not well run."
And in Thanet?
After at least 15 years as one of Britain’s worst councils and far longer as one of Kent’s worst?
The Gang of Four remain silent.
Silent on:
• 0% payrises of several thousand pounds – isn’t that deliberate fraud? The “before and after the 0%” payslips should show the detail to repay
• Pleasurama and tax haven contracts and Swiss Bank accounts – why the chopping and changing of Caribbean islands and Swiss banks for public land for these contracts and where are they?
• ChinaGate and Thanet Labour’s largest-ever political donation of £25k after a unanimous council vote on warehouses and massive public opposition – to be fair, I understand the same donation was offered to the local Tory party
• Missing air and noise monitors at Manston since 2006 – and air pollution over 4 times the EU limit(!) on some roads. Over 4 times!
• No cleanup schedules and toxin details for Manston, Richboro and Pegwell Bay – recently described with one of the UK’s most polluted rivers (both the Stour and Medway in Kent)
• Thor mercury a toxic dump supposedly closed in 1988 but expanding(!) in 2007
• 2 gasworks with cyanide and arsenic in the soil
• Third World mortality rates: dying at 69 in Thanet and 81 in Kent
• £60M tax funds switched between the towns depriving them of ongoing regeneration
• The waste of vanity projects like cargo airports on the drinking water or art galleries in the sea – or merely car parks for swimming pools and ice rinks
Thanet of course has been rated one of the worst UK councils also by the Audit Commission and also repeatedly.
We seem to have a still-born election in Thanet with silence from Messrs Ladyman, Gale and Sandys on these issues.
Silence from 56 councillors.
Silence from KCC.
And silence from TDC’s 750 civil servants.
Not one public statement.
Nothing.
While in Corby this week the 19 toxic victims receive over £4M compensation for similar brownfield poisonings.
We seem to have a cosy club of silence shielding both councillors and civil servants and MP’s as the towns collapse and public die.
Exactly the problems highlighted in Doncaster and the UK generally: the party political system working against the public and operating behind closed doors.
The party politicians agree to cosy up to each other and the civil servants, to do little and do even less effectively.
Until the brown sticky stuff hits the fan or oozes out of the soil.
What exactly are our MP’s Thanet policies?
Not their national party policies – we hardly need £250k MP’s for mere handraising and seatwarming in Parliament on identical policies.
Their Thanet policies.
Thanet has collapsed and it’s never been mentioned in Parliament - while Doncaster now has direct rule from Parliament.
To be fair to Thanet’s civil servants there has been a clear-out of much of the dead wood – although with a 30% increase of 250 civil servants it seems further confirmation of “massive public policy failure” – requiring more civil servants.
And a new vision for Thanet and emphasis on “Cleaner, Greener, Safer Thanet”.
Recording of public council meetings begun some 20 years after broadcasting Parliament live.
Yet Infratil continues to do as it pleases as the death toll from air pollution rises.
Dreamland has closed for 4 years now.
Drains and benches are broken for decades.
And no specific regeneration policies exist beyond job title shuffle, increasing civil service bloat and rejigging the same faces around.
And our councillors – almost all the ones I know of to be decent people trying to improve things – still have no sight of council salaries for council meetings. Still have “pink sheets” with “confidential” information shielded from the press and public. That’s empty ceremony not a council service.
Simply being led by the nose to approve £22M civil service salaries by default.
While Ramsgate Town Council is crumbling with duplication of the same TDC faces for inaction, no budget detail of Thanet’s £60M tax-take for failure, no minutes or accounts published since November, and after a year the only policy being to continue to leave Albion House derelict and add the Custom House to the tax-bill.
Along with closing the Tourist Centres of Ramsgate and Broadstairs to allow “mobile” centres and “signs”. For improved-service-by-closure.
And closing Margate and Ramsgate Museums to locals and tourists.
And leaving the Granville as derelict with a new carbuncle added to it “for developer value”.
And no foot ferry despite tax-repairs to the Port to enable lorries and cars to pollute the harbour and bypass the towns.
Perhaps Doncaster is better run than Thanet: at least the mines were the only industry in the town.
While we seem to have not one but the 3 premier tourist towns of Kent decimated in “death by council”.
Silence from Gale with 30 years of watching Margate burn down. How can he improve things now?
Silence from Ladyman after 13 years of Ramsgate falling down. How can he improve things now?
And silence from Sandys after 3 years. Wouldn’t she have improved things by now?
Why would the election make any difference to these towns except securing employment for 2 MP’s?
And creating a strange gerrymandering of the electoral boundaries splitting Margate in half – aren’t these only supposed to change in towns with major population changes? Or have the towns literally died off?
“Reducing crime” or “more jobs” hardly counts as MP policy – what would be the alternative “more crime” and “less jobs” – while Margate is now one of the most derelict High St’s in Britain and even higher unemployment: 20% in parts of Margate.
And Infratil are allowed to pollute our own citizens.
Yet change is possible:
• elected Lords
• fixed terms
• the new “recall” powers of 10% of the electorate
• elected Police, NHS, Education etc chiefs
• full disclosure and scrutiny of NHS, Police etc
• a Margate Town Council for Kent’s last unrepresented town – now even split in half
• an East Kent Council for the forgotten coast
Reforms just like America has had for 200 years.
200 years.
With a hung parliament the 6th May election is likely to be followed – like every hung parliament - by another rerun election within 12 months.
With only silence from our national politicians and copycat national manifestos only just released (just 2 weeks before a national election called at 6 weeks notice!) the only sensible option is to boycott the election.
A boycott shows the politicians and civil servants that even with “recall” they have failed Thanet.
Yet another Thanet election with a reduced turnout, spoilt ballot papers and silent politicians provides no mandate for the “Doncaster of Kent”.
A boycott shows failure is not acceptable from our elected representatives and civil servants.
With only silence and copycat national policies - and no Thanet policies at all - how will our politicians and civil servants be able to:
Stop the Pollution.
Stop the Corruption.
Stop the Construction.
Time for Change.
Boycott the 2010 National election.
Clean out the 2011 District election.
Implement Recall and Direct rule.
Time for Change.
Doncaster council is described as “dysfunctional” over at least 15 years of incompetence and now has direct rule by Ministers and the Audit Commission.
This comes some years after the “Donnygate” corruption scandal - which seems very tame in comparison - with councillors and civil servants fiddling expenses and 21(!) of them convicted.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2002/mar/13/uknews
Certainly for far less amounts than MP’s expenses – now nearly 400(!) MP’s have repaid c.£3k each.
One quote today from Labour’s whistleblower Ron Rose who described the Doncaster councillors and civil servants as:
“even being able to drag Zurich down to Third World status”
And the Audit Commission (the Government’s inspector of c.440 UK councils) said:
"The council is not properly run and as a result it is failing in its legal obligation to make arrangements to secure continuous improvement in the way in which it exercises its functions, having regard to a combination of economy, efficiency and effectiveness.
"Those leading the council - the mayor and cabinet, some councillors and some officers - do not collectively have the capacity or capability to make the necessary improvements in governance.
"The council will not improve without significant and sustained support from external bodies.
"This corporate governance inspection was undertaken because of repeated evidence, over more than 15 years, that the council is not well run."
And in Thanet?
After at least 15 years as one of Britain’s worst councils and far longer as one of Kent’s worst?
The Gang of Four remain silent.
Silent on:
• 0% payrises of several thousand pounds – isn’t that deliberate fraud? The “before and after the 0%” payslips should show the detail to repay
• Pleasurama and tax haven contracts and Swiss Bank accounts – why the chopping and changing of Caribbean islands and Swiss banks for public land for these contracts and where are they?
• ChinaGate and Thanet Labour’s largest-ever political donation of £25k after a unanimous council vote on warehouses and massive public opposition – to be fair, I understand the same donation was offered to the local Tory party
• Missing air and noise monitors at Manston since 2006 – and air pollution over 4 times the EU limit(!) on some roads. Over 4 times!
• No cleanup schedules and toxin details for Manston, Richboro and Pegwell Bay – recently described with one of the UK’s most polluted rivers (both the Stour and Medway in Kent)
• Thor mercury a toxic dump supposedly closed in 1988 but expanding(!) in 2007
• 2 gasworks with cyanide and arsenic in the soil
• Third World mortality rates: dying at 69 in Thanet and 81 in Kent
• £60M tax funds switched between the towns depriving them of ongoing regeneration
• The waste of vanity projects like cargo airports on the drinking water or art galleries in the sea – or merely car parks for swimming pools and ice rinks
Thanet of course has been rated one of the worst UK councils also by the Audit Commission and also repeatedly.
We seem to have a still-born election in Thanet with silence from Messrs Ladyman, Gale and Sandys on these issues.
Silence from 56 councillors.
Silence from KCC.
And silence from TDC’s 750 civil servants.
Not one public statement.
Nothing.
While in Corby this week the 19 toxic victims receive over £4M compensation for similar brownfield poisonings.
We seem to have a cosy club of silence shielding both councillors and civil servants and MP’s as the towns collapse and public die.
Exactly the problems highlighted in Doncaster and the UK generally: the party political system working against the public and operating behind closed doors.
The party politicians agree to cosy up to each other and the civil servants, to do little and do even less effectively.
Until the brown sticky stuff hits the fan or oozes out of the soil.
What exactly are our MP’s Thanet policies?
Not their national party policies – we hardly need £250k MP’s for mere handraising and seatwarming in Parliament on identical policies.
Their Thanet policies.
Thanet has collapsed and it’s never been mentioned in Parliament - while Doncaster now has direct rule from Parliament.
To be fair to Thanet’s civil servants there has been a clear-out of much of the dead wood – although with a 30% increase of 250 civil servants it seems further confirmation of “massive public policy failure” – requiring more civil servants.
And a new vision for Thanet and emphasis on “Cleaner, Greener, Safer Thanet”.
Recording of public council meetings begun some 20 years after broadcasting Parliament live.
Yet Infratil continues to do as it pleases as the death toll from air pollution rises.
Dreamland has closed for 4 years now.
Drains and benches are broken for decades.
And no specific regeneration policies exist beyond job title shuffle, increasing civil service bloat and rejigging the same faces around.
And our councillors – almost all the ones I know of to be decent people trying to improve things – still have no sight of council salaries for council meetings. Still have “pink sheets” with “confidential” information shielded from the press and public. That’s empty ceremony not a council service.
Simply being led by the nose to approve £22M civil service salaries by default.
While Ramsgate Town Council is crumbling with duplication of the same TDC faces for inaction, no budget detail of Thanet’s £60M tax-take for failure, no minutes or accounts published since November, and after a year the only policy being to continue to leave Albion House derelict and add the Custom House to the tax-bill.
Along with closing the Tourist Centres of Ramsgate and Broadstairs to allow “mobile” centres and “signs”. For improved-service-by-closure.
And closing Margate and Ramsgate Museums to locals and tourists.
And leaving the Granville as derelict with a new carbuncle added to it “for developer value”.
And no foot ferry despite tax-repairs to the Port to enable lorries and cars to pollute the harbour and bypass the towns.
Perhaps Doncaster is better run than Thanet: at least the mines were the only industry in the town.
While we seem to have not one but the 3 premier tourist towns of Kent decimated in “death by council”.
Silence from Gale with 30 years of watching Margate burn down. How can he improve things now?
Silence from Ladyman after 13 years of Ramsgate falling down. How can he improve things now?
And silence from Sandys after 3 years. Wouldn’t she have improved things by now?
Why would the election make any difference to these towns except securing employment for 2 MP’s?
And creating a strange gerrymandering of the electoral boundaries splitting Margate in half – aren’t these only supposed to change in towns with major population changes? Or have the towns literally died off?
“Reducing crime” or “more jobs” hardly counts as MP policy – what would be the alternative “more crime” and “less jobs” – while Margate is now one of the most derelict High St’s in Britain and even higher unemployment: 20% in parts of Margate.
And Infratil are allowed to pollute our own citizens.
Yet change is possible:
• elected Lords
• fixed terms
• the new “recall” powers of 10% of the electorate
• elected Police, NHS, Education etc chiefs
• full disclosure and scrutiny of NHS, Police etc
• a Margate Town Council for Kent’s last unrepresented town – now even split in half
• an East Kent Council for the forgotten coast
Reforms just like America has had for 200 years.
200 years.
With a hung parliament the 6th May election is likely to be followed – like every hung parliament - by another rerun election within 12 months.
With only silence from our national politicians and copycat national manifestos only just released (just 2 weeks before a national election called at 6 weeks notice!) the only sensible option is to boycott the election.
A boycott shows the politicians and civil servants that even with “recall” they have failed Thanet.
Yet another Thanet election with a reduced turnout, spoilt ballot papers and silent politicians provides no mandate for the “Doncaster of Kent”.
A boycott shows failure is not acceptable from our elected representatives and civil servants.
With only silence and copycat national policies - and no Thanet policies at all - how will our politicians and civil servants be able to:
Stop the Pollution.
Stop the Corruption.
Stop the Construction.
Time for Change.
Boycott the 2010 National election.
Clean out the 2011 District election.
Implement Recall and Direct rule.
Time for Change.
Monday, 19 April 2010
Police and Manston and Pollution
Kent on Sunday letter on pollution and policing Manston below. Kent Police have also rung to arrange a meeting tomorrow which is positive - although this would be after a meeting with Special Branch and the local Police.
It does seem as though you're in more trouble with Police action from shoplifitng a bag of sweets than breaching all the regulations and pollution safeguards at an airport.
Rather than "citizens in uniform" there does seem a police expectation that other public bodies don't require investigation which is clearly nonsense and certainly not the casse if MP's like Damien Green are arrested even within Parliament.
Let's see what they've to say.
If you'd like to raise a concern over Manston or TDC then drop Mark a line for the official complaint:
mark.brotherhood@kent.pnn.police.uk
He's a DS in "Frontier Operations" I thought the Border Agency now handled frontiers or maybe the Coastguard - unless its frontiers of speace for Kent Police's Afghan spy drones. Or do the RAF handle those?
Anyway an unregulated airport and various safety breaches including removing monitors and all built on the drinking water supply seems our frontier council is a mix of cowboys and pirates:
Dear Editor
After the shocking waste of Kent Police’s “Afghan spy drones” surely the priority for the new Chief Constable will be to publish all salaries, expenses, pensions and costs - as already required by FOI for every public authority?
The delay from our public servants for full disclosure suggests the bumf and bloat is only outmatched by “tax and waste” as tax and council tax automatically increases each year.
While with the appalling air pollution and lack of clean up and scrutiny from KCC - whether it’s removing air and noise monitors from Manston or failing to detail repeated road pollution requiring “Air Quality Management Areas” (presumably don’t breathe in) and shipping pollution such as at Cliftonville Sands or Kent’s ports – shows how little the various councils in KMAQP have done to protect the public compared to their tax-pay and tax-pensions.
Perhaps the new Chief should ensure some of the criminals in our councils are behind bars?
Or don‘t coppers arrest civil servants?
Clearly overpaying for a bloated service is one thing – but then having it do little of value is another. And deliberately endangering the public something else.
Surely Kent’s MP’s and councillors should join forces with Kent Police to pretend there is no problem and if there is to whitewash it away – with a possibility for red herrings and Macguffins like his Hollywood namesake perhaps Kent’s Alfred Hitchcock is ideal for Chief Constable.
Unless there’s an Inspector Charles Chaplin?
Tim Garbutt, Ramsgate
It does seem as though you're in more trouble with Police action from shoplifitng a bag of sweets than breaching all the regulations and pollution safeguards at an airport.
Rather than "citizens in uniform" there does seem a police expectation that other public bodies don't require investigation which is clearly nonsense and certainly not the casse if MP's like Damien Green are arrested even within Parliament.
Let's see what they've to say.
If you'd like to raise a concern over Manston or TDC then drop Mark a line for the official complaint:
mark.brotherhood@kent.pnn.police.uk
He's a DS in "Frontier Operations" I thought the Border Agency now handled frontiers or maybe the Coastguard - unless its frontiers of speace for Kent Police's Afghan spy drones. Or do the RAF handle those?
Anyway an unregulated airport and various safety breaches including removing monitors and all built on the drinking water supply seems our frontier council is a mix of cowboys and pirates:
Dear Editor
After the shocking waste of Kent Police’s “Afghan spy drones” surely the priority for the new Chief Constable will be to publish all salaries, expenses, pensions and costs - as already required by FOI for every public authority?
The delay from our public servants for full disclosure suggests the bumf and bloat is only outmatched by “tax and waste” as tax and council tax automatically increases each year.
While with the appalling air pollution and lack of clean up and scrutiny from KCC - whether it’s removing air and noise monitors from Manston or failing to detail repeated road pollution requiring “Air Quality Management Areas” (presumably don’t breathe in) and shipping pollution such as at Cliftonville Sands or Kent’s ports – shows how little the various councils in KMAQP have done to protect the public compared to their tax-pay and tax-pensions.
Perhaps the new Chief should ensure some of the criminals in our councils are behind bars?
Or don‘t coppers arrest civil servants?
Clearly overpaying for a bloated service is one thing – but then having it do little of value is another. And deliberately endangering the public something else.
Surely Kent’s MP’s and councillors should join forces with Kent Police to pretend there is no problem and if there is to whitewash it away – with a possibility for red herrings and Macguffins like his Hollywood namesake perhaps Kent’s Alfred Hitchcock is ideal for Chief Constable.
Unless there’s an Inspector Charles Chaplin?
Tim Garbutt, Ramsgate
Sunday, 18 April 2010
election 2010
I'm not standing in the election: best wishes to the candidates and public.
There's also a letter on P.23 of Kent on Sunday today detailing some of the air pollution from Manston.
There's also a letter on P.23 of Kent on Sunday today detailing some of the air pollution from Manston.
Friday, 16 April 2010
Manston report and case study
I've been asked to take part in a study by the University of Buckingham on the environmental impacts of Manston - it should make a useful case study for future airport expansion: see below:
The intention of this research is to establish what the likely major environmental impacts of expansion at Kent International (formerly Manston) Airport will be. According to the airport’s Master Plan the aim is to expand from servicing less than 50,000 passengers per year in 2010 to servicing 2.2million passengers per year by 2018 and 4.7million by 2033.
With regard to the Kent International Airport (KIA) Master Plan for Expansion:
To view the Master Plan please visit:
http://www.kentinternationalairport-manston.com/KIA%20Master%20Plan%20LR.pdf
What do you think will be the major environmental impacts of expansion at KIA?
...The exisiting water pollution, noise and air pollution are already detailed. Infratil and TDC the local council have also removed the noise and air monitors as the airport tried to expand which would increase the pollution. Various reports are available on the "cancer circle" around airports with cancer, asthma etc plus learning difficulties for children due to noise.
Bizarrely Manston is also built on the nearby towns drinking water supply which has simply been ignored by Infratil, flight companies and the local politicans and civil servants
What developments will create the largest environmental impacts?
...........Increased flights: cancer, noise etc and concreting further over the drinking water underground aquifer: ongoing pollution and failing to replenish the water supply.
At what stage of development do you think these impacts will occur?
.......As of now and in previous years: unchecked pollution by Infratil and the local council etc
Do you feel that EU/national legislation goes far enough to combat the environmental impacts of air transport growth, with particular reference to airports?
.............................No: as with Manston there is some legislation but it is poorly implemented or ignored. While "polluter pays" legislation or tax on aviation fuel are also ignored encouraging "limited" pollution and growth while there is no such thing for an aviation company keen to generate profit without incurring the full environmental cost on the public and natural environemnt
Do you think the socioeconomic benefits expansion will bring to the area will outweigh the negative environmental impacts?
..........No: the aviation industry reports used to suggest growth have been proved to be false at worst and generalised at best. While the DofT in 1993 described Manston as not suitbale for expansion and several operators have gone bust over the years: Planestation, Wiggins, EUJet, KCC USA, and now Infratil.
Clearly a "fly and pollute" policy and ignoring the environmental damge to date shows how Infratil and the local council have simply ignored the real dangers to the public and the existing legislation
Do you feel that the airport Master Plan goes far enough to minimise the environmental impacts that expansion will bring?
.....................No: it seems a tickbox exercise with the real facts and dangers of pollution simply ignored or whitewashed away for a later date and creeping expansion. It's simply intended to demonstrate there has been a consulation no matter how feeble.
Please use this space for additional comments
......Infratil seem a rogue corporation while TDC seem a local authority in collusion wiht them. Criminal charges for Directors seem relevant.
The intention of this research is to establish what the likely major environmental impacts of expansion at Kent International (formerly Manston) Airport will be. According to the airport’s Master Plan the aim is to expand from servicing less than 50,000 passengers per year in 2010 to servicing 2.2million passengers per year by 2018 and 4.7million by 2033.
With regard to the Kent International Airport (KIA) Master Plan for Expansion:
To view the Master Plan please visit:
http://www.kentinternationalairport-manston.com/KIA%20Master%20Plan%20LR.pdf
What do you think will be the major environmental impacts of expansion at KIA?
...The exisiting water pollution, noise and air pollution are already detailed. Infratil and TDC the local council have also removed the noise and air monitors as the airport tried to expand which would increase the pollution. Various reports are available on the "cancer circle" around airports with cancer, asthma etc plus learning difficulties for children due to noise.
Bizarrely Manston is also built on the nearby towns drinking water supply which has simply been ignored by Infratil, flight companies and the local politicans and civil servants
What developments will create the largest environmental impacts?
...........Increased flights: cancer, noise etc and concreting further over the drinking water underground aquifer: ongoing pollution and failing to replenish the water supply.
At what stage of development do you think these impacts will occur?
.......As of now and in previous years: unchecked pollution by Infratil and the local council etc
Do you feel that EU/national legislation goes far enough to combat the environmental impacts of air transport growth, with particular reference to airports?
.............................No: as with Manston there is some legislation but it is poorly implemented or ignored. While "polluter pays" legislation or tax on aviation fuel are also ignored encouraging "limited" pollution and growth while there is no such thing for an aviation company keen to generate profit without incurring the full environmental cost on the public and natural environemnt
Do you think the socioeconomic benefits expansion will bring to the area will outweigh the negative environmental impacts?
..........No: the aviation industry reports used to suggest growth have been proved to be false at worst and generalised at best. While the DofT in 1993 described Manston as not suitbale for expansion and several operators have gone bust over the years: Planestation, Wiggins, EUJet, KCC USA, and now Infratil.
Clearly a "fly and pollute" policy and ignoring the environmental damge to date shows how Infratil and the local council have simply ignored the real dangers to the public and the existing legislation
Do you feel that the airport Master Plan goes far enough to minimise the environmental impacts that expansion will bring?
.....................No: it seems a tickbox exercise with the real facts and dangers of pollution simply ignored or whitewashed away for a later date and creeping expansion. It's simply intended to demonstrate there has been a consulation no matter how feeble.
Please use this space for additional comments
......Infratil seem a rogue corporation while TDC seem a local authority in collusion wiht them. Criminal charges for Directors seem relevant.
Wednesday, 14 April 2010
Silence from Tom Wilson of Infratil
Remember the jumbo jet taking off over the towns at 2am on 1st April? No reply from Tom Wilson the new head of Manston as the email below.
Who exactly is running Infratil and allowing planes to take off and land at night?
And why the collusion from TDC? If a pub was serving drinks at 2am or padlocking the fire escape doors, TDC and the Police would rightly be all over them.
Why the silence from our MP's, KCC, 56 councillors and TDC on an airport breaching the council's own 106 regulations?
We don't hear much from our councillors on the benefits of night flights any more?
Nothing on a Parkway train station at Manston from Messrs Carter and Gale?
What about the benefits of landing planes on the drinking water supply? Or even the MOD Fire station squirting thousands of litres of chemical foam into the drainage system?
What has been going on? Email below:
Hi Tom
Any news on this please.
Also why did Infratil allow a plane to takeoff last night/this morning at 2am from Manston - and fly directly over the towns?
That's 2 specific and deliberate breaches isn't it?
There are no night flights between 11pm and 7am and flights are to avoid the towns: the safety and air and noise pollution problems?
Infratil seems a rogue corporation and to have lost control of safety procedures at Manston.
Have the Police been alerted?
Kindest regards.
Tim
Who exactly is running Infratil and allowing planes to take off and land at night?
And why the collusion from TDC? If a pub was serving drinks at 2am or padlocking the fire escape doors, TDC and the Police would rightly be all over them.
Why the silence from our MP's, KCC, 56 councillors and TDC on an airport breaching the council's own 106 regulations?
We don't hear much from our councillors on the benefits of night flights any more?
Nothing on a Parkway train station at Manston from Messrs Carter and Gale?
What about the benefits of landing planes on the drinking water supply? Or even the MOD Fire station squirting thousands of litres of chemical foam into the drainage system?
What has been going on? Email below:
Hi Tom
Any news on this please.
Also why did Infratil allow a plane to takeoff last night/this morning at 2am from Manston - and fly directly over the towns?
That's 2 specific and deliberate breaches isn't it?
There are no night flights between 11pm and 7am and flights are to avoid the towns: the safety and air and noise pollution problems?
Infratil seems a rogue corporation and to have lost control of safety procedures at Manston.
Have the Police been alerted?
Kindest regards.
Tim
Tuesday, 13 April 2010
Dead Towns. 5 more years.
Dead Towns. Dead election?
And so the towns die.
Charity shops full of dead people’s belongings as the townspeople age and die.
High St full of derelict and closed shops.
Failure to repair benches or beach shelters. Even to pick up dog muck.
Empty houses as people die or leave.
The public poisoned through removing noise and air monitors to expand the airport.
And for £60M in council tax and £2Bn in KCC tax we receive precisely nothing.
Mere vanity projects fro civil servants and politicians such as shopping centres and art galleries and cargo airports.
All of which have failed.
Reading the main Party manifestos none of it is relevant to Thanet.
Building two new aircraft carriers?
Not here.
Hundreds of thousands of green jobs? Where? Unemployment in Thanet is higher than ever.
A Big Society? Empty phrases for policies that invariably exist anyway. And we certainly didn’t need 4,000 new laws this decade.
The reality is that the main parties have achieved nothing in Thanet.
The reality is they probably couldn’t anyway.
General elections are for the general direction of Britain.
And only 1% of the public are members of political parties.
It means nothing for Thanet.
Our MP’s and councillors and civil servants are mere property speculators selling off public land for unnecessary housing or business parks.
Not one job has been created from public funds.
Pfizer on the other hand with a little support have created over 100 this year based on the UN Millennium Goals growth industries: vaccines, manufacturing nets and water filters and so on.
Steve Ladyman has had 13 years. With a 664 majority – one of the lowest in Britain – he cannot win again.
Laura Sandys is a mere "parachute candidate" dropped in from head office. It could be Broadstairs, Bognor or Belfast: a Parliamentary seat is a seat.
Roger Gale has spent 30 years watching Margate burn down.
It’s time for change.
And you now have a choice.
An Independent. Me. I don’t give a damn about the political parties. I give a damn about Thanet.
I don’t like drinking faeces water. Or aviation fuel water because the drains are unrepaired and Manston has not been regulated.
I don’t like watching the Thor mercury factory go uncleaned.
I don’t like seeing the towns die a little bit more each month.
I don’t like watching Richboro crumble into Pegwell Bay.
I don’t like MP’s or civil servants refusing to disclose every penny of their public salaries and expenses and pensions. Why not? It’s given to them by the public.
I don’t like £22M of council tax spent on the council itself with 56 councillors having no idea of the salary bill.
Do you?
I don’t think you do.
And that’s why I think I’ll win this election. Or come a very close second.
You have a choice.
But you need to act.
I need 10 electors signatures on the electoral forms.
You can email me your name and address and that will do.
And you can sign the forms: I’m available at Surin restaurant from 7pm each evening this week.
I need donations and volunteers for the final 2 weeks of the campaign.
Do nothing and Laura Sandys will win on a low turnout and the election is irrelevant.
Thanet democracy will bumble along until the pensioner councillors die off and then the towns will have decayed too much.
You have a choice.
You can do nothing and things continue to stagnate.
Or you can step forward and make a difference.
But only this week.
Now is the time.
And it’s time for change.
Below is the full manifesto and if you email timgarbutt@yahoo.com I’ll send you a leaflet to give to friends and place in your window:
Why the delays and silence from our politicians and civil servants on the pollution, corruption and construction in Thanet?
Our politicians and civil servants have failed us:
· major pollution incidents and cover-up
· Third World death rates
· deliberate pollution from Manston airport
· toxic waste at Thor, Richboro and Gasworks
· collapse of Margate
· utter waste of tax-funds and tax-salaries
Please display this leaflet in your window and email to a friend (nb. a typo on email address: timgarbutt@yahoo.com is correct)
Vote Garbutt May 6th: Independent Green
Stop the Pollution:
• Close Manston airport: built on the polluted drinking water supply
- repeated safety breaches and monitors removal by TDC and Infratil
- 6 dumped jumbo jets left by KCC despite 76 lawyers on the rates
• Thor mercury factory scandal near Hornby - publish toxin cleanup details:
should have closed in 1988 but remains open – and was expanding
• Clean the gasworks sites in Ramsgate and Margate: arsenic and cyanide in the soil and dust
• Demolish the derelict and polluting Richboro power station
• Clean up Pegwell Bay: one of the two most polluted sites in Kent
* Instigate effective road and shipping pollution monitoring and reform
• NHS joint-monitoring of TDC pollution sites to reduce the Third World death rates: an 11 year health gap to the rest of Kent!
* Establish a Water Protection Zone and meadow on the Manston reservoir
* No oil slicks or ships berthed off Cliftonville and the Blue Flag beaches
Stop the Corruption:
• Repay fraudulent TDC civil service 0% pay rises for Messrs Samuel and White
• End misuse and incompetent use of public funds by one of Britain’s worst councils
• Publish the Pleasurama Caribbean tax haven and Swiss bank contracts
• Sack the Gang of Four of Messrs Samuel, White, Ezekiel and Latchford
and underperforming civil servants and councillors
• Publish all £22M (almost 50% of a council tax budget of £60m!) TDC civil servant
salaries, expenses, cars, pensions and other benefits each month – and for all public bodies and quangos
* Cancel civil service tax-pensions funded by the public
• End ChinaGate completely and refund the £25k Labour party donations to charity
• End “minimargateism” of switching District funds between towns – create Margate Town Council, reopen Ramsgate Tourist
Centre and Albion House Town Hall to the public and MP offices upstairs
Stop the Construction:
• Halt overdevelopment: no new build houses except on brownfield
* Cancel ChinaGate and Thanet Earth expansion
• End garden grabbing construction
• Halt new road construction - clean the drinking water and repair the drains
• Reverse the dereliction of the town centres and Dreamland
• Rollback development at Westwood Cross, an out-of-town shopping centre near-the-town-centres and introduce parking charges
* Create an economy based on more than house-building: 2nd Pfizer and UN Millennium Goal industries, Kent Film Office and Studio and foot passenger ferry
* Create the Pleasurama ice-rink plus New Lido not car parks and rubble
• Expand greenbelt and parks: no business parks, warehouse parks or retail parks - but park parks
Are these disasters the civil service and political party governance we should expect?
Here’s an article from March’s Independent on Sunday on air pollution in the UK
- clearly the collusion by civil servants and our councillors and MP’s to expand
Manston has seriously endangered the health of many members of the public:
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/britain-a-breath-of-foul-air-1924790.htm
We await explanations on why noise and air monitors were removed and not replaced
by Infratil and TDC, why there are repeated breaches of the 106 airport regulations and
consultations and why the airport is still allowed to pollute the drinking water supply.
And why after months and years our councillors, civil servants and MP’s remain silent.
End the destruction of Thanet.
Stop the Pollution. Stop the Corruption. Stop the Construction.
Vote Garbutt May 6th. Independent Green
Visit the blog: http://lovekentloveramsgate.blogspot.com/
or
email timgarbutt@yahoo.com for more info
Volunteers required for office, fundraising and leafleting
Time for Change
And so the towns die.
Charity shops full of dead people’s belongings as the townspeople age and die.
High St full of derelict and closed shops.
Failure to repair benches or beach shelters. Even to pick up dog muck.
Empty houses as people die or leave.
The public poisoned through removing noise and air monitors to expand the airport.
And for £60M in council tax and £2Bn in KCC tax we receive precisely nothing.
Mere vanity projects fro civil servants and politicians such as shopping centres and art galleries and cargo airports.
All of which have failed.
Reading the main Party manifestos none of it is relevant to Thanet.
Building two new aircraft carriers?
Not here.
Hundreds of thousands of green jobs? Where? Unemployment in Thanet is higher than ever.
A Big Society? Empty phrases for policies that invariably exist anyway. And we certainly didn’t need 4,000 new laws this decade.
The reality is that the main parties have achieved nothing in Thanet.
The reality is they probably couldn’t anyway.
General elections are for the general direction of Britain.
And only 1% of the public are members of political parties.
It means nothing for Thanet.
Our MP’s and councillors and civil servants are mere property speculators selling off public land for unnecessary housing or business parks.
Not one job has been created from public funds.
Pfizer on the other hand with a little support have created over 100 this year based on the UN Millennium Goals growth industries: vaccines, manufacturing nets and water filters and so on.
Steve Ladyman has had 13 years. With a 664 majority – one of the lowest in Britain – he cannot win again.
Laura Sandys is a mere "parachute candidate" dropped in from head office. It could be Broadstairs, Bognor or Belfast: a Parliamentary seat is a seat.
Roger Gale has spent 30 years watching Margate burn down.
It’s time for change.
And you now have a choice.
An Independent. Me. I don’t give a damn about the political parties. I give a damn about Thanet.
I don’t like drinking faeces water. Or aviation fuel water because the drains are unrepaired and Manston has not been regulated.
I don’t like watching the Thor mercury factory go uncleaned.
I don’t like seeing the towns die a little bit more each month.
I don’t like watching Richboro crumble into Pegwell Bay.
I don’t like MP’s or civil servants refusing to disclose every penny of their public salaries and expenses and pensions. Why not? It’s given to them by the public.
I don’t like £22M of council tax spent on the council itself with 56 councillors having no idea of the salary bill.
Do you?
I don’t think you do.
And that’s why I think I’ll win this election. Or come a very close second.
You have a choice.
But you need to act.
I need 10 electors signatures on the electoral forms.
You can email me your name and address and that will do.
And you can sign the forms: I’m available at Surin restaurant from 7pm each evening this week.
I need donations and volunteers for the final 2 weeks of the campaign.
Do nothing and Laura Sandys will win on a low turnout and the election is irrelevant.
Thanet democracy will bumble along until the pensioner councillors die off and then the towns will have decayed too much.
You have a choice.
You can do nothing and things continue to stagnate.
Or you can step forward and make a difference.
But only this week.
Now is the time.
And it’s time for change.
Below is the full manifesto and if you email timgarbutt@yahoo.com I’ll send you a leaflet to give to friends and place in your window:
Why the delays and silence from our politicians and civil servants on the pollution, corruption and construction in Thanet?
Our politicians and civil servants have failed us:
· major pollution incidents and cover-up
· Third World death rates
· deliberate pollution from Manston airport
· toxic waste at Thor, Richboro and Gasworks
· collapse of Margate
· utter waste of tax-funds and tax-salaries
Please display this leaflet in your window and email to a friend (nb. a typo on email address: timgarbutt@yahoo.com is correct)
Vote Garbutt May 6th: Independent Green
Stop the Pollution:
• Close Manston airport: built on the polluted drinking water supply
- repeated safety breaches and monitors removal by TDC and Infratil
- 6 dumped jumbo jets left by KCC despite 76 lawyers on the rates
• Thor mercury factory scandal near Hornby - publish toxin cleanup details:
should have closed in 1988 but remains open – and was expanding
• Clean the gasworks sites in Ramsgate and Margate: arsenic and cyanide in the soil and dust
• Demolish the derelict and polluting Richboro power station
• Clean up Pegwell Bay: one of the two most polluted sites in Kent
* Instigate effective road and shipping pollution monitoring and reform
• NHS joint-monitoring of TDC pollution sites to reduce the Third World death rates: an 11 year health gap to the rest of Kent!
* Establish a Water Protection Zone and meadow on the Manston reservoir
* No oil slicks or ships berthed off Cliftonville and the Blue Flag beaches
Stop the Corruption:
• Repay fraudulent TDC civil service 0% pay rises for Messrs Samuel and White
• End misuse and incompetent use of public funds by one of Britain’s worst councils
• Publish the Pleasurama Caribbean tax haven and Swiss bank contracts
• Sack the Gang of Four of Messrs Samuel, White, Ezekiel and Latchford
and underperforming civil servants and councillors
• Publish all £22M (almost 50% of a council tax budget of £60m!) TDC civil servant
salaries, expenses, cars, pensions and other benefits each month – and for all public bodies and quangos
* Cancel civil service tax-pensions funded by the public
• End ChinaGate completely and refund the £25k Labour party donations to charity
• End “minimargateism” of switching District funds between towns – create Margate Town Council, reopen Ramsgate Tourist
Centre and Albion House Town Hall to the public and MP offices upstairs
Stop the Construction:
• Halt overdevelopment: no new build houses except on brownfield
* Cancel ChinaGate and Thanet Earth expansion
• End garden grabbing construction
• Halt new road construction - clean the drinking water and repair the drains
• Reverse the dereliction of the town centres and Dreamland
• Rollback development at Westwood Cross, an out-of-town shopping centre near-the-town-centres and introduce parking charges
* Create an economy based on more than house-building: 2nd Pfizer and UN Millennium Goal industries, Kent Film Office and Studio and foot passenger ferry
* Create the Pleasurama ice-rink plus New Lido not car parks and rubble
• Expand greenbelt and parks: no business parks, warehouse parks or retail parks - but park parks
Are these disasters the civil service and political party governance we should expect?
Here’s an article from March’s Independent on Sunday on air pollution in the UK
- clearly the collusion by civil servants and our councillors and MP’s to expand
Manston has seriously endangered the health of many members of the public:
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/britain-a-breath-of-foul-air-1924790.htm
We await explanations on why noise and air monitors were removed and not replaced
by Infratil and TDC, why there are repeated breaches of the 106 airport regulations and
consultations and why the airport is still allowed to pollute the drinking water supply.
And why after months and years our councillors, civil servants and MP’s remain silent.
End the destruction of Thanet.
Stop the Pollution. Stop the Corruption. Stop the Construction.
Vote Garbutt May 6th. Independent Green
Visit the blog: http://lovekentloveramsgate.blogspot.com/
or
email timgarbutt@yahoo.com for more info
Volunteers required for office, fundraising and leafleting
Time for Change
Sunday, 11 April 2010
Infratil and a Tale of Two Brians
Still no rely from Tom Wilson of Infratil on why planes are continuing to breach the overflight ban at Manston and douse the towns in aviation fuel discharge.
Email pasted in to follow.
And still no news from Brian White – formerly Environment Director and now a quick job title change and 0% salary increase to Director of Regeneration - on why TDC removed the noise and air monitoring at Manston.
Helping Infratil to downgrade the public safety measures as the airport was expanding verges on manslaughter.
And even as late as the night flight announcement last July removing the main benzene monitor at the airport.
And still the planes fly.
Breaching the overflight ban in place for years.
Yet repeatedly breached with the collusion of our own councillors and civil servants.
Or will they blame each other? Or all keep silent?
And planes landing onto the towns’ drinking water supply – under the runway and discharging into Pegwell Bay.
You couldn’t make it up could you?
But how many dead? And what if there is a crash before the airport closes?
Yet here’s a 2nd Brian: Brian Gibson of Dover Council and the Kent Air Quality quango (KMAQP) of all the District environment officers like Brian White and Amanda Berry to enforce air pollution.
Again no explanation on why the Manston monitors were removed. And as worrying it seems 2nd Brian and KMAQP aren’t sure of what road or shipping pollution is carried out in Kent.
With air quality a “national scandal” as detailed in the latest Parliamentary report with over 50,000 unnecessary deaths in the UK - each year - it’s less than reassuring that our civil servants seem not to have a clue what they’re doing or are actively assisting unrecorded and higher pollution.
http://jeffreyhill.typepad.com/english/2010/03/words-in-the-news-choke.html
And wouldn’t removing monitors or fudging data means the death rate is actually higher? 50,000 a year already seems a lot. A town the size of Margate dead each year.
Silence.
Silence on the clean up at Thor and Richboro and the Gasworks - TDC aren't hoping to delay it or forget it are they? That is mercury and arsenic and cyanide in the soil.
Silence from the Brians.
Silence from Messrs Ladyman and Gale and Sandys.
Silence from 56 councillors.
The stirrings of a Parkway station from Messrs Carter and Gale even as late as last month but now only silence.
Only a fool would build an airport next to the towns. And on the runway. And remove the monitors.
Wouldn’t they?
Not good for votes is it poisoning your own citizens? And doesn’t it actually reduce the amount of council tax and income tax?
At least Infratil would have a successful airport business by reducing the local population.
What have they been doing for all these years. And on the rates too?
Time for Change
Email pasted in to follow.
And still no news from Brian White – formerly Environment Director and now a quick job title change and 0% salary increase to Director of Regeneration - on why TDC removed the noise and air monitoring at Manston.
Helping Infratil to downgrade the public safety measures as the airport was expanding verges on manslaughter.
And even as late as the night flight announcement last July removing the main benzene monitor at the airport.
And still the planes fly.
Breaching the overflight ban in place for years.
Yet repeatedly breached with the collusion of our own councillors and civil servants.
Or will they blame each other? Or all keep silent?
And planes landing onto the towns’ drinking water supply – under the runway and discharging into Pegwell Bay.
You couldn’t make it up could you?
But how many dead? And what if there is a crash before the airport closes?
Yet here’s a 2nd Brian: Brian Gibson of Dover Council and the Kent Air Quality quango (KMAQP) of all the District environment officers like Brian White and Amanda Berry to enforce air pollution.
Again no explanation on why the Manston monitors were removed. And as worrying it seems 2nd Brian and KMAQP aren’t sure of what road or shipping pollution is carried out in Kent.
With air quality a “national scandal” as detailed in the latest Parliamentary report with over 50,000 unnecessary deaths in the UK - each year - it’s less than reassuring that our civil servants seem not to have a clue what they’re doing or are actively assisting unrecorded and higher pollution.
http://jeffreyhill.typepad.com/english/2010/03/words-in-the-news-choke.html
And wouldn’t removing monitors or fudging data means the death rate is actually higher? 50,000 a year already seems a lot. A town the size of Margate dead each year.
Silence.
Silence on the clean up at Thor and Richboro and the Gasworks - TDC aren't hoping to delay it or forget it are they? That is mercury and arsenic and cyanide in the soil.
Silence from the Brians.
Silence from Messrs Ladyman and Gale and Sandys.
Silence from 56 councillors.
The stirrings of a Parkway station from Messrs Carter and Gale even as late as last month but now only silence.
Only a fool would build an airport next to the towns. And on the runway. And remove the monitors.
Wouldn’t they?
Not good for votes is it poisoning your own citizens? And doesn’t it actually reduce the amount of council tax and income tax?
At least Infratil would have a successful airport business by reducing the local population.
What have they been doing for all these years. And on the rates too?
Time for Change
Friday, 9 April 2010
TDC: the wages of failure
TDC senior staff salaries now revealed after dozens of FOI requests:
http://www.thanet.gov.uk/advice__benefits/council_departments/corporate_management_team/corporate_management_team_pay.aspx
This doesn't - as yet - include expenses and other benefits eg parking.
I have an Excel of all the other c.750 council salaries of £22M if anyone would like a copy.
And it seems the councillors are not briefed on these salaries at council meetings - what is the purpose of councillors then?
Tea and biscuits - and idle pomp and ceremony?
And look at the bloat and waste.
Salaries of c.£70-110k for managing monopoly public services and tax-funds.
Sheer bloat and waste.
And TDC is still one of Britain's worst councils.
What has been going on?
What have our councillors and MP's been doing with their tax-salaries and tax-expenses?
Over a quarter of a million pounds for each of Messrs Gale and Ladyman - to watch tax funds being sprayed up the wall and the towns burn down.
And mere silence from Sandys parachuted in from Tory Head Office for a seat.
The collapse of Thanet and parliamentary democracy in sheer waste and incomeptence.
And still the planes fly over the towns shedding cancer fuel droplets onto the population.
The highest lung cancer rate.
The most polluted drinking water.
The worst council.
Silence from our MP's and councillors and civil servants.
Mere petty posturing and sqaubbling for the wages of failure as the towns burn down and fall down.
Time for Change.
http://www.thanet.gov.uk/advice__benefits/council_departments/corporate_management_team/corporate_management_team_pay.aspx
This doesn't - as yet - include expenses and other benefits eg parking.
I have an Excel of all the other c.750 council salaries of £22M if anyone would like a copy.
And it seems the councillors are not briefed on these salaries at council meetings - what is the purpose of councillors then?
Tea and biscuits - and idle pomp and ceremony?
And look at the bloat and waste.
Salaries of c.£70-110k for managing monopoly public services and tax-funds.
Sheer bloat and waste.
And TDC is still one of Britain's worst councils.
What has been going on?
What have our councillors and MP's been doing with their tax-salaries and tax-expenses?
Over a quarter of a million pounds for each of Messrs Gale and Ladyman - to watch tax funds being sprayed up the wall and the towns burn down.
And mere silence from Sandys parachuted in from Tory Head Office for a seat.
The collapse of Thanet and parliamentary democracy in sheer waste and incomeptence.
And still the planes fly over the towns shedding cancer fuel droplets onto the population.
The highest lung cancer rate.
The most polluted drinking water.
The worst council.
Silence from our MP's and councillors and civil servants.
Mere petty posturing and sqaubbling for the wages of failure as the towns burn down and fall down.
Time for Change.
Thursday, 8 April 2010
Stop the Pollution. Stop the Corruption. Stop the Construction.
Why the delays and silence from our politicians and civil servants on the pollution, corruption and construction in Thanet?
Our politicians and civil servants have failed us:
· major pollution incidents and cover-up
· Third World death rates
· deliberate pollution from Manston
· collapse of Margate
· utter waste of tax-funds and tax-salaries
Please email for a leaflet for your window and email to a friend: timgarbutt@yahoo.com
With a 664 vote majority after 3 elections Steve Ladyman cannot win.
Laura Sandys is a mere "parachute candidate" dropped in from Tory Head Office: it could be Thanet or Taunton.
Stop the Pollution. Stop the Corruption. Stop the Construction.
Vote Garbutt May 6th: Independent Green
Stop the Pollution:
• Close Manston airport: built on the polluted drinking water supply
- and repeated safety breaches by TDC and Infratil
• Thor mercury factory near Hornby - publish toxin cleanup details:
should have closed in 1988 but remains open
• Clean the gasworks sites in Ramsgate and Margate: arsenic and cyanide in the soil and dust
• Demolish the derelict and polluting Richboro power station
• Clean up Pegwell Bay: one of the two most polluted sites in Kent
• NHS joint-monitoring of TDC pollution sites to reduce the Third World death rates
Stop the Corruption:
• Repay fraudulent TDC civil service 0% pay rises for Messrs Samuel and White
• Sack the Gang of Four of Messrs Samuel, White, Ezekiel and Latchford
and under-performing civil servants and councillors
• Publish all £22m (almost 50% of a council tax budget of £60m!) civil servant
salaries, expenses, cars, pensions and other benefits each month
• End ChinaGate completely and refund the £25k Labour party donations to charity
• End “mini-margateism” – create Margate Town Council, reopen Ramsgate Tourist
Centre and Albion House Town Hall to the public and MP offices upstairs
Stop the Construction:
• Halt overdevelopment: no new build houses except on brownfield
• End "garden grabbing" construction
• Halt new road construction
• Reverse the dereliction of the town centres
• Rollback development at Westwood Cross and introduce parking charges
• Expand greenbelt and parks
Here’s an article from March’s Independent on Sunday on air pollution in the UK
-clearly the collusion by civil servants and our councillors and MP’s to expand
Manston has seriously endangered the health of many members of the public:
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/britain-a-breath-of-foul-air-1924790.htm
We await explanations on why noise and air monitors were removed and not replaced by Infratil and TDC, why there are repeated breaches of the 106 airport regulations and
consultations, and why the airport is still allowed to pollute the drinking water supply - and why after months and years our councillors, civil servants and MP’s remain silent.
Stop the Pollution. Stop the Corruption. Stop the Construction.
Vote Garbutt May 6th. Independent Green
email timgarbutt@yahoo.com for more info
Volunteers required for office, fundraising and leafleting
Time for Change
Our politicians and civil servants have failed us:
· major pollution incidents and cover-up
· Third World death rates
· deliberate pollution from Manston
· collapse of Margate
· utter waste of tax-funds and tax-salaries
Please email for a leaflet for your window and email to a friend: timgarbutt@yahoo.com
With a 664 vote majority after 3 elections Steve Ladyman cannot win.
Laura Sandys is a mere "parachute candidate" dropped in from Tory Head Office: it could be Thanet or Taunton.
Stop the Pollution. Stop the Corruption. Stop the Construction.
Vote Garbutt May 6th: Independent Green
Stop the Pollution:
• Close Manston airport: built on the polluted drinking water supply
- and repeated safety breaches by TDC and Infratil
• Thor mercury factory near Hornby - publish toxin cleanup details:
should have closed in 1988 but remains open
• Clean the gasworks sites in Ramsgate and Margate: arsenic and cyanide in the soil and dust
• Demolish the derelict and polluting Richboro power station
• Clean up Pegwell Bay: one of the two most polluted sites in Kent
• NHS joint-monitoring of TDC pollution sites to reduce the Third World death rates
Stop the Corruption:
• Repay fraudulent TDC civil service 0% pay rises for Messrs Samuel and White
• Sack the Gang of Four of Messrs Samuel, White, Ezekiel and Latchford
and under-performing civil servants and councillors
• Publish all £22m (almost 50% of a council tax budget of £60m!) civil servant
salaries, expenses, cars, pensions and other benefits each month
• End ChinaGate completely and refund the £25k Labour party donations to charity
• End “mini-margateism” – create Margate Town Council, reopen Ramsgate Tourist
Centre and Albion House Town Hall to the public and MP offices upstairs
Stop the Construction:
• Halt overdevelopment: no new build houses except on brownfield
• End "garden grabbing" construction
• Halt new road construction
• Reverse the dereliction of the town centres
• Rollback development at Westwood Cross and introduce parking charges
• Expand greenbelt and parks
Here’s an article from March’s Independent on Sunday on air pollution in the UK
-clearly the collusion by civil servants and our councillors and MP’s to expand
Manston has seriously endangered the health of many members of the public:
http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/britain-a-breath-of-foul-air-1924790.htm
We await explanations on why noise and air monitors were removed and not replaced by Infratil and TDC, why there are repeated breaches of the 106 airport regulations and
consultations, and why the airport is still allowed to pollute the drinking water supply - and why after months and years our councillors, civil servants and MP’s remain silent.
Stop the Pollution. Stop the Corruption. Stop the Construction.
Vote Garbutt May 6th. Independent Green
email timgarbutt@yahoo.com for more info
Volunteers required for office, fundraising and leafleting
Time for Change
Friday, 2 April 2010
Thanet tourism season opens for 2010.
And Ramsgate and Broadstairs tourist centres close down.
Excellent.
"Improved service": electronic signs. Mobile tourist van at events etc etc.
The centres already exist. Already staffed. Run for many years etc etc.
The usual "minimargateism" of switching budgets etc between towns.
And 0% salary fraud increases of £10-£20k.
I wonder if you gave our councillors and civil servants and thousand times more budget and time if they'd simply waste more?
Town Clerks underpants not even flying from flagpoles.
And for this we pay £60M in council tax. Plus tax pensions for civil servants?
And Infratil breach all the 106 regulations. And land on the drinking water supply.
Councillors look at each other. Civil servants look at each other. Public look at councillors. TDC look at KCC. KCC look at Parliament. Parliament looks at public.
Belgian Parliament looks at UK.
Time rolls on.
Map of drinking water supply: http://savethanetswatersupply.blogspot.com/
You couldn't make it up could you.
Infratil move into meat pie business. Tom Wilson and Matt Clarke move to other airport companies. Other airports to develop.
Two thoughts:
1. Why pay for civil servants pensions? Simply revoke them and refuse any new contracts with taxpensions. Buy a pension from salary like everyone else?
2. The Audit Commission has 850 company cars on its books. £200k per month in tax costs? Presumably other departments too. Robert Mauler of the AC tells me that the actual costs are not for public viewing as the AC civil servants are not civil servants.
So they're exempt from FOI. And anyway that might be commercial information even if they were.
Sounds cobblers to me.
Ask him yourself: robert.mauler@audit-commission.gov.uk
The "not civil servant" bit intrigues me. Unless he's being a pillock.
But why not anyway cap all company cars for Government departments at 50 electric "pool cars": eco-cars, reduced tax cost so more waste elsewhere and greater use of public transport/video meetings etc.
They can always buy a car from salary if they need one - like most people.
3. One other thought. With 20 finance and payroll staff at TDC. 76 lawyers at KCC - and presumably more payroll staff. Plus the other 12 Districts. Plus the NHS etc etc. Plus the AC. Plus the National Audit Office. Plus each government department. Plus each school. Plus each quango etc etc.
Does that seem like bloat and waste to you? To count and account for tax funds?
Wouldn't so much be spent on hiring accountants and lawyers to count and recount the tax-funds - with pensions and cars and expenses - until it was all gone?
Couldn't lawyer and accountants be capped at 3 for any government organisation? If more are required - after review - then those contracts could be placed back into the private sector.
You could even reduce tax by centrally apportioning from the Treasury the required funds for public services. That would allow even tighter scrutiny of public funds.
Combining the public-issued funds with tax-received funds would allow an overview of whether tax should be increased or decreased or public-issued funds increased or decreased. Then politicians wouldn't need to make vague promises on reducing or increasing tax - and the public wouldn't need to work to provide it.
With 40% of GDP provided in tax - a rate tweaked up or down a percent or two by each Party - something seems to have gone wrong somewhere.
I like the BBC I really do. I can't understand why there's so many newsreaders and weather people on each channel. Can't manage with say no more than 5 per channel? Shift work and all that? Seems like bloat to me.
While KCC now has c.350 staff on over £100k: up from c.50 a couple of years ago.
And the new KCC Chief Exec (or County Clerk) is on £197k plus benefits etc - wasn't David Cameron capping all hirings at £150K? Seems daft to pay the 33 County Clerks more than the Prime Minister. To run tax-funded departments. It's not as if the money is not provided.
Maybe the departments are big because they're bloated. Maybe the budgets are big because they're wasteful.
Don't want to work for less than £150K in the public sector?
Get a job in the private sector.
Think £100k to head up a public department isn't enough?
Get a job in the private sector.
I really can't see why any public sector job would pay more than £100k. No pension. No car. No benefits. And all linked to inflation. Certainly expenses for travelling etc etc.
Any exceptions signed off by the Prime Minister personally. Each year. And he can be voted out. Or "fired".
Just like the private sector.
Don't like it?
Don't work in the public sector.
It is private-sector-provided tax funds after all.
A flat tax on income of say 10% could be introduced: NI and VAT abolished. Tax disks could be issued by insurers. The licence fee capped as is and tied to inflation.
All other "income streams" or "charges on the public funding the tax-service" like car parks etc etc could be identified. Bizarrely to stand as MP you have to pay £500.
I can't understand that. I thought it was a democracy. It's not as if elections every 4 or 5 years are an onerous task for the civil servants.
70% of people don't even vote.
Anyway. Tax funds not enough?
Make cuts.
Then there'd be only 3 taxes: the flat rate, business rates and council tax.
All of which would be clearly fixed to political manifestos and votes. The "public-Treasury funds" would then be evaluated against value as defined for each department.
A "quango office" would evaluate quangos for scrutiny or each quango would report into a specific department and line budget for greater democratic scrutiny.
Fewer or better public services would then release more civil servants back into the private "value-generating" sector.
Then maybe there wouldn't be 6M civil servants. Nearly 1/4 of the workforce.
The Government itself with Total Place (or "how much tax funds are spent in an area: councils, NHS etc etc" - I'm surprised they don't already know but then the DWP for example paid out £200M in benefits last year. To dead people.) estimates 15% of all taxfunds are wasted: c.£25BN. I'll bet it's far higher don't you? Accountants. Company cars. Expenses. Computers. Office buildings. All growing like Topsy.
I've read the DFID accounts and I can't work it out. 2,000 staff in 2 offices in the UK. Very few based abroad. 0.3% in GDP tax-funds.
It's not as if the problems aren't known is it. Schools. Hospitals etc etc.
Yet half of that £9BN is then issued to the UN and World Bank. Isn't that writing 2 cheques? 3 people? One to write it and 2 to check it?
I can't understand why the UN and World Bank don't publish their payroll if they're receiving £4 1/2 BN UK tax funds.
It might be £5.5Bn though. See below.
Nor why there isn't a "House of Commons" democratic assembly in the UN. I thought there was. Apparently not. It's all appointed civil servants.
Stuff all too on the next UNMDG. Or how many schools and hospitals built each year.
Nor a map and address of where they are.
It can't be difficult to build schools and hospitals in the 21st century. Portakabins or brick or whatever.
Anyway.
So the remaining £4 1/2 BN is then run by 2,000 staff? No. It's issued to 6 contractors. And they buy the malaria nets, vaccines etc.
£4 1/2 BN x2 buys a lot of malaria nets and schools and hospitals in places like Burkina Faso. Dollar a day countries. Sure there's corruption and so on. But even so.
And why 2,000 staff? I think it's c.£200M in payroll etc from memory.
It's a bit confusing: 1,600 staff but a further 800 staff or so that are consultants and temps and not staff. Those seem to cost £21M.
The office costs etc don't seem to be detailed - even though one of them is next to Buckingham Palace so presumably is a very high-cost lease.
The actual DFID staff seem to be c.50% spilt between above £50k and 50% below - that's a 1:1 management ratio which seems bizarre.
One manager per staff member.
All of this on given tax-funds too.
And it doesn't say in the 2 volumes of accounts (plus a 3rd bit that might be included in the 2 volumes) the actual staff costs. Strange that. Every accounts I've seen usually confirms the organisation costs. And in one document. That's the point of an accounts.
Then there's some accounts that are not included like pensions and a strange organisation that has no staff but might have funds.
The CDC is separate and that's under investigation for strange sharedealings.
And there's an allocation for all the UK's EU funds (although it might be some of them) - presumably that's allocated just to DFID rather than another department like the Treasury. And presumably that's funded out to the EU as a single payment.
And the 200 or so pages - not including the 3rd bit that might or might not be included anyway - then detail the organisation's strategy - not its accounts.
There were 7M malaria nets distributed though. Presumably in a year but it could be longer. Given they cost c.3 dollars each that's about $21M or c.£10M. Maybe less if you bought in bulk with an annual order. 7M is a lot.
£10M out of £5.7Bn (it's down as £5.5Bn on some pages). And in some places £9Bn.
Presumably the 6 contractors fund those out of their £4.5Bn.
0.3% of GDP. It's meant to be 0.7% by 2015. It's been on the cards for 30 years to reach that amount.
DIFD is rated as an excellent department.
How many companies have a £200M payroll budget? Have a guess. I don't know. It's a lot isn't it.
£10M for 7M malaria nets out of those billions of budget doesn't seem much does it?
And as DFID is your tax funds or Treasury-issued funds the payroll budget is a given.
Wouldn't that be say the 3 people to write the cheques, and send copies to the Treasury, and then say 20 or 30 people to handle calls and research etc? I don't understand 2,000 staff.
Oxfam and the Red Cross also do research. So do the civil servants in the countries that receive the funds.
As well I can't understand why there isn't both a Tobin Tax on currency transactions between banks. Plus a bank-crash levy (that's being touted as a Tobin Tax by Gordon Brown but isn't). It's fractions of a percent. Plus a separate Tobin Tax Fund issued by the World Bank to fund the UN Millennium Goals.
Each year these would cost c.£25-50Bn to deliver. No hunger. No dirty water. No malaria. Free education to 16. Free hospital care.
A Global NHS and schools and welfare in effect. Like the UK. But more basic. Maybe like Britain in the 1930's or so. That's how 20-40% of the world lives.
Yet to provide free education etc etc would cost £25Bn or so each year. And DFID already provides £9Bn - never mind what Germany, USA etc provides. And Britain's very good at providing aid. The public for example provided £100M in donations just for Haiti - half the DFID payroll remember - in a matter of weeks.
The Turner Centre in Margate costs £17M to build. A UK hospital costs around the same. Most Third World countries for the UNMDG have a couple of hospitals - if that.
10 new hospitals per country would cost £170M - to a UK standard and exchange rate.
50 countries? £10Bn or so - to a UK standard and exchange rate. 6 months or so to build.
Much less as portable hospitals.
You could even work on hospitals per '000 population as in UK.
And the World Bank could issue the "Tobin Fund" funds this year. Next week. UNMDG goals funding achieved. They do control the money supply with the national banks after all.
A different reserve currency or economy is separate.
As things stand. Right now. The World bank could issue the £25-50Bn as a Tobin Fund to fund the UN Millennium Goals immediately. A drop in the ocean of the global economy.
No mucking about with national economy funding each year to 2015. The lot achieved immediately.
And each year the Tobin Tax would provide the ongoing annual funds of £25Bn or so.
Maybe not. Ludicrous.
Anyway.
Paul Carter at KCC now wants to spend £680M (almost £1Bn or at least 20% of the DFID budget or 3x the DFID payroll) on a parkway station for Manston.
Built on the drinking water supply.
http://savethanetswatersupply.blogspot.com/
As you can imagine I've told him of this several times - lung cancer etc, tourist centres, etc, derelict Arches, Pleasurama, Dreamland etc etc etc - yet he still think it's a terrific idea.
£680M not spent on tourist centres etc etc.
One of Britain’s most derelict High St’s.
After 10 years of Planestation, Infratil, KCC USA, EUJet - now operating from the Isle of Man tax haven apparently - etc etc. Impossible too for them to repay the Kent tax funds invested. Eire apparently was beyond the reach of EU law. Despite being in the EU. According to KCC. And its 76 lawyers on the rates.
Anyway. "Build Manston" and the parkway.
Hard on the heels of "Save Wye" which was building a Milton Keynes "new town" around Wye - on greenbelt as it's cheaper than detoxing brownfield (I can't understand Thanet Earth's greenhouse/warehouse built on prime farmland when there's brownfield sites like Richboro) - it seems KCC is simply a roads and property public service.
It can't be housing need. Dover and Thanet have hundreds of empty properties.
It can't be roads need. Kent has two motorways - and roads connecting all the towns and villages.
It seems to be business parks. Office parks. Retail parks. But not park parks.
And business parks don't create jobs. They're just buildings.
You couldn't make it up could you?
Must check if as an EU citizen you can stand for the Belgian Parliament. Wonder if they charge £500 or Euros or Belgian thingys for MP's etc.
Seems a lot: £500 to stand as an MP in your own country.
Who thought that up?
Excellent.
"Improved service": electronic signs. Mobile tourist van at events etc etc.
The centres already exist. Already staffed. Run for many years etc etc.
The usual "minimargateism" of switching budgets etc between towns.
And 0% salary fraud increases of £10-£20k.
I wonder if you gave our councillors and civil servants and thousand times more budget and time if they'd simply waste more?
Town Clerks underpants not even flying from flagpoles.
And for this we pay £60M in council tax. Plus tax pensions for civil servants?
And Infratil breach all the 106 regulations. And land on the drinking water supply.
Councillors look at each other. Civil servants look at each other. Public look at councillors. TDC look at KCC. KCC look at Parliament. Parliament looks at public.
Belgian Parliament looks at UK.
Time rolls on.
Map of drinking water supply: http://savethanetswatersupply.blogspot.com/
You couldn't make it up could you.
Infratil move into meat pie business. Tom Wilson and Matt Clarke move to other airport companies. Other airports to develop.
Two thoughts:
1. Why pay for civil servants pensions? Simply revoke them and refuse any new contracts with taxpensions. Buy a pension from salary like everyone else?
2. The Audit Commission has 850 company cars on its books. £200k per month in tax costs? Presumably other departments too. Robert Mauler of the AC tells me that the actual costs are not for public viewing as the AC civil servants are not civil servants.
So they're exempt from FOI. And anyway that might be commercial information even if they were.
Sounds cobblers to me.
Ask him yourself: robert.mauler@audit-commission.gov.uk
The "not civil servant" bit intrigues me. Unless he's being a pillock.
But why not anyway cap all company cars for Government departments at 50 electric "pool cars": eco-cars, reduced tax cost so more waste elsewhere and greater use of public transport/video meetings etc.
They can always buy a car from salary if they need one - like most people.
3. One other thought. With 20 finance and payroll staff at TDC. 76 lawyers at KCC - and presumably more payroll staff. Plus the other 12 Districts. Plus the NHS etc etc. Plus the AC. Plus the National Audit Office. Plus each government department. Plus each school. Plus each quango etc etc.
Does that seem like bloat and waste to you? To count and account for tax funds?
Wouldn't so much be spent on hiring accountants and lawyers to count and recount the tax-funds - with pensions and cars and expenses - until it was all gone?
Couldn't lawyer and accountants be capped at 3 for any government organisation? If more are required - after review - then those contracts could be placed back into the private sector.
You could even reduce tax by centrally apportioning from the Treasury the required funds for public services. That would allow even tighter scrutiny of public funds.
Combining the public-issued funds with tax-received funds would allow an overview of whether tax should be increased or decreased or public-issued funds increased or decreased. Then politicians wouldn't need to make vague promises on reducing or increasing tax - and the public wouldn't need to work to provide it.
With 40% of GDP provided in tax - a rate tweaked up or down a percent or two by each Party - something seems to have gone wrong somewhere.
I like the BBC I really do. I can't understand why there's so many newsreaders and weather people on each channel. Can't manage with say no more than 5 per channel? Shift work and all that? Seems like bloat to me.
While KCC now has c.350 staff on over £100k: up from c.50 a couple of years ago.
And the new KCC Chief Exec (or County Clerk) is on £197k plus benefits etc - wasn't David Cameron capping all hirings at £150K? Seems daft to pay the 33 County Clerks more than the Prime Minister. To run tax-funded departments. It's not as if the money is not provided.
Maybe the departments are big because they're bloated. Maybe the budgets are big because they're wasteful.
Don't want to work for less than £150K in the public sector?
Get a job in the private sector.
Think £100k to head up a public department isn't enough?
Get a job in the private sector.
I really can't see why any public sector job would pay more than £100k. No pension. No car. No benefits. And all linked to inflation. Certainly expenses for travelling etc etc.
Any exceptions signed off by the Prime Minister personally. Each year. And he can be voted out. Or "fired".
Just like the private sector.
Don't like it?
Don't work in the public sector.
It is private-sector-provided tax funds after all.
A flat tax on income of say 10% could be introduced: NI and VAT abolished. Tax disks could be issued by insurers. The licence fee capped as is and tied to inflation.
All other "income streams" or "charges on the public funding the tax-service" like car parks etc etc could be identified. Bizarrely to stand as MP you have to pay £500.
I can't understand that. I thought it was a democracy. It's not as if elections every 4 or 5 years are an onerous task for the civil servants.
70% of people don't even vote.
Anyway. Tax funds not enough?
Make cuts.
Then there'd be only 3 taxes: the flat rate, business rates and council tax.
All of which would be clearly fixed to political manifestos and votes. The "public-Treasury funds" would then be evaluated against value as defined for each department.
A "quango office" would evaluate quangos for scrutiny or each quango would report into a specific department and line budget for greater democratic scrutiny.
Fewer or better public services would then release more civil servants back into the private "value-generating" sector.
Then maybe there wouldn't be 6M civil servants. Nearly 1/4 of the workforce.
The Government itself with Total Place (or "how much tax funds are spent in an area: councils, NHS etc etc" - I'm surprised they don't already know but then the DWP for example paid out £200M in benefits last year. To dead people.) estimates 15% of all taxfunds are wasted: c.£25BN. I'll bet it's far higher don't you? Accountants. Company cars. Expenses. Computers. Office buildings. All growing like Topsy.
I've read the DFID accounts and I can't work it out. 2,000 staff in 2 offices in the UK. Very few based abroad. 0.3% in GDP tax-funds.
It's not as if the problems aren't known is it. Schools. Hospitals etc etc.
Yet half of that £9BN is then issued to the UN and World Bank. Isn't that writing 2 cheques? 3 people? One to write it and 2 to check it?
I can't understand why the UN and World Bank don't publish their payroll if they're receiving £4 1/2 BN UK tax funds.
It might be £5.5Bn though. See below.
Nor why there isn't a "House of Commons" democratic assembly in the UN. I thought there was. Apparently not. It's all appointed civil servants.
Stuff all too on the next UNMDG. Or how many schools and hospitals built each year.
Nor a map and address of where they are.
It can't be difficult to build schools and hospitals in the 21st century. Portakabins or brick or whatever.
Anyway.
So the remaining £4 1/2 BN is then run by 2,000 staff? No. It's issued to 6 contractors. And they buy the malaria nets, vaccines etc.
£4 1/2 BN x2 buys a lot of malaria nets and schools and hospitals in places like Burkina Faso. Dollar a day countries. Sure there's corruption and so on. But even so.
And why 2,000 staff? I think it's c.£200M in payroll etc from memory.
It's a bit confusing: 1,600 staff but a further 800 staff or so that are consultants and temps and not staff. Those seem to cost £21M.
The office costs etc don't seem to be detailed - even though one of them is next to Buckingham Palace so presumably is a very high-cost lease.
The actual DFID staff seem to be c.50% spilt between above £50k and 50% below - that's a 1:1 management ratio which seems bizarre.
One manager per staff member.
All of this on given tax-funds too.
And it doesn't say in the 2 volumes of accounts (plus a 3rd bit that might be included in the 2 volumes) the actual staff costs. Strange that. Every accounts I've seen usually confirms the organisation costs. And in one document. That's the point of an accounts.
Then there's some accounts that are not included like pensions and a strange organisation that has no staff but might have funds.
The CDC is separate and that's under investigation for strange sharedealings.
And there's an allocation for all the UK's EU funds (although it might be some of them) - presumably that's allocated just to DFID rather than another department like the Treasury. And presumably that's funded out to the EU as a single payment.
And the 200 or so pages - not including the 3rd bit that might or might not be included anyway - then detail the organisation's strategy - not its accounts.
There were 7M malaria nets distributed though. Presumably in a year but it could be longer. Given they cost c.3 dollars each that's about $21M or c.£10M. Maybe less if you bought in bulk with an annual order. 7M is a lot.
£10M out of £5.7Bn (it's down as £5.5Bn on some pages). And in some places £9Bn.
Presumably the 6 contractors fund those out of their £4.5Bn.
0.3% of GDP. It's meant to be 0.7% by 2015. It's been on the cards for 30 years to reach that amount.
DIFD is rated as an excellent department.
How many companies have a £200M payroll budget? Have a guess. I don't know. It's a lot isn't it.
£10M for 7M malaria nets out of those billions of budget doesn't seem much does it?
And as DFID is your tax funds or Treasury-issued funds the payroll budget is a given.
Wouldn't that be say the 3 people to write the cheques, and send copies to the Treasury, and then say 20 or 30 people to handle calls and research etc? I don't understand 2,000 staff.
Oxfam and the Red Cross also do research. So do the civil servants in the countries that receive the funds.
As well I can't understand why there isn't both a Tobin Tax on currency transactions between banks. Plus a bank-crash levy (that's being touted as a Tobin Tax by Gordon Brown but isn't). It's fractions of a percent. Plus a separate Tobin Tax Fund issued by the World Bank to fund the UN Millennium Goals.
Each year these would cost c.£25-50Bn to deliver. No hunger. No dirty water. No malaria. Free education to 16. Free hospital care.
A Global NHS and schools and welfare in effect. Like the UK. But more basic. Maybe like Britain in the 1930's or so. That's how 20-40% of the world lives.
Yet to provide free education etc etc would cost £25Bn or so each year. And DFID already provides £9Bn - never mind what Germany, USA etc provides. And Britain's very good at providing aid. The public for example provided £100M in donations just for Haiti - half the DFID payroll remember - in a matter of weeks.
The Turner Centre in Margate costs £17M to build. A UK hospital costs around the same. Most Third World countries for the UNMDG have a couple of hospitals - if that.
10 new hospitals per country would cost £170M - to a UK standard and exchange rate.
50 countries? £10Bn or so - to a UK standard and exchange rate. 6 months or so to build.
Much less as portable hospitals.
You could even work on hospitals per '000 population as in UK.
And the World Bank could issue the "Tobin Fund" funds this year. Next week. UNMDG goals funding achieved. They do control the money supply with the national banks after all.
A different reserve currency or economy is separate.
As things stand. Right now. The World bank could issue the £25-50Bn as a Tobin Fund to fund the UN Millennium Goals immediately. A drop in the ocean of the global economy.
No mucking about with national economy funding each year to 2015. The lot achieved immediately.
And each year the Tobin Tax would provide the ongoing annual funds of £25Bn or so.
Maybe not. Ludicrous.
Anyway.
Paul Carter at KCC now wants to spend £680M (almost £1Bn or at least 20% of the DFID budget or 3x the DFID payroll) on a parkway station for Manston.
Built on the drinking water supply.
http://savethanetswatersupply.blogspot.com/
As you can imagine I've told him of this several times - lung cancer etc, tourist centres, etc, derelict Arches, Pleasurama, Dreamland etc etc etc - yet he still think it's a terrific idea.
£680M not spent on tourist centres etc etc.
One of Britain’s most derelict High St’s.
After 10 years of Planestation, Infratil, KCC USA, EUJet - now operating from the Isle of Man tax haven apparently - etc etc. Impossible too for them to repay the Kent tax funds invested. Eire apparently was beyond the reach of EU law. Despite being in the EU. According to KCC. And its 76 lawyers on the rates.
Anyway. "Build Manston" and the parkway.
Hard on the heels of "Save Wye" which was building a Milton Keynes "new town" around Wye - on greenbelt as it's cheaper than detoxing brownfield (I can't understand Thanet Earth's greenhouse/warehouse built on prime farmland when there's brownfield sites like Richboro) - it seems KCC is simply a roads and property public service.
It can't be housing need. Dover and Thanet have hundreds of empty properties.
It can't be roads need. Kent has two motorways - and roads connecting all the towns and villages.
It seems to be business parks. Office parks. Retail parks. But not park parks.
And business parks don't create jobs. They're just buildings.
You couldn't make it up could you?
Must check if as an EU citizen you can stand for the Belgian Parliament. Wonder if they charge £500 or Euros or Belgian thingys for MP's etc.
Seems a lot: £500 to stand as an MP in your own country.
Who thought that up?
Thursday, 1 April 2010
Silence from Brian White on Manston noise and air pollution
Infratil repeatedly breach the night flights 106 regulations at Manston.
Fly loop training flights over the towns.
Takeoff and land over the towns.
Discharge aviation fuel into the drinking water and Pegwell bay.
Last night even a jet taking off from Manston over the towns at 2am.
Why the silence from Brian White?
Why the failure to even warn Infratil?
Why no mobile monitors to measure the fuel discharge? Infratil provided 3 mobile monitors they say.
Why the failure to impose the fines and tighter regulation of Manston?
I see no council approval to waive regulation. No approval to allow cancer to increase.
On the contrary all the regulations are to limit public exposure to noise and air pollution.
Did Brian decide himself not to bother? Was it a cosy deal behind closed doors with councillors? Which ones?
It can't be Matt Clarke. He's not there. Is it Infratil policy? They don't pay Brian's wages. Nor the cleanup costs.
Why allowing the cancer cost to increase?
For months and years.
Will Brian be supervising the road pollution areas and the Port and ship pollution?
Here's an extract from the "cancer circle around airports in America:
The American Cancer Society predicts that in the US, one out of every two men
and one out of every three women will eventually be diagnosed with cancer.
In July, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that environmental factors - mainly radiation and chemical pollution - are roughly twice as likely as genetic factors to contribute to cancer cases.
Aviation is responsible for emissions of nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons, sulfur
dioxide, naphthalene, benzene (a known carcinogen), formaldehyde (a suspected
carcinogen), and dust particles that harm human health and contribute to global warming.
The poison circle from a single runway can extend six miles from its hub and run
20 miles downwind. The cancer rate for people living on the perimeter of Chicago's
O'Hare airport is 70 percent higher than the rate for the average Chicagoan, according toCAW.
A University of Illinois School of Public Medicine study estimates that pollution
from O'Hare's seven runways could be affecting the health of five million individuals.
Dioxins from spilled jet fuel, di-ethelyne glycol from de-icing fluids, leaked
engine oil and dissolved jet exhaust particulates commonly flood the tarmac and seep into the ground, streams, and creeks bordering O'Hare.
Fly loop training flights over the towns.
Takeoff and land over the towns.
Discharge aviation fuel into the drinking water and Pegwell bay.
Last night even a jet taking off from Manston over the towns at 2am.
Why the silence from Brian White?
Why the failure to even warn Infratil?
Why no mobile monitors to measure the fuel discharge? Infratil provided 3 mobile monitors they say.
Why the failure to impose the fines and tighter regulation of Manston?
I see no council approval to waive regulation. No approval to allow cancer to increase.
On the contrary all the regulations are to limit public exposure to noise and air pollution.
Did Brian decide himself not to bother? Was it a cosy deal behind closed doors with councillors? Which ones?
It can't be Matt Clarke. He's not there. Is it Infratil policy? They don't pay Brian's wages. Nor the cleanup costs.
Why allowing the cancer cost to increase?
For months and years.
Will Brian be supervising the road pollution areas and the Port and ship pollution?
Here's an extract from the "cancer circle around airports in America:
The American Cancer Society predicts that in the US, one out of every two men
and one out of every three women will eventually be diagnosed with cancer.
In July, the New England Journal of Medicine reported that environmental factors - mainly radiation and chemical pollution - are roughly twice as likely as genetic factors to contribute to cancer cases.
Aviation is responsible for emissions of nitrogen oxide, hydrocarbons, sulfur
dioxide, naphthalene, benzene (a known carcinogen), formaldehyde (a suspected
carcinogen), and dust particles that harm human health and contribute to global warming.
The poison circle from a single runway can extend six miles from its hub and run
20 miles downwind. The cancer rate for people living on the perimeter of Chicago's
O'Hare airport is 70 percent higher than the rate for the average Chicagoan, according toCAW.
A University of Illinois School of Public Medicine study estimates that pollution
from O'Hare's seven runways could be affecting the health of five million individuals.
Dioxins from spilled jet fuel, di-ethelyne glycol from de-icing fluids, leaked
engine oil and dissolved jet exhaust particulates commonly flood the tarmac and seep into the ground, streams, and creeks bordering O'Hare.
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