Rape Nation and BHS scandal and KCC Transport Plan - more EK corruption

Various points from the KCC Local Transport Plan 4 consultation:


1.I agree with most of the recommendations and raise the following points.


2.In particular I support Thames Gateway2050/Ebbsfleet(20k jobs)/Paramount theme park(27k jobs)/Lower Thames Crossing


3.I would highlight though:


a.the need for working links with Paramount and Dreamland (now bust again and further court cases – KCC CPO?) and my EKFOS-East Kent Film office and Studio project


b.Kent Police early involvement on Ebbsfleet/TG50 town planning ie combined police/fire stations etc



4.I would flag up a concern though of a forecast of Kent’s population increasing by 293,000 people? That’s a 25% increase in 15 years – seems high?


5.I disagree with Operation Stack lorry park size and cost: the plan for overnight parking seems relevant for smaller lorry parks/preventing roadside parking etc – again Kent Police early involvement. Stack is only a traffic jam 3 days a year so hardly a huge problem, requiring billions of pounds of cement - nor it is clear why Balfour are already appointed before the consultation has begun


6.Manston Parkway rail station is no longer relevant and can be cancelled and budget saved


7.Misc points: no allowance made for 1960’s tower block demolition/road layouts/housing eg Arlington House


8.Stone Hill Park ie a Discovery Park #2 or Kings Hill #2 is a concern given the Manston aquifer while Discovery Park #1 is still only 2k jobs from the 4k jobs of Pfizer. I would recommend SHP/DP#2 is cancelled and the aquifer site kept as parkland: Manston Green


9.On Discovery Park #1 I am concerned at plans for 500 houses – again random Kent overbuild – but also reducing the potential for STEM/vaccine jobs which was the very basis of government support, not another bog-standard housing estate for $1

Gloag/SHP haven't paid the missing Manston monitors fines/overflight fines yet...


10.I appreciate it’s an overview plan but no mention is made of Climate Change ie new parks, room sizes, garden sizes, factoring in flats above shops/empty houses which aren’t recorded etc


11.The further road developments at Westwood Cross make little sense: it’s an out-of-town centre-built-near-the-town-centres so the problem of trying to design out traffic jams simply doesn’t work except by more and more Spaghetti Junction urban sprawl

For KCC and the Property Developers Group every problem looks like a need to pour cement on the rates


12.Dover and Ramsgate ports need a single plan ie EALP/Burgess rather than competition reducing the potential for both sites ie Ramsgate Ostend foot passenger link again etc. Hoverport site cleaned up


13.The emphasis on road safety and designing out traffic blackspots is a good one: is there a map of road casualties to begin that process more rapidly given the increase in deaths?


14.A specific traffic planning point: Germany last week confirmed that its car manufacturing industry (the largest in EU) will only produce electric cars after 2030 ie a KCC need for planning electric charging points/reuse of petrol station sites/cash-for-clunkers and extra recycling sites etc


15.A separate transport point: no provision has been made as yet for North Sea/Channel flood sensors/Arctic ice melt/tsunami surge as 1953 or 1978 deaths, or SS Richard Montgomery demolition/removal – and air pollution from shipping


16.On the Thanet part of the Transport Plan I would flag up misc points:

a.Old Police Station: still derelict and a schoolchild injured by falling window and glass recently – need for more office space


b.Carpet Warehouse: overbuild in town centre of housing


c.£8M Fire Station: wasteful and fake consultation – need for 2nd swimming pool instead


d.Ramsgate Arches/seafront/pedzone: pedestrian precincts


e.Pleasurama derelict corruption site: CPO – beachfront park


f.Eastcliff Bandstand – Sgt Pepper anniversary on 1st June: refurb Grade 1 listed


g.Slipway #4 KCC application: unclear what that involves - or Slipway 1


h.Pavilion: Wetherspoon mega-boozer and Grade 1 listed site and dodgy TDC process: CPO/cancel


i.Canterbury Pilgrim Trail


j.Pegwell Bay/hovercraft site protection /development


k.Van Gogh museum required: as site point or other refurb site


l.Landings attraction: a Jorvik style attraction ie Caesar, Hengist, Augustine etc


m.100 SE Rd garden grabbing/overbuild/TDC breach of their own plan – CPO/refurb


n.Concern over KCC slipways 4/Brett at Ramsgate Port - and revolving door of former Ashford council CEO



The KCC Transport Plan should also have formal oversight by the East Kent Supercouncil too.

On the £108M KCC overspend suddenly announced this week it seems less of an issue of only 5% savings on a £2BN budget. But, to help, the £20M Parkway and the £8M Fire station would go some way to the required savings.

A 2nd levy beyond the 1.99% referendum is illegal - and reductions in salaries and pensions, as well as job cuts, haven’t yet been fully considered by KCC yet.

I’m also concerned at c.10% of the 10k KCC staff on zero hours contracts - I appreciate the point that many of these are social services/2nd income jobs but KCC should lead in reducing these and setting minimum hours eg 2 days a week etc which leads to quality jobs and care.

Both Wetherspoons and Sports Direct have agreed to phase out their exploitative zero hours contracts.

As well the idiotic KCC shares in tobacco and fossil fuels could be ended as they will undoubtedly decline in value.

Thank you for all your messages about the death of Thailand's King: very sad, a great leader.


Time for Change
@timg33

Misc:

* the Manston fallout goes on with TDC/MP Wells, Mackinlay and Gale all calling for each other to resign. Good. They should go. They have done nothing and they will do nothing for 4 more years. They only had one policy to open Manston - not only have they failed but it was a bit of jiggery-pokery to get elected with no real aim of reopening it. You'll recall it fell to infighting within 6 weeks of being elected. The aquifer - and Infratil/TDC cancer pollution monitors scandal prevents it.

As KCC Leader I will dig up the runway, extradite Infratil's/TDC directors for corporate manslaughter charges, protect the aquifer and increase cancer tumour treatments and cemeteries.

* a bizarre Abigail Raymond new TDC Planning Director rerun of the Edwina Crowley old TDC Planning Director scandal: opening her own property consultancy along with her public sector job. Looks like another rP45 to me - especially with the Pleasurama and Dreamland and 100SE Rd mess and now Brett/Slipways. Should her consultancy be hired to argue against her TDC policies? Daft.

http://tinyurl.com/zrfndwr

* Tim Howes the ineffectual TDC lawyer will no doubt want to remain silent on any TDC corruption and keep picking up the pay cheque

* Dodgy lawyers #1: Philip Green of BHS facing Parliament calls to be stripped of his knighthood for the BHS scandal - also Lord Grabiner/QC/Judge the Chairman of BHS? How can he continue to sit as a Judge? Along with corrupt lawyers/excusers such as Hollingworth and Glick QC and Steve Palmer PBLaw/aka PBI Law?

Even the Speaker of the LOrds has urged "get on with it" for Lords reform which is easy: end Hereditary Lords, Bishops and over 75's (more over 90 than under 40), cap at 500 and review election with 16 years vote and a P45 Committee for Grabiner/Archer/Mountfield etc

* Dodgy lawyers #2: Andrew Conway of Stephens Law: his firm./suppliers pretending to be HMRC Inland Revenue inspectors to gain information(!) - surely a crime with instant jail as with impersonating a police officer?

http://www.lawrencestephens.com/people/andrew-conway/

Repulsive abuse of their law role.

* Dodgy lawyers #3: no news as yet on the Broadstairs lawyer threatening the EK rape victim with jail for speaking up (who is that lawyer?) - the Ched Evans rape case also described as putting Uk justice back 30 years and concerning in Rape Nation with 100k rapes highest ever and only 5% rape detection

* UK literacy - thanks for the info WK: the UK literacy rape is 99%...except 5M (16%)of the population are excluded(!) as functionally illiterate so that's actually 83% Literacy - but the bar set low at a reading age of 8 years(!) by age 16. And we have Medway as bottom of the UK's primary school nation. A Rape Nation and Retard Nation on the rates.

* a good Parl report on Railways - horrified to see though that Southern/Sussex Rail and the trade union dispute over a 2nd guard opening doors etc has taken place - yet there has been no review of disabled access without a guard. It involves putting out a heavy ramp etc - surely it's David Brentian to leave a wheelchair user stuck on the train in an emergency? And a no-brainer for Internet of Things that DofT have no data on ticket machines used/broken/ticket types etc

* Good the 2nd Deepcut inquiry has been agreed for Private Benyon another murder-suicide and coverup

* World Death Penalty Day last week but silence on EK's Joshua French in the Congo - left to rot on Death Row. Perhaps it could happen to you or your family.


Time for Change

@timg33


Misc.

* new sentencing laws on carrying and selling knives

* concerned at the Pavilion asbestos and TDC dodgy deals for selling off sites to bolster their own salaries after repeated failure (see the Richard Styles blogpost below) - the councilors are feeble in losing control of the council to the civil servants to lead them hither and thither


* July Updates: http://sincerityagency.blogspot.co.uk/2016/07/misc-articles-updates-july-2016.html

* Working on a misc issues: Magellan Anniversary - Spain and LatAm, Almeria Universities links and Kent-Thai orchids

* Also Solomon Islands cruise ships

* Benelux strategy: Panasonic and Phillips - DNA bathroom mirror