Freshwater paid for Thanet District Council's 'independent' heritage report written by Tesco's consultancy firm

Not much more you can say about this really other than sheer amazement that anyone would think a report credible or independent enough to be presented to the Planning Committee that involves the developer Freshwater and prospective tenant Tesco. So to convince the Planning Committee to give the green light, TDC agreed to commission a report that was funded by Freshwater and as a suitable consultant they chose a firm who have a long standing relationship with Tesco Stores. More on the Arlington Blog.

TDC's press statement:

30 September 2011 10:34
Arlington Statement

Thanet District Council commissioned the report, so that the professional duty of care was owed to the council for the advice received. The council paid for the report and were reimbursed by the developers. The report will be assessed independently by English Heritage and the council’s planning and conservation teams and this will be reported to the Planning Committee.

Thanet District Council's erm, Independent heritage report on Arlington

This morning in my inbox arrived an email from TDC proclaiming how an independent expert had been written and an oh so independent heritage appraisal report had been published on the impact the proposed Arlington superstore development will have on the Dreamland heritage site.

By the time we'd got to the end of the day, it turns out the report author, Dr Chris Miele, specialises in shoe horning in supermarkets into heritage sites and is a partner in the firm, Montague Evans, who in turn seem to have a lengthy relationship with Tesco as a major client. Not sounding so independent now, eh?

The fact that TDC decided to PR this as an independent report with no conflict of interest issues is remarkable. A good PR day? There is a more detailed blog post and all the relevant documents to download for yourself on the Arlington blog.

We wonder how much money has been paid to this consultancy firm that works for the developer to write this 'unbiased' report?

 

Nothing in the World but Youth exhibition

I woke this morning to various outraged tweets from fellow townsfolk of Margate at the tone and bare faced drivel that was passed off as a blog post by Tara Moore for Kent Life magazine.

Tara was dredging her depths about her recent visit to Margate and the Turner Contemporary. Not enough to moan she didn't like it. She had to moan she didn't like it being refitted for the next upcoming exhibition. Moaning about the cost of the building, she went on to moan about the cafe and shop being open. Make your mind up, love. Moaning about the shops that have opened in Margate. Not good enough for you? I hope she hasn't been paid for this effort. But you know what? Margate doesn't need her. Margate is working hard to move things in a better direction. More about Tara and her wonderful 1994 web design concept http://www.taramoore.com/ Do we really mind that Tara doesn't like us?

Which brings me to the next exhibition to open on the 16th at Turner Contemporary. It promises to be great. If there is one thing that is close to Margate's heart it's youth culture. Out on a limb. Away days of freedom away from it all. More info as always on the Turner website.