Please write to the OFT before Monday 8th to save The Thanet Gazette

The Thanet Gazette and Thanet Times are under threat by a bid from the KM Group to purchase them. It's outlined in detail by Tony Flaig:

http://bignewsmargate.blogspot.com/2011/08/say-goodbye-to-gazette-or-you-have.html

You will need to write to Mr Raúl Nieto at the OFT: raul.nieto@oft.gsi.gov.uk

As a Thanet resident, small business owner are you concerned that the purchase of the Isle of Thanet Gazette and the Thanet Times by the KM group will have a detrimental effect on the quality of journalism in the area and lead to loss of jobs?

If yes, you need to muster 2 minutes to write to Raul.

Reasons could be:

- If the bid goes ahead, all printed news will be under the control of one company.
- There will be no commercial competition.
- There will be no competitive reporting and resulting in less variety of opinions voiced.
- Local democracy will suffer as there will be fewer journalists and resources to scrutinise local government and public bodies.
- The amalgamation into one company will lead to the loss of jobs in an area where unemployment levels are exceptionally high.

In the press: After 35 years away: Roger Boyes on a changed Britain

A rather miserable article on Margate. But he has a point? What is the hope the seafront will improve along from Arlington if the planned amount of traffic that will come with the Freshwater Superstore? You don't get a better seafront from more traffic. People don't enjoy walking or sitting near traffic. Period.

Best of Britain

After 35 years away: Roger Boyes on a changed Britain

Roger Boyes
Last updated August 4 2011 12:01AM
Dreamland, that’s what Britain has become for me after 35 years across the water. A country left behind, whose slumbering rhythms are still dimly familiar, like Aboriginal songlines.
Brief return visits to the Mother Country were shock awakenings — the heaving, hustling crowds in London; the sheepish acceptance of slipshod service. And, everywhere, the New Bossiness, the fines and warnings and video cameras. Safely back at my various bases across the Channel, foreigners, even enlightened ones, would lather me with unctuous admiration for British fair play and British irony and Scottish golf courses and PM’s Questions and Jeremy Paxman. All I wanted to do was shout, treacherously, “No, no, no!” Fair play was now Dutch, e-government Estonian, and Newsnight viewing figures corresponded to the population of a Welsh mining village.
But I let it be. What did I know, after all? When I left Britain, Morecambe and Wise were still big. So were Wimpy Bars and Kenny Dalglish. Now, having returned from exile, I needed to reset my compass with a Great Britain Test. What has changed? What have we discarded? Is it better, ruder, more forgiving, more European?
It started badly, this trip. In Margate, a wheeling seagull raided my fish and chips and, in a frightening statement about the eating habits of a nation, ignored the cod and ate the batter.
We kicked off there because it was the last place in Britain that I had vomited — on the rollercoaster, one of the ruins of the defunct funfair that was called, yes, Dreamland. I can still remember the choral nagging of my parents, the stench in the car. Margate had been a treat just for me. Ramsgate was more sophisticated; the hovercraft for Europe taxied out of Pegwell Bay when the sea wasn’t too choppy. Ted Heath, still our most European of prime ministers, went sailing in nearby Broadstairs. But Margate was cheerfully downmarket and even then had an enveloping sense of decline.
“It was a wonderful place to be as a child,” says Sandra Cooke, 41, whose parents came to work at Dreamland in the 1970s. “There was the lido with its two pools, Tony Savage put on a show there — that’s gone now. Then there was the rollercoaster, the big wheel.”
The lido is desolate, whipped by the wind. There is a plan to make a few of the rides — still charred from a fire — into a heritage amusement park and maybe it will happen. In the meantime, a chunk of the seafront has to make way for a Tesco superstore.
This was, I was to discover as I tramped around the country, one of the great pitched battles of modern England. A dozen towns seem to be engaged in debates about the commercial use of urban space and the steady demolition of traditional corners.
“Yeah, that’s what Margate needs,” says Glenn Hall, 50, sitting on the doorstep of his boarding house. “Come to Margate and see Tesco’s.” Clutching a mug of tea, Mr Hall looks as if he has just got out of bed — but that can’t be right, it has turned 11am — the very model of the seaside drifter. Yet it turns out that he is writing an oral history of the York and Lancaster Regiment’s experiences in the First World War and upstairs in his room he paints pictures of the Somme. When it’s sunny he goes for a swim. Later he chases us down to the front — that’s Margate, not Ypres — and shouts out: “See that shelter, that’s where T. S. Eliot wrote The Waste Land.” And indeed, T. S. Eliot did write about the place: “On Margate Sands./ I can connect/ Nothing with nothing.”
No wonder that Margate doesn’t use T. S. Eliot in its marketing campaigns. For years, the place has had only one ploy and it has nothing to do with poetry: get people on the trains, get them off, put them on the beach, hope they spend money before they head back. “It’s the jewel in our crown,” says the woman who runs a souvenir shop that will have to shift for Tesco. “The station is so close to the sand, you can travel in your swimming costume.” It was ever thus. But not enough to divert holidaymakers from the Costa del Sol.
What has changed, though, is that British towns are learning to brand themselves and compete mano a mano. Margate now has a fast train connection from St Pancras and a magnificent new gallery, Turner Contemporary. Margaters have been flooding in. “We are running workshops to bring them in,” says Chloe Barker, of the spectacular gallery that looks out at sea and sky.
But the real hope is to make Margate a logical outing for culturally aware, deep-pocketed Londoners, to make the place posher than it has ever been, a gentrification of the British seaside.
Somehow I don’t have great faith in this new formula that is being tried out not only in Margate but in Liverpool, Wakefield and across the country: high-speed train plus cultural attraction equals regeneration and improved property prices.
On first coming back to Britain, I took the Heathrow Express — 15 minutes for £18 — and was astonished by what seemed to be a metaphor for the acceleration of Britain. Then came the letdown: a 40-minute queue for a taxi at Paddington as someone occupying the newly invented job of taxi marshal chaotically allocated the cabs. The Underground lines were undergoing engineering works, a phrase familiar to me from the 1970s. The cab drive across a clogged city cost more than the air fare.
That has often been the way of recent British modernisation. Every five years there is talk of a white-hot technological revolution, and then the country shoots itself in the foot. New, for me, is the British urge to catch up with Europe, and outperform, overtake it even. Yet on my whistlestop tour I found a different concern that has little to do with Pharaonic projects such as the Olympic Games and more to do with the shaping of communities, the return of local pride. That will be a theme of the next leg of my journey.
A predictable drizzle settled on Margate, awnings teased by the wind, and I felt almost guilty about abandoning it. A man got out of his car and threw away a ball of silver foil that had once wrapped his sandwiches. He had been watching the sea with his wife from the security of his sensible vehicle, sipping tea, opening the window occasionally to gulp some air. Now, apparently, it was time for them to head home.

Clive Hart's MOTION INTRODUCTION ON NIGHT FLIGHTS - OUTRAGE!

Fro Clive Hart. Leader of Thanet Labour Group

NIGHT TIME FLYING

Thanet District Council meeting - Thursday 14th July 2011.

(MOTION - INTRODUCTION - LEGAL ADVICE - OUTRAGE)

1) THE MOTION:

The following written motion to council was submitted by Cllr Clive Hart and seconded by Cllr Alan Poole (Thanet Labour Leader & Deputy Leader at TDC).

'The Council adopts a policy of not allowing scheduled, pre-planned or otherwise timetabled flights between the hours of 23:00 and 07:00.  That a period of 1 hour at either end of the flying day be allowed for late/early arriving flights only.  That a penalty be applied to any flights arriving during the 1 hour periods.  No take-offs will be allowed between 23:00 and 07:00 hours and a schedule of exceptions to the above be prepared to include ‘mercy flights’, and flights for medical emergencies, coastguard movements etc'.

2) THE INTRODUCTION:

Introducing the motion at Thursday evenings meeting, Labour Leader of the Opposition Cllr Clive Hart said,

"Firstly, and I want to make this absolutely clear, we are not against the airport. We in the Labour Group most sincerely want to see a thriving airport creating good jobs for the people of Thanet.

However, we hear constantly of Thanet being termed as a ‘dumping ground’ in relation to social and economic issues and sadly, statistics show overwhelmingly that poor health standards here in Thanet are far worse than the average for the South East and even the whole country.

On a personal note, I have witnessed at first hand the effect that sleep deprivation can have on an individual. One of our wonderful grandsons has decided that for him, daytime starts anywhere between 3am and 5am and the cumulative effect of this over several months has had a devastating effect on his equally wonderful mother’s health and wellbeing.

Hopefully, that situation is a temporary one. The prospects for many Thanet residents if we are not clear as to what is and what is not reasonable could be permanent misery.

At this evening’s meeting we have heard what happens when there is a lack of ongoing monitoring in relation to grants and again in relation to a lease negotiated in good faith many years ago by this council.

The current section 106 agreement was put in place over a decade ago and has served Thanet very well indeed, but sadly the last two Conservative administrations at TDC have failed to review the agreement every three years as was originally planned, and it is clear from recent reports sponsored by the airport that they now see the 106 as an outdated agreement and will soon be pressing to extend their operations at night.

Chairman, America and Europe are currently experiencing very tough times due to the actions of a few bankers who saw loopholes in regulations and exploited them at all our cost.

We in Thanet suffer disproportionately from almost every social and economic ill. We do not need to add poorly regulated night time flying across our island as a further environmental problem.

The Labour Group therefore believes the council needs to give a clear steer as to what is and what is not environmentally acceptable here in Thanet. We support the airport but not at any environmental cost to the people of Thanet.

Chairman, I move the motion printed at item 8a in the agenda and option 2.2 to debate the motion".

3) THE LEAGAL ADVICE:

However, the TDC Legal Monitoring Officer advised the Chairman that the motion could not be allowed for complex legal reasons and pointed to a letter of advice from Bevan Brittan LLP (dated 14th July - the very day of the meeting) that had been left on councillors seats just minutes before the start of the meeting.

4) THE OUTRAGE

An intense debate on the extremely late legal advice followed in which Labour councillors explained that the motion had been handed in person by Cllr Hart to the Legal Monitoring Officer more than five weeks before the meeting on the 7th June and that the Monitoring Officer had read it and accepted it as a valid motion. A month later the motion had also been accepted onto and clearly printed in the council agenda as item 8a.

During the debate it also became clear that on the evening before Thursday's council meeting (13th July) Cllr Bayford, the Conservative Council Leader, had raised objections to the motion and that as a direct consequence further legal advice had been requested on the very day of the council meeting.

After the meeting Cllr Clive Hart said "TDC had my written motion to council for more than five weeks and the only thing I was aware of during the whole of that period was that it had been accepted onto and printed in the council agenda. The motion was submitted to support the councils own TDC Airport Working Party recommendations that had been 'left off' of the agenda of an Overview & Scrutiny Committee meeting in error and the actual wording of the motion simply confirmed the basis of the existing 106 agreement that the Conservative administration had failed to review for the past eight years".

Note:

The night flying motion to council was also directly in line with the 2011 Thanet Labour Manifesto that proved so successful with the public that it helped Thanet Labour to increase its number to twenty six councillors at TDC, just one short of the Conservatives.

With three Independent councillors, May's elections left TDC with no party in overall control.

Published by Thanet Labour Group Press Office, 44 Northdown Road, Margate, Kent, CT9 2RW.

When is a 5 floor HMO not an HMO but a 'fantastic family dwelling'?

Forgive me for laughing. But seriously.

How many kitchens and bathrooms does one single family dwelling need?

The answer according to the owner, Dr Ali, of the Grade II Listed Georgian townhouse at 45 Hawley Square is 5. A planning application has been submitted for change of use from a Private Members Club to a single dwelling.

The applicant states in their Design Access Statement:

"The current owner of the property...is looking to restore the building to its original purpose. Internally the existing layout requires little alteration to create a fantastic family dwelling."

I'm sure good Margate folk know a HMO (house in multiple occupation) when they see one. We've had enough of them to get rid of for the last firty years. If it looks like an HMO it probably is an HMO. Unless the prospective residents of this house will be so into cooking and bathing that they must have a kitchen and bathroom on very single floor, just in case they need to cook another snack or have a shower.

 

Photo: © Mr Peter Keeble English Heritage, 2006

The proposal to install this number of kitchens in terms of building regulations will require a degree of fire separation that would require an unacceptable level of modification to a Listed building. It's probable that the owner imagines, that since the Coalition Government scrapped Labour's requirement for HMOs to secure planning permission to convert from a single dwelling, that this would be an easy ride. But you see, ownership of a Listed building comes with red tape and responsabilities. As an owner you often can't make modifications as you choose. This is why Listed buildings really don't make great rental property investments for the bottom end of the market. This of course is dependent on Thanet District Council enforcing the regulations.

 

 

If Mr Ali intends to create self contained flats he should apply to do so, which would require extensive fire and sound separation. Perhaps this will not be cost effective compared to the rent he will achieve out of small units on a busy Margate high street. There appears to be no extra refuse storage for 5 units. Conversion works to a listed building are not cheap.

You can view and comment on the application: http://www.ukplanning.com/thanet

Search for applications: L/TH/11/0472, F/TH/11/0417

The Design Access Statement in full

List Entry for 45 Hawley Square

 

Free! Introduction to digital filmmaking' Workshop & Network Event

http://www.beepingbush.co.uk/calendar/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=52

Your chance to get into film making - and it's free! Beeping Bush in Margate's Old Town will host a one-day "Introduction to digital filmmaking" workshop and networking drop-in event for all who are interested in how to produce a micro-budget short film or documentary. Through practical "hands on" professional camera, lighting, sound and editing demonstrations; and screening Q&A discussions of previously made local films, participants will learn how to make best use of their own and hired equipment. 

Bring along your previously made films (on DVD) for group screening and feedback!

Emma, a previous participant says "It was great fun day, a met a lot of new local filmmakers and I learnt a lot about how to make the most of my budget!"   

Another participant Sophia adds "As a student studying Media communication and specialising in film this event was invaluable. I learnt so much in just a short space of time and can only imagine if you guys could have given more of your time. It was a great hands on experience in a beautiful setting."   

The event is free but prior booking is advised. The workshop takes place on Saturday 23rd of July from 10.30-4.30pm.

Contact to reserve a place:

Email:

info@beepingbush.co.uk
Phone: 01843 223800 

Arlington House protests on BBC news page

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-14121501

 

Hold the front page! Arlington House residents are planning direct action to halt the planned development at Arlington House and Square. The application is being covered on the dedicated Arlington House blog. So pop over there for a read what's going on.

http://arlingtonhousemargate.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

Clive Hart's RESPONSE TO PROCESS FOR EKO EUROKENT PUBLIC 'CONSULTATION'

In follow up to last week's post on EKO:

Note: The Eurokent site is land between Westwood Cross & the Newington estate on either side of the new main road.

From Cllr Clive Hart - Labour Leader of the Opposition at TDC.

"In recent years we in the Labour Group at Thanet District Council have had reason to voice concern about just who exactly is deciding the direction of the district council. Our feelings, clearly outlined in our 2011 manifesto, are that all too often officers appear to be deciding the direction of TDC rather than councillors who have been democratically elected by local residents.

The East Kent Opportunities Eurokent proposals are yet another point in question. Land clearly designated for employment use by councillors through robust council procedures is simultaneously being promoted by EKO (a joint TDC and KCC venture) for substantial housing development.

We Labour councillors cannot understand how council officers were ever directed to make proposals which go so blatantly against TDC's own established policies. At last weeks public 'consultations' EKO officers promoted plans that go totally against TDC Planning Policy and did so whilst at the same time clearly stating that EKO was 'answerable to councillors'.

None of our 26 member strong Labour Group of councillors have endorsed the EKO housing proposals and I cannot imagine that any of the 3 members of the Independent Group have been involved either. At best, some of the 27 members of the Conservative administration may have had some kind of involvement but in any event they are now clearly a minority of members at TDC.

In short, at a time of austerity and cut-backs, council officers have been allowed to carry out a substantial and extremely costly amount of work on a project that may well not meet the requirements of the full council. Possibly worse still, proper employment opportunities for the site may well have been missed whilst officers have been clearly misdirected in their efforts".

Cllr Clive Hart - 01843 298770 or 07980 652 896.

Published by Thanet Labour Group Press Office, 44 Northdown Road, Margate, Kent, CT9 2RW.