Ramsgate's Royal Harbour and Port are, of course, the jewel in the Ile de Thanet's, if not the entire country's, crown. So naturally I ramped my Oticon Delta up to 11 when I overheard a couple of matelots discussing the future of these fine facilities on my morning saunter along the harbour wall, dressed inconspicuously in my customary attire of captain's cap and brass-buttoned navy blue blazer. Here's how it went:Matelot A: So the council want to hive off the port eh?
Matelot B: Yeah, they need to raise £10m for this new quay the wind farm people want.
Matelot A: But wouldn't that mean there'd be no room for another ro-ro operator?
Matelot B: Yeah but the rumour is TransEuropa are up for sale anyway, so who knows how much longer they'll be here? And Sheerness have made a play for the wind farm people, who are pissed off about the state of the dredging, so what would that leave us with?
Matelot A: Fancy nipping into the pub for a drink?
Matelot B: No thanks, I'm driving.
Crikey! Now of course this may have all been briny tittle-tattle, but you have to admit that our beloved council's track record of running its assets into the ground speaks for itself. So borrowing ten million sovs to build an asset that might never be used in the first place seems to be bordering on the reckless.
Still, if the silt isn't dredged out of the harbour soon, the last thing they'll be accused of is being wreckless!
6 comments:
I am beginning to wonder what we get from the port apart from the western undercliff being turned into a lorry drivers toilet. Frankly with the old Sally Line or the hoverport you could take a day trip to or from Ramsgate and it brought prosperity to the town. Now the yacht marina is pretty much full and certainly does bring prosperity to the town I’m just not so sure that an industrial operation would be better than expanding the marina. Perhaps a port at Richborough and more leisure at Ramsgate.
Events have proved that the local fishing boat owners were right to stage a protest about the depth of water in the Harbour. Has Councillor Latchford admitted his arrogant remarks were wrong, and proof that he knows very little about the department he is supposed to be head of? Don't hold your breath for him to do so!
Time for public spirited Ramsgate Citizens to form a chain gang and with buckets and spades, empty their harbour of sand.
Anon. 4:31 You would get more of a result than this council ever did.
Apparently the wind farm people will also require a 30,000 sq. ft. shed to be built on port land. Another attractive addition to the Ramsgate landscape!
Wouldn't that just about fit on the Dreamland site?
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