I say! It seems Thanet's bloggers are getting all steamed up under the proverbials about the potential damage the proposed 12 squillion square foot China Gateway business park at Manston might do to our lovely environment here on the Ile de Thanet. Not to mention our drinking water supply. As ever, our beloved council have given us three nanoseconds to object to this monstrous carbuncle, which they're justifying under the same, tired old rallying cry: JOBS!Speaking of which, where will all the, er, jobs go once all the jobs have been created? Not straight down into our water table, which lies directly beneath, one hopes!
Click here to read Thanet Strife on China Gateway project
Click here to read biblio-bloke Michael Child on same
17 comments:
The drive into Margate from the A299 always was a pleasent one with the open countryside. Now visitors will be greeted with a vast industrial estate, another reason to drive on to somewhere else. Surely there were plenty of other more suitable sites, redundant power stations etc this also aplies for the new housing at Westwood. Tdc seems to be systematically destroying Thanet singlehanded.
I stopped at the M2 services today they have loads of Kent tourism leaflets could not find a single one for Thanet.
As this quote from their socio-economic review shows they don't think much of the locals and will probably therefore will bring in workers - so where are the jobs?
'The local population has high unemployment and is educated to a low level. Some form of job training will be
required to ensure that an achievable quota of local residents is suitable for employment at the site. Should the
proposed scheme source its staff locally, this will ensure no unnecessary strain is placed on existing infrastructure,
minimize any associated housing affordability increase associated with the proposed scheme and result in
maximum economic benefit to members of the local community. Some level of health and education contribution
may be needed to offset in-migration in any case.'
Why the concern over the lack of skills in the area? Does one need a degree to work in a distribution centre?
Part of all this is an inheritance from the old Tory-controlled councils way back who discouraged inward investment as the lack of alternative employment kept the wages low. The emphasis was always on the tourist industry as the so- called 'gold standard' despite the tourist industry having vanished years before. When I moved here in the 70s a number of firms tried to locate(this was after the move from London for firms who were encouraged to re-locate by the then government)but were told they wouldn't be welcome.
Good job too! Don't we have enough DFLs as it is?
I can't help thinking that Thanet would lose a lot of it's character if the curly haired, misshapen heads disappeared altogether.
I know this is way off topic but heard the nickname for Westwood Cross shopping park the other day. Apologies if you've heard this before - it's known as Brownwater!
Made me laugh anyway!
Regards.
Nick, Whits
With all the developments they're plonking on top of our water table that could be appropriate in more ways than one, Nick.
And speaking as a DFL myself, oh porcine one, I think I've brought a great deal of style and sophistication to these salty shores!
No worries Richard I have just been studying the plans and we are dealing the highly competent architects that designed the Pleasurama development, who always follow the environment agency’s strong recommendations.
anon 1:21am - one has to want to work first, educated or not.
surely we are all missing a trick here.
concerned about countryside being concreted over? Looking for hundreds of acres of disused, brown-field land to build on?
What about the airport?
ROFL
ECR
I think TDC may have been keeping quiet for years about existing chemical pollution of the water table in the Poorhole Lane area.
Close to the Sericol or former Sericol site.
Plus if you google up Thor Chemicals and water pollution you should get a few results .....
If you look at an area of say one mile around these Westwood sites then ask if there has been a disproportionate number of aneurism deaths in young people.
Or a disproportionate number of senility or Parkinsons type illness in the middle aged.
On the subject of Thanet's poor reputation as a source of employees. I know of electrical contracting firms who say no local labour from Thanet and this goes back to when Richborough was built.
I also know of contractors who will not employ from Thanet at all (unless like me ex Kent minefield).
I was on one site in Wales and the company let us use their canteen. One man on the gang would throw his plate in the dustbin rather than take the trouble to walk back to canteen with it.
This lazy bastard was from Ramsgate. And the foreman soon said I thought we did not employ from that area is he ex NCB ? No then f-ck him off.
But who is to blame for the reputation ?
Does one need a degree to work in a warehouse ?
The bouncers on Neros door in the early 80s were 25% graduate. 25% HNC level 5 (degree level).
And the taxi rank could go one better with one PhD ex Research Chemist.
Interestingly the qualified men were not from Thanet.
They'll be eager enough to employ locals when they open the Steel Processing plant.
That's just what I'm talking about!
Style and sophistication!
Does Thanet really need it?
I remember simpler times when you could hire a deckchair on the beach and the most sophistication you'd have to suffer, while you were trying to 'get away from it all', would be a grunt of gratitude as you handed over your shilling.
We don't need another Canterbury, as there's one quite handily situated just up the road. Couldn't people pop to Broadstairs for that kind of thing?
Damned if they do and damned if they don't would seem to apply to the TDC, whoever is in a majority at the time. I left school at a time in Thanet, many years ago, where virtually all my class mates had to move away from the area to get jobs. What, if anything, has changed but suggest bringing some employment to the area and the 'slag off the council on any excuse brigade' leap into action. Unreal!!
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