Yes, well, er, I have to admit to having felt rather, um, jaded yesterday. But I'm as fresh as the proverbial today, and have been pondering our beloved council's response to the Environment Agency's concerns over the Pleasurama development down on Ramsgate's front.This week's edition of the excellent yourfannitinit newspaper (available free in the corner of all your favourite local stores, usually behind the twelve boxes of Haribo etc.) carries a front page splash detailing the EA's recommendation that a full flood risk assessment of the site should be carried out, as their updated flood maps now show part of it lying in a high-probability flood zone. When the Uranians granted planning permission for the luxury apartments, hotel and retail outlets in 2003, the EA had no such concerns. But as we all know, the tide has been rising inexorably in the five years since then.
Thanet Council's blockheaded response to this was, according to the paper, to reiterate that all residential units will be on the first floor or above, so 'There is no need whatsoever to re-visit the planning application.' Or install lifeboats, for that matter. And presumably, if things do start to get a wee bit damp down there, they can always send their Head of Planning to sit on a deckchair and command the sea to go back!
Click here to read full story in yourfannitinit
6 comments:
how if anyone buys one of these apartments are they going to get Insurance??? If I was a insurance broker I wouldn't touch them with a huge bargepole if the report that you state is the full story
Well I don't know a lot about house building, but I do know a fair bit about what the sea can do.
If some dweeb from TDC thinks for one moment that a house can stand up to more that a very very small wave then I think they need go talk to someone, but as I've said elsewhere, it's their and the owners neck on the line come the big storm and the legal aftermath.
You only need to see the damage done in last summer's floods when, thankfully, only one life was lost, to see the damage water in cascades can do. Many of the homes are still uninhabitable and that wasn't storm-driven rain, just rather too much of it.
I think the worry is that sea levels have now risen to such an extent that waves would almost certainly 'overtop' in a big storm i.e breach the beach and the limited sea defences that are there. It was certainly pretty wet down there during the storm surge last December and that was only a relatively minor event.
Seems like we've got problems with fire in the north of the island, water in the south, air(port) in the west... oh and we had an earthquake last year! Full house!
Oh dear
TDC have not yet sold the land/sea Pleasurama site off. How anyone can potentially describe being marooned drowned as being pleasurable due to inadequate and supine planning decisions is ludicrous...makes you wonder?
The potential for coastal erosion is high so the whole lot may not be insurable.
TDC has a vestige interest in being rid of this site so they will do their damnedest to flog it off.
Surely this leaves the taxpayer at risk if TDC flogs it off.
Anyone know of any cheaper deal to an off world planet or off shore environment that is a nice safe haven without 20% taxes?
The implication seems to be as long as the flatowners are high and dry they couldn't care less what happens to the shop-owners on the ground floor.
Poor show chaps
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