Reader Wendy has emailed me with the response she received from Our Glorious Leader to her strongly worded complaint about the granting of planning permission for China Gateway:
Cear wendy,
I notice that u only moan about con cllr but no labour
Yet many voted for the china gateway 9llr mark nottingham was rhe most
critical of those that lived in acol
I would be happy to meet with u and doiscuss all the issues
Those that ihave met have gone away with a more open mind
Both MPs r in spprt and steve ladyman has also come out in sppt of phase
2 and 3
Please contact annette on 577108 should u wish to meet in my office
Sandy
This article has NOT been approved by the Politburo. Any suggestion that the Chairman cannot spell or is incapable of rational thought should be immediately expunged from the minds of all good citizens. For the avoidance of any doubt we can inform you that this email was typed one-handed on the chairman's Blackberry whilst he was attempting to carry out a particularly difficult manoeuvre in his ZiL at the Mill Lane multi-storey car park.
Update: Politburo member Comrade Gregory adds: Richard, I am sure you do not know that Sandy EZ has a problem with spelling, its a mild version of dyslexia. I would hope that you are not taking the Piss out of someone who has put the disadvantages of a disability behind them.? Ken
25 comments:
If 'Our Leader' has a problem with dyslexia, then he should get his Secretary to type out e-mails for him. Qite simpul rarely. Is this the reason why CGP drafts letters for TDC?
I have become used to Cllr. Ezekiel's interesting summaries of the actuality since becoming a councillor. I am not critical of the residents of Acol. I am critical of any body who takes the view that it is fine for development to happen elsewhere so long as it is not in my back yard (NIMBY).
Like everywhere in Thanet some people in Acol are like this, many not. I engaged with many people from both sides of the argument, and wrote to many opponents of China Gateway prior to the meeting advising them that a NIMBY approach was not the best way to advance their cause in my view.
In my view the representations prior to the meeting from both sides were poor.
I know Cllr Ezekiel can take a very personal approach to politics, I prefer to debate facts.
I would also note with regret that after about 20 councillors had spoken I asked for a recorded vote so we could be more open and accountable to our constituents.
In my view Thanet Council needs to change it's culture and regrettably the confusing nature of the Council meeting did not help the Council engage with local people.
On a separate matter I along with my Labour colleagues are campaigning for all councillors to be police checked for relevant criminal records as many council officers are already. The Labour Group believe this would help the local community have more confidence in their councillors.
The Conservative group oppose this desire to be more accountable - I would be interested to know what you and your readers think on this?
Best regards
Cllr. Mark Nottingham
Mark, I would take issue with your statement that representations form both sides were poor.I can't speak for the pro-group but:
You should have received a fully detailed councillor's briefing from Save Thanet's Water Supply followed by a second one recently.
Both documents set out quite clearly the issues relating to the development and were totally factual. The group had done an enormous amount of research into all aspects of the whole project including correspondence with the Environment Agency, Southern Water and other bodies.
In addition, you would have received a number of letters and e-mails setting out the arguments agianst this development, all again researched but realistic in the assertion that, 'Yes, we know it's a designated site but here are our concerns.' If you did not receive these then there is a problem with TDC's mail distribution system/e-mail portal.
I do take issue with the comment you made about Acol in light of the traffic concerns. Yes, I know Northwood, your ward, has to put up with traffic every day but the people who live there live in a town but those who chose to live in Acol chose a village, not an HGV short cut.
In addition, you didn't need to wait for the developer to allow a tour of the site as most is accessible from a public footpath or from Columbus Avenue. The plans in the planning application would have served as an adequate guide without the need to go on private land.
Still think it will end up empty sheds and empty promises. We need more political opposition in Thanet to prevent our current lot doing what they like. At the last local elections I have to say there wasn't alot of choice.
Mr Nottingham, epitomises the ignorance of TDC Councillors sitting in a 'Planning Meeting'. What training had you received concerning Planning Matters, Cllr? Are you aware of the duty of care your Council now has in respect of prevention of contamination of the aquifer, as Southern Water so clearly put it, in perpetuity? What is your opinion of EKO (TDC & Partner TDC) holding land on Manston Business Park to screw the developer for £2.25 million but not enabling the X -types to be moved from SPZ 1 and near to Acol as your own Planning Officer, Doug Brown, had requested of the developer. For goodness sake, man, you are a member of the LPA when you sit in Planning mode and can make sensible decisions if you care to give the matter some thought!
Dear Cllr. Mark Nottingham
I respect you and I shall continue to support you.
However, I do believe that you are the councillor who was at the China Gateway Council meeting wearing JEANS.
This is a very important issue to those of us that have standards.
Although I agree with you on many things, I wish that you would not wear jeans at a public council meeting.
You need to set an example. I wear jeans myself for time to time, but there is a time and a place.
And a full public council meeting is not the place.
NO NO NO EXCUSE to come to a full council meeting wearing jeans,it is an insult to those of us that voted for you.
Many being proud working men like myself
You are a nice bloke and you talk a lot of sense and I give you my support, but please GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER and look like my councillor rather than my dustman.
I support you as my councillor, but just I needed to get that off of my chest.
as a dustmen I bitterly resent the slur on how we might dress.
I usually use a vintage Tommy Nutter suit (Saville Row), or if this is in for cleaning I generally swap for an Oswald Boeteng with a rather dashing red silk lining.
Like my colleagues, I abhor the stereo typing that goes on with all in the refuse collection industry.
Now we know why Sandy was so keen on the project. He thought he was voting for a Chinese takeaway, not a China Gateway!
12.42 very good - even that late at night! He'll vote for anything if it has perceived advantages - never mind the local residents, as Ken Gregory says what is "quality of life, no-one minds late or weekend working, there's no quality of life in Thanet anymore"
Hasn't TDC got spell check installed on their computers perhaps "our Sandy" needs to get some IT help from specialists on his or the opposition side - Moores or Green take his pick?
Regarding criminal records and Cllr Nottingham's questions, i would have thought that for their own security every councillor would have had to have the CRB check, especially if going into schools, visiting volunteer young people's organisations etc the rest of us do even to sell sweets at club break times - what makes them think they aren't immune? Or do they have certain amongst them who wouldnt get the all clear?
Surprised the C E hasnt insisted that for Health and Safety reasons it needs to happen, i bet the officers who have any contact with children etc have to have been checked and i bet they insist any volunteers who do work with TDC are checked - dual rules here?
I really thought the text in the original posting must be a joke. As for TAKING the piss? He's GIVING IT AWAY!!!
I think that many of our councillors have a mild version of something, a condition called lack of cognitive brain function. This especially applies to members of the Planning Committee.
Unfortunately for you, No we are blessed with a brain each, They do not agree with yours, Thats called a free society!
A free society other than on your blog, Ken, where you delete most things that are not in line with your political take on life.
Interesting that Sandy wasn't in at the debate as he and Roger were excluded but he seems to have managed to hear part of it if he accuses mark Nottingham of being nasty about Acol residents.
Actually Cllr. Nottingham wasn't but didn't see why Acol residents should escape traffic fumes when his ward had to put up with them. Rather different matter from being nasty. Cllr. Nottingham did miss the point slightly as the villagers of Acol opted to live in a peaceful backwater for a rural life.
Anon. 2:09 Yes. I've posted on Ken's blog but my posts rarely appear. They're never political or racist or rude but I merely point out gaping holes in his arguments but, free society or not, he usually deletes them even before they appear.
Perhaps because I can spell,use coherent arguments, syntax and write more than a single sentence but then I'm not after publicity or a position in a political hierarchy.
The Chairman does not have a Blackberry
I feel I should say that although a lot of what I comment on Ken’s blog isn’t in agreement with what he says and he has never deleted a comment of mine.
I am assuming the leaders response was a text message, I to had first considered it to be a spoof, but I suppose as a 50 something texting I have to concede that I don’t do that well with a screen I can hardly see and buttons that are to small for my fingers. I would suggest that he does what I did and buys himself a nice big phone that unfolds to reveal a qwerty keyboard and a screen he can see.
However the real problem for me is not their syntax or spelling but that neither of them can answer the fundamental question about China Gateway, which is where do the thousands of gallons of surface water runoff go to?
No, it was an e-mail and I've seen the original.
I note that the democatic twins are attending Junket in Pegwell regarding the gateway and only the local Business's may attend.
How can two Cllr's from North Fannitt who are not part of the planning process extol the virtues of this hair brained scheme speak with any conviction other than to support it, as they took a trip to China at the expense of CGP...apparently?
I wonder how our Sandy can speak and quote from the council meeting as he did not attend - and no notes where taken. There was also a failure to record same, unless TDC is telling porkies again.
Perhaps TDC could indicate if the press release had to go through CGP as an agenda item 12?
So should it have been Chinese Getaway?
In the course of writing to councillors in many cases one just doesn’t get a reply, however among those who do are Sandy Ezekiel and Ken Gregory, now I often disagree with them but they do at least respond.
Now with Sandy I have emails going back for years in my files, minor errors yes, but email is like that, I suppose it shows that I wasn’t delegated to a PA which makes me wonder about the one in this post.
At the risk of spamming Richard’s blog below an example, being email you have to read the bottom one first.
Dear Michael
Thank you for your kind words
I to have no axe to grind with anyone who has a different position to mine.
As you were kind enough to invite me for a cuppa we could arrange this when I come back from leave in September.
As for a Mayor no I don't agree that it would benefit Thanet. Power in the wrong hands for up to Four years could spell a disaster.
You are well aware that this administration priorities are around Jobs and regeneration of our area and I look forward to your thoughts on this
regards
sandy
MichaelChild@aol.com 08/07/08 5:48 pm >>>
Sandy the site is huge and they are only working on a small part of it, go
and have a look, I am afraid they are fobbing you off.
You are the leader we elect the councillors who elect you to, they find out
what the electorate wants they tell you, who then tells the council officers
what to do, with respect don’t ask them tell them and if the won’t, chose a
different chief executive who will do what you say.
As for the other business going on at the moment a couple of points you may
not know, some of the people involved in CGP were involved in a scam that did
immense damage to Ramsgate, Steve Ladyman was heavily involved with these
people when he was a councillor at that time and frankly they walked all over
him, the architects who are proposing that we dig the toilet by the well are
the same ones who produced the Pleasurama plans with peoples heads embedded in
the concrete ceilings.
Now frankly the donation to the Labour group and the dubious way the China
trip was funded effectively silences any opposition to this project, from
outside it stinks.
Now they are talking about insurance issues for car parking you could think
about the corporate manslaughter laws, in the plans there are no ponds full
of wildlife that the lorry parks drains run into, if there is an accident the
fish in the ponds die so we don’t pour the accident into the reservoir, with
these plans the drains go straight into the aquifer, so if a lorry driver
flushes out a tanker of poison people will die.
Since you have forced a lot of people into the position where they are going
for an elected mayor I would be interested to know your opinion on the
subject, confidential or otherwise, at the moment ordinary people’s perception of
the cabinet is very bad and I wonder if you have any thoughts on that one.
Incidentally do always feel free to drop in for a chat, I hold no personal
animosity towards you and sympathise considerably with your position.
Best regards Michael.
In a message dated 07/08/2008 13:14:14 GMT Standard Time,
leader@thanet.gov.uk writes:
Dear Michael
I have asked if it is possible to use the land as car park
the answer is no I am afraid as they are still working on site and
there are insurance issues
Sorry but did try when
Sandy
MichaelChild@aol.com 07/25/08 11:53 am >>>
Hi Sandy this is by way of a begging letter from a shopkeeper trying to
survive these interesting times, I have tried writing to Roger
Latchford, David
Green and Richard Samuel about this issue but none of them has thought
fit to
reply.
So I am trying you, as head honcho in the hope you can do something so
here’
s the problem, the Pleasurama developer has admitted that no work will
begin
on the site until after the summer holidays so at the moment this huge
prime
site much of it hard standing or gravelled for the previous fair is
deserted.
Now yesterday the sands were fairly busy but it was impossible to park
anywhere near it, so at the very least could you arrange for temporary
use as a
car park.
Of course with some real imagination free space could be offered for
free to
the best competing leisure rides and the publicity from doing so would
probably reach the national media pdq.
I remind you that the developer is a wealthy man, who would benefit
from
some good publicity in the town and could probably be persuaded to pay
for the
removal of all the dreadful temporary fencing and levelling of the
rest of the
site, so we had a proper job this year.
The trouble is that this needs doing in days not weeks, so it needs a
courageous man of your stature to make it happen, so please do us all
a favour,
boxing gloves if that’s what it takes, I get the feeling if you put
your mind to
something you don’t take no for an answer.
Best regards Michael
Websites
_http://www.thanetonline.blogspot.com/_
(http://www.thanetonline.blogspot.com/)
_http://www.thanetonline.com/_ (http://www.thanetonline.com/)
_http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/_ (http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/)
Contamination of the aquifer my arse. Must be the same people who suddenly care about certain types of Newt when a Bypass is on the cards. Will these same people stop driving their cars? They contaminate my environment.
9.49 You seem to be missing the point here you are responding to old questions since resolved, the problem now is that between them Southern Water the EA and the airport operators have set out restrictions that mean there is nowhere for the surface water to go.
They say it can’t go into soakaways or Pegwell Bay nor can there be underground tanks to store the runoff from a storm, it can’t go into the main drains as this relies on a pump that a power cut caused by a thunderstorm would render useless, it can’t go into ponds as there is nowhere to put them due to the density of the development and the concerns about waterfowl flying into the planes.
So you see because the main species protected by this is the human race we have a bit of a problem, where does the water go?
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