Burning Issues

Unholy smoke! A brand new property development has gone to blazes in suspicious circumstances over on the charred north side of the island! The property has now partially collapsed and looks for all intents and purposes a gonner.

When word of the fire reached the old Eastcliff lugholes this morning, it had me wondering if it was the Endcliffe Hotel over in Cliftonville (it wasn't). If you recall, the Endcliffe also burnt down, but has since been rebuilt. But not in the way that was stipulated when planning permission was granted. Our beloved council now seems to be thinking about getting the developer to knock the whole thing down and start again. If you were faced with that, or a nice little earner-burner, which would you choose?

It's not the first time a development has been completed here on the Ile de Thanet, only for the planning department to realise it doesn't look anything like the drawings they were shown years earlier. The odd extra floor here, a few extra metres there. Kushti. Admittedly, there are nine serious bones of contention against the Endcliffe, and judging by the photo above it does look like the proverbial box of bollocks compared with what's left of the Edwardian hotel it stands next to. But why oh why can't the planners pop round every now and then to check on progress? That way they could nip these diabolical liberties in the bud. Before they have to be knocked or burnt down, leaving us with yet another decade-long eyesore to replace the decade-long eyesore we had before!

Click here for Margate fire story on Gazunder website
Click here for pictures and video of fire on Thanet Extra