Cllr David Green, TDC Cabinet Member for Economic Development, said...

Just to set the record straight, neither Thanet District Council or the ruling Labour Group are in favour of a CPO of Manston Airport.

It has been suggested to us by a local MP, and therefore we feel obliged to examine it as a possibility. Until the airport closed, our position was one of support for the airport as a local employer but we were against environmentally damaging night flights. We note that of the three reasons given for closure - loss of BA freight contract, loss of Ryan Air contract and the Government review of south east airports - none of them involved night flights. We suggested extension of the enterprise zone to cover the airport as something Government could do to help stimulate activity. The airport is now closed, and in my opinion unlikely to open again. As the local planning authority we await notification of the owner's plans.

We have already received a suggestion for housing on the northern grass next to the airport. We received this long before talk of closure. This application will be judged along with many other suggestions for potential housing sites and may or may not form part of the next stage of the Local Plan Preferred Options draft that we will be consulting on shortly. That draft will suggest how best to meet our calculation that we will require sites for 11,500 houses over the next 20 years, only half of which can be found within the existing urban boundary.

Big Cheese Has His Chips

Has anyone else noticed that the coffee shop in the Custom House, new home of Ramsgate Town Council, has various filled baguettes 'all served with chips and mayor' on its menu?

What next? Green salad? [Geddit???!!!?!???!??!!!!]

Speaking of which, I was taking the old penguin suit to the cleaners this morning and found the menu from the Turner Centre's Tracey Emin celebratory dinner at the Walpole Bay Hotel the other day, stuffed in the inside pocket. Here it is in full:

STARTER
Half-Cockaleekie Soup

MAIN COURSES
Carpetbagger Steak
Minted Burghers
Coq-Up Au Vin
Lily Liver And Onions
Porky Pies
Pizza Vettriano

All served with:

Monster Mash
Half-Baked Beans
Walpole Salad

DESSERTS
Fruitcakes
Junket
Multi-Storey Parkin

FRUIT AND CHEESE PLATTER
Tracey Ementhal
Hard Cheddar
Sour Grapes
Assorted Nuts
Crackers

Coffee with biscuits and a collation of sweetmeats, including:

Jammy Dodgers
Millionaires' Shortbread
Kentish Fudge
Humbugs
Margate Cinder Toffee

Small Council Re-Elects Big Mayor

Let's now swoop in the Skycopter from Downing Street to the majestic setting of Ramsgate's Albion House, where the country's other big political battle has been going on, the one to elect a new mayor of our teeny-tiny council.

And the news just in is that the current incumbent, caff-crushing, car-crushing Councillor Green is coming out on the steps to make a statement... he's looking composed... is he about to announce his resignation and bury his sobbing head in the bosom of his lovely wife, Dame Elizabeth? No, no, in fact he's been re-elected! Hurrah!

And there, waving by his side is the independent Tory Councillor Walph 'Mr Wamsgate' Hoult, who remains as deputy mayor, a sort of LabCon coalition if you like. And, er, the mayor tells me that nothing else has changed. Apart from an events committee being set up.

So there you have it ladies and gentlemen, another momentous day in British politics, and I don't think I'm exagerating when I say this ushers in a similar era to the last one, after which everything will pretty much stay the same. God bless the Queen.

Pig's Ear, And A Snout In The Trough

As you know, I am no fan of the local Blue Rinsers. Or, indeed, that bum-faced old Etonian who heads up the Tories at a national level.

So two causes for celebration this week. First, the 'news', as brought to you by the Blue Rinse candidate for Thanet South, that 'the life saving air sea rescue service based at Manston is set to be relocated to the Midlands at the end of this month.' Er, 'what air sea rescue service based at Manston?', you may ask. Clearly, however, that was not a question the intrepid reporter at yourfannitinnit could be bothered with.

And this afternoon came the news that Sir Roger Wind, Tory MP for North Thanet since 1876, is appealing against being told to hand back £2,100 in expenses claimed against mobile phone bills, plus another £400 in rent. Sir Rodge says they were 'entirely proper'. As ever, he entirely misses the point. Which is not that he could claim them, but whether it is 'entirely proper' that he should.

While the gruesome Tory twosome have been busy shooting themselves in the feet, the caff-crushing, car-crushing Mayor of Ramsgate, Councillor Green of the Red Party, has announced he is perfectly happy to have his allowance slashed by a third and set an example in these tough financial times. Good on yer, Dave!

Click here to see how in touch Laura Sandys is with her 'constituency'
Click here to read about Roger's Gale's piles
Click here to read about the Mayor of Ramsgate taking a slash

Tiny Council Gets Big Mayor

Yes, it's official! The new Mayor of Ramsgate is [drum roll]..... car-crushing, caff-crushing councillor Dave Green! [Applause, cheers, general adulation]. I know this because it's in the excellent yourfannitinnit. Ralph 'Mr Ramsgate' Hoult was elected deputy, meaning the Tories were totally hung out to dry. Hurrah!

However, I was cavorting in the VIP pen with the stars of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen at the Odeon Leicester Square when the white smoke rose from Albion House. Boy, what a movie! But why were we made to tread blue carpet rather than red? Methinks the Brent Carpet Company tripped up, so I had a word and I wouldn't like to say anything but I rather expect somebody in Northdown Road to be getting a call in the morning if you catch my drift!

More mayor news in yourfannitinnit
Transformers 2 trailer on BoobTube

Museums Are History

Yikes! I see from caff-crushing car-crushing councillor Dave Green's blog that our lovely Maritime Museum is finally to close, along with Margate Museum. The move follows almost a year of wrangling after the withdrawal of £100,000 in grants from Thanet Council, and the failure of East Kent Maritime Trust, which runs the museums, to deliver any accounts for the past three years.

Apparently the Ramsgate museum will be vacated imminently. Rumour is it may become a fish restaurant. However, EKMT have another seven years of their lease to run over in Margate. What will happen to the exhibits and Thanet archives is currently uncertain, but one reader writes:

I suspect that a fire sale of TDC owned paintings etc or possibly an auction will shortly be forthcoming. No doubt an officer of TDC will be given this erroneous duty and he/she will no doubt be the nation's expert on this matter. As for me, this is my field of expertise and I have informed TDC/EKMT I want all my possessions on loan/gifted, back...Tout de suite.

Click here to read more on Councillor Green's blog

Update: I've now managed to get hold of the full statement from EKMT, which includes a quote from Deputy Rodge, the council's 'Culture and Economy' member. Click on the image to enlarge.

Eyesore Gone In A Blink

Regular reader Samantha writes:

I was surprised and delighted to see that the festering hole behind Granville Court in Ramsgate has been completely cleared by Thanet Council. However they have yet to sort out the perimeter which still contains a blighting mix of dilapidated fencing, temporary fencing and rubbish. Apparently though they will be sorting this out 'asap'.

She adds that the excellent yourthanet newspaper (available free in the corner of all your favourite local stores, usually behind the twelve boxes of Haribo etc.) followed up the 'festering hole' story this week, which presumably gave our beloved council the, er, prod up the jacksie it needed to get on with it. Our local campaigning, crap-clearing, caff-crushing, car-crushing councillor Dave Green also played a part in getting this mess sorted out, I'm told. Lumme, if this continues he's going to sound like a 70s soft drink ad.

So, three cheers for yourthanet and three cheers for campaigning etc. Dave Green. And, er, two and a half cheers for Thanet Council. Now that's something you don't hear me say very often!

Granville Court before the Thanet Council clean-up

Granville Court after the Thanet Council clean-up

Historical Reaction

I see the petition to stop the closure of our splendid Maritime Museum has reached almost 1000 signatures.

The campaign has been spearheaded by the Ramsgate Labour Party, including local councillors and our MP, Dr Steve Ladychap. You can see more on that over on caff-crushing, car-crushing councillor Dave Green's blog.

Meanwhile there's a vicious rumour spreading around the north of the Ile that Margate Museum, which is also threatened with closure, has already been earmarked as a future 'function room'. Well call me old-fashioned, but I thought it already had a pretty useful function - as a flipping museum!

Pile-Up On Victoria Parade

Another scoop for ECR! Regular reader Samantha has just emailed me these photos. She writes:

The East Cliff in Ramsgate came to a stand still this morning following a collision between two cars at the junction of Victoria Parade and Victoria Road. I had my small digital camera on me and took these photographs. An officious little man in an NHS hi-vis came up to me and told me it was 'illegal' to take photos, quoting 'patient confidentiality'. I told him I was perfectly within my rights as I was standing on the public footpath, at which point he got onto his mobile saying 'I'm going to have to call my controller'.

Sounds like utter tosh to me, Samantha. So, here are the pictures they tried to ban!



On a serious note, you have to wonder whether our local caff-crushing, car-crushing councillor Dave Green's new safety bollards are working along this stretch of road. Cars still have to edge out of the side roads onto Victoria Parade before they can see what's coming. I'd hesitate to suggest traffic lights at this junction, though, as that would just turn all the side streets into rat runs.

Park Strife

Call me a boring old sausage ect. Yes, I've banged on before about illegal parking here on Ramsgate's trendy East Cliff. Double yellows not enforced, restrictions ignored, blah, blah, blah.

But you could have knocked me down with the proverbial after two years of never witnessing a parking attendant anywhere on the Ile, yet alone the East Cliff, when I clocked two traffic wardens adorning our local white van men's finest with the old 40 quid price stickers this evening. Maybe our local car crushing, caff crushing, graffiti removing Councillor Dave Green, who's also been banging on about illegal parking on his blog recently, has swung into action again?

East Cliff Chopper Strikes Again!

It started with Pugin's nose. Then it was his concrete lion. Not long after, our car crushing, caff crushing, graffiti removing local Councillor Dave Green's bollards were hacked off.

Now someone's gone and hopped off with our all new, turret-mounted, M61 Vulcan 20mm rapid firing machine gun with infrared night vision, which was protecting one of our marvellous monuments from the daubists. Is nothing sacred?

28 March - ICCCTV

19 May - INoCCCTV

Car Crushing Councillor Rides Again!

I see our local car crushing, caff crushing, graffiti removing Councillor Dave Green has got back in. Congratulations DG!

Not only that, but my good chum (he waved at me from a carnival float once) Steve Ward the Mayor of Ramsgate is past the post!

Maybe I'll see about getting one of those veins stitched back up.

Councillor's Bollards Hacked Off

Holy hacksaws! It's only been a few weeks since our local caff demolishing, car crushing, graffiti removing councillor Dave Green built these step-outs along Victoria Parade and adorned them with snazzy bollards. Now some blighter has come along a hacked a couple of them off.

I'll have to be more careful next time I give my old throbber a thrashing along here. The lights ain't great, and there's already more obstacles to avoid than the Mini Marathon round of It's A Knockout. Without Councillor Green's reflective bollards, I might well end up going base over apex.

Last year one of those Pugin lions not far from here was hacked off. Now these bollards. Could it be that there's an East Cliff Chopper on the loose?

Now You See It, Now You Don't

Last week:


This week:


Plus all new, turret-mounted, M61 Vulcan 20mm rapid firing machine gun with infrared night vision (in case anyone feels like getting lucky with a spray can):

Writing On The Wall For Graffiti

Three cheers for our local caff demolishing, car crushing, graffiti removing councillor Dave Green! Following a long campaign, he's finally persuaded the Uranians to remove the eye-watering graffiti from the splendid edifice above, here on Thanet's millionaire row, otherwise known as the East Cliff Ramsgate.

Not only that, but CCTV is to be installed to prevent the daubists from returning to the scene of the crime. Proof that not all our Dad's Army councillors are content to sit back in their bath chairs and drool into their Horlicks.