Noticing that Thanet ranks 50th out of 370 UK authorities on my iPhone's
ASBOrometer, with 214 ASBOs issued and a moderate 26.4% level of anti-social behaviour, it got me wondering about some of our larger neighbours.
After all, getting an ASBO slapped on the meat cleaver wielding, crack crazed maniac next door is a piece of cake these days. But what about council sponsored developments such as Chas 'n' Dave Margate International Airport, China Gateway, the two huge offshore windfarms, and the Ike and Tina Turner Centre? Are they behaving like good neighbours?
To kick off this occasional series, I thought I'd take a timely a squiz at Thanet Earth. After all, the Beeb are running a
controversial docco tonight about immigrant workers, and the more xenophobic Thanet blogs have frequently whined that this massive uPVC conservatory on the eastern edge of the patio of the garden of England only employs foreigners. Indeed, 500 jobs were promised when the project was announced back in 2007. But their recruitment agency,
Kent Staff Services 2000 here on the East Cliff's Bellevue Road, seems permanently
unstaffed whenever I walk past. And it doesn't exactly imbue confidence to find that, according to their website, they think they're on 'Belview' Road.
So as far as I can make out, none of Thanet's 4,372 unemployed are queuing up there.
We were also promised a visitor centre, but that hasn't materialised either.
Thanet Earth's website says: 'We have planning permission for a visitor centre which is still very much at a drawing board stage.' They're not too keen on giving talks or tours to local schools and societies either: 'We very much regret that our capacity for evening talks in 2009 and 2010 has now been reached.' Donations to local charities and voluntary groups? Not a dickie bird.
Then there's the light pollution, very ably captured by
this pic on Bertie Biggles' blog recently. What do they have to say about that? 'The two glasshouses which are scheduled to include artificial lights will not be lit until around midnight. In addition to this, those glasshouses are fitted with a system of electronically-controlled blinds which exist to trap the light inside. We have no desire to light up the night sky either! The blinds are designed to retain around 95% of our artificial light within the glasshouses.'
That's not the way it looks when you drive down the Thanet Way at night. The sky's lit up like a U2 concert! And what about the water they're using which doesn't find its way into our lovely aquifer?
So, Thanet Earth. Here's my Good Neighbour rating:
Economy: 2/5
Environment: 2/5
Community: 1/5
Overall: 1.6/5
Noticing that Thanet ranks 50th out of 370 UK authorities on my iPhone's ASBOrometer, with 214 ASBOs issued and a moderate 26.4% level of anti-social behaviour, it got me wondering about some of our larger neighbours.
As the eagle-eyed will know from the What's On in Thanet section in my sidebar on the right, Margate has played host for the last two days to a national conference on regeneration, and the launch of a new 'Coastal Handbook'. Oh the irony! Anyhow, fresh from the fray, one of my (Labour, you'll no doubt correctly surmise) spies has sent this report:
No, nothing to do with a particularly messy night out in the company of George Michael, as the above ad, taken from one of those 1960s East Kent Critics that our local Biblio-Bloke put up on his excellent thanetonline blog a while back, might suggest.
Talking of decaying seaside towns getting a Sugar coating, I've received this email from former councillor and town crier Paul Conyers-Silverthorn:
Hearty congratulations to all of you who jumped on my latest 7 day poll asking whether you'd prefer a council with a larger set of cajones when it comes to fronting out developers who develop out the Ile's front, back and sides. A whopping 53 people cast their votes, here's the final tally:
