"I call upon the leader and deputy leader to go"

"I call upon the leader and deputy leader to go"

Copy of speech made by Cllr. Alan Poole - Shadow Member for Environmental Services - at last night's council meeting to discuss the Thanet District Council Budget for 2010/2011.

"This Labour Government has provided more than generous Formula Grant funding since 1997; it has provided millions in additional grants and still this Conservative Administration has managed to get itself into a financial mess whereby it continually has to dip into its reserves to balance the books; a cynical attempt to keep the Council Tax increase to 2.5% in an election year?

There appears to be very little to show for all this extra government money, which has been used to little or no effect in Margate to the detriment of neighbouring Ramsgate; additionally this Conservative Administration has done its best to dump extra burdens on the fledgling Ramsgate Town Council. This is disgraceful.

I am very disappointed by the closure of the award winning Visitor Information Centre in Ramsgate and also the closure of the Visitor Centre in Broadstairs but for some reason the Margate Visitor Centre is remaining open…………is this Council penalising Ramsgate and Broadstairs for having Town Councils? Or is it just trying to force Ramsgate and Broadstairs to fund the Visitor Centres from their precept? This is disgraceful.

This Conservative Administration has attempted to flog-off as many assets as possible, even some they don’t own………yes, it is this Government’s policy to dispose of underused and unwanted assets….note underused and unwanted……you really shouldn’t need to consult a dictionary to understand those two words!

This Conservative Administration has tried unsuccessfully to sell Albion House……….a listed historical building that is very important to the people of Ramsgate; they have continually failed to maintain this building in a decent condition……….its present condition would surely warrant ‘enforcement action’ if it were in private ownership………they then tried unsuccessfully to get Ramsgate Town Council to pay for its maintenance. This is disgraceful.

Another disposal attempt, which seems to have spectacularly back-fired, is the proposed sale of the much used Montefiore Tennis courts. This asset was purchased by the people of Ramsgate in 1948……..an asset purchased for the use of the residents. Local residents recently signed a petition demanding that it be kept in public use……not only has this Conservative Administration ignored the wishes of the local residents but it has gone out of its way to pick a fight with them using public funds.

The use of public funds to fight our own residents note ‘fight our own residents’ and the even more questionable use of a highly paid barrister to interrogate old ladies in the witness box is an appalling misuse of power and public monies. The amount of money and time wasted must surely be running into tens of thousands of pounds.

Whatever the outcome of the Village Green Enquiry it is the negligent lack of maintenance of the fence that has allowed the situation to progress this far……a few hundred pounds spent on fence repairs could have saved all this time and expense. This is disgraceful.

This Conservative Administration simply doesn’t have a clue…..I call upon the leader and deputy leader to go"

Cllr. Alan Poole - Phone: 01843 602594

Published by Thanet Labour Group Press Office - 44 Northdown Road, Margate, CT9 2RW.