Labour Shadow Team comments & questions at Thursday evenings TDC Cabinet meeting.

INTRODUCTION - LABOUR GROUP LEADER - Cllr CLIVE HART

It was another reasonably short agenda this week. Some matters discussed will come to full council later, where Labour members will provide more input and several items were discussed in 'closed session' after exclusion of press and public as they included information regarded as 'exempt'.

However, once more I was delighted to see a strong delegation from the Labour Shadow Cabinet doing their jobs as usual, listening to all the detail, taking notes for later debate and commenting where necessary.

Cllr. Clive Hart - Phone: 01843 298770

Item 5 PUBLIC AMENITY LAND, MONTEFIORE SURGERY DEVELOPMENT, RAMSGATE - Cllr. ALAN POOLE
I welcome this proposal to transfer Montefiore Wood to Ramsgate Town Council.

Cllr Michelle Fenner and I have worked with local residents to retain this land for public use. Montefiore Wood is an attractive green area in urban Ramsgate and will hopefully remain so for many years to come.

I have asked the Planning Department why the 106 Agreement (for the wood’s maintenance) produced only £25,000, my understanding from the original Planning Agenda was that £35,000 was requested.
I have subsequently been informed that the agreement specified ‘up to £35,000’ and £25,000 was the maximum offered. I am not particularly happy with this answer.

Cllr Poole was promised written clarification.

Cllr. Alan Poole - Phone: 01843 602594

Item 6 ASSET MANAGEMENT STRATEGY 2007 / 2011 - Cllr. ALAN POOLE

The introduction to this item states ‘Public and stakeholder engagement are essential parts of this process’. Unfortunately my experience and the experience of many other residents, with the Asset Management Strategy, is that the Council consult but do not take any notice when substantial numbers of the residents object to a particular disposal. The Montefiore Games Centre is a good case.

The Montefiore Games Centre is a very popular, well used public amenity, / Cllr POOLE WAS CUT SHORT AT THIS POINT BY THE CHAIRMAN - Cllr EZEKIEL / but Cllr Poole intended to continue: just this week I heard that the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA ) have booked the tennis courts one day a week throughout the summer for coaching young players. The LTA say they booked these facilities because they are excellent.

Why then are the Council currently fighting a very expensive Village Green Application, a process that is very expensive in officer time and money probably running into tens of thousands, to dispose of a well used public facility against the wishes of local residents?

I repeat the words from the introduction to this item…. ‘Public and stakeholder engagement are essential parts of this process’………why then don’t you listen when the public engage?

AFTER THE MEETING Cllr Poole said "being cut short by Cllr Ezekiel just confirmed exactly what I was trying to explain - this Conservative administration only wants to listen to those who totally agree with all they say".

Cllr. Alan Poole - Phone: 01843 602594
Item 7 MARGATE FLOOD PROTECTION SCHEME - Cllr. PETER CAMPBELL
We welcome news that the Labour Government has allocated an initial £4 million pounds to improve flood protection for Margate. It has been decided that major investment is vital to move to a 1 in 200 year flooding risk for the seafront and Old Town areas. The association of British Insurers has warned that failure to invest in adequate flood defences on the east coast could result in £16 billion worth of damage due to future North Sea storm surges similar to events in 1987, 1978, 1971 and 1953.
Flood protection at Margate has been a constant task since the Nayland Rock Stone Groyne and the Harbour Arm were first constructed at the start of the nineteenth century. These two sea defences shaped the famous Margate Main sands that helped to make the town a famous seaside resort. However, rising sea levels in this century now make additional work necessary.
Following an Environment Agency grant of £98,000 in 2009, a feasibility study has now produced two different options. The first plan would consist of a new 7m concrete sea wall constructed along Marine Drive, this would rise to around 2m higher than the existing wall now running alongside the pavement. The second, more favourable plan is for stepped revetments from the beach level up to a new wall, marginally higher than the present one, thus preserving the views out to seaward. Both these options would be in addition to the necessary reinforcement works to the Harbour Arm.
Although the preferred option will require extra government funding from the Environment Agency, in addition to the allocated £4million, this plan has been recommended by both the Margate Renewal Partnership Board and the Urban Design Panel. This major funding from central government is in addition to the many millions already allocated for regeneration projects in Margate in recent years.
This is yet another example of the Labour Government investing in Thanet & the people of Thanet. New Schools, Refurbished Hospitals, £40million Cliftonville regeneration, Surestart, / Cllr CAMPBELL WAS CUT SHORT AT THIS POINT BY THE CHAIRMAN - Cllr EZEKIEL / but Cllr Campbell intended to continue: pension credits, winter fuel allowance, working families tax credits the list goes on. All will be put at risk if a Tory Government takes over at the next election.
Cllr. Peter Campbell - Phone: 01843 585738

Item 8 PLANNING OBLIGATIONS & DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTIONS - Cllr. CLIVE HART

Where financial contributions are obtained from developers for transport, education or adult social services it is essential that the sums gained are rigorously monitored and tracked in order to make absolutely sure they are used for the benefit of local people here in Thanet. They most certainly should not be allowed to simply disappear into any KCC departmental 'black hole' in Maidstone.