John Gilbey got out of the wrong side of bed Part 1

Our Precious Leader didn't have a good start to Saturday by the looks of it. Someone or something, or possibly everything, had him riled and the solution was to let rip on his very own website and Facebook page.

It may be that he was displeased with the public reaction to his support for the proposed one-way system in Whitstable - some churlish ingrates have drawn unfavourable parallels with the Westgate Towers fiasco, er, trial. It may be that the Barham by-election result irked him.

Whatever the cause, the following tirade was the result. In my mind's eye, I see it being accompanied by quite a lot of finger jabbing.

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Westgate

Cllr John Gilbey making a point

Sadly I have to re-open this issue to fully counter accusations made recently about the traffic trial but everyone should be aware that activists and opposition councillors are still distorting the facts and being economical with the truth.

Remember the trial had the full support of both councils and many others and was a joint operation between the two councils.

Remember the decision to close showed exactly who was the dominant partner - as they should be as it is their responsibility.

Remember there were so many positive aspects to the trial and further work around Canterbury would have given us the much better traffic movement we sought.

Remember we could not introduce these additional features because we were in a trial phase.

For the record, we were given no option but to remove Councillor Hirst from the Conservative Group because of his behaviour.  He persisted in working as a county councillor to the great detriment of the City and his duties to the City. We could not persuade him that he had also been elected as a City Councillor.  He was never, as widely reported, removed because of his opposition to the Westgate Trial, the issues were historic prior to this event.

With the Chairman of the North Thanet Conservative association, we spent six hours in three meetings trying to keep him in the fold.  Sadly we failed, but it was never within my power to expel him from the Party.

There was no great dismissal as portrayed in the media and he was given ample opportunity to return to the party and resolve any issues he had. I have seen his written resignation letter to the Party.  He was a Conservative on Friday and joined another party on Monday, yet despite many accusations, I have never once smeared this individual in the press or anywhere else.  You must judge!

The recent by election saw this continuing accusatory behaviour. No Policies from the opposition, just lies, distortions and negativity. What a world we now live in!  What happened to serving the community and the electorate?

News Release - Saturday 15th March 2014, from John Gilbey's website, and on Facebook

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Jolly good question, that last sentence. I've been asking myself the self-same thing.

Westgate trial a success. Earth is flat. Unicorns fart glitter.

Cllr Vickery-Jones is a reliable stock of laughter - it's a bit like having a town jester. Long after the Westgate trial has been shut down by KCC and a collective sigh of relief has echoed around Canterbury, our local flat-earther insists it was a success. Nearly. If only we had all given it just a little more time. And damn anyone who dares to differ.

In fact, I think this outburst is better explained by the Conservative's instinctive and visceral hatred of anything that damages the impression of party unity. Independent thinkers, users of logic and fans of self-evident facts are tolerated only for as long as they keep their horrid little thoughts to themselves. 

Those who dare to peep over the parapet and whisper obvious home truths like "the emperor has no clothes" or "the traffic trial is a cock-up" are rounded on and publicly insulted by their colleagues. In some cases, the party whip is removed, stripping them of influence, and presumably income. This is what the Conservatives then pass off as 'party unity'.

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Cllr Peter Vickery-Jones

The Westgate Towers saga took an extraordinary twist this week when the city council's transport supremo launched a vitriolic attack on a former party colleague.

Cllr Peter Vickery-Jones, who maintains the year-long traffic trial was a success, branded trial opponent David Hirst a "dinosaur" and accused him of "talking obvious rubbish" after Cllr Hirst said buses were to blame for much of the congestion in St Dunstan's Street.

It is the latest clash in an increasingly acrimonious war between the scheme's supporters and its detractors. Cllr Hirst lost the Conservative party whip on Canterbury City Council in February after he backed calls for Kent County Council to scrap it and restore the original road layout.

The trial began in March last year and saw vehicles banned from passing through the gate way of the 14th century towers. Traffic lights governed movement around the towers and only buses were allowed to enter St Peter's Place from St Dunstan's Street.

Cllr Vickery-Jones, the council's executive member for transport, was one of its most ardent supporters. Writing in response to a letter from Cllr Hirst in last week's Gazette, Cllr Vickery-Jones said:

"There are many like Cllr Hirst who have access to the facts but choose to ignore them. I recognise that because we did not challenge misconceptions and explain what and why we were running the trial, we lost the debate over the efficacy of the trial because we were unwilling to publicly counter the aggressive and insulting adverse propaganda."

Cllr Vickery-Jones says pollution in lower St Dunstan's Street, North Lane, St Peter's Place and Pound Lane dropped by 50% "with no corresponding increase elsewhere", while the number of cars fell by 12%. He added:

"The Westgate Traffic trial was not a failure. It was starting to bed down and beginning to work. Other routes were being found, other means of travel were being tried, hence the growth in bus usage. It never was an attack on car drivers, only an attempt to encourage those 35% of drivers who could reasonably do so to leave their cars and opt for sustainable travel."

KCC, which looks after the county's roads network, reopened the towers to traffic when it restored the original road system in April.

Cllr Alex Perkins

Pet scheme was a disaster and farce

Lib Dem group leader Alex Perkins believes Peter Vickery-Jones should resign over the Westgate Towers traffic scheme. He describes the scheme as a disaster and a farce. He said:

"It's a shame to see two councillors tearing into each other in public - and while it's tempting just to leave them to it, on this occasion it is only fair to point out that Cllr Hirst is in fact obviously right.

It must be hard for Cllr Vickery-Jones to accept that statistical analysis of his pet scheme has shown it to have been a total disaster, but sadly that is what has happened.

The trial was a farce. It was badly managed by Peter Vickery-Jones and just made a bad situation far worse and upset a great many people.

A better man would resign. But we know from bitter experience that it doesn't matter how badly this current administration muck things up, oblivious to their many shortcomings, they just accuse everyone who holds differing opinions of 'being political' and sail on regardless."

HB Gazette 27th Jun 2013

Local Plan: letter

Plan fails with no funding for roads

The local development plan is flawed.

I have sent all members of Canterbury City Council (CCC), and their highly-paid consultants Amec, who produced coloured charts on the selected areas, "evidence-based" reasons of why they are fundamentally flawed.

In addition CCC has also ignored government guidelines on consultation. These government guidelines declare that the community, and stakeholders, must be involved at all stages of the process that ultimately will decide which sites go forward into any draft proposals for public consultation, as happened on May 30th 2013.

Members endorsed officers' recommendations for "their" choice of sites. You, the public, have been totally ignored.

Members suggest that you will now be consulted (the ten-week consultation period) but, and it is a big but, you the "public", will only be consulted about the proposed sites endorsed by the executive committee, not the many other sites that are "better" alternatives than the sites endorsed by officers, and later council members.

The secrecy behind all this is breathtakingly unbelievable.

Major - and I mean major - road construction and bypasses are necessary. Canterbury City Council has no responsibility for roads; Kent County Council (KCC) does. KCC has no money for major road construction - it cannot even fill the many potholes in the county. This Government has no money for major road construction; it is also broke.

Developers will not want to spend money on major road construction out of their profits. Of course if CCC officers or council members have guarantees or promissory notes, then let us the public see them.

In the meantime, there is no cash for the major roads changes that this draft plan to work requires.

Council members keep saying they are listening. Hear this: the whole plan put forward by you is bound to fail, on the sites, the pre-consultation, and funding of major roads and infrastructure.

The only council member to acknowledge our concerns and who has the professionalism to reply to me is Councillor  David Hirst. Well done to him, the other councillors and officers remain deafeningly silent.

Ken Little, Whitstable

HB Times 13th Jun 2013

UKIP take Herne Bay

Victorious UKIP members in the Bay are celebrating their success in the Kent County Council elections.

The party wrestled both Herne Bay seats from sitting Tories Jean Law and David Hirst, with Nicholas Bond and Brian MacDowall now representing the town at County Hall. The result was the last declared and the only UKIP win in the district, but took the party's total seats on the council to 17, including seven out of eight in Thanet.​

IN: Nicholas Bond (centre, of picture)​

OUT: David Hirst and Jean Law (right)

UKIP chairman Jim Gascoyne said:

"We came second in Whitstable so that is next for us, then right on to Westminster. The route to Parliament is along the Kent coast and then up the Thanet Way."

The party polled 34% of the vote, on a 28% turn out. Mr Bond polled 2,048 votes and Mr MacDowall 2,054. Mrs Law and Mr Hirst polled 1,817 and 1,724 respectively.

Mrs Law, whose seat on Canterbury City Council was not affected by this election, was tearful as the result was announced. She said:

"Herne Bay wanted a change and now they have got a change. I am terribly disappointed."

Mr Hirst said he felt shaken by the result, adding:

"That's politics for you."

Mr MacDowall was not at the count as he was on a business trip to Germany. Mr Bond said:

"I feel really good about being elected. It's absolutely great for the party.There's lots of work to do, but I look forward to working with the people of Herne Bay.We've worked very hard nationally, and I'm really delighted we got so many gains."

Labour's Lynn Faux-Bowyer and Tom Mellish gained 1,003 and 948 votes respectively, while Lib Dem candidates Margaret Flaherty and June Raybaud managed 434 and 308 votes.

New England Party candidates Nathan King and Mike Tibby polled 119 and 193 votes, and Green Party candidates Elaine Godden and Michael Coppin gained 204 and 202.

Independents John Moore and Stan Truelove won 484 and 362 votes, while Independent Steve Coombes, who stood to publicise the Duchamps festival in Herne Bay this summer, and handed out awards for absurdity around the town in the run-up to the election, scored 509.

Other seats in the Canterbury district did not change hands and the county council is still under overall Tory control. They lost 27 seats but held 44. Ukip have 17 seats – up from just one – and Labour gained 11 seats and lost one, taking their total to 13. The Liberal Democrats lost one and gained one, giving them seven seats, while the Green Party gained a seat in Hythe. A west Kent residents association candidate also held onto their seat.

thisiskent 10th May 2013

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Jean Law fights back tears after election defeat

Tories in Herne Bay were left stunned today after a shock defeat at the polls by UKIP.

Conservative incumbants Jean Law and David Hirst were ousted after a recount at the Kings Hall this afternoon.

The pair - who had enjoyed a healthy majority at the last county council elections in 2009 - trailed more than 200 votes behind Brian Macdowall and Nicholas Bond.

Lib Dem candidates Margaret Flaherty and June Raybaud also fell from their position as closest challengers to finish 9th and 11th respectively.

The Herne Bay seats were the only ones to change hands across the Canterbury district, despite UKIP winning an impressive 17 of the 84 up for grabs in Kent.

Speaking after the defeat, Mrs Law said:

"I'm disappointed but then I would be because I've worked in Herne Bay. It's where I brought the kids up. I couldn't of worked any harder for the people of Herne Bay and I'm just sorry for all the volunteers along the way. It has been a disastrous day for the Conservatives and they may have to re-think what they are doing."

​kentonline 3rd May 2013

Independents to stand in county council poll

Two community campaigners have announced their plans to stand as independent candidates in the county council elections.

John Moore and Stan Truelove will fight for the two seats available in Herne Bay on the basis that party politics is not working in the town.

At the moment, both seats are held by Tory councillors - David Hirst and Jean Law - and the other main parties are expected to field candidates as well.

Mr Moore, who runs Sweet Magic in Mortimer Street and is a member of Herne and Broomfield Parish Council, said:

"People want independent councillors on Kent County Council to speak up for local people. The roads in Herne Bay are outrageous and they are not being fixed properly. It is the top complaint by people in the town and, when we are elected, it will be our top priority, too."

The pair have already started their campaign by distributing leaflets around the town, calling for people to contact them with their top three priorities. They also plan to encourage people to report potholes to them so they can compile a list for contractors to repair.

Mr Truelove has no political experience but is known for his fundraising for Pilgrims Hospices via his Christmas lights displays in Canterbury. He also decorates his daughter's shop, Down to Earth, in Mortimer Street.

Mr Moore has previously stood for the UK Independence Party but said:

"UKIP has moved on and I still support them and follow them. I prefer to concentrate on my parish stuff and the county stuff. People love Stan and he is very well known and I know we have the support of 90 per cent of the independent shops in the town centre. We are feeling confident and ready to get to work."

For more information, contact the pair via e-mail to johnandstanforkcc@gmail.com

Nominations for the elections must be sent to Kent County Council by Friday, April 5. Voting is on Thursday, May 2.

thisiskent 15th Mar 2013

John Moore

Stan Truelove

Gilbey crushes colleague, damages democracy

Be pure. Be vigilant. Behave.

This is shocking, whichever way you look at it. Cllr Gilbey fires one of his own, supposedly for speaking out of turn (see news item below).

As Cllr Hirst points out, he is a councillor for both Canterbury City and Kent County, and he decides which hat to wear on the basis of whether the issue is a District level or County level matter. Highways is a County matter, and KCC have set their face against the Westgate trial, so Hirst voted accordingly.

There is also the small point, often overlooked by the current administration at Canterbury, that the overwhelming majority of residents (i.e. voters) are against the trial for the simple reason that it's been a cock-up from the very beginning. Just as many predicted.

​So, Hirst votes in line with his (split) duty, in line with public sentiment, but against Gilbey's will. And gets fired.

This is in stark contrast to the very recent treatment of Cllr Neil Baker, who, in an act of breath-takingly reckless stupidity, drunkenly drove his car half way up a tree. He has been briefly suspended from the Executive (pay cut), will probably return to it in May, and in the meantime put onto another high profile committee. Gilbey showed his customary political sure-footedness by appointing Baker to the Joint Transport Board, which covers highways, road traffic and public transport.

What could possibly explain the very different treatment meted out to the two conservative councillors by their leader? Here's a suggestion...​ after Baker's arrest, Gilbey said:

“Neil has shown great support and done so much so it would be a shame to jump in too quickly and make a rash decision. Neil is someone I regard as a very valuable member of our group. We will do what is necessary, but it will be compassionate and take into account what Neil wants.”​

​Clearly, Baker is one of the favoured and trusted inner circle - "one of us" as they used to say in the Thatcher years.

​On the other hand, Hirst has apparently made it known (unwisely, in my opinion) that he intended to stand against Gilbey in the CCC conservative's leadership election in early May this year. Of course, he can only stand for leadership of the party if he's a member of it, and Gilbey has just stripped him of his membership by removing the whip.

Ahhh... maybe that's it. Maybe not.​

Take your pick. Hirst was fired for correctly observing the distinction between his two councillor roles, and coincidentally reflecting the public's wishes. Or he was fired to take him out of the leadership race.

Is it democracy? No, it's just the way the Canterbury City Council Conservatives do things.​ And it stinks.

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Conservative ousted after Westgate Towers row

Infighting at Canterbury city council over the divisive Westgate Towers traffic trial has led to one Conservative being ousted from the Tory group.

Cllr David Hirst, who has also been a Kent county councillor for the past 12 years, has been stripped of his whip by city council leader John Gilbey and left as an independent member for Canterbury.

The squabble between them came to a head when Cllr Hirst supported Kent County Council (KCC) in scrapping the ban on cars through the Westgate Towers. Cllr Hirst was told via email on February 13 of the decision to remove him from the local party. In a statement, Cllr Hirst said:

"I will continue to be a Conservative and during this period continue to support and act as a Conservative within the council. I was elected as a Conservative. I will remain a full member of Kent County Council Conservative group and continue to work normally. Being a member of both councils, my obligation on each issue is clearly defined by, in whom the power is vested. At Canterbury City Council the leader has withdrawn the whip – the reason given being that I have clearly supported Kent County Council policies on some relevant issues."

Transport bosses at county hall announced last month that when the one-year-trial ends in March, the road system will revert to the original and traffic will once again pass through the historic gateway to the city.

The scheme has been almost universally derided as causing delays and increasing car fumes. The KCC decision sparked outrage among the city council, which had fought to keep the trial. Cllr Gilbey’s fury was compounded by the fact some of his own councillors had voted against the scheme. Cllr Hirst said:

"The decision to stop the trial was made by the leader of Kent County Council. Highways is a KCC responsibility. As a back bench member I felt that this was correct for Canterbury residents, traders and importantly professional offices. I supported the trial in the first instance but became alarmed by many facets of it in operation and support Mr Carter’s decision to revert to the original layout."

Cllr Hirst is also hinting that he may make his own leadership challenge in the future, adding:

"Some time ago I indicated to members of the Canterbury City Conservative group and the Conservative Association that I would stand, in the May elections of a City Council leader, as a candidate."

The Greenhill and Eddington ward member will also be a Conservative candidate in the next Kent County Council elections.

kentonline 18th Feb 2013

Onion's Tardis

A life-sized Tardis on the seafront could be a real draw with tourists, according to a Bay councillor. Tory Andrew Cook, who represents Heron ward, raised the issue for discussion at Tuesday's meeting of the town's councillors.

The unusual agenda item came up after local prop-maker Jason Onion, 35, suggested the town go Dr Who mad and put a Tardis on the seafront. He said it would be in recognition of BBC scriptwriter Anthony Coburn, who lived and worked in the Bay and conceived the idea of a police box as a time machine.

Mr Onion said a 9ft (2.7m) blue box would be a good excuse to coach the country's Dr Who fans down to the Bay. Town manager Chris West said he thought it was a great idea. He said:

"Anything that serves to draw more people down to the town can only be a good thing. I understand that he's donating a full-sized replica to the library along with some original scripts for the series so we could have what amounts to a very nice exhibition!"

Mr Cook said:

"It's an unusual idea but as a councillor I'm here to facilitate ideas and give people a voice. It's up to my colleagues to agree or disagree as they see fit. But if you think how many Dr Who fans there are – you can't go into a shop in the country without finding Tardis merchandise – out there, it could be a great draw as there seems to be a genuine link to the town."

The first four episodes of Doctor Who were written by Mr Coburn in 1963. Next year is the show's 50th anniversary.

HB Times 16th Jun 2011

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Plans to install a full-size replica Tardis on Herne Bay seafront could become reality after the idea was given a massive thumbs-up by town councillors. The 8ft wooden booth – which will operate as a working police box – will be sited on the entrance to the pier.

Creator Jason Onion, from Beltinge, presented the idea at a meeting on Tuesday night and won a round of applause from councillors and the public. He said the £7,000 Tardis – which will take two months to build – will acknowledge the late Anthony Coburn, who lived in Herne Bay and wrote the first ever Doctor Who episode. It will also have a 360 degree CCTV camera on top to deter would-be vandals. Mr Onion, 35, said:

“I have approached Maidstone Police for their inclusion on this and they are favourable. I wish to involve all emergency services, including St John’s and the coastguard, so the item functions as was intended while serving as a new landmark for the town. I can see only positives for this and know it will do good for Herne Bay.”

The time-travelling machine was well-received by those at the meeting, with many claiming it will give the seafront a boost. Town centre councillor Andrew Cook said:

“I think it’s a great idea and has certainly attracted a lot of attention. Everyone has an interest in it so I think we should take it a step further. It could open up some very interesting doors for Herne Bay and be another thing for us to hang our hat on.”

Heron Ward sidekick Joe Howes added:

“The idea’s great, but Andrew Coburn wasn’t just Dr Who. He wrote lots of other things, including Poldark, so it’s important we recognise that as well.”

West Bay’s Peter Lee said:

“This seems like an excellent idea with benefits to the town. The Herne Bay Regeneration Group Working Party has been looking at the seafront for awhile now and at areas where things can be put and developed. I think the best way forward is to refer this to them so they can look for a permanent site as part of the work they’re doing.”

County councillor David Hirst added:

“It seems great to me - I love it. There’s definitely a use for it.”

It’s thought the Tardis could be built from reclaimed wood from the soon-to-be demolished pier pavilion. Councillors agreed for the idea to be considered by the regeneration working group. Kent County Council has also confirmed it is considering putting a 1963 replica in the town’s library.

HB Gazette 16th Jun 2011

Post mortem and the afterlife

May's election is done and dusted, the rosettes stored away, the leaflets recycled, and the manifesto promises are just fading memories.

What are we left with for the next four years, here in sunny Herne Bay? Well, we've got eight of the old guard (one re-badged) and five newbies - a decent rate of turnover, by the look of it. Twelve of them are Conservative, one Liberal Democrat. And this is where our problems start.

In Herne & Broomfield, there was no change: Bisset, Sonnex and Vickery-Jones sailed in. In the papers the next week, Sharron Sonnex wrote about continuing to "robustly represent" her constituents. I laughed till I stopped. After attending HBAMP meetings on and off for a couple of years, plus the occasional Council meeting, I had never heard Sharon Sonnex speak (or Evelyn Bisset, come to that). When the Herne & Broomfield blarney fairy was handing out the gift of the gab, I think Peter Vickery-Jones must have cornered the market.

Over in West Bay, old hand Peter Lee topped the poll, closely followed by Sebastien Byford. Who? Well, Sebastien is one of the new foundling councillors, magicked out of nowhere by Conservative High Command and dropped neatly into the gap left by Vince McMahan. As you can tell from the number of votes - nearly as many as the experienced financial wizard Peter Lee - he is clearly top-class councillor material.

In my home Ward of Reculver (where I was beaten into fourth place, but still ahead of Labour and LibDems), we hung on to Cllrs Reuby and Taylor, and acquired Jennie Edwards. Putting her glamorous past behind her, Jennie works in the local Conservative office in Birchington, where she was sprinkled with fairy dust and became - tadah! - another foundling councillor.

Heron Ward in central Herne Bay is home to our lone remaining LibDem, Ron Flaherty, and two more newbies - Andrew Cook (King of the Beach Huts) and Joe Howes, about whom I know nothing, other than Andrew apparently met him whilst out dog-walking.

Greenhill & Eddington was all surprises - Robert Bright (once a Conservative, then a LibDem, now a Conservative again) topped the poll, closely followed by David Hirst (already a busy Kent County Councillor for Herne Bay). Councillor Bright is said by his (current) leader John Gilbey to have "ratted and re-ratted" - and there the similarity with Winston Churchill ends, completely. He had not been reselected by the LibDems due to his poor performance as a constituency councillor. For me, his election lends the lie to the idea that the Conservative party has a formidable election machine - you can pin a blue rosette on a rat and it will get votes.

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So, what are we to make of all this, and what's going to happen next?

Dear Reader, I must confess I'm worried for our town. All of the retorgrade steps in recent years have, by definition, happened under and because of the Conservative majority in Canterbury. We now have an overwhelming Conservative majority in Herne Bay - anything and everything that is suggested or ordered by Canterbury High Command will go through on the nod. I forecast poor attendance, and worse debate, at HBAMP (the meeting of our local councillors) as the unchallengable majority become increasingly lazy and arrogant.

Our local democracy is already in poor shape - the Central Development Plan gets a mixed reaction from 119 people, and goes ahead; the village green application gets solid support from ten times as many (1,181) and is fiercely opposed by the Council. Over the last couple of decades, we have seen blue and red landslide victories in national politics, and both have turned sour. I fear this local landslide will follow the same pattern.

And what of HBAMP itself?

We're at the stage in the game of political musical chairs when everyone changes place. The chairmanship alternates annually between Kent County Council and Canterbury City Council, as does the vice-chairmanship. Last year we had David Hirst (chair, KCC) and Vince McMahan (vice-chair, CCC), so this year we must have a CCC Chair, and a KCC vice-chair.

The vice-chairmanship is easy enough to forecast - there are two possible candidates, David Hirst and Jean Law. As David has just had a year of chairing, it will fall to Jean Law to be vice-chair. The chairmanship is a little trickier.

Traditionally, members of the Executive are ruled out - they don't want to give the impression that the Executive runs everything. Perish the thought! So that rules out Lee, Taylor and Vickery-Jones. The newbies are out of the running for a whole host of good reasons, not least inexperience - so that rules out Cook, Howes, Edwards and Byford. Cllr Reuby was chair recently, and there is not a chance in hell that LoneDem Ron Flaherty would be made chair.

Which leave us with the Silent Sisters Sonnex and Bisset, and Blue Rat Bright. Tough call! The word on the street is that Bright wins by a whisker, much to the annoyance of local Tories, some of whom refused to stand in the same Ward as Bright, and even threatened to resign rather than be too close to him. Bright managed to rile people, councillors and public alike, sitting as a councillor on HBAMP. As chair, he promises to be insufferable. He may turn out to be the only significant problem the Herne Bay Conservatives have.

David Hirst

HBM

John Gilbey got out of the wrong side of bed Part 1

about 10 years ago

Westgate trial a success. Earth is flat. Unicorns fart glitter.

about 10 years ago

Local Plan: letter

about 10 years ago

UKIP take Herne Bay

about 10 years ago

Independents to stand in county council poll

about 11 years ago

Gilbey crushes colleague, damages democracy

about 11 years ago

Onion's Tardis

about 12 years ago

Post mortem and the afterlife

about 12 years ago

David Hirst

about 12 years ago

Gale's View: Blacksole Bridge

about 14 years ago

Gale's View: Blacksole Bridge

Blacksole Bridge has become an accident waiting to happen.  That is not only my view, it is a concern shared by the Bay's three County Councillors, David Hirst, Jean Law and Alan Marsh, and also by many of the City Councillors representing the Town.

The development of  new housing between the bridge and the Thanet Way, the opening of the Harvester pub and a new hotel and the re-location of the driving test centre - of which more in a moment - have led to a dangerous mix of increased pedestrian and motor traffic.  It is for precisely this reason that when the City Council granted planning consent for the development of Blacksole Farm it attached a condition requiring the construction of a footbridge alongside the road bridge over the railway.

The developer now wishes to have the planning condition lifted and traffic lights installed instead.  The reasons for this are not difficult to see: a footbridge will be expensive and traffic lights, installed by the Highways Department, will be cheaper.  Lights will not, though, make provision for the pedestrians and cyclists who now daily cross the railway at this point. I hope and believe that the Highways Authority (Kent County Council) and the Planning Authority (Canterbury City Council) will use all of the powers at their several and collective disposal to resist a cheapskate option that will not solve the problem.

I take no pleasure at all in saying that unless the footbridge is constructed in the immediate future we shall find ourselves faced with a serious injury or death.

Part of the traffic problem has been caused by the Driving Test Centre on Altira Park.  It was clear at the time that the proposal was mooted that the Driving Standards Agency was determined to blunder ahead without sufficient attention to the possible consequences for local car and pedestrian traffic.  Neither was any attention paid to the environmental impact of the additional mileage and cost incurred by instructors and candidates having to travel to Herne Bay from Canterbury and Margate to, first, learn the routes and then take the test.

In a parliamentary question tabled in November 2008 I asked the Department for Transport what estimate had been made of the effect of multi-purpose practical driving test centres on levels of (a) car and motorcycle mileage and (b) carbon dioxide emissions. The Ministerial answer from this Government was "none".  So much for "green government"!  Parliamentary correspondence on this issue has revealed that not only in the Bay but nationwide the opening of "Multipurpose Test Centres" has led to increased mileage and emissions, increased costs for those seeking to take and pass their driving tests and, as in the Bay, roads in the area clogged up by crawling learner drivers.

We have all, at one time or another, had to bear L-plates on our cars and have had to stutter through the gears and stall on hill-starts and three-point turns and have nothing but sympathy for those preparing, at vast expense, to put themselves through this ordeal.  I also have huge admiration for those brave men and women who, daily, take their lives in their hands as they coach nervous learners.  I do not believe, though, that the concentration of all of this effort at a Centre on a business park on a roundabout off a flyover adjacent to a busy dual carriageway and approached by a narrow one-lane road over a railway bridge on a sharp bend leading to a very busy pub is necessarily the best choice of site.  I wonder what genius dreamed up this lunacy and why nobody within the planning authority recognised, as some of us did at the time, that this might just not be a clever idea!

The air is now thick with the sound of chickens coming home to roost.

Roger Gale M.P. (May 27th 2009)

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