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

Canterbury spouts nonsense, Herne Bay fountain of wisdom. Nobody surprised.

#FUCCC Our Council's Culture & Enterprise bureaucrats seem to think they know what Guardian readers are interested in (how?), but I put it to you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that Guardian journalists have a much clearer picture of what interests their readers.

In fact, they've already said that they'll be coming to Herne Bay to cover this summer's marvellous Duchamp Centenary celebrations... FOR THEIR READERS.​

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Arts festival will bring Guardian journalists to Herne Bay

Guardian readers may not be tempted by the town but the paper's reporters will be heading to Herne Bay this summer.

Staff from the art and travel section of the national newspaper are planning to cover the three-week festival dedicated to artist Marcel Duchamp and his links with the town, amid a storm over an advert that praised Whitstable and Canterbury but left out Herne Bay.

Tourism chiefs, who paid up to £10,000 for the full-page feature in the Guardian's travel section, say they were concentrating on the brands most likely to attract Guardian readers. But at a meeting organised by the team behind the August festival, they revealed the paper's journalists were looking forward to their visit.

The festival marks 100 years since Duchamp spent a month in Herne Bay, a period believed to be critical to his career. Volunteer Sue Austen, from Bayguide, which is behind the festival, said it could be a boost to the whole town. Southeastern trains have agreed to display posters on board. She said:

"It will hopefully encourage people to Herne Bay who have not been before. It will be covered by the Guardian arts section and Guardian travel section and is already listed in Coast magazine as one of the top things to do this summer."

Sue revealed both Kent County Council and Visit Kent had readily offered support, but said "conversations were ongoing" with Canterbury City Council, who have so far offered to waive the rent on the Kings Hall for a one-day conference to discuss the artist's work.

Steve Coombes, who stood in the KCC elections to raise awareness of the festival, added:

"Charlotte Higgins is the chief arts writer of the Guardian and we have been in enthusiastic communication about the Marcel Duchamp Centenary, by email and phone, since last October. The same is also true of the Times, Telegraph and BBC arts. Unlike the CCC dept of Culture and Enterprise, they were all thrilled by the idea."

Members of the Cartoonists' Club of Great Britain are also planning to take part, after Ralph Steadman created a one-off design for a promotional poster. They will create cartoons for toilets, pubs and other places and there will also be quotes from Duchamp in unusual places around the town and themed window displays from shops.

David Cross, who will be curating the gallery shows, said:

"We would like to make it successful to show them that Herne Bay can be - and has got to be - equal to Whitstable and Canterbury."

Other events planned include an open exhibition at Beach House from July 11 and introducing Mr D at Herne Bay Museum from July 16. Invited artists will show their work at galleries around the town from July 23 and there will also be an art bike trail.

Children can take part in workshops and add their own designs to postcards for a pop-up gallery, and live music, street theatre and chess games are also planned.

Jason Hollingsworth, from Bayguide, said:

"There is a huge cultural legacy to this. There will be a trail and a plaque on the house where he stayed in Downs Park."

For more information on the festival, or to get involved as a volunteer, visit www.iamnotdead.co.uk

Canterbury Times 24th May 2013

Oh dear. He just doesn't get it, does he?

• Step 1 - put your fingers in your ears, to block out the voice of reason.
• Step 2 - shut your eyes tightly, to avoid seeing the evidence.
• Step 3 - close your mind to the facts.
• Step 4 - keep shouting "The Westgate trial is a success", in the hope you'll be believed.​
• Congratulations - you're councillor material.
  

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Canterbury's Westgate Towers traffic ban 'should continue'

A scheme to ban traffic passing through Canterbury's Westgate Towers should be kept in place while evaluations are carried out, the city's council says.

Peter Vickery-Jones, responsible for transport on Canterbury City Council, said traffic pollution had been reduced during the year-long trial.

The ban on vehicles passing under the gateway came into effect in March 2012. About 4,000 people signed a petition calling for the scheme to be scrapped. Opponents said the changes to traffic flows caused congestion and were a danger to pedestrians.

Mr Vickery-Jones said:

"We have displaced traffic, there's no question of that. We have reduced the amount of traffic in the St Dunstan's area by 15%. That's had the effect of reducing the air quality management systems in St Peter's Place, Pound Lane, North Lane and Lower St Dunstan's [Street] to an acceptable level."

He said the scheme had evened out pollution levels across the city.

"For us to revisit the pollution back on those people who live in those areas would be a bad mistake until we've had an opportunity to look at the figures."

In a statement, Kent County Council said:

"Finding a solution to Canterbury's traffic problems is a significant challenge. The Westgate Towers scheme will be removed at the end of the trial period next month, and there will then be a thorough review."

BBC 25th Feb 2013

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

Council keen on permanent Westgate scheme

It was confirmed by Kent County Council today (16th January) that the St Dunstan's and Westgate Towers environmental improvements and traffic management trial will continue for the full year and finish at the end of March. KCC also announced that the road layout will return to its previous configuration at the end of the trial.

The city council will – as it always planned to – assess all the information that has been collected during the 12 months, to take a view on the effectiveness of the scheme. Both councils will then work together, as agreed by the council leaders, to design and implement a permanent scheme later in the year.

Leader of Canterbury City Council, Cllr John Gilbey, said:

"It is fair to say the trial has divided the city and people on both sides of the argument raise many valid points in making their case. But I want to stress that it is our belief that the trial has been the right thing to do and that it should have been given more time for assessment. So we would have liked to have seen the layout remain as it is after March while all the data from the trial is analysed.

This would have been more cost effective and caused the least confusion for motorists, so in these respects today's news is disappointing. But at least with the trial continuing for the full year, we will have a complete set of data to analyse. We will then spend time assessing the results, including traffic flows, air quality monitoring and all the views we received during the public consultation.

We all know that Canterbury's traffic problems are complicated but we are committed to working with the county council to tackle these, lower pollution, ease traffic flows and find a permanent solution at the Westgate Towers and in St Dunstan's."

CCC 16 January 2013

Public interest, secret debate

Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the Locality Board, sounding the death knell for local democracy.

It's made up of the Canterbury City Council Executive and the 9 Kent County Council members who represent constituencies in the Canterbury District. It meets behind closed doors, and "Minutes (including a record of attendance and any conflicts of interest) will not be widely circulated".

I'll be examining the Locality Board more closely in another post.

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Service discussed behind closed doors

The fate of the district's youth centres remains a mystery, after councillors met in private to discuss the issue. A £1 million cut in funding for youth services means there could be only one Kent County Council-funded youth club left in Canterbury, Whitstable and Herne Bay. Faversham Youth Club is also under threat.

The newly formed Canterbury Locality Board, which is made up of Canterbury county councillors and members of the ruling Tory executive of the city council, met behind closed doors on Tuesday, March 24 to debate the issue.

Liberal Democrat councillors fear that the secret meeting was used to rubber-stamp controversial plans to keep Whitstable Youth Club open instead of the city’s Riverside Centre, as originally expected. Lib Dem parliamentary spokesman James Flanagan said:

"Decisions like this should be taken in public so that the people taking them are fully accountable. Closing youth clubs can only lead to more young people ending up hanging around on street corners and getting into trouble. For councillors to hide their actions from the public is an absolute disgrace."

A final decision will be made by Kent County Council, and city council bosses said the locality board members had no powers other than to give their views. Canterbury City Council spokesman Rob Davies said:

"The meeting last week discussed the future of KCC’s youth service in the Canterbury district, and city council members were happy to have the opportunity to discuss how that service operates in the months ahead. However, the decision about youth services is one for KCC to take and any queries about its decision-making process should be directed to County Hall."

County councillor Mark Dance insisted that clubs would not close, although they could be funded differently.

"There will be no closures of any of the youth centres in the Canterbury district. However, further details are still in negotiation and will be revealed at the end of the month by cabinet member Councillor Mike Hill."

The board’s discussions will be revealed when the minutes are published of the city council's Scrutiny Committee, which meets on Wednesday, 25th April. Kent County Council will meet on 27th April to debate the issue.

KCC - prize-winningly rotten

Kent County Council managed to scoop two titles in Private Eye's Rotten Boroughs Awards 2011.

The column, which lists authorities' municipal wrongdoing, named council leader Paul Carter as Mr Toad of the Year and former managing director Katherine Kerswell as Goldenballs of the Year. Councillor Carter's entry read:

"Paul "Petrolhead" Carter announced that he is to take January 2012 off, taking part in a London to Cape Town rally (while still receiving nearly £5,000 allowance for the month). After authorising a monster payoff to Katherine Kerswell and approving the sacking of scores of staff, he then appealed to the survivors to fork out for rally sponsorship. Surprisingly, there were few takers."

Ms Kerswell's entry was in response to her leaving payment from the council. It said:

"Predicting the imminent departure of… blue-sky babbling £197,000-a-year Katherine Kerswell… Eye 1303 told how an announcement was being delayed by squabbling over the wording of her departure statement. KCC's PR-wallahs duly delivered a few days later: "Exceptional job... first-rate public servant... tremendous skills... improved services... next phase... leaving the council... to pursue new interests." Kerswell's barrow, meanwhile, was reportedly groaning under the weight of £450,000 in used fivers."

A spokesman for KCC said:

"Thank you for sending the link and inviting KCC to comment on this – on this occasion we will not be taking you up on this offer."

thisiskent 6th Jan 2012

Paul Carter crows and bleats

It simply beggars belief that Paul Carter should round on the local press and suggest that they are responsible for the falling staff morale at KCC. We will find out in June, if not before, how much Katherine Kerswell was paid leave quietly. What is clear now, and has been for some time, is that her recruitment and departure revealed serious shortcomings at the very top of KCC. Poor staff morale at the Council is more likely to be a result of working for rubbish bosses than simply reading about them.

It's also pretty rich for Paul Carter to criticise the press for not playing a "straight bat" after the stream of misleading and mealy-mouthed press releases that accompanied the confused and confusing departure of the Council's MD.

Paul Carter's request for sponsorship from his staff was quite simply breath-takingly crass.

Kent County Council leader Paul Carter has described 2011 as a "demanding and tough" year for the authority. In a New Year message posted on the Kent County Council website, the Tory council leader said challenges included growing economic and political uncertainty and fears over job security – including his own.

But he said the council had made a lot of progress over the year, including saving £95 million and preparing a budget for 2012 with another £97 million of savings. The cuts include the loss of hundreds of jobs as staffing levels were slashed by 10%. Mr Carter said:

"We are now starting to see a more joined up, leaner organisation emerge and I am very confident that this new approach will support good quality front line service delivery for our residents."

There has also been progress in the authority's children's services department, which was slammed by Ofsted last year. Officials concluded there were "no priority areas for action" at the last inspection. Mr Carter said there were also improvements in school results and the number of apprenticeships in Kent has also risen by over 70%.

He said his New Year resolution was to improve relationships with the local press after a spate of "biased" stories, including reports about the departure of managing director Katherine Kerswell and Mr Carter's month-long trip to South Africa. Staff were furious after they were asked to sponsor the charity trip in the wake of reports of a six-figure redundancy settlement for Ms Kerswell. She was 18 months into a four-year contract. Mr Carter said:

"I know there has been several high-profile issues related to the organisation in the past few weeks; however, I am very concerned that on many occasions the good stories we have to tell are simply falling on deaf ears. My frustration is that, despite the reality, this constant sniping at KCC impacts on morale for our hard-working staff, and if we are not careful the consequence will inevitably be a knock-on effect to frontline service delivery. I would love to see more stories played with a straight bat in 2012, giving credit where credit's due and letting the public actually decide for themselves."

thisiskent 5th Jan 2012

Journalist bites councillor

Once again, Paul Francis hits the nail on the head, this time in a riposte to Paul Carter's New Year's gobshite.

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KCC leader fires salvo at local press for 'biased' reporting: a response

Politicians often think we are out to get them and are working to some kind of hidden agenda. And the word that sometimes gets bandied about is that we are 'biased'. It is a word that KCC leader Paul Carter used when he fired off a New Year salvo at the local media in general just before departing for a month long break to participate in a vintage car rally to South Africa.

In a piece, which for the most part was a look back over the year, he ended with a short section 'looking forward'. It began with a pledge that he wished to "improve our relationship with the local press." This laudable aim was then rather undermined by a series of comments that together amounted to an attack on those that he wished to foster improved relationships with.

The article claimed that 'some stories have been particularly biased against KCC' and although he stopped short of specifying which ones, it is pretty clear that he was referring to the controversy surrounding the departure of managing director Katherine Kerswell.

Acknowledging that there had been 'several high profile issues' in the last few weeks, he claimed that the media's 'constant sniping at KCC 'impacts on morale for our hard-working staff' and 'the consequence will inevitably be a knock-on effect to frontline service delivery.'

If this was intended to be the start of his desire to improve relationships with the media, it was not only misjudged but perverse. Perhaps the most risible comment was his appeal to the media to play stories with a 'straight bat' and give 'credit where credit's due' - and to let the public 'actually decide for themselves'.

This from an organisation that has over the years accrued a reputation for evasiveness and PR spin that might make even Peter Mandleson blush.

Unfortunately for KCC, its own unwillingness to play with a straight bat has contributed to a sense of distrust - which was only made worse by the debacle over departure of managing director Katherine Kerswell. KCC moved heaven and earth to persuade everyone, including its own staff, that nothing was going on when it was common knowledge that discussions were already underway about scrapping her £197,000 post.

Its initial statement responding to media queries was a classic piece of Orwellian double-speak, a contrivance of misinformation that - while strictly accurate -  was as far removed from 'playing with a straight bat' as could be imagined. Equally ludicrous was the claim that our 'constant sniping' was threatening front line services by damaging morale among staff.

Does KCC, which never lets us forget that it is one of the biggest authorities in the country and the county's largest employer, expect us not to report job losses and the potential consequences for residents because of the squeeze on public spending - not to mention huge pay-offs for directors on six-figure salaries?   

Nothing has damaged morale at County Hall more than the lamentable way it dealt with events leading up to the decision to scrap Katherine Kerswell's role. The evidence came in some of the scathing comments posted by staff on its own Intranet site about her departure and reported pay-off, showing that many felt duped by KCC, their own employer.

Uncomfortable though it can be for politicians, our job is to hold them to account for their actions and decisions and ask the questions that the public - as taxpayers - would want answered. It is not to suppress information although you get the sense that KCC sometimes thinks it should be. It is true we are often sceptical - not biased - and if KCC wonders why we are, it really does have its head in the sand far deeper than even we imagine.

Relations between politicians and journalists can often be uneasy ones, characterised by mutual suspicion, a lack of trust and, just occasionally, a touch of paranoia.

Paul on Politics, by political editor Paul Francis Tuesday, January 3 2012

Why KCC will have to come clean over Kerswell

Not for the first time, Kent County Council has shown that when it comes to transparency, its view of what the public has a right to know depends rather on what the circumstances are. It will not, we are told, be disclosing the details of the severance package it has agreed with its departing managing director Katherine Kerswell because it is bound by a confidentiality agreement. Ah, the good old confidentiality clause.

Perhaps with all the frenzy over trying to come to an agreement with Mrs Kerswell, the authority overlooked its new obligations to publish such information under the transparency regime that, to his credit, the communities secretary Eric Pickles has insisted all councils must follow.

Specifically, KCC appears to have not given much thought to a change in the Audit and Account Regulations 2009 that ensures the public is entitled to much more detailed information about the remuneration of senior council staff. This places a requirement on councils to disclose how much senior employees have earned in salary, fees and allowances, bonuses and

"the total amount of any compensation for loss of employment paid to or receivable by the person and any other payments made to or receivable by the person in connection with the termination of their employment by the relevant body."

In other words, everything about the pay and perks, as well as pension value, of senior staff for the financial year - including their names if they are earning more than £150,000.

So KCC will have to detail the sums involved in scrapping the group managing director's role when it next publishes its full accounts - probably around June. This does, of course, give the council the advantage of hoping that enough time will have passed for everyone to have forgotten about it but I suspect that may be a vain hope.

So, why doesn't KCC grasp the nettle instead of hiding behind this fig leaf? One of the reasons is that it has form when it comes to eye-watering pay-offs to departing staff, most notably when it agreed to pay former chief executive Peter Gilroy £200,000 on the day he left the authority as part of the package agreed when his contract was extended by a year.

So, it undoubtedly wants to avoid a further clutch of embarrassing headlines.

Its own avowed approach to transparency is - and I quote from the county council leader Paul Carter - is that 

"it is enormously important that residents of the county who pay substantial taxes know where their money goes. We have no problems with that at all."

Could there be a more compelling case for disclosure of how taxpayers' money is being spent? KCC is forever telling us how much its controversial re-structuring has saved the taxpayer. And its report proposing the deletion of the post of managing director emphasises how much it will save by not paying her salary - £265,000 a year.

If it can be so transparent on these matters, we are surely entitled to know the other side of the coin.

Paul Francis kentonline 13th Dec 2011

Paul Carter's view of 2011 and 2012

Looking back on 2011, it’s been a demanding and tough year. We have had growing uncertainty in the economy, growing uncertainty in Europe and the Euro, and uncertainties in job security (including my own!).  But we have much to be proud of at KCC.

A year ago, we faced huge challenges:

• Failure in Children’s Services
• The biggest financial challenge ever imposed upon local government through the Comprehensive Spending Review
• The consequent need to reshape and restructure the whole organisation
• A global and national economy going nowhere fast, with rising unemployment, particularly amongst our young people
• The need to define a new role for local government in education
• And early in the New Year, Pfizer announcing their withdrawal from Sandwich with 3,000 consequent job losses.

There are still big challenges ahead, but I am very proud of the progress we have made over the course of the year:

• The significant reorganisation has been difficult and tough for everyone, however we have had no choice in taking 25% out of our base budgets and reducing staffing levels by some 10%. We are now starting to see a more joined up, leaner organisation emerge and I am very confident that this new approach will support good quality front line service delivery for our residents.
• We are on target to deliver an underspend of £1m in the delivery of this year's challenging budget (£95m in savings) and we have now launched our draft budget for next year with an additional £97m of savings needed. This is an intelligent and well thought through draft budget that does everything it can to protect front line services and I am pleased to confirm to our residents that there will be no council tax increase next year.
• Children’s Services is now out of intensive care in record time, with the OFSTED unannounced inspection concluding that there are now ‘no priority areas for action’.  Whilst there is still much to be done, I have every confidence that that robust health will soon be restored to Children’s Services in Kent.
• The interim report for the Kent Health Commission, designed to support and give shape to the Government’s new health reform agenda, is now on Andrew Lansley’s desk and the final report is due in March. This will bring to life the ambitions of our innovative general practitioners in Kent developing ways of improving patient care and making better use of public money.
• On Friday 16th December we moved ahead with launching our Big Society Fund - £3m of which will support both existing and new third sector organisations and social enterprises linked to this.
• At the newly named Discovery Park (Pfizer site) in Sandwich, 800 jobs have now been secured. National Government have responded with Enterprise Zone status that will help to stimulate new business in the area and £40m of Regional Growth Fund allocation for the East Kent economy.
• In the autumn statement, it was good to see one of our main objectives in ‘Growth Without Gridlock’, a new Third Thames crossing, being endorsed by national Government. We are also making good progress in getting the A21 dualling at Castle Hill up the priority list within the Department for Transport.
• It has been enormously pleasing to see academic attainment continue to improvement, particularly in our primary schools. The statistics on unemployed young people (NEETs) continue to buck the worsening national trend, and the number of apprenticeships in Kent has also risen by over 70%.

Looking forward

We have an ambitious delivery programme for 2012 and I am keen to build on the momentum of these successes. I have no doubt that the year ahead will bring new challenges and new opportunities to the county, but in Kent we have a significant advantage – a strong organisation that knows where it is going!

On another note, my New Year’s resolution for next year must be to improve our relationship with the local press. It has felt in recent weeks that some stories have been particularly biased against KCC. I know there has been several high profile issues related to the organisation in the past few weeks , however I am very concerned that on many occasions the good stories we have to tell are simply falling on deaf ears. My frustration is that, despite the reality, this constant sniping at KCC impacts on morale for our hard working staff, and if we are not careful the consequence will inevitably be a knock on effect to front line service delivery. I would love to see more stories played with a straight bat in 2012, giving credit where credit's due and letting the public actually decide for themselves.

Wishing everyone a happy and healthy 2012!

Paul

KCC staff are furious

Disgruntled county council staff have given vent to their anger over a reported six-figure payoff being handed to the authority's managing director in an extraordinary series of comments criticising the way it has been handled. And they have also taken aim at the county council leader over his decision to be away from his desk throughout January to take part in a vintage car rally in South Africa.

The comments – leaked to the KM Group – were posted by staff on the council's own intranet under an initiative known as 'Talk To The Top', where senior managers respond to questions from employees. Dozens took the chance to express their dismay at events surrounding the abrupt departure of managing director Katherine Kerswell.

County councillors voted to scrap the post of managing director yesterday amid a furious political row. Conservative leader Paul Carter was accused of acting like a dictator by the opposition parties. But recent events triggered a hostile response from many staff, although a number were subsequently deleted by senior managers.

Comments posted by staff included:

• "Surely if an employee chooses to leave then they should forfeit any golden handshake? Any other member of staff who left for their own reasons would not be entitled to this."
• "Why did KCC elect to be less than transparent over Katherine Kerswell leaving? Several weeks ago, KCC claimed it was rumours and lies... and here we are today with Paul Carter declaring she is going!"
• "Why on earth would KCC lie to its own staff about Katherine Kerswell leaving? Two weeks ago, we were told rumours in the paper about her leaving were false only to find out they were true. Staff are losing their jobs right now – the money could have saved several jobs! How can we be expected to work through tough times when we are being... clowned around by our own employers? Staff should be more important and told the truth at all times."
• "Isn't it about time staff were treated with some dignity and respect and not treated to the media fodder that usually gets spun our way?"
• "I'm sure many employees would like to work for 16 months then decide to pursue new interests and be given a giant helping hand to do this with nearly half a million pounds. It is time KCC employees stood up and had their concerns listened to."
• "For most of us living on the breadline, six-figure send-offs is soul destroying – more so because it is the little people who, to coin a Star Trek phrase, 'make it so'."

There was also open criticism of KCC leader Paul Carter over his request to staff for sponsorship to support his charity vintage car rally in January, which will see him away from County Hall and in South Africa for most of the month:

• "Sorry Paul, charity begins at home – perhaps instead of going on a jolly you can go on a conflict resolution course instead."
• "It just beggars belief that so much money can be chucked around like confetti and those of us struggling to make ends meet are then asked to waste what little we have on jollies!"
• "Massively insensitive – I am totally lost for words. I feel sick."

Responding on the forum, Mr Carter said:

"I can understand and sympathise that feelings are running high regarding job losses. However, the email was aimed to try and help four very good charities in the hope we can raise substantial sums from the generosity of staff, friends and business colleagues. In the first few hours we have already raised over £100 for these good causes, let's keep the momentum going."

kentonline 16th Dec 2011

Kerswell out of it

Cllr Carter will wear a toga of Imperial purple on all public engagements, and feast on roast peacocks daily. We, on the other hand, will be fed to the lions. There will be no circuses. There will be no bread. Does anyone remember voting for this?

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Kent County Council have finally decided that Katherine Kerswell is not in fact managing director. This is the latest instalment in a story that has been running since November 16th, when the rumours first emerged that Katherine would be leaving her post for reasons for reasons unknown.

At the time she was 16 months in to her four-year contract, and appeared to have ruffled the feathers of the Conservative backbenchers with her program of change and improvement within the Council. Initially there was confusion as to whether she had actually left or not. Even when Kent County Council put out a statement that Katherine "is and remains" managing director, some confusion remained given that there was no sign of Katherine at the KCC offices.

There was activity behind the scenes, there were lawyers, there were rumours. However, throughout the exercise there was uncertainty and a lack of transparency, and this remains the case. On November 28th KCC held a meeting that was behind closed doors and did not have a published agenda. This is probably when they decided what to do about Catherine. It seems that they decided to pay her a lot of money to go away - £450,000.

This begs a number of questions. Firstly, did she resign or what she made redundant? Secondly, why is this very expensive exercise in failed recruitment shrouded in secrecy? The most worrying question, in my opinion, is what happens next.

The senior officer grades at KCC have just been cut and reorganised by Katherine, and a number of posts are being filled by interim managers. It seems reasonable to guess that one of the reasons that contributed to Katherine's departure is a clash of styles between the members and the officers.

Paul Carter: bringing out the Tourettes in people since 2005

Councillor Paul Carter seems to be suggesting that KCC doesn't actually need a managing director or Chief Executive, and that he will simply sweep up those functions within his own existing role as Leader.

"I and my cabinet have made the decision that to deliver further efficiencies and a more streamlined organisation we can operate very successfully without a managing director." He said local government now had cabinets working with the leader as the executive and so no longer needed a chief executive or managing director."

It seems to me that this is a spectacularly bad time to combine roles of leader and Chief Executive. Even if Paul Carter was a supremely talented human being, it would be a lot to ask of him. As it is, the MD's salary of £200k represents a saving of 0.01% of Kent's £2 billion budget, while the cost to KCC of doing without a managing director has yet to be calculated.

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Kent County Council is under further pressure over the news that its managing director is to quit and is reported to be walking away with a six-figure payoff.

Unison said reports that Katherine Kerswell is in line for a settlement worth £450,000 were a smack in the face for its staff and demoralising at a time when hundreds of lower paid staff had lost their jobs at County Hall.

KCC finally confirmed that Katherine Kerswell will leave this month after weeks denying that it had any plans to axe her post - despite mounting rumour and speculation. Mrs Kerswell, who has not been at her desk for the best part of a month, is only 16 months into a four-year contract.

Unison branch secretary David Lloyd said:

"It is demoralising for our members to see this at a time when they are struggling to save their own jobs and would never get anywhere near this kind of payout even if they had worked for 20 years or more. It really is a smack in the face."

Opposition parties said it was disgraceful that taxpayers were being kept in the dark over how much she will walk away with. They also raised questions about why she was receiving any payout if she was resigning.

KCC says it has signed a confidential agreement, meaning it cannot say what the terms of the settlement are. However, some details will have to be published next year when the authority publishes its annual accounts as part of new government transparency regulations.

Labour opposition leader Cllr Gordon Cowan said:

"This is public money and after all, it will be taxpayers’ who fund this. KCC should be upfront and say exactly how much she is getting. It will have to come out at some point but they should say so immediately."

Liberal Democrat spokesman Cllr Tim Prater echoed:

"From the statement the council has put out, it reads like she has resigned. If she did, why is she being paid off at all? That is the question every taxpayer in Kent deserves an answer to."

Mrs Kerswell joined the county council in March 2010 from Northamptonshire county council following the departure of former chief executive Peter Gilroy. A statement released by KCC said:

"Katherine Kerswell has done an exceptional job at Kent reshaping our approach to service delivery and recasting our overall management arrangements. She is a first-rate public servant with tremendous skills at making large organisations work well. Her management direction has helped produce very significant savings to the council and confirmed Kent’s position as a leading authority."

kentonline 12th Dec 2011 Paul Francis

Inquiry on village green starts

An official inquiry into the 'grass roots' fight to make the Herne Bay Downs a protected Village Green started with allegations of council waste and bullying. Canterbury City Council were accused of adding massive legal costs of hiring a barrister to cross examine locals, to the £30,000 they have already spent in legal fees.

Campaigners Ros McIntyre and Phil Rose, who want to keep the green by the prom a much-loved area for dog walkers and blackberry pickers, sat opposite the massed ranks of the council as the inquiry started on Monday. With their initially hesitant questions they bravely stood up to the suited and booted professionals who are being paid by CCC up to £500 a day to take them on. [Correction: it's £850 a day.]

Phil said:

"They might have a top barrister who is charging £8,000 plus £500 a day to rip our case apart, but we have the might of a grass-roots democratic movement behind us. The council plan to build what they call a QE2 Costal Park, got just 41 votes in a national poll and to keep it undisturbed as a village green got 1,181. The council reckon by hiring expensive top legal minds to beat us back they will do what the minority want but we will fight them. This inquiry could well last a long time as we have 49 witnesses and they are all demanding to be heard."

Ros added:

"There was an argument at the start as the council had stopped one of our witnesses giving evidence against them as she was in fact the local councillor for the area. A lot of what they have come up with is nonsense. They simply just want the freedom to make as much money from the land as they can. They still want to build some beach huts but what about the future? The village green status protects it forever so it will be saved for our children."

Inquiry chairman, barrister Lana Wood made it clear she is paid by KCC to host the inquiry as a public duty. She said:

"I am a barrister employed by Kent Council because we have a duty to carry out a public inquiry. When local people complain about CCC hiring a barrister they are referring to Richard Grant who is acting for them."

Mr Grant quizzed the first witness of the inquiry Mr Alan Joiner, 82. He told them how he had enjoyed walking both his and his daughter's dog for 23 years across the green and during the summer had picked blackberries and held family picnics and hoped it would stay that way. Other witnesses were due to give similar evidence this week as the inquiry moved from St Andrew's church hall to Christ Church.

HB Times 1st Dec 2011

Council refuses to back village green status bid

A campaign group will not have the backing of the council in its efforts to have The Downs in Herne Bay certified as a village green.

The Save Our Downs group has been urging the council to support the application, which if successful would mean that the area would be open to the public for free forever and that any development which takes place would have to be in the interests of the public.

A public inquiry is due to take place at the end of November to determine whether the 72-acre seafront area will be designated a village green. Kent County Council is the registration authority which will decide The Downs' fate, but Canterbury City Council owns the land and will not be backing village green status.

Members of the council's ruling executive met last Thursday and rejected the idea of turning The Downs into a village green. A report before them stated:

"If the land becomes a town/ village green then, whilst the inhabitants of Herne Bay may have special rights over it, the rights of the council and public in general are diminished. Herne Bay is a seaside resort. The council manages this land not only for the benefit of residents but also for the visitors the town seeks to attract. The interests of the two groups may often coincide, but sometimes they will not."

Peter Lee, the council's member for finance and the councillor for West Bay, spoke against village green status for The Downs. He said:

"It's important that this land is retained for the whole community. It's up to us to make sure that this area is available to the general public in perpetuity."

And council leader John Gilbey added:

"This application is wrong and should never have been put in the first place."

The week-long public inquiry into the village green application starts at St Andrew's Church Hall, Hampton Pier Avenue, on at 10am on Monday, November 28. It will continue at St Andrew's on Tuesday before moving to Christ Church in William Street for the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of that week.

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Phil Rose is the applicant for village green status and a founder member of Save Our Downs. He believes the reason for the Council's rejection of the application is largely financial.

Part-quoting the Council's report during his speech to the Executive on 13th October, he said:

"If the Downs get village green status the Council will be unable to 'lease the land, offer a concession, charge for use, and build on it'. Herne Bay residents have long suspected that this kind of asset-stripping was the real reason for the Council's objection."

Mr Rose added:

"Village green status has not and will not stop you doing coast defence work. It will not stop visitors from enjoying The Downs. Village green status is what residents and tax payers want."

HB Gazette 20th Oct 2011 aclaridge@thekmgroup.co.uk

Residents 'in tears' as care home shut down

Eight residents aged 25 to 80 were left in tears when their care home was suddenly closed forcing them into temporary accommodation. Officials from the Care Quality Commission made a shock decision to shut Sea View Lodge in Central Parade, Herne Bay, amid allegations of neglect and abuse. A court order was made at Canterbury Magistrates' Court and the home's registration was cancelled with immediate effect on Wednesday, meaning the eight residents were moved out by Kent County Council staff.

Owner Shahid Sheikh, who denies any wrongdoing and is consulting lawyers, said many were in tears as they left. He believes he has been unfairly treated by the government watchdog and fears the action follows a letter of complaint from a disgruntled ex-employee. The 61-year-old said:

"They were not able to tell me one specific thing that was wrong. If I had made a mistake then I would say 'what needs changing?' But this just doesn't make sense. It has totally come out of the blue."

Roxy Boyce, regional director for the CQC, said they had acted to protect the safety and welfare of people at Seaview Lodge. He said:

"Closing a care home is not a decision taken lightly. However, it became clear that the only way to properly protect residents was to close the home immediately, and move residents to other locations where care is of a better standard."

Mr Sheikh said the home – which received a 'good' rating at its last inspection a year ago – was always run to the highest standards. Some residents had lived there for 20 years and last year's inspection report praised staff for being thoughtful and respectful. Sea View Lodge has been run by Mr Sheikh for the last 12 years and he says recent events have left him devastated.

"It was always like a big family in the home. The residents had everything they needed and I would always spend money to ensure that. In the space of 12 hours this has all happened."

Margaret Howard, director of operations for learning disability at the county council, said staff worked with the Care Quality Commission to find alternative accommodation and kept friendship groups together. She said:

"We will continue to support them and ensure we find them an appropriate permanent accommodation for the future."

HB Times 17th Jun 2011

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