John Gilbey's blueprint for Herne Bay

The Leader of our Council has produced a blueprint for debate. As he says:

Cllr John Gilbey

As a member of the City Council for 11 years and as Portfolio Holder for Regeneration for 9 years, I have had a unique insight into many issues across the District and the County.

I don’t have all the answers to questions that are asked and would never make such a claim, but I would like to use my years of accumulated knowledge to present my ideas for the future of the Canterbury District.

This is not a plan, or a proposal, these are merely my own personal thoughts, a blueprint to encourage meaningful debate on these issues. This is a document to encourage you to write to me with your views and opinions, to stimulate positive ideas on the ways forward for all of us.

After a little chat about how in love with the Local Plan he is, and how we will all be living in "garden towns", basking in the glow of "sustainable urban design", Cllr Gilbey goes on to focus on specific areas.

Here's what he has to say about Herne Bay [with my comments] - do feel free to add your own comments below.

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Herne Bay

The council will complete the town centre upgrade [after how many years, while you were portfolio holder for regeneration?] including moving the market and preserving some of the buildings currently in a state of decay [examples?]. There is a need to re-open some disused buildings and homes [examples?], and tax second homes appropriately [why, how, and how much?].

A proposal to open up Beach Street and rejuvenate that environment will also be completed [completed? has planning been approved?] as part of the upgrading of the town and in that context the sea front itself should be the subject of renewal/upgrading with analysis and decisions to be taken in the light of local views and aspirations [NO! it should be DRIVEN by local views and aspirations] on the future purpose of such an attractive location. We should widen the appeal and facilities of Herne Bay even further to encourage both tourism and business to provide local jobs.

We will have a solid foundation for a greater marketable attraction with all these planned developments. I strongly believe we should also support the Pier head activities [I think you mean the Pier stub - your Council has long since admitted it has no intention of rebuilding to the Pier head], satisfactorily resolve the future of the Museum [after YOUR Council cut its opening hours, following YEARS of neglect] and continue protection for the Downs [your Council is the ONLY objector to the village green application - village green status is the greatest possible protection under English law]. King's Hall needs to be fully supported in its endeavours to become a self supporting venue for events while providing community facilities. The replacement of the Beach Huts at the base of the Downs should also be part of the package [NEVER!].

The Roman fort remains at Reculver need to be enhanced and protected. The general environment of the coast at Reculver needs firm and direct action to provide an environment worthy of the history, nature, culture and attraction of this unique area [yes, it could be a great place for a caravan site...]. Overall Herne Bay should strive to be a modern vibrant town that provides attractions and facilities for residents and tourists, both taking advantage of the seaside location. The Bends should always be protected as a valuable green gap and open space.

This council has, over the last 9 years made huge progress in Herne Bay and this is often forgotten about. We have renovated the clock tower (with the recent announcement there is much more renovation to come) [so how good was your first renovation?] and sea front flood defences [er, no - this was Environment Agency funded], we have enhanced the whole concept and environment of Memorial Park, designated large Queen Elizabeth II Fields which permanently protects green open spaces from development [it affords no such protection - QEII land can be developed on, if a matching area nearby is provided as a replacement - in contrast, a village green can NOT be developed, which is why the Council is objecting], upgraded the Leisure Centre facilities and cleared the pier head [knocked down a building which had become unsafe through Council neglect, and put down a poor tarmac surface]. We have built a sports centre at Herne Bay High School incorporating a roller hockey rink while also encouraging and supporting local involvement throughout. We have prepared an Area Action Plan for the Town Centre and work is now underway. With residents there is much to be done still to preserve and enhance the ambiance and economic well being of the Town but we are well on our way.

Not the End of the Pier Show

Dash along to the Herne Bay Museum and see the brand new "Not the End of the Pier Show" - running until 11th September.

'New regime' clashes with Pier Trust

Museum bosses tore down a poster promoting Herne Bay Pier Trust, despite the fact that the latest exhibition is dedicated to the iconic seaside structure. Despite protests from staff at the William Street museum, managers insisted the poster had to be removed because it did not fit in with the council's corporate branding.

Pier trust members who complained were told the poster had been put in the wrong place. Trust chairman Julian Jennings said:

"It's bureaucracy gone mad. I don't think the staff knew there was a right and wrong place for posters, so they were not happy when it was taken down. But it's now been put up in the right place, so we hope everyone is happy."

The row is the latest in a series of grumbles since the museum shop was taken over by the council's visitor services team in a bid to make more money. Staff now wear Canterbury-branded uniforms, and city-branded leaflets are on display around the museum. Visitors who do not have a residents' card issued by the council must also pay to enter the exhibitions, after a review initially recommended shutting the museum.

David Cross, secretary of the Friends of the Museum, said:

"There is a completely new regime in charge of the museum and they are still trying things out. They are aware they will get things wrong, and have done so, and we the Friends are concerned about that. But we are confident we will arrive together at the right conclusion."

Council spokesman Steve James added:

"We've always been very supportive of the Pier Trust and its work in the community, and only removed the posters from the Herne Bay Museum as part of a general tidy-up of the building entrance. But after being contacted by a trust member, we agreed to put the posters back, and these posters will complement trust leaflets which are always on display. No offence was intended, and we hope that we can continue to display trust posters in a co-ordinated manner. We're proud that Herne Bay Museum and Gallery forms an integral part of the community, and we always respond positively to feedback supplied by local residents."

HB Times 15th Jul 2011

New Museums boss excited for future

Responsibility for the district's much treasured artefacts has been handed to a newly appointed director of museums and galleries at the city council.

Jo Jones, 39, says Canterbury has an outstanding variety of historical collections, and she aims to encourage more visitors to spend more money on seeing them. Her appointment follows widespread condemnation last year of council proposals to close some museums to save money.

Now, following a comprehensive review of the service, the council's head of culture Janice McGuinness says the authority's approach to the attractions "has been turned on its head" and the fortunes of the museum have been revived through better presentation and marketing. Visitors numbers at the Roman Museum, for example, which was one of those under threat, are said to have risen dramatically.

The council had been tasked with slashing about £112,000 from its £900,000 budget for runnng the museums, but Mrs McGuinness said the savings had been found by other means and working with entrepreneurs like Charles Lambie, who was leading the revival of the Westgate Towers museum. Ken Reedie, who had been curator for many years, is continuing to work with the city council on the work at the Beaney in the city centre, which is undergoing extension and refurbishment.

Miss Jones studied history of art and did a postgraduate degree in museums. She has spent her career working in museums and specialises in generating visitor numbers, for which she has received a Business in Arts marketing award. She comes to Canterbury from Sefton Council, Merseyside, where she was overseeing a similar project to the Beaney. She said:

"I was attracted to the job because it was such an exciting opportunity and I am very impressed with the council's commitment to culture."

She said one of her aims was to boost income by opening up the museums and galleries to more commercial opportunities, including children's parties and corporate events.

Gerry Warren, HB Gazette 23rd Jun 2011

Canterbury Archaeological Society

WINTER PROGRAMME 2011

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Saturday, 15th January

St. Mildred’s Tannery Site, Canterbury: archaeological discoveries

Simon Pratt

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Saturday, 29th January

Frank Jenkins Memorial Lecture: the Annual Review of the Work of the Canterbury Archaeological Trust

Paul Bennett

Venue: Old Sessions House, Canterbury Christ Church University

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Saturday, 12th February

Liturgy and Archaeology in Medieval Canterbury

Dr Helen Gittos

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Saturday, 5th March

Investigation of Bekesbourne: the history of a Kentish village

David Gilmour

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Meetings are at 6 p.m. and are held in the

Laud Lecture Theatre

Canterbury Christ Church University (unless otherwise indicated)

Visitors welcome, cost £2 per lecture

For further information contact Dr A Chadwick 01227 766608

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Closures "justified by fall in council grant"

HB Times 28th Oct 2010

Reculver's past at the Museum

HB Gazette 23rd Sep 2010

Friends of Herne Bay Museum

The Friends of Herne Bay Museum is a non-profit making group dedicated to keeping a museum, freely open to all, in the town for residents and visitors alike.

In late 2009 there was a threat to turn our museum into an education centre, open only to groups and schools who booked in advance and paid for the service. We won a stay of execution because thousands of people spoke up. It’s our museum and we need to keep speaking up for it, so that it will survive and thrive.

Heron I heart

Modern take on ancient objects

Artists from the CT6 contemporary art group have taken their inspiration from objects in Herne Bay museum for their latest exhibition. Their display, which runs until Saturday September 11 2010, is linked to the BBC/British Museum A History of the World project and features the work of 12 town artists.

Among those is Mandy Troughton, one of the co-organisers, who is exhibiting her model white heron. The exhibition has been called Art from Artefacts and has been inspired by the objects normally on show in the museum. Visitors will be encouraged to have a look at the original piece which inspired each art creation. The exhibition is free and may be seen Monday to Saturday, 10am-4pm and from 1pm~4pm on Sundays.

Tying in with the exhibition is Canterbury museum service’s Relic Trail which lasts until the end of the year and covers the district’s three museums. This is also free and was inspired by the BBC children's Relic programme.

HB Gazette 8th July 2010

Museum Friends in the press

Crash, bang, wallop! A massive multi-media extravaganza accompanied the public launch of the the Friends of Herne Bay Museum - people, dogs, cameras, sunshine, words on sticks, you name it - total sensory saturation, Herne Bay style.

Save our museum for sake of town

A campaign group which wants to save Herne Bay Museum from closure has been formed. The Friends of Herne Bay are battling to keep the museum in William Street open after the city council announced plans to change it to an education centre for schools and advanced bookings as part of an effort to cut its budget by £35 million over two years. Nearly 2,000 people signed a petition to try to stop museum closing David Cross, the Friends’ secretary, said:

“Herne Bay museum is different from the rest of the museums in the council’s remit. The larger part of the collection is owned by the Historical Records Society who hold it in trust for the town. Unlike Whitstable and Canterbury there was no supporting interest group representing the users of the museum and the residents of the town.

After an encouraging campaign there was a strong feeling that the body of opinion revealed in the petition and the letters, needed permanent representation. This especially at a time when the council is talking to interested parties and stakeholders. The Friends of Herne Bay Museum representing the interests of the users and supporters of the Museum in Herne Bay now needs people to join and help to secure the future of one of the town’s important attractions.”

HB Gazette 17th Jun 2010

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Friends wanted to help preserve the museum

Supporters of Herne Bay Museum are being encouraged to join a Friends group to help keep it open. Council bosses announced last year that they planned to close the museum in William Street and replace it with an education centre for schools and groups which would have to book in advance and pay a fee. After massive public opposition and a petition of almost 2,000 signatures, officials decided to keep the museum open for a year while they discuss options for its future. Now campaigners have formed a support group to make sure the town’s views are heard. Spokesman David Cross said:

“The council received many letters and e-mails in support of the museum, and although the total museum budget has now been cut, the museum remains open while the council engages in a consultation exercise.

Herne Bay Museum is different from the rest of the museums in the council’s remit. The larger part of the collection is owned by the Historical Records Society which holds it in trust for the town. Unlike Whitstable and Canterbury there was no supporting interest group representing the users of the museum and the residents. After an encouraging campaign there was a strong feeling that the body of opinion revealed in the petition and the letters needed permanent representation.”

HB Times 24th Jun 2010

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The group is now encouraging as many people as possible to join up and help play their part in securing the museum’s future. Membership costs £5 per year for individuals, £8 for families and £50 for a life membership. For more information e-mail museumfriends@hernebaymatters.com or write to Membership Secretary, The Friends of Herne Bay Museum, 56 Beacon Hill, Herne Bay CT6 6JN.

Befriend our Museum

If you want to save Herne Bay Museum, it's time to make your voice heard. That's the message from campaigners, who are hoping to set up a Friends group to fight for the museum's future.

Crucial meetings with council bosses are due to take place in the next few weeks and campaign spokesman David Cross said it was vital to demonstrate the strength of feeling for the service. Officials still plan to use it as an "education space", rather than a public museum. Mr Cross, who used to work at the museum, said:

"It is hard to read the council at the moment. They are trying to put together a proposal which squares the circle and pleases everyone, which will be very difficult. Our next move is to form a Friends organisation so we have an official body to negotiate with the council. Then they can see how seriously people in Herne Bay take this threat."

Initial meetings have already taken place. Officials told Mr Cross they believed the museum had to either focus on visitors, or residents and school groups. But he disagrees with their conclusions:

"It is crucial schools can still walk their pupils to the museum and still keep a measure of drop-in public access. I refuse to accept a display about the bouncing bomb isn't equally of interest to local children learning about their town, and people coming here to visit. The same applies to the Roman displays and to the items dug out of the sand. The museum is for everyone."

The museum was earmarked for closure in this year's budget debates, but given a year's stay of execution by council bosses, after thousands of people signed petitions calling for it to stay open.

Canterbury City councillor Darren Ellis announced at a meeting of the ruling executive committee on Thursday that consultation with interested groups had started. The announcement sparked a wave of concern among campaigners, who feared time was running out. But Mr Ellis, who is responsible for museums, told the Times a final decision would not be made until the end of the year. He praised the idea of a Friends group, but ruled out a proposal to run the museum with volunteers to save costs. He said:

"The idea is the museum should be more of an education space, but we are not saying 100 per cent that is what we are going to do. It is a process which could run into next year."

HB Times 22nd Apr 2010

To get involved with the Friends of Herne Bay Museum, or to find out more, please contact the Membership Secretary at: MuseumFriends@HerneBayMatters.com

Sell Museum to pay for Pier?

The report from Humberts Leisure angers the Museum campaigners, and doesn't please the Pier campaigners.

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Debate welcome on Pier future

Herne Bay’s Museum and Kings Hall should be sold off to pay for the redevelopment of town’s pier, a new report has suggested. The document, which was written for the city council by consultants Humberts Leisure at a cost of £10,000 reveals few developers are interested in working on the pier and suggests local firms may be the only hope.

The consultants recommend demolishing the pavilion building and using the empty pier structure as a performance or events space. A cafe, shops and entertainment venue could replace the hall, and collections in the museum could be relocated to the new pier.

The report said the museum building may be worth as much as £200,000. Council spokesman Rob Davies stressed no decision has been taken as yet to accept the report’s recommendations - which are likely to outrage campaigners still reeling from their failed fight to stop funding cutbacks to the museum. Campaigner Linda O’Carroll said:

“This suggests the council had no intention of saving Herne Bay museum and their review of its future counts for nothing. But we will continue to fight and at the moment we are investigating a lottery grant to help secure its future.”

The consultants admit redeveloping the pier will be expensive, and the council may need to find new ways of raising cash to fund the project - such as providing more beach huts along the seafront. Other suggestions include running an indoor children’s play centre and a Victorian-themed children’s ride, offering studios to artists and creating a water sports base. Proposals for a cinema, bowling alley and housing were ruled out. The consultants did not rule out connecting the two ends of the pier with an aerial ride of cable car-like pods.

The report concludes council should explore a long-term vision for the pier, “with a view to the reconstruction or restoration of the pier to its original length, or in a new form, in the longer term”. Councillors have agreed to move the sports facilities to Herne Bay High School and the Herons Leisure Centre site. Cllr Peter Lee, who chairs the town's regeneration panel, said:

“I welcome the publication of this report as the next step towards the regeneration of the pier. Subject to the relocation of the sports facilities, the report demonstrates that the pier has a significant future as an important visitor attraction at the heart of the town’s seafront. The report sets out positive and realistic options for consideration and I look forward to the debate in the town before the council takes any decisions.”

HB Times 2010-02-25

Wall of silence

The council taxpayers of Herne Bay have just received a reassuring message from the city council. Apparently the town’s museum is not being closed after all - it just will not be open to members of the public! Talk about semantic gibberish!

As a concerned council taxpayer, I wrote to some 16 Conservative Canterbury city councillors in early December, expressing my opposition to the proposal to close the Herne Bay Museum as part of the 2010/11 budget cuts. I asked the councillors concerned to consider alternative methods of making the necessary savings and urged those representing the town to put the interests of the community before those of their political party.

Out of all those councillors contacted, only two - Ann Taylor and Peter Vickery-Jones - have had the decency to come back to me on this matter. The remaining 14 have not even deigned to acknowledge receipt of my correspondence! They might not agree with my sentiments concerning Herne Bay Museum, but surely common courtesy dictates some sort of response - if only to say that my comments would be given further consideration.

I am not a political animal and, accordingly have no particular party axe to grind. I deliberately targeted the Conservatives for the simple reason that they are currently the controlling party on the city council and, as such, form the executive which dictates policy. As a retired local government officer who served a number of local authorities in Kent for more then 30 years, I have never had a particularly high opinion of elected members in general. Some are hard-working and do have the best interests of their local community in mind, but many would appear to be there only for their own personal egos.

Their failure to reply to correspondence would only seem to indicate their complete unwillingness to discuss matters with concerned council taxpayers and has most certainly done nothing to enhance my opinion of them. For most people, pursuing a sporting interest, hobby or pastime costs money Councillors have chosen their particular pastime as being local politics. Why should other members of the community subsidise them in the pursuit of this chosen hobby?

Are the council taxpayers of Canterbury City Council getting value for money for the majority of their elected representatives? Council leader Cllr John Gilbey has been quoted in the local Press as being of the opinion that the number of elected members sitting on the Canterbury City Council is excessive and I, for one, fully agree.

An immediate reduction by say some 20 members (with the resultant reduction in associated allowances and expenses) would save council taxpayers somewhere between £100,000 and £150,000 per annum - a not inconsiderable amount and certainly much more than the projected annual savings on the whole of the city’s museum services budget.

I wrote to chief executive Colin Carmichael more than two weeks ago expressing my frustration at having received no response from city councillors. To date I have not received any response from him either on this matter! Have other readers encountered a similar wall of silence from Canterbury City Council?

John Fishpool, Herne Bay
HB Gazette letters, 4th Feb 2010

Gilbey in fighting mood

A retired teacher from Harrogate has joined the fight to save Herne Bay Museum. Linda O'Carroll has set up a special page on the web encyclopedia Wikipedia and has approached the National Lottery for how to get a grant. She said:

"Although I live in Harrogate I grew up in Herne Bay in the 1950s and 60s and regard it as my museum. I was shocked to read that the city council wants to close it. It is a slap in the face for all Herne Bay people."

The council wants to close the William Street building to the general public to save costs and has plans to open up the ground floor to take school parties by appointment. But Linda said:

"Lottery staff have told me the Museum is an extremely likely case and that if successful would get full funding for its needs over the next five years. That the application would cost the council nothing. The Sheriff of Canterbury (Cllr Gabrielle Davis) is researching this but the application must be submitted as soon as possible."

She has also uploaded edited highlights of the council Executive debate to Youtube. She said: "It is an eye-opener." It includes leader Cllr John Gilbey saying:

"You just wonder if they have got any interest in the issues other than the big ticket ones that get them in the paper. It's really disgraceful. It's absolutely disgraceful that they can't see what this council is doing. But we will fight that. We will fight it tooth and nail to show them what we are doing. No question. After what we have seen this evening you wonder if they have any interest in the big issue other than getting into the newspaper."

Cllr Gilbey said later he had not meant to cause offence or single out any one group of campaigners. The Tory leader said:

"What I said was not about Herne Bay. It was about all of the protestors, all the people in there. The moment it was over they got up and walked out and didn't stay for the capital budget which is all about the building projects and other work we are doing. All the good news was in the capital budget. Of course we get frustrated – we just wonder if they have any interest in anything beyond their own little campaign and any understanding about everything else we have to do."

From: thisiskent

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Gilbey wants to fight... What? Blindness? Any protestor?

Hmmm... I do get the impression that Cllr Gilbey would prefer some version of democracy that involved much less interference from the general public, who selfishly focus on what affects them. Hopefully he's pleased about the YouTube coverage giving us all an opportunity to see some of what the Council does. I agree whole-heartedly that it is "absolutely disgraceful that [we] can't see what [our] council is doing". The vast majority of votes are carried on a show of hands, with no record whatsoever of how each councillor has voted. I think that's disgraceful, but easily fixed: a simple electronic voting system would let us see very clearly what our councillors are doing.

The resolute defenders of the Museum have set up their own little Museum-o-Vision channel on YouTube here.

Muse. Um.

Here's a very British gem: the Herne Bay Museum.

Fearless and fervent, my woman and I swarmed into the Museum to see what we could find out about The Downs of yesteryear. The place is a treasure trove! If you haven't been recently, pop in and saunter around. From fossil teeth to bouncing bombs, they've got all sorts of goodies on permanent display.

There are also temporary exhibitions - all the ones I've seen have been well worth a good peer. Currently it's 'Inventions', with a few kids' own ideas: "a friendly robot to bring me sweets".

Met up with Craig Bowen who looks after the tardis-full of stuff filed upstairs, like a collie looks after a flock of sheep. He's actually divided between several museums, with Canterbury getting the lion's share of him (hope we get the useful bits!). Enthusiastic and very helpful, as was the nice lady on the front desk.

There's an almost magical, other-worldly, time-slip quality about the archives, as seems to happen when the present is dedicated to the past, so it didn't seem out of place when a paternal Victorian figure stepped through the mist of time into our little tardis, brooding and reserved. He looked like someone's long-lost great-uncle Septimus, and muttered 'pas devant les enfants', so we took the hint and scarpered.

I like the Museum a lot. It's a delightful and poignant venture, burnished by the care and love invested in it, and handsomely repays the time you spend there. Long may it thrive and prosper. I would hate to see it fall prey to the unthinking short-term destructive greed that was directed at the Visitor Information Centre. For instance.