One of the main obstacles to China Gateway has been that the plans submitted are for a huge 3 phase development and only phase one (the phase that has gone to full council for approval or rejection) is on land designated for industrial use.
Although the developer has bought the land for phases 2 and 3 it is still designated as prime farmland.
Up for discussion at TDCs Cabinet Meeting to be held on 18 September is a report from Colin Fitt arguing that this prime farmland should be re-designated industrial.
Looking at the size of the land that they want to develop it really does mean losing a very large proportion of the existing farmland in Thanet, perhaps we should be looking at the land that is already disused industrial land.
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Monday 15 September 2008
11 comments:
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Paul Carter, KCC Leader, in a feature in yesterday's Kent on Sunday said that we need tp prserve our agricultural land here in Kent.
ReplyDeletePity he hasn't told his Tory colleagues here in Thanet to preserve essential food-growing, prime agricultural land for future generations.
Disused industrial land like the airport for example.
ReplyDeleteOff thread I know but got my FOI reply from KCC claiming that they do not keep records of Youth Group affiliation inquiries ....
ReplyDeleteThis is sadly no surprise to many, Michael. CGP has been talking to Officers at TDC since 2006 about this nice little deal. They buy up Thanet's agricultural land from Jade Farms (aka Robertsons)in 2006 and early 2007 with an initial 'historical value' of £23.5 million and then Savills kindly revalue it on 30th Nov 2007 at £50.9 million. Let me quote CGP: " The uplift primarily reflects CGP's progress in relation to planning matters....." This little up-lift then showed on paper as an amazingly performing AIM Company for 2007! What was not remembered by CGP and Savills but was quite clearly known by TDC Cabinet, is that all of the land for Phases 2 and 3 requires re-designation. So here we are almost a year later and surprise, surprise our tainted and undemocratic Cabinet now obliges CGP with its nice little property 'earner' with a move to change designation! So much for democracy in Thanet? Don't our elected Councillors have any say in this process? This is not open democracy and no wonder there is much speculation about the lack of integrity in our Cabinet and Senior Officers. Further consideration of this Gateway application by TDC is now clearly flawed and should be farmed out to an Independent Inspector. As a Thanet resident, I no longer have trust in the administration of TDC by its Cabinet and senior officers. Its quite simple for Councillors of integrity to now stand up to those who have been arranging deals behind closed doors and avoiding scrutiny of dubious skullduggery by making their position clear on 9th October.
ReplyDeleteMichael, CGP's generosity knows no bounds! As well as £25,000 to Ladyman and £12,500 to TDC for its Big Event in June, I have just discovered that The Spring Fair at Acol on 10th May received a raffle prize of 'a DVD player and Flat Screen Television donated by 'China gateway Project'. See Acol Parish News from the Parish Council. How cheap do we get in Thanet with 'bribes' like this?
ReplyDelete23.52, this must have been when CGP's share price was higher than now! 200 shares traded today at 53p as some poor sucker got out fast! 54p is the price quoted today! Ken's and Chris' holdings of 66% of shares seem to be worth far less than they had hoped for. Is Israel Discount Bank going to find itself in the farming business next year?
ReplyDeleteBut government policy is to outsource food production overseas, it has been for decades.
ReplyDeleteTens of thousands of farmers and workers leave the land yearly, there is no money in it for them.
It is cheaper to get our food from abroad and the public wants cheap food.
Politicians need the public's votes and there are precious few in the countryside.
No-one needs, or is prepared to pay to keep, farm land...
We all want to look at the countryside, but for free please...
I think the problem here as with Thanet Earth is one of scale and failure to use disused industrial sites that are already contaminated. I gather that the developer has already approached Quex Park with a view to buying up the land for phases 4 & 5, which would mean an industrial development stretching all the way to Birchington.
ReplyDeleteNow if we have an industrial development of this size, concreting over most of our farmland and removing our essential drinking water supply, that is entirely dependent on the good will and stability of China, this may not be such a good idea.
INDEPENDENT MEDIA SOCIETY
ReplyDelete11 GROSVENOR ROAD, BROADSTAIRS, KENT CT10 2BT TEL 01843 604253
PRESS RELEASE
SEPTEMBER 2008
FILM EXPOSES “HORRIFIC” REALITY OF CHINESE FACTORIES
A film exposing the “horrific” working conditions in Chinese factories is to get a special screening in Broadstairs on Friday Sept 26th.
The film, “A Decent Factory?”, shows teenage girls working long hours in loud noise and poisonous fumes -- and getting paid less than £14 a month.
Christine Tongue, from Broadstairs, has arranged the screening as part of the growing campaign against China Gateway. This is a controversial proposal to build massive warehouses for Chinese products on Thanet farmland, which the council will be making decision about on October 9th.
“Supporters of China Gateway justify it on grounds of the jobs it will bring here,” Christine said, “But this film shows the reality of the Chinese approach to employment.”
“China founded its economy on cheap labour – they’re not about to provide significant numbers of jobs in Thanet.”
The film goes inside a company in Shenzhen, China, which makes the chargers for Nokia mobile phones.
Workers are shown living eight people per room in huge dormitories. Hours are long and tiring. Their food is bad and there are bullying supervisors.
Christine said: “The products which these warehouses will be storing will have been made in similar conditions.
“So not only will China Gateway concrete over many acres of our green spaces, we’ll also be supporting a truly intolerable manufacturing process.”
“Thanet Council makes much of the fact that it supports fair trade, but Chinese factories are anything but fair trade. They exploit their workers shamelessly, as this film demonstrates.
She added: “I hope councillors will come and see the realities of the regime they are being asked to do business with.”
The film screening is part of the fast-growing campaign against China Gateway. The campaign now has its own website at www.saynotochinagate.co.uk.
The screening will be at 7.30pm on Friday, 26th September at the Red Hall, 11 Grosvenor Road, Broadstairs. Entry is free, but there will be a collection.
For more information ring Christine Tongue on 01843 604 253 or email inmeds@yahoo.co.uk
Thanet water has had to be treated for years due to high nitrate levels. It has to be blended with water from other sources to meet the required standards.
ReplyDeleteThe first effect of taking land out of agricultural production would be an improvement in water quality and less need for blending, due to the removal of the need to apply sprays and fertilisers.
Provided roof and drainage collection was correctly drained to soakaways there would be no loss to the aquifer. Just because water hits a roof or concrete it does not just bounce back into the sky!
The main issue is correct disposal of foul drainage by all users, local residents included.
17.06 The main issue is dealing with the runoff from the lorry parks that are on the lowest part of the site owned by the developers, the water from these has to go into balancing pools before it goes into soakaways.
ReplyDeleteThe wildlife in the soakaways acts like a canary down a mine, if the fish in the pools die we know there has been a poison spillage in the lorry park and not to put it into the drinking water.
So the problem here is that water doesn’t run uphill, pumping it would be impractical, both because of the volume in a heavy downpour and because if the was a power cut the water would flow down the hill into the most sensitive part of the source protection zone.
You do I assume appreciate that Southern Water has said that no water from car and lorry parks can go directly into soakaways via interceptors.
To apply conditions to protect the water supply is the right and proper thing to do, however when those conditions mean that the development can’t be built to the existing layout then it seems ridiculous to pursue the matter without changing them before it comes to a decision.
At the moment the council will be asked to approve plans that couldn’t possibly be built surely you don’t consider this a right and proper situation.