O.K. this is probably just me and my perception of the council but having just put up the latest TDC documents I psyched myself up to the task of reading them just in case there was anything there of great import.If you have the pdf reader required for many government documents you may wish to click here to confirm what I am about to say the Local Development Framework Working Party meets on Wednesday, 22nd July, 2009 2.00 pm and I have just published the link to the agenda at http://thanetpress.blogspot.com/ they are to discus:
AIRPORT MASTERPLAN - PRESENTATION AND REPORT
DRAFT THANET CORE STRATEGY – SUSTAINABILITY
DRAFT THANET CORE STRATEGY – WESTWOOD
DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTIONS SPD
THANET LDF – CEMETERIES
The caps are theirs I just pasted them in and don’t mean to shout, for every item this group are to discuss all of the documentation is secret, the public and the press are excluded from the meeting.
I can see that they may wish too keep the airport masterplan or the core strategy for Westwood a secret but what could they possibly want to do to the cemeteries that they would want to keep a secret?
Update I have discovered that Matt Clark of KIA will attend this meeting and that Martin Cassell, TDC, will be there to give a presentation on sporting facilities.
When one sees the things that TDC seem to feel the need to keep secret from us the mind truly boggles.
Are you aware of a group called Commom Purpose - this smells like something they would be involved in
ReplyDeleteI expect that the reasons for agenda item 2 and items 5-9 being confidential will have been explained clearly in agenda item 4 on pages 3-4 ...
ReplyDelete... unfortunately, the reasons for these items being confidential, appears also to be confidential.
In a way, I think we should consider ourselves luckly that we have been allowed to see the front page of the agenda. They could easily have decided that the items listed on the agenda was also confidential.
Alternatively, this may just be a mistake ...
Just goes to show that we are all kidding ourselves if we think we are living in a democracy.
ReplyDeleteI have emailed them to endeavour to find out if it was incompetence or a new step forward in open government.
ReplyDeleteI have also put up the link to the agenda for the next full council meeting and notice that the future of the Pleasurama Development is to be discussed in secret, only in Thanet could the decision to go ahead with a huge development without the developer having proper insurance be held in secret.
Oh well the developers address is a secret, any track record he may have a secret and TDC tried to keep the EAs letter saying it shouldn’t be built without a flood risk assessment a secret.
Michael, Working parties are strange, they do not have a place in the local government act, so are 'confidential' Also the items are deemed to have 'commercial' confidential information,so are not in the public realm.
ReplyDeleteWould you want your dealings with your bank manager handed over to the bloke who wants to take over your lease?
I wonder if discussion also includes the Eurokent business (EKO LLP)to redesignate the area to housing as opposed to employment to create a 'shortage' of employment land (wheeled out last Autumn)and thus smooth the way for redesignating more employment land for CGI (aka CGP)to enable China gateway Phases 2 and 3 to be considered?
ReplyDeleteWhy are these meetings held in secret - if SPF Ventures haven't got the money to build on the land why not put it up for sale again? Then at least the people of Ramsgate might get a say in what is built there.
ReplyDelete