Thanet’s core strategy for now until 2026, put your ideas on the TDC website.

You have until Friday to comment on this important document that will shape the future of Thanet, the comments you make will become part of the document and be published with it.

I can’t over emphasise the importance of this one, while the council have made it difficult to comment it is not impossible, I spent a considerable part of yesterday discussing methods of commenting with the council.

Below are the details of the easiest way to use the various methods.

(A) Viewing the document and commenting on it on the councils website.

1 Go to http://consult.thanet.gov.uk/inovem/consult.ti/core.strategy/consultationHome click on register, you have to fill in the bits of the form with the red asterisks by them, you can’t put a space in your username and you must tick the box at the bottom to say you understand the terms and conditions.

2 Go to http://consult.thanet.gov.uk/inovem/consult.ti/core.strategy/view?objectId=49236 this is the only place that the main document appears in a series of ordinary webpages that can be viewed without any special viewer installed on your computer and is the best option if you have an older slower computer.

3 Read through the document using the links on the right of the page and the “Next” buttons at the bottom of the page to navigate.

You will come to places where you can leave your comments, for example if you go to section 7 and then click the next button at the bottom of the page you will come to the comment form for section 7 at the bottom of that page, providing you are signed on.

Once you have you have commented here, when you log on again it should remember the part of the form you have filled in, TDC assure me of this but I haven’t tried it.

(B) Viewing the document and commenting on it using the comment form and then emailing the completed comment form to TDC.

1 Either view the document at http://consult.thanet.gov.uk/inovem/consult.ti/core.strategy/view?objectId=49236 or download it as a pdf file from http://www.ramsgate-society.org.uk/TDC-Core-Strategy-Doc.pdf this is a 121 page pdf file, so some computers may not like it.

2 Copy the comment form into a blank MS Word document from http://www.michaelsbookshop.com/blogpicts129/id13.htm you only need to fill out part one once but will need to fill out part 2 for every section you wish to comment on.

3 Attach the completed comment form to an email and send it to local.plans@thanet.gov.uk

(C) Use the The Ramsgate Society -FOUR easy steps to making an expert RESPONSE (coloured names are active links) once again these are fairly large pdf files and may not agree with older computers.

1. Read and understand the Ramsgate Society Response Document. 2. Download expert Response Forms prepared by a Town Planning Consultant (Part 2 -forms already completed) 3. Attach the download files to an e-mail showing your full name and address.(replaces Part 1)4. Send to local.plans@thanet.gov.uk

My feeling are that the council have made this as difficult as they can to respond to, it still says on the version of the form on their website at http://consult.thanet.gov.uk/inovem/gf2.ti/f/1058/1285.1/pdf/-/Core_Strategy_Preferred_Options_Response_Form.pdf
“this form can be sent by email to local.plans@thanet.gov.uk” if you download the form you will find that you can’t actually type on it.

I would imagine that they have government inspectors breathing down their necks and while abiding by the letter of the law they have a long way to go to abide by the spirit of the law.

When I asked yesterday I was told that only 31 responses have been made via the internet, that includes responses made by organisations.