Just what constitutes historic local pictures and a minor ramble

Photos of Thanet in this post date from around 1900 to around 2012, but what is the cut-off date for calling a local photo historic?

Say you danced in the 2011 Broadstairs Dancing Queen event and you are now an eighteen year old adult then you would have been thirteen then – so history.

The one I took of the bronze plaque was the only record for the no scrap value replacement, 2010 but of historic value.

Been mostly local history on the bookshop front today and here is the link to the books that went out http://michaelsbookshop.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/middleton-press-in-bookshop.html

Local news front seems to contain a lot of I’m a politician, vote for me, so I won’t bore you with all that.

Not sure if the local assets sale is a storm in a teacup so have put the press release at the bottom of the post.

One thing about the Manston issue is that there is very little dialogue between the pros, antis, sceptics and the generally confused locals but there is some sort of dialogue going on at the Facebook group East Kent Civil Society, here is the link https://www.facebook.com/groups/EastKentCivilSociety/permalink/1435680199835652/ 

Potential sale of council assets

A list of eight council-owned assets for disposal will be discussed at the Cabinet meeting on Thursday 27 April.

Councillors will be asked to vote to proceed in principle with the sale of the following assets:

• Land at Phase 2 - Eurokent Business Park
• Phase 1 – Eurokent Business Park
• Land adjacent to 2 Park Place, Margate
• Land at Eastern Entrance to Northdown Park, Margate.
• Land at Hengist Road, Minnis Bay, Birchington
• Northdown Garages and Store
• Palm Bay Coach Park
• Quarterdeck, Zion Place, Margate

The council recognises that two of the assets listed are leased to third parties to provide services for community groups:

• The land adjacent to Northdown Park is maintained by Margate Garden Gate Project which works with adults with learning disabilities or mental health issues.
• The Quarterdeck is home to the Thanet Youth Hub and leased by KCC.

It should be noted that any existing tenants or licensees have the protection of the terms of their tenancy or licence agreements.

Consultation period
If the decision is taken to go ahead with the sale of these assets, there will be a three-week consultation period when local ward councillors can give their views on the proposals. Members of the public can also present their views to their ward councillors during this time. Not all assets listed may be disposed of during 2017.

Tim Howes, Director of Corporate Governance, said:
“TDC owns around 750 assets in the form of land and buildings throughout the district. This needs significant management and budgetary commitment which has to be balanced against the benefits they provide to the community.”

“Monies raised through the sale of council-owned assets will help fund important capital projects. This is part of the council’s medium-term financial strategy, 2016-2020.”

“In most cases, sales will be through open auction which gives the greatest potential to meet our legal obligation to achieve the best possible price.”

Notes to Editors

Asset Disposal Strategy

The recommendation by officers to sell these properties is part of the council’s asset disposal strategy which was agreed by Cabinet in 2016. This is playing a key role in reducing the amount of council-owned property in the district and protecting assets that would otherwise fall into disrepair.

In disposing of unwanted TDC assets, the council is following the practice of other local authorities and so far this has been successful with sales totalling £964,000.

Over the next two years, there will be further sales of council-owned assets and in all cases the final decision to sell any type of property will be subject to cabinet approval.

The council carried out a detailed review of the benefits of continued ownership of assets across the district to help ensure that asset sales benefit both the authority and Thanet taxpayers. This review demonstrated that some types of property or land would be suitable for sale into private ownership, while others would be suitable for the council to let as a corporate landlord.

The sale of unwanted council-owned property is now part of the council’s asset management strategy to reduce costs and generate additional income. This in turn can be used to fund improvements to other buildings and assets across the district through the council’s capital programme. This approach is built into the council’s medium term financial strategy, 2016-2020.

Monies raised through previous sales:

• 10 Market Street, Margate - Sold for £180,000 at auction in February 2017
• Land at Duke Street, Margate - Sold for £270,000 at auction in February 2017
• Newgate Gap store, Margate - Sold for £99,000 at auction in February 2017
• Dane Valley Enterprise Units in St Peter's, Broadstairs - Sold for £415,000 at auction in March 2017

When disposing of publically-owned assets the council is required by law to achieve the best price reasonably obtainable. A public auction is generally the most appropriate way to achieve this from those who are competing to purchase the asset and this method of disposal gives everyone the opportunity to bid.