Northdown House and Ramsgate maritime Museum.

Of TDCs asset disposal program the two assets that I have found people to be most interested in are Northdown House and Ramsgate Maritime Museum.

TDC know that a lot of people in Ramsgate wish to retain the Maritime Museum and frankly we only seem to have lost it because the trustees forgot to renew the lease.

With Northdown house however probably a similar amount of people wishing to keep it as a public venue and according to the press release below the council actually listend to them..

With Northdown house the council are implying that that they have capitulated due to popular demand so why not the Maritime Museum too, perhaps I am being cynical here, but could it be that they are only extending the consultation period and even considering transferring it to the community itself (whatever that means) because they can’t get round the legal covenants that say it must be used for the benefit of the local community.

The future of Northdown House

Thanet District Council Press Release

Local people have another chance to have their say on the future of Northdown House at a drop in session being held later this month (December).

Following responses from the consultation earlier this year and subsequent legal advice, residents will be given two options for the future use of the building. The first option is for public use, which could include community or charitable usage, social services, health services or social housing. The second option is for transfer of Northdown House, with additional covenants, to the community itself.

Residents are invited to an informal consultation session at Northdown House to discuss these options and can call in at any time on Wednesday 10 December between 3.00 and 7.00pm. They will be able to look around the property, speak with council officers and put forward suggestions for any potential viable uses for the building.

Although Northdown House was agreed as surplus to the council’s requirements, as part of the first asset management consultation held earlier this year, a decision on its future was deferred so that further discussion could be held with petitioners and those who were opposed to its disposal. Almost 2,000 names were submitted as part of the petition and a total of 50 representations were made on this site, more than any of the 15 other sites in this consultation.

Cllr. Roger Latchford, Cabinet Member for Economy and Culture, said: “Following the response from the first consultation we know that Northdown House is close to residents’ hearts. We’ve taken onboard what people have said to us and now want their views on how the building could be used in the future. Although it’s been agreed as surplus to the council’s needs, we know that residents want to see the building retained for community use. To do that, we need to look at how this could be achieved. One issue that needs considering is that maintenance will be required to keep the building safe and usable for the public. I really hope that people will take this opportunity to work together with the council to establish something both the community and council can be proud of”.

Flogging our Assets

There are only a few days left of the public consultation about the councils plans to sell off some of the publicly owned buildings in Thanet.

My concern is that some of these were leisure facilities and that the lack of leisure facilities is both damaging to tourism and social order.

Once again this business of making our towns nastier places directly benefits the out of town facilities at Westwood Cross, I am always suspicious when government makes decisions that the very wealthy benefit to the detriment of ordinary people.

Click here for the councils press release which has contact details should you wish to comment on this as part of the public consultation process.