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Campaigning

the good weather today was a great time to be out on the streets campaigning for the upcoming elections.

not only is it good exercise but also a chance to stop and chat to people who might not otherwise contact their local member.

i see it as important to be visible in the community but there will always be osme who we do not come into contact with during our terms.

 

Current mood: Happy

IT problems

we strive to be at the cutting edge of member usage of e enabled technologies so it comes as a disappointment when our partners take excessive times to correct IT problems. I feel the anguish that some of my fellow members feel when they are unable to access systems designed for their benefit.

The officers of the council are working to ensure our partners understand the effects of these problems and to ensure corrective action is taken to minimise future disruption.

Current mood: Sad


Feedback

alas yesterday i missed the recycling in cherry lane so my investigations will have to wait till their next collection

 

i notice from the statistics that there are many visitors from the following countries

Turks and Caicos Islands

 Estonia 

 Latvia
 
 Poland 

 Japan 

 Germany

 

perhaps some would be kind enough to leave their comments

Current mood: Cool


God on our side

Good news about the saving of St Josephs school in Aylesham

there has been cross party support for this school and the villagers have been very active in supporting the school.

I welcome the decision of the county council and look forward to the oppotunities this result brings.

I also thank God for His help

The power of prayer has been vindicated!

Current mood: Happy


some people still try to make britain better

 

Today in church we had  the banns read for a coule who are getting married later this year.

What was memorable in that we have been forced to use new wording in that both are descibed as single rather than the traditional terms of Batchelor and Spinster.

this was explained to the congregation in that we had to become more politically correct!

there was widespread disgust at this latest development.

looking at blogs andlinks i was drawn to Iain Dale's Blog

the story there seems quite distressing and i am glad that some people are taking the case on to  make a change for the better 

Current mood: Sad


weekend

a chance to be with my family and tackle those jobs that still need to be done

even the grass needs cutting!

Current mood: Happy


who listens to the radio

there was a couple of interesting itmes on the radio

our local radio station Kmfm had an australia day celebration so i conveyed my appreciation and tactfully left out any refernce to any sporting contest that may have recently been decided.

On BBC Kent there was an item about holocaust day

there was much discussion about this with reference to the second world war and the Nazis as well as ongoing problems in Africa.

My own thoughts are that the only documented case of genocide is the extermination of the Tasmanian Aborigines (Aboriginal name: lutrawita) by white settlers in the 19th century. the last known one was Truganini who died in 1876 although some  people still claim to be descendants from mixed race marriages.

This is a stain on australia's reputation and in fact the indigenous  population call australia day invasion day!

Current mood: Sad


Dover North Talking Shop?

today i attended a post public meeting on the new Dover North Forum

 

One of the concerns expressed at the meeting was that it could degenerate into another talking shop with little progress on the issues concerned.

Today one of the memebrs present tried on sevral occasions to get the process to move forward however he was stymied by promises of yet another talkfest aka a workshop, to get a list of priorities despite having one from the the original public meeting.

There was much discussion about how to get the public engaged in the process however i feel the public will grow disenchanted with the process unless they can see some sort of progress being made on these issues. Endless talkfests will do little to help the concerns.

The next meeting in April is on the Local Development Framework and i do not see where the Forum will make a difference apart from sending a letter of protest (well they have made up their minds already) to KCC, DDC and perhaps SEERA as well.

  

Current mood: Sceptical


full council continued

one of the matters that seemed to really rouse members to debate was how many meetings will be held next year.

the main issue seemed to be about was there enough time for opposition members to ask questions of the cabinet.

the scrutiny function seemed not to offer the right forum for this questioning for these members

 

Current mood: Sceptical

Full council meeting

tonight is the meeting of the full council. among the items for discussion are determination of the council tax base and the Kent waste management strategy.

the council also remembered a former member  cllr Frank Woodbridge who passed away recently. Members from all sides of the political spectrum paid tribute to his work

Current mood: Sad

IT glitches

one of the downsides of modern technologies is the reliance on external utilities.

Recently the council offices experienced a power cut outside business hours which had a subsequent short term effect to the councils IT systems.

the major effect was to the exeternal gateway which is used by members which took a longer time to recover.

Some members use any excuse to campaign against the use of IT systems as they have not fully embraced new technologies or are still ignorant of their value.

i have instructed officers to look at ways to enhance our current disaster recovery procedures to ensure that th luddites have less cause to air their worries.

 

 

Current mood: Sceptical


Feedback on St Richards road in Deal

I have contacted Cllr Keith Ferrin at Kent County Council regarding the above road and have received this reply

 

St Richard's Road, Deal

Thank you for your email, dated 2 January, regarding the above. 

 

We have received a considerable amount of correspondence relating to this and Ray Ball, Senior Transportation Engineer in the East Kent Divisional Office, is currently investigating the crash record for St Richard's Road.  If any crash problem locations or patterns are identified, we will investigate possible remedial measures and, if justified, take appropriate action.

 

I will await further advice before deciding how best to proceed but it seems that this road is being recognised as problematic

 

 

Current mood: Cool


Multimedia message

tilmanstone parish council met tonight

 

no it doesnt meet in the bar of the Plough and harrow but memebrs met there afterwards to continue networking with myself and cllr Kenton.

we  see this as a a good way to build strong relationships with the council as well as be more accessible to the residents 
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Current mood: Cool


planning

today at church some residents were asking about theoutcome of the planning meeting last Thursday. theparticular itemof interest was the application to build amassive surgery on green field land near St Richards Road in Deal.

i spoke against the application as there are still concerns over traffic volumeson this road as well as the questionmarks over the need to buildon green field land while another surgery has managed to find a site inside the urban confines.

 

the planning committee was minded to refuse the application however as the applicant has appealed over nondetermination, the committe's decision means that the council will resist this appeal.

 

Current mood: Sceptical


representing kent

while at a meeting of local government members recently, a local councillor made the remark that she was happy for government funding to be diverted away from kent as she thought the residents were already too wealthy. The member then further explained that this should be done without affecting residents in the dover arae.

i find this assertion difficult to understand as diverting funds from the whole of kent would necessarily affect Dover residents. one wonders whether the member understands how local government services are delivered or indeed how the grant settlemnts are included in the council tax setting  process.

perhaps it was just a party political statement made without reference to the wider community who we are elected to serve.

Current mood: Sceptical


Big Brother continued

watching big brother tonight - (yes some people do watch it!) was discussing with my family the message that it sends out about the advertisers who still pay for the  time. My son was surprised that the NHS was one of thse advertisers and we discussed whether this means that the NHS condones big brother or is just using this as a means to maximise their message?

 

your views are welcomed

Current mood: Sceptical

wind turbine application

the link on the previuos posting is not woking so to see the application online

the application number is DOV/07/00029

the parish is whitfield

try to search on the planning website

 

Current mood: Cool

Green Power

Finally the district council has applied for planning permission for a wind turbine at the council offices.

I believe that the council needs to set an example for embracing green technologies and i also believe that there is an economic imperative for it.

the rising costs of energy  mean that we need to look creatively at ways to decrease the effects of these increases and the use of green technologies can provide an effective buffer as well as decrease our green house gases.

its a classic win win situation

the environment wins and the we as taxpayers win too!

Current mood: Happy

Multimedia message CCC meeting in Wales

the mayor giving a civic welcome to the ccc in merthyr tydfil
Despite the inclement weather members frm around the country were able to attend

the meeting discussed the future of the Coalfields Regeneration Trust as well as transport, Miners Pension Funds and the future of the CCC.

These meetings are vital to share ideas on the important lobbying work which the organisation carries out.

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Current mood: Happy


Big Brother

The carphone warehouse has taken the step of suspending its sponsorship of big brother. this is a powerful statement against racist bullying and perhaps is one of the most effective ways of displaying their displeasure.

i hope this part of an ethical way of doing business and perhaps others will follow suit.

Current mood: Sad


Big Brother

there seems to be a lot of media coverage about Celebrity Big brother at the moment.

i do not condone any sort of racism.

The winner seems to be Big Brother as the attention is providing free advertising for the show although one wonders whether the paying sponsors are happy being associated with such coverage

Current mood: Sceptical


CCC Kent

Last night i chaired the meeting of the CCC Kent Sub region.

We had an extensive presentation and discussion of the National Mining Museum near Wakefeld from Dr Margaret FaulL who is the director.  

They are trying to get funding for an outreach project to provide information and programs to school children in a the former coalmining areas.

They are also concerned about a cut in funding from central government of about 7%  per year which would have a significant impact.

 

The meeting also discussed the national CCC agenda on issues such as the future of the Coalfield Regeneration Trust, Transport, The assisted area Map, the future of the CCC and Miners Pension funds.

One local issue which was prominent was education attainment at Hersden. The county is working in partnership with Canterbury City Council and we would like more input from national government as a multi agency program is needed. 

We are lucky to have such a senior county politician, Cllr eyland Ridings as the representative from county.

we will also report to the national meeting in Waes ater this week.

Current mood: Cool


aftermath

while i was taking down details of the incident the offending driver saw me and stopped suddenly to threaten me.

I dont why why such drivers behave like that.

i would report it to the police however they seem uninterested in traffic safety in the villages and have proven to be most unhelpful in this regard.

 

they seem more interested in providing their service from some remote location at times which suit them in the name of cost cutting

i note a story in yesterdays Kent on Sunday that no police station in Kent is open to the public after 8pm. 

perhaps this driver was a police officer on his way home after his shift.

Current mood: Sceptical

Multimedia message

this afternoon i witnessed a near miss on this section of road as a driver attempted to overtake another
Its a narrow section of road with cars parked yet still some see this as a rat run.

this is precisiely the sort of driving which the parishes object to and which we are campaigning for.

this campaign has cross party support

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Current mood: Sad


waste and recycling

there seem to be many stories in our local papers about waste this week emphasising the problems but ignoring the real progress that is being made.

One paper has headlines about the council considering fortnightly collections. I maintain that it is only proper for the council to consider such proposals or is the press trying to stop the council considering alternatives. My understanding that such a move is inappropriate given the level of recycling in the district.

in fact recycling levels are improving and there is a major realinging of this service to ensure that most residents are able to access this service.

we seee the improvements in this area as one of the success stories at the moment and we are working with partner authorities to further improve our recycling.

 

actually one of the problems we face is that our residents do not put out as much waste as other parts of the county so we are trying to recycle from a lowere level of waste arisings.

 

this is a complex field and i have complete confidence in my colleague Nick Kenton to ensure that the district is taking adavntage of best practice.

I look forward to continued improvement at a sustainable level to ensure the best outcome for the environment

Current mood: Cool


Multimedia message

members attending an information day in staines
taines

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CCC Midlands Region

ccc midlands meeting in chesterfield. There was a presentation on working communities

there was also a discussion of next weeks national meeting


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Current mood: Cool


Multimedia message

Today i went to the great mongeham drop in people discussed waste management
The were questions about recycling and i wa able to talk about the good progress being made and how t
here will be a redesign to ensure most of the district is able to access this service.
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Current mood: Happy


election jitters

with the election coming up in less than four months many people focus on what the candidates do but what about the officers?

do they try to pre judge the outcome and start to lobby for positions ?

 with expected new candidstes?

if so how would one know?

i trust that all officers at Dover are above such jockeying  and  power plays as it may not be in the best interests of the community at large, the community whom we all serve.

Current mood: Sceptical


Sutton Parish Council

tonight i attended Sutton Parish Council. as well as the parish council, my colleague Nick Kenton and county cllr eileen rowbotham and myself attended. the major area of contention regarded the proposals for the local development framework as some maintain that a reductioion in working age and schol age population is acceptable despite the flow on effects to the local community .

the issue will be discussed at the next dover north neighbourhood forum.

the last neighbourhood forum was discussed and it was hoped that progress could made on traffic issues and that the forum would be more than just another talking shop. Traffic issues are still relevant and the parish council is looking for real improvements in this regard. Some may reagrd the discussion of traffic safety as nimbyism, especially for people outside the distict but there is a real fear of accidents to young people along Forge lane as this is still a rat run between Deal and Whitfield

 recycling and wate disposal was laso discusse3d as this has flow on effects such as fly tipping and the siting of wate treatment facilitiies. residents were urged to report anf information about such activities to the district councils flytipping team

Cllr Kenton also outlined the huge progress that the district council is making in this area

it is good to see that our efforts to support parish councils is being taken on by other elected representatives

Current mood: Cool


Multimedia message

eastry parish council met tonight fly tipping was discussed
pping was discussed

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cabinet meeting

This morning we had the firts cabinet meeting for 2007

we discussed a number of subjects including the revided tax base for the district as well as the kent waste strategy, the Europoean arcehry contest coming to Dover and the compulsory purchase of a derelict property in Dover

we see thse as important steps forward for the district

Current mood: Cool


Epiphany

Today we celebrated epiphany at church

this is the entry i found at wikipedia

Epiphany (feeling), a realization or comprehension of the essence or meaning of something Epiphany (Christian), the Christian feast commemorating the revelation of Jesus to humanity, specifically the visit of the Magi

the sermon was about the way christians respond to the calling of God to act in the world

a good congregtion was there to worship andd we value this time together to share in our belief.

It is alo refreshing to see the young people turning up and being valued members of the congregation as they are the future of our church.

in the political sphere there are many christians from both side of the political fence yet we value each others contributions while sometimes disagreeing on some issues.

Current mood: Happy


Traffic calming update

Despite the efforts of a certain Herne Bay correspondent, the highways agency have been remarking toe roads aound the parish and have been placing large signs on the road warning drivers to slow as they negotiate Northbourne Road  in great Mongeham

this road has been blighted by speeding motoriats and has also seen a number of pedestrian incidents.

I am pleased that some action is being taken and i hope that this has the desired effect.

The rural ares have had traffic problems for a while and it is a step in the right direction.

i hope that this is a direct output from the campaigning by myself and my colleague Nick Kenton as well as the parishes.

im sure cllr Rowbotham has played a part as well as this is an issue that is above party politics

Current mood: Happy


Multimedia message

eastry drop in where councillors the vicar police and the community warden are available to meet residents
r police and the community warden are available to meet residents

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Herne Bay tells Villages to be happy with speeding traffic

I notice a letter in the dover mercury tells residents in the villages in the district that should be prepared to endure the speeding traffic.

The argument seems to be that it would infringe on his (or her) right to drive in what ever manner is felt appropriate.

I do not accept this view as the residents in the villages were not trying to stop people driving, just trying to get them to drive carefully through the villages but obviously this is more than the resident in herne bay can put up with.

perhaps if they have sufficient wit they could post a comment on this blog but i dont think that is likely.

all we ask it that people respect the village speed limits and to drive carefully

is that too much to ask?

Current mood: Sceptical


keeping a watching brief

One of the things that the internet helps with is keeping track of developments and circumstances in other oparts of the world.

One way i do this is to frequent one of australia's newspapers, the sydney morning herald. One story that particularly struck me was the one about the anti spammers

I expect many of us with email accounts have received the numerous offers of instant fortunes that some of these spammers offer and it is refreshing to see that some at least are trying to hit back at them!

Current mood: Cool


Back to work

today it was back to work and i have had to spend time helping some of my colleagues with their PC problems.

I am sure many are aware of the problems associated with ongoing service problems due to a range of factors and with sevral different ISPs being used by members it does keep one thinking.

Any way i hope i have resolved some problems but this will be a continual problems until  all memebrs use the same ISP (internet service provider for those who abhor the use of acronyms)

Current mood: Cool


happy new year 2007

my first blog for the new year!!!

Current mood: Cool