UKIP are most welcome in Medway

Blue and Red will get dented by UKIP

No - I haven't defected, nor have I banged my head and gained one of those epic life changing concussions where one loses all grasp of sanity.

For once in my life there is an iota of reason in something I think...

The Medway Tories have held the Medway towns in their iron grasp for too long. They have an arrogant outlook that means they are right at all times and surely anyone who is against them is against the whole towns!?! (see my posts on Medway Knockers)

Indeed when the Liberal Democrats dared to stand against the wasteful and unwanted City of Medway proposal we were denounced as traitors. When the people of Strood stood up against the moving of their library, or the people rejected the privatisation of the specialist Dementia unit at Nelson Lodge what did the ruling council do?

Bugger all.

The Council carried on with what it wanted to do regardless as in Councillor Chitty's words: A consultation is merely the Council informing the public of its' intentions.

Their massive majority means that they can bulldoze through anything they want - be it dodgy investment in Rochester airport or perhaps voting to become a part of Austria (something I could get on board!) They are even able to keep the inept like Cllr Wickes at the helm of education two years after he should have bowed out despite a consummate amount of public pressure!

As the race for 2015 and the local elections begin the various parties begin their march. The Tories are looking to fortify their position, maybe gain some more in Watling ward and play on their (our) record in Coalition.

Cllr Maple is preparing his Labour troops for a sweeping victory in swing seats, parliamentary seats and indeed wipe the Medway Libdems from the face of the Medway political map.

We are planning on holding our seats as well as modest gains in Watling, Rainham North and Gillingham North at the cost of Cllr Cooper or Stamp following their defection from Independent group to Labour. The latter one is of particular interest as I'm in the mix for that.

So why are UKIP welcome?

Firstly - it could cost the Conservatives quite a few seats as their vote divides in places leaving the way open to another opposition party, maybe Labour, maybe us depending on the area. The Tory's massive machine could lose up to a third in the enfilading fire from the right and protest votes - big hitters like Jarrett and Chambers could find the Tory heart lands dissolving in two.

Secondly - street campaigns and statistic collecting have shown the majority of people switching to vote UKIP have come from the Conservatives but also from Labour rather than from us. This is good as where as the big two need to go out and rally their voters and try and win back hearts and minds we just need to cling to our loyal voters and sway a few soft liberals - even soft Tories who are tired of this council's arrogance or are pro-Europe and fear the knee jerk drift right that may come from Cameron's leadership post '15.

This UKIP phase may just be flash in the pan, as we were once (if you listen to our critics) and if one of my friends stated once that those who say they'll vote UKIP are less likely to vote anyway then ultimately I'm wrong and another blue tide will sweep this Tory autocracy back into Gunwharf in 2015 having learnt nothing and the peoples of Medway can look forward to another four years of darkness with only Labour and the Libdems trading a few seats here or there.

Of course if I'm right... and let's face Gentlemen and Ladies of the Medway Conservative party... you've got to be looking at the Purple peril and thinking it is a possibility.... how prepared are UKIP? What are their strengths? Can they divide you?

Of course we'll have to wait and see in 2015 and I can only hope they do grow in the Conservative heartlands like the tumorous growth they are.

Failure at the top of Medway Council Cabinet

When a football manager loses vital games, no matter how well their team performed, they are

Over seeing failure - Cllr Rodney Chambers

sacked or have the decency to resign.

When a military commander is defeated heavily in battle, no matter what the odds were against them, they are replaced or have the good grace to die in battle.

When a minister screws up massively or a Party leader losses an election by a serious amount they are promoted side ways, replaced or resign.

Not so for the Medway Conservatives.

The ruling Medway Council have been in power for quite some time with quite a majority, which against the trend they increased in 2011. Yet despite this there have been some well documented clangers that have been dropped from a very high height.

The Medway Bus station over spend, the bridge to no where on the Isle or Grain, the budget that simply doesn’t add up, the Darley rail bridge enlargement, the Ofsted results, the Medway test failure, farcical consultation and privitisation of vital elderly care homes, roads in dire need of repair – the list is fairly expansive and I could go on.

Who has resigned their post as portfolio holder in this time?

Anyone?

No one.

There had been quite a substansive move by politicos and opposition parties to get Councillor Wicks to resign as portfolio holder of Children’s services after the debacle of the Medway test and the Child services that protect the most vulnerable in society were rated unsatisfactory by Ofsted showing that basic consultation and referals were up to twice that of the acceptable national average. Whether he was personally responsible or not is no longer relevant, he should have biten the bullet and resigned as public confedence in him was/is exceptionally low and that is not what you need in someone who is overseeing our children’s wellbeing. I use the past tense as last week he was rotated out and Cllr Mike O'Brien has taken his place but it took two years for this to happen and this farce should not have been allowed to continue publically for so long.

Then we turn to Councillor Jarrett the portfolio holder for finance. After this year's budget meeting with figures that did not add up, parking fees shown as incorrect, failure to come up with a financial plan to pay for Medway Tunnel other than to rob from the road repair funds he has shown that when it comes to financial wizardry he is less of a Gandalf and more of a Paul Daniels.

When you slot in the other mistakes and almost reckless spending on capital projects gone wrong like the bus station or the Hoo bridge at the expense of Sure start centres and elderly care you are forced to ask serious questions about his financial management. Yes he is doing a tough job with limited funds and I do not envy him in that respect but at the same time he is wielding the axe and purse like a drunk headsman on pay day and my daughter who is just shy of three can add up figures slightly more convincingly. Again public perception is that the Sherriff of Capstone is taxing the heart and soul out of Medway’s poorest to pay for Mayoral dinners, capital projects and regeneration when they want a more “back to basics” approach. Confidence is being lost.

Then you have the top of the structure. Councillor Chambers the Conservative and Council leader prosiding over them all. Again, he has not been personally responsible for the actions of his subordinates but he is where the buck must stop. Going back to the original examples, should a goal keeper play consistently poorly and concede goals left, right and centre it is the manager who will lose his post first. After the disasterous German invasion of Norway it was Chamberlain who stood down as Prime Minister not Carton de Wiart et.al as military officers. So why has Rodney Chambers still clung to his position? Should he not act and forcibly replace those who have failed so spectacularly as any good leader would do? Should he take the bullet himself or more likely cling to the map table to the bitter end moving phantom divisions whilst a Red (and Gold) steamroller relieve him of command at the next local election?
  No - the rumbling Conservative band wagon continues unabated here and the back slapping continues.

Lodge Hill, planning and Medway Regeneration

Earlier this week I read a really good blogpost on the Nightingale situation at Lodgehill and followed it up with the local press reports from the week before and felt moved to write to the Medway Messenger letters page for this Friday, on behalf of the local party - having received my Chair's green light.

Unfortunately it wasn't published but I have published it here instead, I have also expanded the letter as well as I have more space to manoeuvre and to explain.

The original letter appears in Italics.

I am sure I can speak for many who care about the conservation of England's wildlife when I say I'm pleased about the colony of Nightingales on the Hoo peninsula and the SSI.

Too often we see local authorities ready to send in the bulldozers and play havoc with our biosphere.

I was very disappointed by Councillor Chambers' comments in local and national press regarding Government agencies "delaying" the "much needed homes"

I'll come to the housing part in a moment. I want to concentrate on Cllr Chambers' comments (and those of Cllr Chitty the portfolio holder for this sort of thing) as they directly bemoaned a Government agency stopping another Government agency from doing its much needed business.

As Britain's natural habitats are quickly being eaten up, ancient woodlands, marshlands, green fields all swallowed up for the ever expanding urban areas.

Britain's natural wildlife is also in rapid decline, the number of sparrows have fallen, foxes are forced to enter urban areas in search of food as their natural habitats are destroyed.

We should be welcoming the discovery that this stretch of land is so vitally important to the Nation's Nightingale population.

Yes it is annoying, from the council's point of view, yes it voids the vasts amounts of tax payers money spent on the project up until now but to fight it and to remonstrate with another faceless "Government agency" (backed by the RSPB) over something like this is foreseeably a bigger waste of money and makes you look like a lot of (excuse my Anglo-Saxon) uncaring bastards.

It would be better to put your hands up say "Fair cop gov" and then look at ways that this could be exploited for everyone's benefit. Perhaps a nature walk, better roads out to the site and amenities for bird watchers, naturalists (not nudists!) and tourists. Make it part of the local economy in a good way so people will say:

Let's go to Medway, they've got that lovely park with the Nightingales

Does that not sound better?

Although the project would provide much needed jobs surely we could reemploy the resources on much needed regeneration within the existing towns like our crumbling roads and abandoned houses.

Win for the council, win for residents and win for nature. Don't waste more money on an appeal and tearing up a rare habitat and reinvest in what we already have?
 

It is true that the Medway does need more affordable housing especially new housing, to attract young couples to the towns to breathe in some life and much needed funds.

There is also a need for jobs. The average wage for someone in Medway is around £14k PA, this is not really enough. I'm in the job market at the moment looking to reallocate from working in London to working closer to home so I can spend more time with my young family and my bed! However as I'm not a labourer, nor qualified for teaching, estate agency or driving I'm finding it pretty hard to find anything at the moment and am forced to stay in my current employ.

Why did a young couple such as myself and Sam reallocate to Medway in the first place?

Well the answer is two fold;

 1. My grandfather had passed away and left me half the value of his house and we could get a mortgage.

2. Sam could be closer to her Mum who has not been to too well and as her younger Brother's guardian it would be better to be closer to home.

Otherwise, we might have stayed in Winchester where we had more opportunities and albeit a smaller flat.

The Medway towns needs something to attract workwise as well as the housing.

Unfortunately much of the existing Medway towns is run down and in dire need of regeneration. I'm not talking about Cllr Jarrett et al's plan to glorify Chatham Central, I mean residential, urban areas such as Gillingham North and South, parts of Chatham, Strood...

There are plenty of spots which could do with rejuvination, empty houses that could be sorted out and could be sold on to young couples. The Government have put in a scheme to make housing improvements easier, why not take advantage of this and encourage renevation businesses locally.

There's jobs, there's money, there's decent housing.

There are also other sites, former industrial and commercial sites in Medway where the same projects could be carried out on a much smaller scale and over a wider area.

In short, this is a kick in the nuts, unavoidably so and nothing that can be blamed on political ineptitude, it is just one of those things. However there are things that can be done, a redistribution of the resources and taking this opportunity to do something positive.

Also, as Councillor Chris Irvine said in his blog; It'll be interesting to see what this development will have on the plans for Boris Island etc...

Justine Greening's response to Medway

Well, it has arrived. The long expected response to Medway Council's letter pleading the case against any airport in the Thames Estuary or on the Isle of Grain signed by the leaders of the four main Political parties in the council (Con, Lab, Libdem and Independent). It only took 7-8 weeks and is written in typical management speech which I will attempt to translate using my experience in middle management and civil service.

Dear Councillor Chambers,

Thank you for your letter of 18th January 2012 sent on behalf of all political groups from Medway Council requesting a meeting to discuss your concerns about recent media reports of proposals for a consultation on an airport in the Thames Estuary area.

Pretty standard managerial intro telling you why you wrote in the first place but generally could be translated as "Hello, thanks for writing."

I would like to reassure you that the Government has not made any decisions on the need for major new airport capacity in the South-east, and would only make such decisions on the basis of robust evidence and following consultation. As you know, the Government is developing a long-term strategy for a sustainable future for aviation. We need to provide a framework which supports economic growth and addresses aviation's environmental impacts. We issued an aviation policy s coping document last year calling for evidence on a range of strategic issues and received approximately 600 responses; and some parties have put forward proposals for a new airport in the Thames Estuary.

As the Chancellor said in his Autumn Statement, the Government is committed to maintaining the UK's aviation hub status. As part of this commitment, we will commission a call for evidence on the options ensuring that the UK maintains its internationally competitive hub connectivity.

We've received suggestions from many quarters as to where a new airport should be, including the Thames Estuary (Obviously it cannot be hidden that that has been put forward.) however the Government has not made any concrete decisions as we have had pressure from environmentalists and the Liberal Democrats not to as well. We are also under pressure that the UK's airport capacity will be full within the next few decades and so in the interest of economy and status we must look at airports soon.
 SO we will be consulting on the issue taking into consideration the economic and environmental views.

We will publish the call for evidence alongside our consultation on a new Aviation Policy Framework in March. This is an important issue and we will consider a range of suggestions for how to maintain the UK's hub connectivity in a cost-effective and sustainable way.

We will be looking at this in the Nation's interest and gathering as much evidence as possible before making an informed decision that could go either way depending on this evidence. Although it must obviously be in the Nation's interest but be cost effective and have as small an environmental impact as possible.

In the meantime, we are pursuing a number of measures to get the most out of existing airport infrastructure in the South-east, including taking forward the recommendations of the South East Airports Task force, and reforming the economic regulation of airports to put passengers at the heart of the regulatory regime.

 We aren't making any rash decisions as this an important subject. We are looking at keeping air users in the loop and helping us make the right decisions that would benefit them as much as they benefit the local communities. It is going to be a long time until a new airport will be fully operational so we need to look at ways we can facilitate what we already have.

Unfortunately, the huge pressures on my diary mean that I am unable to offer a meeting to you at this time. However, as you may know, I met a number of Kent Members of Parliament last week- including Mark Reckless - who articulated to me some of the local concerns about future airport policy and planning which I know you share. I have agreed to meet them again later in the year for further discussions, once the draft aviation framework is published.

Thank you for taking time to write and for passing on the concerns of the people you represent.

Sorry, I'm not meeting you - it would be inappropriate and you're not important enough at this stage. I am dealing with your duly elected MPs ( Editorial; they just happen to be Conservatives and I'm sure this paragraph would say the same what ever party the MPs were in.) and will be liaising with them in the future as the consultation and planning proceeds.


It is a standard letter from a Minister or management position that seems to tell all and nothing at the same time and you have to read between the lines or guess at the meaning. My interpretation - and I don't pretend that I know the correct answer, is that the Government have truly no idea as to what will happen and are under pressure from environmentalists, Liberal Democrats in Parliament, Boris et al, aviation experts, local politicians from all over and campaign groups. All the opinions need to be collated and will be part of the consultation and a decision will be made in the Nation's interest.

Conservatives Cock up Chatham Bus Station?

Chatham Bus station under construction.

Last Monday Medway's "Dynamic Water Front Bus Facility" opened to the Public with a number of things missing or still under construction. It was also running approximately 6 months late and £2 million over its original budget. Understandably there is a bit of a furor about the whole project.

Public response to the new facility or "Mushrooms" as it has been described by Medway resident Robin Juste Emery, has been fairly mixed.

It would have been a nice idea if they had just listened to what people were saying. There aren't enough seats, they aren't close enough to the stands and there are still no bins.
Says Mike Watson

Robin Cooper, the council's director of regeneration, community and culture said;

The Police advised us not to install bins, but we need to review this decision.

I have tweeted @Kent_police for confirmation but at the time of writing I have not received a response as to why they would advise this.

There were further criticisms about the exposed nature, one of the many comments about the exposed nature was from Shelia Purser;

It could have been more covered up. At least in the Pentagon you were dry.

Again Mr Cooper responds:

If people are shopping in the High Street in the rain, they will be getting wet anyway. Those who travel by bus are exposed to the elements, because the bus does not drop them home. The information centre which is heated will be available for shelter... If we need to redesign some aspects of the station we will.

So more expense? There seems to be a serious lack of vision. Yes I accept people get wet and cold waiting for buses however it was sheltered in the Pentagon and similar cover could have been provided.
Other criticisms include the information screens not working (They are now and they are going to get anti glare put on.) No toilets (they are waiting on the water company to finish pressurisation) No Zebra crossings (they had just applied anti skid treatment on the road and the paint would not adhere to it.) - The drivers have also been trained to drive at 10mph - but if you get hit by a bus at 10mph it still hurts and could Kill you!

Councillor Chambers has said that There will be teething problems and I accept there are things that will be overlooked but where you are running six months late it wouldn't have made a difference if they waited a further week to get it right or if they had made sure that the basics were ready for the opening day.

Understandably the other political parties have swooped in to criticise the Conservative administration for presiding over the troubled project.

In a press release on their website Cllr Glyn Griffiths, spokes person for Front line services stated;

Tories have poorly managed this project through out, and have clearly had no foresight at all.

Deputy party leader, the affable and  popular Cllr Vince Maple has been very outspoken about the whole project saying:-

The so called "dynamic bus facility" is just one - albeit very expensive fiasco in a growing list of ineptitude.

He is also quoted in Dan Bloom's article in the Medway Messenger [14-10-11] as saying;

Even though it has had an additional six months, clearly it still isn't finished. The public view is no surprise to me - it has been a very badly run project which doesn't have the confidence of the people of Medway.

Medway Liberal Democrat leader, the indomitable Cllr Geoff Juby was quoted in Max Evan's article in the Medway News [13-10-11]

We can't look back in Medway -we have to look forward in the hope that it's one way to save Chatham. That's what it's all about- saving Chatham as a shopping destination. I'm not sure it will, I hope it will, I hope I'm wrong. I hope investment will come here but all town centres are suspect at the moment.

I tend to agree with Geoff. Yes I am annoyed, like Cllr Maple, at the glaring errors and mismanagement of the whole project by the Conservative administration and I think some serious lessons need to be learned from it and the electorate should remember this in the next local election.

BUT

Medway town centres need regeneration and is in need of a breath of life. The other certainty is that the Pentagon bus station would have to be replaced eventually. Indeed Medway Council have revealed that there are serious plans for regenerating the waterfront, demolishing shops that are there and replacing them with office space, a national chain store (which has shown interest) and the future is looking good.
There is still a concern for the traders in the Pentagon by the public, one person felt that there Sainsbury's and Wilkinsons' would suffer. As predicted in this blog this is a strong possibility and already shop keepers in the Pentagon have already recorded a 30% drop in "On the day sales" for last Monday. However this may just be a blip in the figures that may not be attributed to the bus station, you'll just have to watch the figures over the upcoming months, the new station may be the step that was needed to save Medway's high streets.

So the Step was necessary and worth making however the way it was done so with a serious lack of vision.

Quotes from the Public and Cllr Chambers taken from KM [14-10-11] article by Dan Bloom
Quotes from Robin Cooper from Medway News [13-10-11]

Darth Vader and Medway Bus station

As many people will know, I am a massive Star Wars geek.

When reading up about Medway's new "Dynamic Waterfront Bus Facility." I stumbled upon an artcile in the Medway Messenger by KMFM DJ Andy Walker entitled;

Darth Vader got it right.

Within it he suggested that Darth Vader would not have allowed the Death star to have been used until it was fully operational... Unlike the Medway Bus station.

Chatham's "Waterfront dynamic Bus Facility"

Could you imagine the Death Star with workmen all over it? The toilets not ready, the lifts only working in the Southern hemisphere and the super laser only firing on a Thursday?

This is the equivalent of what has happened in Medway, there were no bins, no information points working, no zebra crossings....

Moff   Councillor Chambers Commander of the facility Leader of the Conservative group said that;

There will be teething problems...

Well this is true, but had Lord Vader actually been part of the planning and implementation board he would have not appreciated such failure. There would already be a new leader of the Council.

When I read Commander Councillor Mike O'Brien's comments "It seems to be working." I can't help but hear;

The Emperor does not share your optimistic appraisal of the situation.

Although, we all know that the Death Star II did open before it was fully operational, yes the Super laser worked but the Rebellion were still able to avoid the Emperor's trap and destroy the station a long with all the contractors who were busy installing Zebra crossings and making sure the toilets were working.

One can only hope that Chatham bus station does not suffer a similar fate, though I understand the Superlaser is being fitted next Wednesday.