O/T Obscene - That Turner Thing Again - KCC & TDC

[Cookie]

Costs now risen to £30m, between £4-5M times above the original amount & now delayed again till 2008. Still £9.8m needed to fund & build the thing & no new sponsors in sight. Costs expected to spiral even further.

We were TOLD that finance HAD to be in place before we could go-ahead or even get permission to build a new stadium.

IS there one rule for the council and another one for everybody else.

Come on Thanet Council,about time you gave in,owned up to a mistake and get out NOW while its still not to late. KCC will be footing a large part of the bill so it DOES affect us,the ratepayers of the community.

Use the guaranteed,future losses on this thing on something worthwhile for the area and stand up and be counted for the losses already accrued and lost.You got the clock-tower lights wrong and so too will you be wrong with this venture.We know it,YOU know it! This was a joke to start with but its rapidly going beyond a joke now!

TIME TO STOP THIS MADNESS, LUNACY & OBSCENITY!!!!

See BBC South East tonight!!!

[JeremyJacobs]

Funding for the Turner Centre is in place. It's National Lottery funded. My understanding is though that if the TCdoesn't get the all clear TDC/KCC will lose the funding. I can't say I would be sorry about that.

[jkmaskell]

Its getting just a little out of control now... Im no legal expert and I dont act like one but Im pretty sure its quite hard for the Council to get out now. I thought the land had already been sold and the contracts signed...

 

As for the Clock tower roundabout change, Im quite happy about it. Hopefully the traffic problems will be sorted out now.

 

Im not happy with the council at all right now about the Victoria Traffic Lights. The Victoria Lights junction has been seen to be very dangerous for drivers and pedestrians alike for years. The local Councillors have known for a very long time that it was a matter of time until someone was killed. Now its sadly happened. Im praying something happens and the local representatives (Cllrs Fuller and Young) get on with it and sort this mess out. Theyve had 2 1/2 years to do something.

[TonyM]

Your VERY right James,it seems to me that this council will not act untill something bad happens,then alas it is too late,how do the leaders of this council sleep at night,they are the ones responsible but show no remorse.

[jkmaskell]

About the Turner thing Ive got a similar view to Cllr Clive Hart here. Im getting very worried about the cost and it is putting me off it.

 

Its on the BBC website under News>England>Kent.

 

I see JJ has gotten to the debating page of the Kent Online site before anyone else! I think why its regeneration is because its creating something new on something which isnt really used. It will create jobs as well. However the costs is the bottom line.

[JeremyJacobs]

what jobs?

[Cookie]

Exactly! What jobs? Its not exactly gonna make the dole queue shorten by much is it? Probably unpaid volunteers too and if not volunteers there will only be a few vacancies to fill surely.Lets not forget that this will a "free" to enter "dive". No money collections needed,just one person,possibly two to stand there looking officious.Its really going to help out the unemployed isnt it? No doubt the vacancies that are will be given to people from AWAY from the area anyway. Isnt that what normally what happens.

Whatever way you look at it this thing has no advantages whatsoever.And all at a massive cost of £30m and rising. Loss making for a fact,a complete waste of time and money.

An absolute,without a shadow of a doubt, white elephant for our town.

[blueblood]

If memory serves me the origional predicted cost, some 7 million as already been spent on launches,relaunches, plans,aborted attempts to test paint ect.Its time we brought back the stocks and flogging posts,maybe this would deter these dreamers. I to could dream if the money wasn't mine.Stop it know,give dreamland to the french man and lets get our dying area back on track. This was a party politicle broadcast on behalf of the B,D,S,M fun party.

[jkmaskell]

Does anyone really think that thing would have cost 7 million anyway? Its extremely ambitious. It was always going to cost a lot more than 7 million poounds, but coming up to 30 is getting just a bit silly.

 

I showed a good friend of mine on Sunday what was left of Dreamland to guage her reaction. She was pretty suprized about how bad it is now. She knew what Dreamland was but lives in Bexleyheath so didnt know about it basically closing down. She seemed rather interested in Westwood Cross though, no suprize at all.

 

Hoping to bring her to a game sometime next year, maybe the spring. Shes only seen Charlton play.

[Cookie]

And that(westwood x) will turn out to be a waste of space,time & effort in the future too,mark my words. Lets face it it aint all that much now is it?

[seasidesteve]

i have never even been to westwoodx nor has any of my family it is a waste of space and as cookie says will not survive in its present form.as for the turner thing well i recon its all been said but no one seems to see sense what a bloody disgraceful waste of OUR money

[JeremyJacobs]

It's lottery money so in a way you're right. That isn't theisue though. It's the future burden on Thanet Council Tax Payers for the upkeep of the TC

[blueblood]

I will reserve my opinion on the westwood development until it is finnished. at the moment the project as a whole is,i would say only around a 1/5 complete. With the pearce sign, the new Tesco's,the leisure and with the new housing development they are creating a new town. As for the Turner if this sail shed is only as big as it looks, what a waste. Perhaps its time one of our Independantly minded politicions stood up to be counted.

[blueblood]

It is a tax, not only the thanet tax payer but every player of the lottery. Since govenment interference with lottery spending,allowing it to be used to replace govenment funding,then it becomes a tax. A tax on the people that use it.If you play JJ then you also pay.

[Chris1]

During my trip into the future earlier today I noticed the following, which might be of interest. It is from the Isle of Thanet Gazette dated 30 October 2015:

 

Council defends selloff

 

Thanet council has defended its decision to sell off the newly completed Turner Centre to a local businessman for £3500 earlier this year. The centre, nicknamed ‘The Conning Tower’ because of its effect on Thanet taxpayers, took ten years to build and cost £100 million.

 

The Council’s new Life President told us: “The sale was a sensible economic decision. To try to meet the running costs of the new centre would have been a ridiculous waste of taxpayers’ money”.

 

“Local residents selling their houses to meet council tax bills are just moaning minnies who don’t know what is good for them”, Lord Ezekiel continued, speaking from his home in Monte Carlo.

 

The Centre’s new owner, local art-lover Mr J Godden, had been planning to exhibit major new works such as Tracey Emin’s acclaimed ‘My Turd’, until last month’s devastating fire forced him to change his plans. “It’s a great shame about the arts centre”, a disappointed Mr Godden told us, ”but luckily I have been granted permission to turn the building into flats”.

[jkmaskell]

Looking at the amount of money he gets from being Council leader, I doubt he'll be in Monte Carlo. Go to the Thanet Council site...its public information. I believe he gets 17k for being leader plus 4 for being a Councillor. Every Councillor got a pay rise earlier this year of 1k basic pay.

 

Funny that not one Councillor complained....

[Chris1]

Very true James. And how fortunate we are that none of our beloved councillors would consider using their position to their own advantage.

[Cookie]

£1.5m loss each year "guaranteed"! How can this be allowed to progress? Its a complete "sting" for everyone in Thanet.Something has to be done to halt this madness!

p.s. I read that article too Chris! If anything in the future CAN be seen then this is the one!

[blueblood]

I cannot say i have not come across any one infavour of this abomination,i have, they tend to be people who have been conned into opening a buissness in the old town with promises of cheap rates and a regeneration project to be completed by last year. These people are know disalusioned with both our elected officials broken promises and the delayed regeneration,delayed Turner project and have already cut there lossesz.Unfortnatly banks do not delay loan repayments with such ease. It is time for the vast majority of the Islands people to say enough is enough and to cut our losses before the folly goes any farther. It needs a leader. i am not the person to do it as i am not a local, as such and do not have the connections,so who do you think is that person.Any ideas "Cookie".

[Cookie]

Maybe a rally in the town centre to show that the vast majority of thanet are against it,against the rising costs and the ignorance of the council towards the people that put them there.I will be having a look at this and maybe come up with something along these lines. However,it seems this council are hell bent on going through with this thing no matter what so maybe it wont rustle too many feathers... but then again it just MIGHT!

It is about time the people of Thanet got together and showed our concern and dissatisfaction on this project before more wasted cash has been spent.