BITS & BOBS THAT I COULDN'T FIT ELSEWHERE

CHARACTER AREA APPRAISAL

Oh Dear, Tonbridge & Malling really have upset people in Borough Green. I am impressed with the volume ofcomment against this appalling document. It will  probably help if you knew a bit of background:

We had a perfectly good Parish Plan,drawn up after surveys, full public consultation, exhibition, etc, but unfortunately this was subverted and used against us to ensure Isles Quarry Housing went ahead, all part of T&M and Sue Murray's "Grand Plan" to turn us into the Milton Keynes of the South.

When they got wind of our scheme to re-instate the Parish Plan edited to remove the forgery, they implemented the "Character Area Appraisal" in an attempt to over-ride our Plan. No less a person that Mark Worral, Leader of T&M, pronounced from on high to me that "This cannot be used to undermine Isles Quarry Housing". Oh, Yeah!!!!

Unfortunately, their Character Area Appraisal has been drawn up by an incompetent, and actually gives us policy that could blow IQW out of the water!! Could be interesting, Folks!

GREAT NEWS : Tesco appeal thrown out....

But don't break out the champagne just yet, knowing Tesco this is just the first salvo, and unfortunately T&M's response was a bit weak and leaves Tesco a bin full of loopholes .... Fingers crossed. 

FULL DECISION at http://www.boroughgreen-news.com/rich_text_13.html

Hmmmmmm.... (update below)

Very interesting article tucked away in the Chronicle the other day - Our Mayor, Sue Murray, is praised for reducing the £126,000 mayoral costs by £40k to £86,630. Now before you all fly off the handle about excessive expenses, I suspect this figure may be the total costs of the Mayoral operation, including the chauffered limo, secretary and Mayoral Receptions, and not what Sue puts in her back pocket. (see clip right >>>)

That said, in these harsh economic climes, that £126,000 would have paid 6-8 front line wages, dustmen, streetsweepers, etc, who could shortly be redundant. I know where I would spend our money. Of Course, T&M can still say they haven't made any redundancies, they will happen amongst the contractors who do T&M's work, we will still keep 100% employment amongst the bureaucracy !!

Also, I hear that T&M Chief Exec David Hughes is taking on Gravesham Borough Council as well. Now I am sure his £118k apx wages will be split between the two boroughs, but it begs the question: if his £118k for his previous full time job was justifiable, how can he do the job properly on half the time?

As a result of various investigations, I have ascertained that Cllr Sue Murray draws £4734 and £1661.59 (fuel) as a Borough Cllr, and £6,757 as Mayor, per annum. =£13,152.59.

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UPDATE: 6 NEW SALTBINS INSTALLED : after the recent snow, the saltbins and snow clearing seem to be a success, and a "proof of concept" : See "Saltbin"Page

below : Rob refills Crowhill Bin....

  

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Members use their vehicles as CASH COWS

Extract from a Sevenoaks Chronicle Article:

"T&MBC Councillor  Mayor Sue Murray collected £1661.59 for the year 2009/2010. Her actual fuel bill for 3000 miles would be less than £500.

Campaign Manager Charlotte Linacre for the Taxpayers Alliance said "Ordinary self-employed workers can only claim 40p per mile so it's grossly unfair for councillors to claim at these increased levels (49.6p -to 65p). This will anger taxpayers who should be getting value for money and instead have to pay the bill for councillors to line their own pockets".

(copyright Malling Chronicle Keith Fairbanks reporters@sevenoaks-chronicle.co.uk )

Editorial note : Cllr Murray has done nothing wrong and her claims comply with T&M rules. However, all 53 councillors claimed a total of £8,800.40 between them, which makes an average for the other 52 councillors of £137.28 each.

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CEMEX C**PS ON ITS DOORSTEP, AGAIN !!!

Picture of Cemex Entrance road, showing mud left by trucks leaving

Eagle eyed residents spotted mud on the A227 Wrotham Rd, where Cemex had attempted to restart its landfill operation again without getting the wheelwashers working. BG Parish Clerk and Wrotham Chairman Harry Rayner sprang into action, and by late afternoon the site had been shut down. A few days later Cemex tried it on again, hoping that no-one would notice, but they did!!! Shut Down AGAIN !!!

You would have thought that a multi-national company like Cemex would have the integrity to ensure their operations are sensitive to residents, especially as they still harbour hopes of sneaking a Railfreight Terminal up on us.

What concerns me the most is the stunned silence from most Borough Green Parish Councillors. I suppose they don't want to jeopardise the free football pitch, the cash grant, and the assistance with refurbishing the football pitches that Cemex have so generously offered. All without any strings, of course, and strictly above board. Whoops, shouldn't have said that, I've already had my wrists slapped once for suggesting that BGPC's impartiality has been compromised by accepting gifts from such as Cemex.

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New sites for you:

DOGWALKING SERVICE:  Jo Richards : http://www.dogwalkingwithjo.co.uk/

ZUMBA CLASSES with Sheree Cox Mondays at 8.15 BG Village Hall.

Contact Sheree on 07973146010  or at http://www.schaws.co.uk/

ZUMBA CLASSES with Lisa at Wrotham Secondary School from 11 January 2011 every Tuesday 8-9pm, the first class is FREE,  People can book a free place on 01622 812602 or at http://www.zumbafitinkent.co.uk/ 

I don't know what Zumba is, hope it's legal, sounds like fun !!

ISLES QUARRY: What do Sue and David REALLY mean??

We were all heartened recently by the news that our Borough Councillors Sue Murray and David Evans were calling for the Isles Quarry Housing decision to be revisited. This prompted me to write to all three Parish Councils asking for support in this new direction, and all have responded positively. All four letters can be seen on IQW REVISIT page.

Unfortunately we have since discovered that this Damascene moment wasn't quite what we thought, their statements since then show their support for IQW housing, a cynic might accuse them of having their eyes on the elections in May.

Our long struggle for justice has at last landed on the desk of the Parliamentary Ombudsman, the highest we can go without recourse to the Courts, where the "irregularities" are being investigated.

Of course Tonbridge and Malling are very aware that we can't afford to take this to a Judicial Review, and the supreme irony is that if we did, they would use OUR money to defend themselves.

Crest/Hanson have gone very quiet, they were talking of having a planning application lodged by July: perhaps they are getting cold feet. Fingers crossed.

 

 

 

BIG/KIG/KRAFT NEWS : The Government have finally announced that they have rejected AXAs proposal for the Rail Terminal (KIG) at Bearsted. This is good news here because it confirms the Governments intentions towards rural railfreight hubs sponsored by the now defunct South East Plan.

KRaFT (BIG) were only ever chancers having a punt, and there is no way they will spend millions on a Planning Application that is doomed to fail.

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Someone told me that badgers were shy and retiring, but despite the evergrowing urbanisation of our village, wild life seems to be thriving. This feller turns up every night: foxes and hedgehogs are most upset, he keeps nicking their supper !! Doesn't turn a hair when the flash goes off.

 Serious side to this: pictures like this are valuable evidence, and you'll find a survey form on this site: get those reports back to Jo Richards!!!

 

Click the link for video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV6bS_ZjY6U

 

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