The Front Page - Copy 62 ( Toilets Issue. Cross Channel Co-operation, LDLines.)
18 January 2010
See all the comments below....
The Meeting on the Toilet Closure issue was held wednesday night Jan 20 at the Town Council offices at Maison Dieu House. It was very well attended, with more arriving after the picture above was taken. It was well organised, well handled, and with no unruliness whatsoever from the floor. The audience was..mature..as is the case with many meetings of similar type..so perhaps the situation was a tad less fiery than it might otherwise have been. However amongst the audience was some very well known local figures who all made very telling points and very valuable contributions. The contributions from the floor were from the likes of Bill Gardner Mayor of Deal, Roger Walkden Business Support Manager here in town, Alan Shirley of the Chamber, Keith Sansum, Pat Sherratt, and indeed many others including the knowledgeable new LibDem candidate called John Brigden, who had previous experience of similar in Sevenoaks. So there were a wide range of opinions from all sides of the coin, both political and otherwise, and nobody used the N word all night long..N for Nigel (Collor), but all were in total harmony that the toilet closure was/is a total outrage.
The Town Council, as pointed out by Mayor Sue Jones, were faced with four options and they were roughly this.
1. That DTC pay the DDC to run the toilets. DDC would continue to provide the service as per normal but DTC would pick up the bill.
2. That DTC would pay DDC to service the toilets and then take them over completely after a period of three years.
3. That DTC take over right now without further delay.
4. That DTC do nothing and call DDC's bluff.
Item 3 above sounds a very easy solution however it is a very expensive one and would cost you and me the humble ratepayer considerably more , and would we be paying twice?
" Will the DDC reduce their precept - highly unlikely!" said Mayor Sue Jones...and many agreed.
Cllr David Hannent pointed out that the DTC had a zero rate rise for the past two years, the toilet issue is likely to end that. Mr Hannent went on to say that
"in the middle of negotiations with DDC, we were told by a member of the public that the toilets were closed."
As Keith Sansum said during the course of the evening..."the public are incensed " and so too are the Dover Town Council.
PB.
Please leave your comment below if you are a Member, or on the Open Page if you are not. All welcome.
Also see the threads in the Members Club Forum.
* *
In the spirit of the cross channel partnership working between Local Authorities, the Leader of Dover District Council has welcomed the opportunities of working together for the future at a meeting organised by French authorities in Calais.
Cllr Paul Watkins was the specially invited guest speaker at the ‘Ceremonie des Vœux’ held in Calais on Wednesday (13 January), celebrating French-British relationships and launching the municipal year ahead. The ceremony was organised by the Communaute d’Agglomeration du Calaisis.
Cllr Paul Watkins, Leader of Dover District Council said: “We welcome the continued relationship which our communities have established with CAP Calaisis, complementing Kent’s wider relationships with the Pas de Calais and Nord/Pas de Calais.
“Cross channel partnership working brings advantages to our collective communities, with a range of opportunities to foster cultural and economic benefits. This includes opportunities from the Open Golf Championship, which returns to Sandwich in 2011, and opportunities for the Olympic torch to pass through our communities. Green tourism also has the potential to bring major economic returns to support improving use of our heritage, cliffs and castles, which we look forward to developing further through European funding.
“Our ports and transport terminals are of course a major economic focus. We were excited to participate in the public debate into options for the Calais Port Expansion being proposed as part of the Calais 2015 Project. Both our ports need to expand at the same pace. Through our geographic location and the contribution we make to the UK and European agenda as part of the gateways to and from our countries, our two communities are forever in the forefront of the world’s gaze. Dover District and the wider Kent community look forward to 2010 as a groundbreaking year to continue to take our common interests forward.”
Picture shows the Leader of Dover District Council, Paul Watkins.
- ends –
In bleak January we often think of getting away from it all. Well...its a miserable month. Many plan their holidays, although many will have noticed the sharp fall off in holiday advertising on TV. This is because the recession always bites at the Leisure Industry first. I suspect more and more people will be doing their own ready made holidays this year, which sometimes provide better value. Pop on a ferry and in no time at all you are in the holiday mood. This press release has come in recently from LD Lines...and if you book early you can save even more money.
Ferry operator LD Lines has introduced a best-value cross channel early booking offer from £18 each way via its exclusive Dover - Boulogne route.
The offer is valid for a car and two passengers for any duration travel throughout 2010 and some sailings for the remainder of 2009 are also available at this same lead-in fare.
LD Lines' conventional ferry Norman Spirit operates four return sailings daily on the Dover - Boulogne route, providing a crossing time of one hour 45 minutes.
The ship has capacity for 1850 passengers, 700 cars and 110 freight vehicles, and all tourist traffic is carried including coaches and foot passengers in addition to cars, cars and caravans, motorhomes and motorcycles.
Also provided on this route is a Premium service of £7 per person each way which includes priority boarding, access to the Premium Lounge on board, complimentary newspapers and refreshments.
Fares are subject to availability and to book : www.ldlines.com or call : 0844 576 8836.
LD Lines' service now operates into Boulogne's new Hub Port terminal, whose rapidly expanding port facilities and infrastructure now provides increased tourist and freight traffic capacity. LD Lines is owned by the Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group, a leading French shipowner with over 100 years experience in the shipping industry, operating over 60 ships worldwide.
See all the comments below....
The Toilet Issue Meeting.
The Meeting on the Toilet Closure issue was held wednesday night Jan 20 at the Town Council offices at Maison Dieu House. It was very well attended, with more arriving after the picture above was taken. It was well organised, well handled, and with no unruliness whatsoever from the floor. The audience was..mature..as is the case with many meetings of similar type..so perhaps the situation was a tad less fiery than it might otherwise have been. However amongst the audience was some very well known local figures who all made very telling points and very valuable contributions. The Town Council, as pointed out by Mayor Sue Jones, were faced with four options and they were roughly this.
1. That DTC pay the DDC to run the toilets. DDC would continue to provide the service as per normal but DTC would pick up the bill.
2. That DTC would pay DDC to service the toilets and then take them over completely after a period of three years.
3. That DTC take over right now without further delay.
4. That DTC do nothing and call DDC's bluff.
Item 3 above sounds a very easy solution however it is a very expensive one and would cost you and me the humble ratepayer considerably more , and would we be paying twice?
" Will the DDC reduce their precept - highly unlikely!" said Mayor Sue Jones...and many agreed.
Cllr David Hannent pointed out that the DTC had a zero rate rise for the past two years, the toilet issue is likely to end that. Mr Hannent went on to say that
"in the middle of negotiations with DDC, we were told by a member of the public that the toilets were closed."
As Keith Sansum said during the course of the evening..."the public are incensed " and so too are the Dover Town Council.
PB.
Please leave your comment below if you are a Member, or on the Open Page if you are not. All welcome.
Also see the threads in the Members Club Forum.
* *
CROSS CHANNEL PARTNERSHIP is WORKING
In the spirit of the cross channel partnership working between Local Authorities, the Leader of Dover District Council has welcomed the opportunities of working together for the future at a meeting organised by French authorities in Calais.
Cllr Paul Watkins was the specially invited guest speaker at the ‘Ceremonie des Vœux’ held in Calais on Wednesday (13 January), celebrating French-British relationships and launching the municipal year ahead. The ceremony was organised by the Communaute d’Agglomeration du Calaisis.
Cllr Paul Watkins, Leader of Dover District Council said: “We welcome the continued relationship which our communities have established with CAP Calaisis, complementing Kent’s wider relationships with the Pas de Calais and Nord/Pas de Calais.
“Cross channel partnership working brings advantages to our collective communities, with a range of opportunities to foster cultural and economic benefits. This includes opportunities from the Open Golf Championship, which returns to Sandwich in 2011, and opportunities for the Olympic torch to pass through our communities. Green tourism also has the potential to bring major economic returns to support improving use of our heritage, cliffs and castles, which we look forward to developing further through European funding.
“Our ports and transport terminals are of course a major economic focus. We were excited to participate in the public debate into options for the Calais Port Expansion being proposed as part of the Calais 2015 Project. Both our ports need to expand at the same pace. Through our geographic location and the contribution we make to the UK and European agenda as part of the gateways to and from our countries, our two communities are forever in the forefront of the world’s gaze. Dover District and the wider Kent community look forward to 2010 as a groundbreaking year to continue to take our common interests forward.”
Picture shows the Leader of Dover District Council, Paul Watkins.
- ends –
In bleak January we often think of getting away from it all. Well...its a miserable month. Many plan their holidays, although many will have noticed the sharp fall off in holiday advertising on TV. This is because the recession always bites at the Leisure Industry first. I suspect more and more people will be doing their own ready made holidays this year, which sometimes provide better value. Pop on a ferry and in no time at all you are in the holiday mood. This press release has come in recently from LD Lines...and if you book early you can save even more money.
LD LINES' BEST VALUE 2010 EARLY BOOKING OFFER
Ferry operator LD Lines has introduced a best-value cross channel early booking offer from £18 each way via its exclusive Dover - Boulogne route.
The offer is valid for a car and two passengers for any duration travel throughout 2010 and some sailings for the remainder of 2009 are also available at this same lead-in fare.LD Lines' conventional ferry Norman Spirit operates four return sailings daily on the Dover - Boulogne route, providing a crossing time of one hour 45 minutes.
The ship has capacity for 1850 passengers, 700 cars and 110 freight vehicles, and all tourist traffic is carried including coaches and foot passengers in addition to cars, cars and caravans, motorhomes and motorcycles.
Also provided on this route is a Premium service of £7 per person each way which includes priority boarding, access to the Premium Lounge on board, complimentary newspapers and refreshments.
Fares are subject to availability and to book : www.ldlines.com or call : 0844 576 8836.
LD Lines' service now operates into Boulogne's new Hub Port terminal, whose rapidly expanding port facilities and infrastructure now provides increased tourist and freight traffic capacity. LD Lines is owned by the Louis Dreyfus Armateurs Group, a leading French shipowner with over 100 years experience in the shipping industry, operating over 60 ships worldwide.