Folkestone Road
- 27 June 2012 16:35180255Many years ago I along with many of my then District and Town councillor colleagues supported to the hilt Nigel Collor's successful efforts to ensure the High Speed Link came to Dover. I personnely believed that Londoners would sell up their homes and take the opportunity to buy up those then wonderful houses on the Folkestone Road turning it into Dovers equivelent of Notting Hill.
My aspirations for Dover were finally shattered at 5am this morning as I drove down Folkestone Road and witnessed dozens of different nationalities waiting for or being picked up by many minibuses to take them to work and not a suit to be seen or for that matter anyone who would appear to have been UK born. If Ed Milliband wants to see just how much his administration failed to regulate immigration I suggest he walks down the Folkestone Road at 5am in he morning. - 27 June 2012 16:48180256Alas, neither Ed Milliband nor the New Labour Party insisted on local employers or landlords taking full advantage of the EU's open-access border policy.
No doubt the shiny, new Coalition Government will sort all of this out.Ignorance is bliss, bliss is happiness, I am happy...to draw your attention to the possible connectivity in the foregoing. - 27 June 2012 17:16180258that surprises me there are hundreds more that are there all hours of the day and night.
i wonder who is subletting to who. - 27 June 2012 17:24180261I'l admit that when going to work, I don't wear a suit
Chanters, Drums and Drones Potty Time http://youtu.be/99fMqpjnXYA
Rule Britannia!
Kent First http://youtu.be/04F3mAP3fV4 Keep banging on http://youtu.be/qYCU_SKmkGQ - 27 June 2012 17:30180263are you one of those that catches the mini bus alex?
sorry i forgot you don't have the language skills. - 27 June 2012 17:37180264If you have voted labour conservative or liberal over the last 25 years,
This is exactly what you have been voting for. - Jan Higgins
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 5 Jul 2010
- Posts: 13,816
27 June 2012 19:20180284One could also blame the local planning and politicians for allowing so many flat and bedsit conversions not that many years ago.-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I try to be neutral and polite but it is hard and getting even more difficult at times.
------------------------------------------------------------------- - 27 June 2012 19:24180287Flats/bedsits vs huge empty houses ..... dilema ?Been nice knowing you :)
- 27 June 2012 20:07180290Howard, you're not likely to see me getting up at 5.30 either
Along Folkestone Road, you probably see people arriving from the side roads too to catch the mini buses to the local factories. So we're probably talking here of an area that includes a larger part of Western Dover, such as the Clarendons,
Being a cheaper area than Eastern Dover, it's where factory workers from beyond the sea would tend to find places to rent. I'd guess also, because many basements have been converted into "flats". I know this from the number of doorbells along the clarendons.
Having read Ken's post, I enquired from a Pole about the working conditions.
After trying my usual phrase in perfect Russian: Ya gavaryu pa Russki, and leading him to believe I speak perfect Russian, which, I ascertained he earns £6 and the odd pence an hour. And that when he goes back to Poland, he'll be doing service in the Polish army.
I tried asking if he gets holiday money, sickness money if ill, or any other form of essential work entitlement, but he couldn't understand, although he was eager to give information.
The other day information reached me that two ladies had a bucket of water flung over them from a window as they walked along the pavement on Folkestone Road.
Making enquiries through friends of friends, I rapidly got to these persons.
The ladies, Lithuanian, explained they were walking home with documents in their hands, when they were covered with water, and the documents too. It came out of a window (I'll not write which number). They proceeded to knock on the door, and as no-one replied, contacted the Police.
In another place where I was working today, in Eastern Dover, I found that a young English lad had lost his job and had had to move out. Another English lad had also moved away. From him I know that he wanted to start work as an apprentice, but was offered only £2 something an hour.
Being on JSA as a result, and being well under 25, his weekly allowance was less than the usual £70 a week.
I will say to local councillors who want to attract high-class residents from London: dream on! No offence meant, of-course
Chanters, Drums and Drones Potty Time http://youtu.be/99fMqpjnXYA
Rule Britannia!
Kent First http://youtu.be/04F3mAP3fV4 Keep banging on http://youtu.be/qYCU_SKmkGQ - 27 June 2012 20:22180292Let's try to kibosh every attempt to improve the town then? Sounds like you don't wany any improvements in any way then?Been nice knowing you :)
- Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,865
27 June 2012 21:14180307ken;
We probably differ on our outlook on this one.
I often walk down the Folkestone road at this time a can confirm what you say, but your wrong in the blame game.
labour did get it wrong and iv told them so.
bu since then we have introduced a cobbled together govt who promised to sort the problem out, instead it has got worse.
talking touch but little actionALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS - 27 June 2012 23:35180320Ken,
Many of these young people from Eastern Europe came during the last two years, because when some return home, others from there come over here to find work.
Many do not stay for more than a few years, this being the reason.
Because their home countries are in the EU, they are entitled to find work in Britain whether there is a Labour government or a Conservative government, a UKIP government or a LibDem government.
The Coalition recently voted in Parliament against discussing an EU referendum, it was a top feature on Dover Forum, and Charlie Elphicke MP also joined in here.
He quite rightly pointed out, though, that a three question referendum idea is rubbish. Indeed it is, there should only be two questions: in, or out.
So to be quite honest, I don't think it's fair to place the perceived problems on the sole shoulders of Labour.
If the Coalition wanted, they could hold an EU in/out referendum.
Having said all this, while strongly advocating that local people should have access to local work and be sufficiently trained also for factory and farm work and not only for computer-related work, as is currently the case (or almost), I have more sympathy for hard-working Eastern Europeans than people whose children are born here but only speak their own language as mother-tongue and evidently have no intention of integrating, and seemingly always have big new cars, while Poles, Latvians and Lithuanians cannot afford such luxuries here, even though they WORK hard for the minimum and precarious wage.
I see hundreds of children every day who only speak Slovak, they are presumably born here - unless even more keep coming over - but why do they not integrate, if they like it so much here?
They have many children, always see them with prams, only speak their own language, but why do they not integrate??
I have never once seen anyone of them in the jobcentre when I used to sign on there for a short period, nor at a skills training back-to-work course, nor at an "how to learn English" course (I often pass such places on my comings and goings), I don't see them catching the minibus to a factory. But Lithuanians, Poles and other nationalities who DO work hard for their meagre minimum wage cannot afford the luxuries of new big cars.....
Recently there was a thread about mothers who have children and live off benefits. Ahem.Chanters, Drums and Drones Potty Time http://youtu.be/99fMqpjnXYA
Rule Britannia!
Kent First http://youtu.be/04F3mAP3fV4 Keep banging on http://youtu.be/qYCU_SKmkGQ - 27 June 2012 23:48180322Ken
As one lot of workers are picked up, others are dropped off, bed swopping.
the Folkestone Road will get no better if the planning department, does not clamp down on letting convertion of these old houses into flats take place, and also if in the next few weeks let plans be passed for convertion of another two residential propertys into another pharmacy and shop four doors away from the one that opened in March, the pharmacy to open 100 hrs per week, from 5am until 11pm, the pharmacy will also encourage more people into area to get their methadone and needle exchange, we have enough problems without adding more. - 28 June 2012 08:37180338I find this all a bit odd in terms of cause and effect.
Although the intentions of getting the high speed link are/were nothing but noble, I would suggest that the outcome is skewed.
The outcome suggested by Ken is one that cleanses the area by moving 'nicer' people in. Where do the displaced 'not so nice' people go?
Surely the high speed is just as much about enabling people in Dover the ability to work in higher paid positions in the city as it is about attracting new residents.
When people talk about pride in their surroundings and connections with their locality, it seems odd that the solution to improving our area is by bringing in 'better people'. The fabric of the town ie. the shops and facilities, is intrinsically linked with the opportunities available to the residents.
When will people get this? - 28 June 2012 13:27180371folkestone road is best seen from high up, walking along it is about as pleasurable as a day trip to a landfill site.
roger has taken some photos and sent them to the powers that be.
- 29 June 2012 09:08180489You're right - the english would never get up that early for work ;)
- Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,865
29 June 2012 17:29180556or get up earlyALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS - 29 June 2012 17:32180560they do round my way, youngsters in particular who do the unpleasant and low paid jobs go past my place at any time of the day or night in care home uniforms or hi viz jackets.
- 29 June 2012 18:25180566I live in Folkestone Road and a lot of the residents of all colours including -in fact especially - white British make it look like a holding bay from the Jeremy Kyle Show.
Whether it's the abundant pool of aggressive white drunks/derelicts/boy racers - or aggressive sober Afghans/Slovaks/whatever, ethnic origin is irrelevant.
The United Colo(u)rs of Dysfunction.
You have to live here to appreciate what it's really like and I think those of us who do deserve to have our views taken seriously. - 29 June 2012 19:10180574Don't forget to mention all the housing benefit to the lucky landlords
Courtesy of all us fools.
