The Return of Hunting

An excellent article by Hillary Benn on the Tory approach to fox hunting entitled 'The Public Supports the Ban. So what are the Tories playing at'.

The most despised and evil act of inhumanity perpetrated on an intelligent and sentient being.

Barbarism for pleasure.

Vote for Change? In your name?

It's a Merry Christmas from him...

...and its a Merry Christmas from Musings from Medway.

Tories 'Airbrush' Aveling & Porter

Whitewash! Whitewash from the ruling Conservative Group this week as the demolition trucks and skips arrive at the Aveling & Porter site. As this blog writes, a site of historical significance is being bulldozed, gutted and destoyed under the auspices of the ruling Cabinet.

The Medway Council Report on the demolition can be accessed here (PDF 3.4MB). It is clear the Tory cabinet have added the Aveling & Porter decision to a judgement on the wider regeneration of Strood and have back-dated the demolition. Shameless.

A destruction of heritage which will live in infamy and reflective of a tired and torrid Tory administration, that has acted with no decency or basic fairness. Indeed, a snub to significant numbers of Medway Council tax payers and campaigners.

From the inception of this project we have been mis-managed by a Tory cabinet which has

i) Underestimated the COST of demolition by £400,000 - A now staggering £800,000 cost on the tax payer books.
ii) NOT undertaken a detailed feasibility study or structural assessment of Aveling & Porter building.
iii) IGNORED the Overview & Scrutiny Committee comprised of crosss-bench Councillors and independent heritage organisations based in Medway and Nationally
iii) IGNORED the economically viable proposal for housing and commercial use commissioned by SAVE Britain's Heritage

Cllr Jarrett has overseen this £800,000 fiasco.


The latest cabinet report, will also be submitted to the omnipresent Strood North Councillor Jane Chitty. She will have the final say over the building and as a nominal Strood Coucillor will be judged accordingly.

In the latest twist, this blog was supplied with a copy of the Building Feasibility Report commissioned by the Council for the site above, received under Freedom of Information. It indicates that there is NO subsidence and the building does not require underpinning at all. There is NO mention of any major cracking on the Aveling & Porter site.

The report was also NOT a detailed structural report. It was an excel spreadsheet based on visual observations.

The Aveling & Porter has stood for close to a century. It has been tested by hurricanes, floods and even the second world war. Despite the lack of detail in the Council Study, it does ironically support the independent visual assessment undertaken by SAVE Britain's Heritage which indicated that the building remained stable and did not have any major 'observable' structural defects.

The fact that demolition is happening despite the Overview & Scrutiny Committee referring the issue back to cabinet proves that they have ignored colleagues. They have used a procedural point, indicating a previous consent, to push through with the demolition despite the fact that Councillors on the Overview & Scrutiny Committee were basing earlier decisions on no documentation or feasibility studies.

This is a contempt for the democracy. The executive has pushed forward despite the overwhelming wishes of Councillors to challenge and review.

Aveling & Porter is a damning indictment of an administration which has bulldozed over the heritage of Medway. From the threatened closure of the Strood Market, the Dickens Centre, Rochester Market, the Theatre Royal and the Paddock.

This administration has undermined our history and has willfully bulldozed not for any rational or progressive reason, but purely and utterly for profit.

Shame on them

Spin vs Substance

It will be interesting to see how the Liberal Democrats and Labour co-ordinate on the debate.

Cameron is already measuring the curtains; the British public now have a chance to measure the man.

Cameron 'spin' is about to be revealed on Prime Time TV.

Bring it on...

The Hockey Stick

The video climate sceptics do not want you to see...

The evidence that the Mann 'Hockey Stick' graph so attacked by the right has actual basis in fact and is supported by other proxy data.

The 4.00 minute mark onwards is a must watch for those climate deniers...