The post you are reporting:
As I put on the Dover petition thread, I had an email from an ex-Dover man who came back to see a friend a short time ago and was so saddened by what he found here that he wrote to our MP.
He travelled round East Kent with his friend, visiting Towns like Herne Bay, Whitstable, Ramsgate, Sandwich, Deal and Dover and his friend said why is Dover so shabby looking and uncared for.
Following his visit, he wrote to Charlie Elphicke asking him to do something about it; Charlie replied to him (I don't know what he said though) and this chap recently wrote again to Charlie and me too - not sure how he heard about me.
I have written back to him and he has replied. I have now asked him if I can use his letter to try and get something done and he has said yes: here is his letter.
"Dear Mr Walkden
Please find attached letters I have written to Mr Elphicke. I wrote a similar letter about a year ago, for which I did receive a reply, but which failed to address my main issues concerning Dover's image.
I hope you will feel inspired to take some positive action towards improving the dire image of Dover that gives former Dovorians and visitors alike a disgraceful impression of what is now a significant cruise liner port , and a major initial entry point to Britain for visitors from the continent.
Yours sincerely
John Hannaford"
His letter to Charlie, read:
"Dear Mr Elphicke
I write as somebody who grew up in Dover for the first sixteen years of my life and attended Dover Grammar School in the top academic stream. I retain a certain nostalgia for Dover and periodically re-visit the town. I previously wrote to you about the appalling general state, and image presented, of Dover as a town, and about the future of the port and harbour. Thank you for responding to my letter, though you failed to address the criticisms expressed about several specific disagreeable aspects relating to the town's environment.
Having stayed in the area recently for a week with a cousin who is unfamiliar with the district, the issue became far more poignant. We also visited Deal, Sandwich, Canterbury, Folkestone, Margate and Ramsgate; afterwards, quite unprompted, my cousin observed that Dover was by far the 'scruffiest place' he saw in East Kent. He was especially surprised at this lack of civic pride, as there were two cruise liners moored at the Admiralty Pier which he assumed would otherwise be likely to produce extra trade and business within the town. I realise that for many years following WWII there has been the potential threat of the Channel Tunnel hanging over the town; however, the effects of the tunnel have not been as devastating as had been imagined, with currently plenty of cross-channel shipping.
I would therefore urge you and local councillors to make every effort to engender the desire to develop and smarten up the image of Dover for the benefit of both citizens and visitors.
Yours sincerely,
John Hannaford"
I wrote back:
"Good Afternoon John
Thank you for your email and attached letter to Charlie Elphicke regarding the state of Dover.
Sadly, I have to agree with you.
I first put myself forward as a Councillor in 2003 because I wanted to do something for the Town to improve its image and increase tourism.
Having moved here with my wife in 1994, from Barnet in Hertforshire, to run a guest house in the Folkestone Road, which we did very successfully from 1994 to 2002, I could see that Dover needed an upgrade and an image change, especially after the damage that the illegal immigrants did to Dover's reputation in the late 1990s.
I have tried and tried to badger, cajole and encourage the District and Town Councils to support the Town in a proper sense, but sadly they won't/can't.
I late 2005, I started the Dover Loyalty Scheme, taking over a dead scheme that had had no one working on it for over a year and just a very small number of members, all of whom who were thoroughly fed up with paying out good money for no benefit.
The scheme grew and grew till we had well over 60 odd members. I ran this scheme for two years, putting full-page monthly adverts in the Dover Express; I built up a good data-base of local people whose first choice was to shop in Dover and sent regular emails out to them all, advising them on public information, up and coming events, and local business news.
I could not get any financial or moral support from the District or Town Councils, nor Dover Harbour Board; I also approached Dover's Tourism body - The White Cliffs Country Tourism Association, but none of the above bodies would support my efforts to help develop and move the Town forward and so after two years, a lot of effort and quite a huge cost to myself - I wasn't taking any money from this venture and had to pay out some monthly full page adverts in the Dover Express (over £400 each time), I closed the initiative down.
I had many London Boroughs and Town Centre Management type of bodies around the Country contact me, asking about the Dover Loyalty Scheme, when I explained to them how it worked, they congratulated me and wanted to ask if they could use the model for their own Town/area, of course I said yes - sadly, as I said, I couldn't get any support from Dover bodies.
I worked on a number of initiatives to support the historic sites and attractions too, one of them "Passport to Leisure" was fully costed and every historic site and attraction across Dover District, wanted to be a member of this scheme, but I had to get the moral support from the Tourism body - WCCTA; I didn't need any money from them, just moral support, but they said we didn't need or want it, so it never got off the ground. I now see that Leeds Castle have started exactly the same scheme as mine. Other areas around the Country also operate them - but not Dover.
I have always supported the Town and spent much time working on initiatives and projects that would help move Dover forward and help the businesses move from surviving to thriving.
I was offered the position of Dover Business Support Manager by Dover Chamber of Commerce, but after 4 months of working unpaid (I should have been) I was sacked. I have never found out the true reason why I was dismissed.
I have also worked for the Channel Chamber of Commerce in a similar role, but after 4 months and being very succesful (in their words) they advised me at the end of April this year, that unless I could find funding to pay my salary by the end of May, then they could no longer employ me.
I went to see the Town Council; also the then Deputy Leader of Dover District Council to look at the various budgets to see if there were any that could release some funds, I also approached Dover Harbour Board (twice), but didn't get the courtesy of a reply from them.
Because I couldn't get any firm pledges of financial support, the Channel Chamber dismissed me (or whatever term is more appropriate) in early June. I would add that they did not support my initiatives and projects to move Dover forward and kept telling me so - they wanted to support business start-ups and rent out small business units and get young people on apprenticeships; all very laudable of course, but these do not help move Dover forward at all.
Now there is no one supporting the Town in any real sense - in any sense, real or not.
Around the time I was working on the Dover Loyalty Scheme, I started a Tourism Strategy for Dover, I also started on an Action Plan for Dover Town, both are incomplete and still on my laptop and will probably never see the light of day.
Dover has many big regeneration projects in the pipeline, which will, in time, make an enormous difference to the Town, but what is needed now, is to make Dover a cleaner, more smarter Town, one that welcomes visitors and residents alike. I know what should be done, but sadly no one supports me.
We also need to make Dover a destination - from a tourism point of view, not the to-it-and-through-it Town that it is now.
Those who have the authority to move Dover forward, don't seem to care and those who care, don't have the authority.
Sorry this has turned out to be a long email John, but you can see that I have a lot of passion for Dover and have really tried very hard over the years, but no one was and no one is, listening.
Kind Regards - hope you get a good reply from our MP.
Roger Walkden"
I know this is a public Forum, but I feel it is very important for Dover that something real and practical is done - I have tried long enough without success.
I have emailed the Leader of Dover District Council and Paul agrees with me; I will now send this to the Town Clerk at the Town Council and Dover Harbour Board. These are the three main bodies who are the biggest stakeholders.
Maybe I should have written to them first ?
Roger