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Thank you for the clarification, Humbert. Your research leads you to the same conclusions as mine. Whatever assets CGI had at Manston appear now to have dissipated. Their accounts are qualified (quite rightly) by the fact that they owe the Israeli Discount Bank £45m. They have no other apparent assets apart from the Farthingloe Valley. I have struggled to get to the bottom of how and when this land, which has never had planning permission, was acquired.
I believe from my days at Eurotunnel that it was owned by Eurotunnel Developments Ltd (EDL) which was a wholly owned subisdiary of the Channel Tunnel group. This was a progression from when the land was used by TML to house its workers during the construction phase. EDL at one time proposed to build a technology village on part of the site but this was abandoned when the French took effective control of Eurotunnel and it became clear that previous planning constraints would be applied. Since the change of ownership to CGI, little has been done to restore the land to its original condition. Although the portakabins are gone, the terracing remains. And the hideous old concrete sports complex (where I worked for over a year) remains a blot on the landscape.
Sorry to waffle on about the history but it is relevant.
You are right that the Israelis are pressing hard for either a return on their investment on their money back. Clearly, if they are forced to settle for the latter, it would be a colossal financial loss to them.
Yet our professional planning officers were so concerned about the magnitude of the development in such a sensitive area that they downgraded the 2012 submission from 521 homes to 365. They questioned whether effective screening could minimise environmental impact and recommended the inclusion of a hotel in order to bolster the supposed economic arguments of the development case. Even this was done, I feel, with something of a heavy heart under local Tory pressure. CGI wheeled out their consultants - BNP Paribas - who said "we can't make money on this - we need to build all over the bloody place" or words to that effect. This argument was ridiculed by CPRE and their consultants.
I won't go on forever. Our councillors overrode their planning officers. CPRE appealed. The High Court ruled in DDC's favour but with leave to appeal again. The Law Lords (Supreme Court) upheld the new appeal unanimously. If you read the judgment, it is unusually critical of DDC's processes.
So where are we now? Well CGI is a changing beast. Their public mouthpiece, Mr Prince, is no longer a board member according Companies House records. At the helm appears to be a chap by the name of Glenn Dickel who is a "management consultant" whose place of residence is Cambodia. Yet they continue to make public claims about their interest in and care for the people of Dover.
I have no idea why DDC have spent significant amounts of taxpayers money pursuing this through the courts. The Farthingloe Valley is a great natural asset and once it is gone it can never be reclaimed.
I'm equally concerned about the way certain councillors overrode their planning officers recommendations in favour or an organisation which gives the impression of having our MP amongst others in its pocket.
The result of the re-submitted planning application (I won't say new) will be very interesting. We have a situation here where a vast amount of money has been borrowed by speculators who want to benefit financially from destroying a beautiful part of East Kent. Their justification for this is economic benefit for the community ("building the houses we all need etc ". ) It's critical case but I really do not believe that those councillors who have got us into this situation can feel anything other than shame.