Getting rid of Burlington House
- 4 April 2010 18:1345985I've just sent this round to all those on my email address groups - if you would like to see the end of Burlington House, please sign this petition.
"Would you like to help with the early demise of Burlington House ? I thought so.
A petition has been created to reverse the business-rates exemption that is applied to Burlington House.
The reason it has this exemption, is because it is not habitable and therefore has the same designation as if it HAS been demolished.
The argument is that if the owners of Burlington House have to start paying business rates, they might start co-operating with the DTIZ development process or even demolish it themselves.
The website address, is:
http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/BurlingtonHouse
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to remove the Business Rates exemption enjoyed by the owners of Burlington House, Dover".
Burlington House is Dover's worst eyesore and stands in the way of a major town centre regeneration project.
Its owners currently enjoy a 100% exemption for business rates on the grounds that it is unfit for occupation and is therefore deemed to have been demolished.
However it still stands.
"We ask the Government, through the Valuation Office Agency, to remove this exemption until such time as the building has actually been demolished, and to assess the site owners for business rates until such time as demolition has been completed.
Please do sign this petition; please also send it on to everyone you know - friends, family, work colleagues etc. asking them to sign it too.
This is one petition that could make a difference to Dover".
Roger - 4 April 2010 18:3545988Roger, sorry to say this you are wasting your time on that one, I have said this time and time again that building will no come down for years yet. I will not sign it again wast of time.
- 4 April 2010 18:4745993it may well do if the owners are forced to pay business rates.
surely they should be anyway if they are reaping an income from the mobile phone companies.? - 4 April 2010 18:5045995I think as howard says its the masts that are the issue
that stops burlingon hse not coming down - 4 April 2010 18:5345996Howard it will not happen you could have a petition of 100.000 on it and still a wast of time,hate to say this I have been right up to now over the years and I still am.Roger if you are bored come out with me leafliting.
- 4 April 2010 18:5545997Why are you going over old ground this has been all said and done before.
- 4 April 2010 18:5645998VIC
Theres nowt wrong with roger campaigning
still need to get issue correct tho
as paulw is here maybe he could advise why burlington house still in place and how best to help to remove it - 4 April 2010 18:5646000The petition may well be a waste of time but at least HMG will be aware of the strength of feeling in the town.
Anyone know a pilot...
Phil West
If at first you don't succeed, use a BIGGER hammer!! - 4 April 2010 18:5946002vic
this is a completely new angle of attack.
it is not just us moaning, we may be able to actually pressurise the owners with this issue of business rates. - 4 April 2010 19:0546003The mobile phone masts are only an issue from the point of view of the building owners being unwilling to relinquish ownership whilst they are still deriving an income from them.
From a technical point of view, they could come down tomorrow and the mobile phone operators would have no problem delivering their service from alternative locations. All in a day's work for them. To put this in perspective, there is a fraction of the radio equipment up there that I look after in addition to all the other electronic and electrical equipment onboard a ferry, of which the various radio installations form a very small part.
Vic has been right on many issues, including Burlington House, Morrisons and the Maison Dieu polyclinic.
However, Peter Garstin has had a good wheeze in submitting this petition to force them to pay business rates and this brings a new dimension to getting rid of this excresence. I have certainly signed and encourage others to do likewise. - 4 April 2010 19:1146004That's right Howard, it is attacking it from a new angle.
And yes I know that the County Hotel, Light of India and Dover Eurochange, are all part of the complex, so it will all have to go together.
Just to let you know, that I didn't start this petition, but am happy to support it.
Roger - 4 April 2010 19:1246005It is not a new angle we looked at it years ago and then said it would not work,and they know how we are all feeling about it,it was not long ago that is was on the T.V. with locals talking about it,it was also voted the wost building in the UK and it should come down still there today,just close you eyes when you go by it like I do. It will not pressurise the owners into doing anything,as for business rates just think about the poor shops in Dover Paying now very high business rates which need to come down not go up. It will come down in time butnot for some years yet.
- 4 April 2010 19:1446006Any pressure from whatever angle has to help
- 4 April 2010 19:4046011Vic, every angle is worth a try, retry and try again.
The owner is reaping tens, if not, hundreds of thousands of pounds year year for having the masts there without handing over anything in rates. No maintenance is carried out, and I suspect that now there isn't a caretaker to look after the building at all.
If it were made less profitable, then demolition is more likely.Been nice knowing you :) - 4 April 2010 19:4546015Maybe Burlington House would look more attractive than an empty site like the old bus garage?Tell them that I came, and no one answered.
- 4 April 2010 19:4546016vic
surely you understand that to most dovorians that building is a major issue.
what sort of MP is it that tells the constituents he will not support any effort to demolish it? - 4 April 2010 20:5346045done mine RogerIf you knew what I know,we would both be in trouble!
- 4 April 2010 21:0946050Howard.I did not say that and you know it,I do not support the Petition because it will not work,you know I was one of the first to say it needed to come down. Going on from that for some years before I packed up work one of my jobs was to help put up Phone masts so I got to know a thing or two about them.And Ed is right there is no need for the phone installations to be on high buildings anymore so they could come down,so the new Angle as Howard like to say,but I put it this way "Thinking outside the box"If the owners were given a payment so the masts could be taken down and put on a lower building that might make way for Burlington house to come down at some point.
As for Business rates on buildings that are not in use, yes I am for that, but that can only be done by the Goverment of the day and that is not now,it will have to wait for the new one to be in place and if I was the M.P. of Dover at that time Yes I would act.But this is not the time for it now. - 4 April 2010 23:2846061Vic: I don't think the petition will work either, but I still signed it on the grounds that HMG will see the number of supporters and may put pressure on the building's owners from another angle entirely. Is sitting back and doing nothing really an option? Every little helps!!!Phil West
If at first you don't succeed, use a BIGGER hammer!! - 4 April 2010 23:4746066Phil.you are right but there are other good ways to put your own points over like geting up at meetings or writing a letter the the press,but with a petition all they do is open it look at it and bin it.now lets say you had 1000 members of the public sigh the petition then all of them follow it up with aletter from each one of them to. and lets just say it is to the council and they get there one morning and on the floor is 1000 letters all in their own handwriting and the council have to write back to each one of them,then you are on to a winner.