The post you are reporting:
Paul
I agree with you that the neglect has to be stopped and that money ... mega amounts of money is needed.
HOWEVER, as you have pointed out today CGI don't have that sort of money so why should we welcome them with open arms to build houses and a hotel on Western Heights? There is no logic in that other than to make further building on the Heights easier.
When you go round Western Heights you will see boards to a 'Soldiers Life', the money came out of an EC fund back in 1993 - guess what, I played a part in getting that money!
As I have said above, up until I became ill, at about the same time as the Western Heights Preservation Society (WHPS) was set up, I was heavily involved.
This included writing a DDC commended paper entitled 'Western Heights - A Future.' The paper considered each aspect of the areas built and natural environment, putting forward proposals for future management to unlock the tourist potential.
Later, John Clayton, Director of Planning and Technical Services at that time, that it was reasons beyond my control that the plan was not implemented.
In 1994, IMPACT - The Joint Environmental Initiative of KCC and DDC - started work on the faithful reconstruction of the Grand Shaft. Before work started rubbish - including abandoned cars, washing machines etc. had to be cleared.
Since the advent of WHPS, both my husband and I have supported your cause. Indeed, my husband, who is on the Executive Committee and the Planning Committee of the Dover Society.
Of interest, he was told by the Chairman of the said planning committee recently, that there was an abundance of litter to be found right across the site of the former Grand Shaft Barracks. The following day, he spent two hours there and in his report, he wrote:
' Compared to many areas more central to Dover I found that the density of
litter was very low. I took with me 4 medium sized plastic bags which were
more than adequate to transport all the litter down to the Brook House
recycling site with room to spare. In fact if I hadn't collected a number of
large 2 litre plastic bottles from the area of the Grand Shaft I wouldn't
even have filled 3 bags. I only recycled a total of 80 aluminium cans/glass
bottles which I could easily collect in the areas around Coombe Valley Road
in less than an hour ...'
So why did the Chairman make such a crass comment ... He is a Councillor - be it DTC - but as I have already said today, DDC want to be shut of the Western Heights and there are a number of DDC councillors on DTC.
Lorraine
