howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
at the end of the day hull city centre could be improved with the planting of orchards.
just a few.
Keith Sansum1
- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
more worried about Dover
leave hull to sort its own problems out
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
Paul, I must inform you that saving the architectural part of the Western Heights monumental heritage is not relevant to the planning applications.
Having said that, I have explained to you on numerous occasions on this, and possibly on another thread related to Western Heights, that to employ people for a wage to do some work there, such as gardening, is the way to go about it.
You keep asking me the same question, the reply remains the same.
Where the money comes from, well perhaps you could try lobbying for it.
Furthermore, it was you who brought up the idea of planting orchards on Western Heights, while attributing it to me, two times today on as many threads, so I took the time to specify what I had actually suggested with regards to orchards.
The other day I received a letter from 10 Downing Street, the Prime Minister was most grateful for the time and trouble I took to get in touch, and my request was passed on to the competent office.
We live in a democracy and a society where we can communicate our ideas.
Why don't you write to some office and lobby for your request, or propose a project, such as to local government, or to London? Maybe the idea of finding some funds for employing people on Western Heights might be taken into consideration.
When I propose something, I just get up and do it, contacting people and putting forward my case.
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Doing nothing for the heritage ????
"Balanced against these harmful impacts are the substantial public and heritage benefits to be delivered from the financial profits of the new development, including
--A new visitor centre, museum and café/restaurant facility located at the Drop Redoubt fort;
- Provision of public access to the currently closed Drop Redoubt, Grand Shaft landscape, North Entrance and numerous other historic buildings across the Heights;
- Completion of urgent repairs to historic structures;
- New uses for the listed and curtilage buildings at Farthingloe, placing them at the heart of a new community; and,
- Improved public landscaping, interpretation"
Ah so it is that easy write to the PM and ask for a few tens of millions of pounds, now why didn't I think of that
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
May I remind you about post 31 on this thread....
"I'd rather see a few community orchards up there, to blend in, where young local people can go and learn how to plant some trees and tend to them."
Been nice knowing you :)
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
when is the next meeting planned, i can't see a date on here?
Keith Sansum1- Location: london
- Registered: 25 Aug 2010
- Posts: 23,942
ALL POSTS ARE MY OWN PERSONAL VIEWS
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
Today at 6, Howard, either at the Immigration Removal Centre's visitors room, or at Lara's.
Keith, 10 Downing Street had nothing to do with requesting funds; it was just an example I was pointing out to Paul that if he writes to some office, and makes a request, he does stand a chance of receiving a reply.
It could be local government or a competent office anywhere.
To try costs nothing, is making use of facilities available to the public to express themselves, and is unlikely to be damaging to the cause.
In my opinion it would be better than going for development plans which are unrelated to preservation, as these, as we have seen, are the cause of objection (meetings, representations ,,,) to urban development, which is totally unrelated to preservation of W.H. and Farthingloe.
Guest 675- Registered: 30 Jun 2008
- Posts: 1,610
Just to update you Alex, Lara has had to cancel tonight's meeting.
Anyone can write to the Prime Minister and they wil always, always get a polite reply saying thank you and that it will be passed to the appropriate department. Getting a further reply from the "appropriate department" is a lot harder and often never happens. The same applies to Buckingham Palace, and the Vatican (but it is an easy way to collect headed notepaper).
Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.
Richard Armour
Guest 703- Registered: 30 Jul 2010
- Posts: 2,096
Chris, that brought back a memory that made me chuckle.
I knew someone who wrote to various worthies shortly after the war asking if he could have a copy of their signature to raffle - the only one who wrote back was Montgomery with words to the effect of "No you b****y well can't" - and the signed letter was duly raffled.
Guest 675- Registered: 30 Jun 2008
- Posts: 1,610
Politics, it seems to me, for years, or all too long, has been concerned with right or left instead of right or wrong.
Richard Armour
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
Chris, I finished work early today to go to the meeting.
Lara hasn't emailed me, so I'm going all the same.
Also, Chris, you haven't read the letter I received from 10 Downing Street, so how can you comment it's content?
It's up to Paul if he wants to make his case known to offices that may be able to help, was just giving some advice,so no harm meant there.
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Alexander the 'situation' is widely known, throughout the councils of Kent and nationally. The Heights feature prominently on the buildings at risk register for many years, but English Heritage DON'T have the money to do anything.
The Heights have had national coverage through the launch of the Heritage Crimes Initiative and the War Memorial Project so are on a lot of 'radars'.
It is majorly complicated by the many owners of various areas of the Heights (DDC, EH, DTC, Home Office, etc). WHPS do not own anything which also doesn't help.... WHPS can't get EH grants for areas EH owns, and grants are extremely difficult to get without long term plans, match funding and business cases. WHPS don't sit there twiddling their thumbs.....
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
I went up the piggy steps above Malvern Road to Military Road today, and saw that all the little pathways where the allotments are, the steps and even Military road need a good weeding session, such as with a strimmer.
There is quite some neglect in this sense, and the presence of rows of stinging nettles between the blackberry bushes and the pavement would prevent people from even picking blackberries. A sad state of affairs.
These areas obviously do not come under WHPS supervision, being outside of the Scheduled National Monument area, and probably come under the sphere of local government.
I think that the DDC councillors who propagate Dover being a place for high-class residents from London, do not do much sight-seeing, to see whether public footpaths and steps are in a reasonable state of maintenance.
When you have to start carefully moving bramble branches with the tips of your fingers to pass through, and risk getting stung by nettles, it shows that arm-chair ideology doesn't always offer value for money
howard mcsweeney1- Location: Dover
- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 62,352
nothing to do with whps alex, more to do with ddc or wccp(apologies for the crass initials), both are cash strapped.
your descriotion of the steps matches with the path from belgrave road onto or off of the heights.
i was half expecting to come across a japanese soldier that didn't know the war was over earlier this morning
Guest 651- Registered: 12 Mar 2008
- Posts: 5,673
Shout from the sidelines or actually do something to help ?
WCCP and WHPS are both volunteer groups that do a huge amount with very little money (and a lot of time with no thanks
). The Western Heights covered about 250 acres of heritage, houses, chalk grassland, 'prison' and more and this isn't something a lot of people appreciate.
WCCP struggle every year for funding and how they do so much I don't know, but just think what the lovely countryside around the Heights would be like without the grazing and their efforts.
Both the nature and heritage need a huge cash input from sources that are radiply deminishing. WCCP have lost many avenues of funding in recently years and many would be what WHPS would be looking at
Other than begging and hoping, what other choices are there? Why shouldn't the current 'opportunity' be fully understood and considered, hence I for one want to fully digest everything CGI is proposing rather than rely on heresay and regurgitating what others are saying to 'you'??
Been nice knowing you :)
Guest 696- Registered: 31 Mar 2010
- Posts: 8,115
Yes but Paul, I was only explaining the difference between areas on lower Western Heights that seem overgrown with weed and brambles, and the well-kept areas that WHPS cover further uphill.
My point is, DDC, or DTC, whichever council is responsible for these rather neglected areas where pathways and steps are left overgrown, have much the same problem as WHPS, namely they are cash-strapped.
I fully appreciate that it is through volunteer work, such as that of WHPS, that many areas on the Heights are kept clear of overgrowth.
However, Dover does need a gardening-squad, on a regular basis, in Spring and Summer, who also do tidying up operations along country lanes (tin-cans, old fridges, whatever)...
This would apply to many country roads and paths, all around Dover, and even the river Dour.
So in this sense, such a company of paid and equipped people could also dedicate their attention to all of Western Heights.
The result of this reasoning of mine is: local government should ask for the necessary funds to employ and pay people to carry out this work all over the green areas in Dover District, wherever such intervention is required and whenever the present resources currently employed are not sufficient.
And this could of-course include Western Heights as a whole.
Having some history of gardening, I offered to do something in this sense on the day I signed on in late 2009, but the Jobcentre explained that this work is done by volunteers.
However, I can't live off fresh air alone.
So unless the authorities pull their act together, and devise a proposal to offer local employment in this area (gardening - countryside cleaning), and ask for the funds to finance it, I can't see anything being done to solve the problems you mention.
I am as much interested as you are to see something positive being decided to keep out green areas neat and tidy.
Brian Dixon
- Location: Dover
- Registered: 23 Sep 2008
- Posts: 23,940
howard,watch out for the claymores,deadly little beasts they are to.maybe droping a hint to barryws and chums for a shoot.
Guest 698- Registered: 28 May 2010
- Posts: 8,664
#910, Monty was notorious for paying small wagers by cheque rather than in cash, in the sure knowledge that the recipient would frame the cheque, not cash it.
I'm an optimist. But I'm an optimist who takes my raincoat - Harold Wilson
