I've noticed that Blogger appears to be letting spam comments through, so please be careful if you see a comment on a thread, which bears no relation to the conversation.Here's an example:"Broadband Sue has left a new comment on your postHere’s a Broadband Video that will show you how to check availability by postcode, how perform a broadband speed test and where to find broadband forums to answer your questions. There are also offers for PlusNet Broadband."Ed:In this case it looks quite possibly as if it's an attempt to re-direct the wary to a video site that will download malicious code into your PC, possibly for identity theft or to hijack it as a new member of an organised crime "zombie" network.Unless a link if from me or you recognise the author in regard to the thread, please don't be duped into following such links here or indeed on any weblog.www.thanetlife.com

With the deprivation that Thanet suffers from, it doesn't surprise me that we might figure in somewhere in the sex-trade and human trafficking league. Chairing, as I do, the "Tackling Organised Crime" congress, the statistics of misery are far greater than most readers would ever imagine!Seven people were arrested yesterday and eight women are being cared for by specialist officers following a Kent Police operation to target people trafficking and the sex trade.Early on Thursday morning more than 100 police officers from across the county visited 11 addresses in Margate, Ramsgate, Canterbury, Herne Bay and Sittingbourne where warrants were executed.According to the report, detailed searches of those properties were carried out. Four of the addresses are understood to have been used as brothels. The other locations are believed to be home addresses of people suspected of being involved in the crimes. Police say further arrests are anticipated.A Kent Police spokesman commented: "This is part of the nationwide campaign Operation Pentameter 2, led by the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Home Office, which aims to protect vulnerable people being exploited by organised criminal groups. Kent Police is playing an active role.""The seven people have been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to traffic women for sexual exploitation and conspiracy to control the activity of prostitutes for gain or money laundering, together with drug offences.Thousands of pounds in cash have also been recovered.Anyone with any information about trafficking is urged to contact Kent Police on 01622 690690 or Kent Crimestoppers, free and anonymously, on 0800 555 111. In an emergency, always dial 999.www.thanetlife.com

"The poorest man may in his cottage bid defiance to all the forces of the crown. It may be frail - its roof may shake,the wind may blow throught it, the storm may enter but the King of England cannot enter." - William Pitt.Following rapidly on the heels of the Housing Minister's announcement of a new home's building priority - further below - we have another story appearing in the papers today.It appears that "Pensioners will be encouraged to give up council houses in the cities and move to the country.The elderly will be paid cash and helped to move, so that their homes can be given to families.Labour said the plan would ease overcrowding. Housing Minister Yvette Cooper, who put forward the plans, said: "Too many children are stuck in cramped houses. How can they get on at school if they haven't got space to do their homework? Kids need space, and so do their parents."But critics warned it would put pressure on pensioners to quit social housing.Middle-aged couples living in large council houses in cities could be forced to move to the countryThe plans will mean the elderly, and some middle-aged "empty nesters", get priority for small council or housing association homes outside cities."Ed: William Pitt never imagined the appearance of New Labour. It all rather sounds like a covert form of eviction to me. When I wrote the earlier story, "The Biggest Priority of All", I never realised that the Government had such a dramatic 'Re-distribution' proposal up its sleeve.Bus loads of pensioners facing compulsory purchase and being sent to view retirement flats in depressed seaside towns, courtesy of Minister, Yvette Cooper, What do you think?www.thanetlife.com

North Thanet's MP, Roger Gale, has accused the Government and Southeastern Trains of adopting a "Pay More - Get Less" policy towards travellers from Thanet.Following receipt of a letter from Southeastern the MP said:"Southeastern Trains have made it clear that they are not willing to "comment on estimated journey times (for the fast link) quoted by London and Continental or the DfT eight or nine years ago".In other words, the promises that were made by Labour Members of Parliament locally and by Transport Ministers were not worth the press release paper that they were written on. We were told, back in 2001, that dramatically reduced journey times were to be with us by 2007 and that new fast trains were on order. That is clearly demonstrated to have been so much pre-election party-political moonshine.The fast link from Thanet, via Canterbury, Ashford and Ebbsfleet, to London is vital to the development of the economy of East Kent in general and of Manston Airport in particular.I am told that :"A yet to be determined premium fare will be charged for journeys between Ashford and St. Pancras. However, the premium will not apply for those travelling from stations on the Kent main line, only for the section of the journey from Ashford that uses the high speed line. In other words a passenger travelling from Margate to St. Pancras would pay a premium fare for that portion of the journey between Ashford and St Pancras but not between Margate to Ashford".Which in plain English means that for the "privilege" of using a bit of high-speed track for part of a journey to a terminus that passengers do not wish to arrive at, passengers will pay more!Given that it is technically possible to travel, today, on existing track and using existing rolling stock, from Ramsgate to Victoria in one hour flat I think that it is time that local Labour MPs prevailed upon their government to either deliver on their promises or to be prepared to face the electoral consequences. In short, the people that I represent do not like being short-changed and they do not like being lied to".www.thanetlife.com

Last week, the Government announced a building target of three million homes by 2020, two million of which are to be delivered by 2016. This is now an absolute priority for New Labour and supersedes both health, defense and education, leaving the audit commission to comment that such a priority has only been seen three times in British history, during the industrial revolution and at the end of the First and Second World Wars.For those of us in Thanet worried by the spread of concrete and increasingly busy roads, Housing & Planning Minister, Yvette Cooper, had few words of comfort. “We are not”, she said, “going to build our way out of traffic congestion”.So what does this all mean for us?The good news is that £732 million will be spent helping councils with the infrastructure costs if they support new housing or to quote the Minister, “Those councils and communities that are doing their bit to deliver new homes should get more cash” but where this cash will really go remains a mystery and every indication is that it will join all the other money going North to places such as Leicester and Northampton, to name but two, rather than towards a Thanet which has seen its central government support slashed this year.Contrary to what South Thanet MP, Dr Ladyman has said about our island’s so-called over-achievement in housing, Thanet is apparently not building enough houses, because so-called ‘Windfall sites’, the bungalows springing up in gardens around the island don’t count in the housing targets. No, apparently, we need to build at least 30 more units per annum (as instructed by SEERA - than are being built already, just to stand still.Bearing in mind that in Kent, 8% of homes are in the private rented sector and in Cliftonville West, this figure is 59%, perhaps you should know that the council is receiving an average of 314 applications for social housing each month from people that live both inside and outside Thanet. With 4000, people or families now on the council's housing register, The Conservative Group that leads Thanet District Council has decided it urgently needs to introduce a new housing allocations policy: “To give appropriate priority to local residents and discourage the inward migration of vulnerable people to Thanet.”Far more attention needs to be been given by Government to the scale of the problem facing our local population. The London Borough of Newham, as one example, has 5,800 people in temporary accommodation, who cost rather more to keep in London, than they might if sent to accommodation in Kent. While Thanet welcomes migrant workers that make a contribution to the growth of our local economy, what is Government actually doing to address the constant migration pressure from London?Ironically, for the last two years, Thanet has actually put more people back in work than any other part of the South-east and the council is working hard to deliver both affordable homes through agreements with developers and reduce the number of vulnerable people living in non-decent accommodation through effective licensing and enforcement activity.This government is going to try and build its way out of a housing crisis and both infrastructure and carbon-neutrality will suffer as a result. While we are trying to draw breath and at least get the patient, which is Thanet’s own infrastructure and housing problem, back on its feet, Government not only wants to suffocate us under even more concrete but it appears unlikely to give us anything near (if at all) of the financial support it will apply to more important constituencies running-up to the next General Election.Draw your own conclusions.www.thanetlife.com

Following closely on the heels of last nights traffic disruption along Margate seafront, caused by a potentially dangerous arcade sign, Police were once again cordoning-off areas of the seafront opposite Dreamland, when a man's body was discovered on the beach by a passer-by.No further details are available at present. I was one of the first walking past the incident as the cordon was being set-up, on my way to a licensing committee meeting at the council offices.www.thanetlife.com

With luck, Thanet North MP, Roger Gale, has fought-off an attempt by Metropolitan Resources Ltd to use the Lonsdale Hotel in Cliftonville as a processing centre for ‘Failed’ asylum seekers. He’s made it very clear that Thanet is “Resistant” to any idea of introducing further asylum resources to an area that both Thanet District Council and Kent County Council have targeted for urgent regeneration and that the present use of the Nayland Rock Hotel for such purposes is quite enough for Margate, as I’m sure most readers would agree.The resistance to this new proposal is very much a consequence of the efforts presently being made to return the Nayland Rock to use as a quality hotel and the continued regeneration of Margate Central and Cliftonville West as two of the most disadvantaged areas of South-east England. Thanks to ten years of Government policy, we have a fragmented and largely transitory population with a turnover in excess of 34% and some of the highest levels of crime and anti-social behaviour in the county.In addition to the existing figures, we now have to include Eastern-European migration over the last two years, with some of the local schools now reporting that over 50% of their intake this year is from the families of new economic migrants.Given the investment and the commitment being made by a Conservative-led Thanet District Council in an attempt to turn Margate around in the face of enormous challenges, both socially and economically, I suspect that most Thanet voters would agree with Roger Gale and the council and ask Metropolitan Resources to take their project somewhere else.What do you think?www.thanetlife.com

Kent Online reports another dismal statistic of local vandalism, that the College Walk toilets in Margate have been defaced only a day after £4,500 was spent improving them last Wednesday.Teenagers were reportedly found smoking and drinking in the new baby changing rooms and Thanet District Council said the baby-changing mat had also been loosened from its fixing and had to be repaired.Cllr Shirley Tomlinson, the council’s cabinet member for commercial and environment, said: “It is so disheartening when something like this happens. The council is working so hard to improve the existing facilities for local people and as soon as work has been completed it’s vandalised and used for antisocial behaviour.“Not only is that completely unacceptable, but it also costs taxpayers dearly, because we are the ones left footing the bill for repairs.”The damage came only 24 hours after work on the public toilets had finished last Wednesday.Cllr Tomlinson added: “If we could cut vandalism at our public toilets, we could put the money we’re currently spending on tackling that problem, into local people’s priorities.”Ed: Similar improvements costing £4,500 have been made to the toilets in East Pier Yard in Ramsgate but one wonders how long these will last.Constant vandalism is costing Thanet far too much money, time and wasted resources. I noticed last week how graffiti is spreading across the bays once again and the Minnis Bay toilets have been completly defaced. It's only a matter of time before the public toilets in my own ward, Westgate, meet a similar fate, again, having only recently repaired and re-painted.Until the courts which act as a revolving door, start imposing custodial sentences on young vandals as a shock deterrent - which they won't - the problem will continue indefinitely and you and I will carry on paying for the repairs through our council taxes!www.thanetlife.com

Ian Day writes:"I was greatly saddened to see in the Gazette newspaper yesterday, that St Angela's School in Westgate is to close.They have always had such delightful children at the school, well behaved and polite, a real credit to them all.Can you post their closure onto your blog to see if we can raise they're profile and try and show our support for the School and their excellent staff?"Ed: Quite right Ian, it seems a great shame to see the school close but other than reflect your sentiments and applaud the staff for all their fine work withthe children, past and present, I think it's a sign of the times.www.thanetlife.com

Kent News reports:"A threatening phone call is not putting off a Kent film maker organising a second screening of her controversial piece claiming Thanet is being over-developed.Producer Christine Tongue said she had the call from an anonymous man warning her not to show the film again"So one crank call is enough to suggest a conspiracy? At least that the implication. Christine should try running a 'Blog' site!And then South Thanet MP Steve Ladyman weighs in:"Dr Steve Ladyman, Labour MP for South Thanet, Thanet MP said he thought that Tory-run Thanet council’s current policies risk ruining the island’s environment. He said: “The council is not so much over-developing rather than inappropriate developing. “They are looking to put houses on tennis courts and sports fields. The council is already ahead of government requirements for house building, so I am not sure why they are still looking to put even more on back gardens. It will change the shape of Thanet eventually.”What utter rubbish from a member of the same government that has made it frustratingly difficult if not close to impossible for councillors like me to challenge new developments. I've written about this before and I'm sure other local councillors will contribute to the comment thread.None of us want Thanet concreted over and we are all concerned by the number of houses and developments springing-up - many of these in people's gardens too - Thank you Labour government - But instead of wringing our collective hands and blaming the local council, we need to clearly understand why those people, your elected representatives, who are committed to making Thanet a better place for all of us, are presented with a raft of legislation by government that appears to work against the public interest in protecting the local environment.www.thanetlife.com

The Thanet Gazette devotes a great deal of coverage today to the island's fiscal challenges ahead.Bearing in mind that the total funding we will receive from central government over the next three years us set to fall in nominal terms, and fall further after inflation is taken into account, the council is having to be very cautious with what little money there is available; remember that only 40% of the income comes from the community charge and Thanet is a welfare and grant dependent environment.So, sixty pence in every every pound of the Council's income comes from central government and that will fall sharply. In addition, the new two-tier system for business rates adds further uncertainty, and an additional and unwanted central government tax on businesses of all sizes.In the present environment, it's only sensible to examine what the taxpayer wants, against what they can afford, taking a quote from one of Charles Dickens' most famous characters, Mr. Micawber:"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery."As Councillor Wise says in the Gazette, "Thee council is committed to continuing to fund its core objectives, as well as providing events funding and for popular resources such as the Coastal project" but without a doubt tough decisions in regard to spending priorities lie ahead.I read in the paper, comments such as "Where does all the money go?" and "The council should spend £75,000 repairing the building" (one of many ) and I ask, what money and whose priorities?If you were responsible where would your priorities lie. Raising council tax to an unacceptable level in the face of a credit squeeze and a looming recession or trying to deliver the best possible all-round service with what little money there is available?You tell me?www.thanetlife.com

Home defense appears to have taken on a whole new meaning with the discovery of an MP5 machine pistol at an address in Ramsgate's Trove Court on Tuesday.Police found the weapod during a drugs raid which netterd a large quantity of cannabisOther drugs, believed to be LSD and cocaine, were also seized. They have been sent for testing.Police say the machine gun has been sent for forensic analysis.Det Insp Tony Pledger said: "We are fortunate gun crime is not prevalent in this part of the world and we are determined to keep it that way."Two people - a 26-year-old man and a 17-year-old girl - were arrested and charged with possession of the weapon and possession of cannabis. They have been remanded in custody.Another 26-year-old man was also arrested in connection with the firearm. He was bailed until January 16, 2008, pending further enquiries.www.thanetlife.com

I've been away working in Amsterdam this week, hearing more horror stories from the credit card industry about the level of theft and what they are trying to do to combat the problem.Last night, I took the 21:42 Easyjet flight into Gatwick, hoping to be home by midnight but the violently wet and windy M25 had other ideas, with me rolling up on my motorcycle just behind three fire engines as they arrived at the scene of a bad accident involving a Porsche 911 and a Renault Meganne.The Porsche driver, as you might expect in his reinforced crash cage was shaken but otherwise fine. The Renault Meganne was an entirely different matter and with the motoway traffic halted, it took an hour for the fireman to cut the badly injured woman driver from the twisted wreckage against the crash barrier and into the care of the paramedics and the waiting ambulance. It certainly wouldn't be my choice of car in future!Another hour passed while we waited for the trucks to remove the wrecks and the road cleaners to appear. what struck me was that the police didn't appear in any great hurry to get the traffic moving again and I had absolutely no sense of any one person being in overall command of the scene. That is, I suppose what makes us very different from other countries, where having the traffic moving again is an urgent priority. Wasn't the M25 closed for an entire day last summer?It was 02:30 before I arrived back in Thanet, too wet and tired to care anymore!www.thanetlife.com

Prior to the building phase on the Fresca "Thanet Earth" site between Monkton and St Nicholas, an intensive archaeological study and excavation is under way. Conservative Councillor Dr. Alasdair Bruce, an expert geologist, recently visited the site to inspect the work being done.Headed by Canterbury Archaeological Trust (CAT), the aim is to record and recover any exciting finds and features. The Isle of Thanet has long been recognised as one of the archaeological jewels in Kent's crown and this site is proving to be no exception. Already features such as Iron Age and Roman field systems are coming to light along with Roman cremation cemeteries.CAT's director Paul Bennett says;"We are seeing evidence everywhere we look of enclosures, ditches and drove ways telling us that this area has been in cultivation at least back to the Iron Age and probably earlier" "We have highly qualified staff working on this site recording all information unearthed".Much of the work involves careful scraping off of top soil in likely areas of former habitation, looking for remains and artefacts, which are then removed and the areas mapped.Cllr. Dr. Alasdair Bruce says" Although my profession is geology, I could not help but be inspired by the level of care being taken by the site owners and CAT to ensure all evidence of Thanet's past is properly recorded."On observing the cremated roman remains seen in a pot on the site Cllr Bruce said"To be this close to an ancient Thanetian was a privilege and an honour. This was a new and exciting experience for me."Photo Credit - Kim BruceThe earliest known reference to Thanet is in Ptolemy's geography of the 2nd century. It refers to an island east of the Trinovantes region as "Toliapis" - probably Thanet12th century Saxon chronicles refer to "Tenet", noting the island as a winter base for Viking raiding parties18th century sources refer to "Tanatus", a Celtic name meaning "bright island" from the word "teine", meaning fire, or bonfire, thought to refer to a Romano-British lighthouse on the islandwww.thanetlife.com

With Christmas just over two weeks away, I've had an idea which I hope will raise a nice sum for charity.Over on eBay, I've started an auction for a "Charity Christmas or New Year's Aircraft Banner"; "Proceeds to the NSPCC or registered charity of the winner's choice."The advert is self-explanatory but in summary, on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve (winner's choice), we are offering a flight with the winner's Christmas message over the county. "The same lucky winner will also have the option of joining the flight - suitably dressed as Father Christmas (optional) to spread goodwill and cheer over the county!"The bidding is starting at £150 and I've let the papers know and gave a quick interview on KMFM today, so it will be interesting to see if a little positive publicity will encourage a generous and charity-minded company or individual to bid?On a related aviation note, I had a funny enquiry last week from a Russian businessman who wants to propose to his girlfriend. Initially, he wanted an aircraft around 'Big Ben' and Westminster Bridge and I did explain that this could be difficult, as it takes 21 days to get the appropriate permissions and we don't have a twin-engined aircraft - the one we used for the Ministry of Defense on Veterans Day - available. "No problem, I buy you the aircraft", well almost but in the end I managed to convince him that the aircraft had to be properly certfied for aerial work by the CAA, so money wasn't the answer.He finally settled for Canterbury this month and the message in English, as I don't have any cyrillic letters to hand, mind you, it's on a par with the one I had to do in Turkish over Leeds Castle last year!www.thanetlife.com

There's a storm on the way.Below is the forecast for today from Southend with 55mph winds on the way toward late afternoon. I'm supposed to be flying but I'll be staying put.Veronica Taylor, watch officer at the coastguard, said the forecast for the south coast was severe gale force nine, rising to storm force 10.EGMC 020904Z 021019 23022G35KT 7000 -RA SCT010 BKN030 PROB30 TEMPO 1013 24028G48KT 3000 +RA BKN012CB BECMG 1316 26025G35KT 9999 NSW PROB30 TEMPO 1419 27034G48KT 5000 SHRA BKN025CBwww.thanetlife.com

Following news that even violent assault is unlikely to keep a child excluded from school anymore, illustrated by several recent cases in the South-east, it appears that school governors are increasingly overturning head-teachers decisions to exclude dangerous and violent children from the classroom and the rules, as they should be applied appear further below.A recent study has shown that England's classrooms are among the world's most violent, with the nation coming 36th out of 45 in a league table of school safety.Call me old-fashioned, but I never thought that school was the place to keep violent children with "issues" because their continued disruptive presence damages the educational prospects of the other children. Sadly, because provision has to be made for the education of such 'lost' children (and there are increasingly more as time passses) and there is no money available for "special" education, the burden of care appears to fall back on the school.If you had a demonstrably violent colleague in the workplace, would that person be dismissed or would the employer be expected to keep him in place, regardless of any potential risk to the workforce?How the rules on exclusions work:• Only the head teacher can exclude a pupil.• The decision should only be taken where the basic facts have been established on the balance of probabilities.• It should only be used as a last resort when other strategies have been exhausted.• Exclusion for a one-off offence is permissible if there has been serious actual or threatened violence, if there has been, sexual abuse, or for supplying drugs or carrying an offensive weapon.• Permanent exclusions must be ratified by the governing body. The head's decision can be overturned at this stage.• Parents may contest the decision and take it to the local authority independent appeal panel, made up of between three and five people, including a serving or former school governor and a head teacher who have no connection to the school involved.• Where cases include very serious one-off offences, persistent and defiant misbehaviour including bullying, or repeated possession and/or use of drugs on school premises, the Secretary of State would "not normally expect" the governing body or appeal panel to reinstate the pupil.www.thanetlife.com

Well-done everyone involved in the organisation and switching on of the Christmas lights in Westgate yesterday afternoon. I have never seen so many people crammed into the village to eat roasted chestnuts, listen to music and welcome Father Christmas on his horse-drawn sleigh. Choosing community, warden, Tony Bailey, as the man with his finger on the switch, was also a great idea, as he's a universally recognised and popular figure among the residents.It was a well-managed and great little event, mini-funfair included anda great credit to Westgate. Unfortunately, I have no photos but if anyone does, please send them in.www.thanetlife.com

A local environmental group is set to embark on a new tree-planting project thanks to sponsorship from Kent International Airport and Oasis Hong Kong Airlines.Trees for Thanet gets young people involved in helping to improve the countryside around them by planting trees on Saturday mornings throughout the winter.Many of its members are from Ursuline College in Westgate and are carrying out Service to the Environment as part of their Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.Since its formation in 1996, the group has planted 7km of hedgerows and 20,000 trees around the countryside in Birchington and Manston with the help of more than 300 youngsters between the ages of 14 and 18.Trees for Thanet relies completely on sponsorship and fundraising to carry out its work.The latest project, a new hedgerow on the busy Shottendane Road in Birchington has been made possible by Kent International and Oasis Hong Kong Airlines, who use the airport regularly for pilot and crew training, agreeing to split the £3,000 cost.Young members from Trees for Thanet visited the airport on Tuesday 27 November to receive the money that will allow them to get to work.They were met by Matt Clarke, Chief Executive of Kent International Airport, and Gerard Clarke, UK General Manager for Oasis Hong Kong Airlines.The youngsters also got up close with the Boeing 747-400 series aircraft used by Oasis, which is one of the largest and most modern airliners in use today, and were shown round by the crew.Work on the new project gets underway on the 15th December and it will see more than 2,000 hedgerow trees planted in a 530 metre double row hawthorn ‘wild-life’ hedge along the Shottendane Road between Park Road and Minster Road, with 26 wild cherry trees situated at 20 metre intervals.Paul Wells, Trees for Thanet Project Leader, said: “We believe that the development of Kent International Airport is a vital strand to regeneration in Thanet and that care of the environment locally can go hand in hand with excellent commercial development.“The group is very grateful to the airport and Oasis, as we rely solely on financial backing like this, supported by our own fundraising efforts. The results of our previous projects are there for all to see and we can’t wait to get started on this one.”Matt Clarke added: “It’s a pleasure to hand over this money to Trees for Thanet, who do fantastic work improving the local countryside, while getting children involved in community and environmental interests at the same time.“The airport also passes on a special thanks to Oasis Hong Kong for getting involved with this initiative.“Infratil has always recognised the key role that facilities like airports play in communities and we are keen to offer our support to projects like this. I am sure it will be a great success.”Gerard Clarke also commented: “With our pilots training at Kent International Airport, Oasis Airlines is proud to support local community initiatives.“Trees for Thanet is an extremely valuable scheme and we are very pleased to help them improve the local countryside. We look forward to seeing the results of this project."www.thanetlife.com

Kent Online reports that Police are appealing for information after an allegation that a 40-year-old man was driven across the county against his will.Police officers were called to Broad Street in Ramsgate at about 12.40pm on Monday by concerned members of the public.They reported seeing a man being forced into a silver Toyota people carrier and being driven off.The men in the car were described as black and were wearing high visibility yellow jackets.Police officers from Medway were called to Forestdale Road in Chatham, a wooded area off junction three of the M2, just before 2pm on Monday where they found the man. He had suffered facial injuries, which required hospital treatment. A man aged 43 and a 20-year-old man were later arrested in east London and taken to Margate for questioning. They have been bailed until December 31 while detectives continue their investigations.Anyone with any information or who saw anything suspicious in Ramsgate, Chatham or on the roads in between is asked to contact Det Sgt Mark Dennis at Margate police station on 01843 231055.www.thanetlife.com