Public Meeting invitation and petition news

We are still campaigning vigorously to ask Thanet District Council (TDC) to reconsider their decision to sell off the old service depot for Pierremont Park on the open market, which they are still saying they intend to do and a cabinet member has told us it is seen as very valuable hence more worth their while to sell than other assets that they might otherwise consider.

Here's a further update and an invite to our second public meeting.

This weekend a few of us were outside the park entrance gathering additional signatures for the petition which we will collate with signatures made online and submit to TDC when we are ready.  For now we want to keep collecting signatures as TDC are only obliged to hold a cabinet debate on our request if we get 1500 or more. Please keep sharing with anyone you know who may want to show their support! On Saturday, everyone we spoke to wanted to sign, so we just need to reach more people and ensure they know about the situation. Who could you talk to who may not have signed yet? 

It seems that a sale now is clearly not going to happen before the end of the year since TDC have not yet published the Marketing Pack for the site which they say is the next step in their disposal process and they are now saying they are not in a hurry, whatever that means. Quite what is causing the hold up we do not know but perhaps they are starting to realise that the whole plan is not as straightforward as they first believed. 

We have discovered that the title deeds show the land as part of the park. Could that be part of the problem? It's not identified on the Thanet Local Plan as such, but perhaps it should have been?  We maintain our position that due to the only access to the site being through a single track path (A TDC Cabinet member has told us in recent days that it is legally a "highway" which seems to us an odd choice of word for a path which is only wide enough for a single small vehicle to traverse at any one time. It was blocked for several hours last week by one small van being parked in it, when the electricity substation in the park was being maintained.  Google the word "highway". You couldn't make it up!)

We had a very well attended first public meeting last month and are now planning another before Christmas. The second meeting will be focused more on what we can do practically to get more organised to: A/ resist this sale, B/ do more to support and enhance our beloved park.  We have lots of ideas and we know you do too!

Please come along to Pierremont Hall on Tuesday 9 December, 7-8:45pm, if you'd like to get involved. 

Or email us friendsofpierremontpark@gmail.com and let's talk sooner. 

Right now our big focus is getting the word out and encouraging more people to sign either the digital or paper versions of the petition. Can you help with that?  We'd love to hear from you.