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Sounds like the start of the clear-out by P&O in the run up to the new bigger ships arriving - they will need less staff with less boats....

6 August 2010 at 5:32 pm

 

Wasnt there some statistic recently that showed traffic was higher in volume than ever before. And likely to increase ever more. I dont understand how the companies arent doing well. I am suspicious that many companies (not necessarily anyone mentioned in this case) are using this widespread government notion of the need to cut almost everything as a yardstick for the obvious. The nation is experiencing a kind of cuts plague, with everyone jumping on the notion and using it as a downsize tool.

6 August 2010 at 4:52 pm

 

Public scaremongering by P&O in order to justify yet more staff cuts. Needed to boost profits of course as they struggle to make a casjh-cow work properly for themselves.

Maybe a clear-out of senior management would be a good place to start.

6 August 2010 at 4:20 pm

 

just spotted the post from rhys referring to his blog, an interesting but also a worrying read for anyone working the ferries.

6 August 2010 at 3:38 pm

 

Please can you tell me does it move under its own power,or is it towed.? I can not see any tugs etc/.

6 August 2010 at 3:34 pm

 

Yes it was blue Barry the boss does not need to carry cash ,his word is good round the town he just writes out I.O.U.

6 August 2010 at 3:25 pm

 

i think that vic was referring to blue barry, cannot imagine you carrying with you something as vulgar as dosh.

sounds like a shrewd business decision, saves barry having to hire out guzzlers truck everytime he wants to make a deposit at the bank.

6 August 2010 at 3:09 pm

 

Latest post on my blog, about the troubles at P&O, can be found at rhysdgriffiths dot wordpress dot com

6 August 2010 at 2:40 pm

 

Not my wallet, one doesn't carry cash, must be Barry W ;)

Big crane that.

6 August 2010 at 1:15 pm

 

Well some bright spark has been doing the math, erm calculations, and it turns out that the Gulf oil spill is the equivilant of pouring less than two litres of oil into the river Thames. Put another way the amount of oil spilled works out to be one part oil to 100,000,000,000 parts water or H2O or dihydrogen monoxide whichever is your favourite name for it. Unfortunately it seems that this is not an oil or gas drilling platform but might well be a rig to help install offshore wind turbines.
Nice picture by the way.

6 August 2010 at 12:52 pm

 

Howard County Members hold a highways budget for improvements ,Nigel would like to spend his on the Sea Front .I think all this money should be put back into the KCC pot then we would get our roads repaired .

This is not their own money we have paid through our rates.

6 August 2010 at 12:15 pm

 

excellent one vic!!


susan
the seafront was all done with central governemnt money, the roads are kent county council, they are making cutbacks so do not hold your breath waiting for any road improvements.

6 August 2010 at 11:38 am

 

Yes Howard it was called into Dover to pickup Barrys Wallet

6 August 2010 at 11:35 am

 

Tracey,Melissa,
Agree with your comments .Getting on at the far end of Lewishasm Road then sitting on the bus for over twenty minutes is not a good experience .Im trying very hard to get the road surfaces repaired as I said in a previous posting leave the Seafront and do something for a much used road network .
My back suffers somedays .
I shall now email KHS


6 August 2010 at 11:01 am

 

that is the worlds second largest crane ship can lift 14000 tonnes.

not a lot of people know that.

6 August 2010 at 10:54 am

 

Sue i totally agree on the terrible state of transport up here in sunny St Rads the local bus service is a nitemare and St Rads has always needed remodernising but sadly as its classed as a bad area we get left.

6 August 2010 at 10:10 am

 

Sue, Nigel may of been to St Radigunds but did he mention the bone rattling ride you have to endure because of the terrible state of the roads in the area. By far the worst is the bit of road by the Crickters pub it is not for the faint hearted !!!

6 August 2010 at 9:03 am

 

i bet he was too frightened not to take action.

5 August 2010 at 2:52 pm

 

My old chum Nigel has been on the phone informs me he has visited the St Radigunds Area .The buses seem to be getting through ok now .

5 August 2010 at 9:27 am

 

Very interesting comments there all round and Im sure all the relevent authorities will take them into account. Its clear the new parking on the seafront is not popular at all, people are very nervous driving along there as there is so much potential for things to go wrong.

Another aspect to it Ive noticed too...just a small point. If you park nose in and you have a long car. The boot is out almost in the oncoming lane. Kids run out of their cars to get stuff from the boot and inevitably onto the road. I saw one little blonde girl do this last weekend and she nearly gave me heartfailure as I could see traffic approach. Fortunately the traffic was slow and all was well, but...the potential was there.

But I must thank Nigel for taking the trouble to give us root and branch dialogue there on the situation.

5 August 2010 at 7:42 am

 

The style of parking works in a lot of areas, I think Ramsgate seafront used to be one way with similar parking.

Comes to think of it I think Herne Bay has parking like Dover without any problem probably because the road is narrower and slower

4 August 2010 at 4:48 pm

 

i would like to see the camper vans banned, most just park up during the day waiting for the cheap fares on the night sailings.

most bring along their own food and drink so no gain to the town at all.

4 August 2010 at 3:53 pm

 

How about "one-way" along the seafront (from East to West).

This would in effect "widen the road".

Although not, it seem the cause of accidents, the large Camper vans that occupy the seafront and possibly obscure vision. Could these be banned from parking on the seafront.

4 August 2010 at 3:41 pm

 

As always the stereo anwser Sue is right some of them that make these decsions should get out into the real world.
Our seafront is now likened to a caravan park with cars mixed in, when was the last time that anyone of them drove along the front and that does include Nigel, to see if this was the right solution.
So lets hope that if the resurfacing takes place that this problem will be looked at.

4 August 2010 at 2:35 pm

 

JHG, agree, Dover Seafront just doesn't lend itself to this way of parking, much too narrow! ................. someone should just get this sorted once and for all and admit it was a mistake!

4 August 2010 at 1:50 pm

 

Government Hater, well I certainly understand your predicament, and I too am totally against mass imigration into our Town, fair County and Country. Still, I love Dover, and hope that that what | read in the Daily Mail today, about British girls being forced into prostitution by gangs of Asians in Yorkshire and everything being systematically covered up by New Labour from the public eyes and ears, doesn't hit our town and County in the future.

It was in fact a Labour MP, a lady, who in 2003 publicly denounced an existing fact, of British girls being targetted by Asians and lured and forced into prostitution, but at the time she was fiercely attacked with verbal denielas, and a subsequest TV programme on the issue was cancelled, no doubt by order of the New Labour new-people authorities and lobies, who don't want the British public to know.

For anyone interested, just read todays Daily Mail, and so-by spare me from any coments of racism. Thanks

4 August 2010 at 1:18 pm

 

Thanks NH and Vic. What had got me wondering, and which had led to my doubt (now totally cleared up) was what seems to be streams coming from under the sand at low tide just to the East of the mentioned hole, about ten meters or little more. Are these streams underground water from springs?

4 August 2010 at 1:11 pm

 

Thanks Paul for posting Nigel's response what he doesn't tell you is that Birchington and Cliftonville seafronts are much wider, funny how he should pick on these 2 places as my wife is from Cliftonville and when I met her lived in Birchington.

It is clear by the number of postings about the Seafront, Barton Road/Frith Road Junction and cycling in the Town that the Portfolio Holder Cllr Collor should as Cllr Nicholas says get out there in the real world. We have problems and we want them sorted, we don't care how he does it, or if he uses his members allowance, it needs sorting, and asap.

4 August 2010 at 1:09 pm

 

The only thing we have learned about the road situation from the interview with Mr. Collor is a history lesson on past road traffic accidents over the past few years. Not very helpful in my opinion. So the newly painted parking bays known as echelon ( what crazed middle management clown thought of that name?) have no effect on safety to road users and pedestrians? Well I suggest the designers of these bays actually spend a little while driving, cycling or walking up and down the seafront to witness the crass stupidity of these angled boxes. They are a step backwards and are designed to cram cars in so that revenue from parking can be increased. The ironic thing is that it is rare for the majority of the bays to be in use even on a hot summer day which rather negates their installation in the first place.

As a driver, cyclist and pedestrian I can say that travelling on that stretch of road is one of the most uncomfortable experiences in the area. The perception is of a narrower highway especially when longer vehicles back end stick out onto the carriageway. When the visitor is ready to leave a certain amount of good luck is called upon to reverse out onto the road and although no accidents have occured thus far that is no reason to suggest that these bays are a success. Other criteria are called upon before that can be said.

Of course add that to the general state of the promenade (broken litter bins, the terrible litter problem on the prom etc.) and a few hours spent on a sunny day is not the pleasure it once was for many people.

Look it's simple. Paint over the echelon lines and put things back as they were to widen the road and make things a little more comfortable for us all. Then get a little man to come down to replace the broken litter bins which have no top so the gulls can pinch fast food and spread rubbish everywhere and have a word with the contractors so that they might at least occasionally pick up the rubbish from the beach.

4 August 2010 at 9:34 am

 

I wish our District Coucillor, see above, would spend a little more time travelling on public transport .For the past ten weeks bus route 60 has been subject to a diversen due to gas works being carried out .It took weeks to get a meeting set up between the police ,highways ,ddc gas contractors and of course stagecoach .At last more signs have been put up to stop the near misses which were accuring on a daily basis .

The bus still has to meet with the large vechicles which are diverted through Hillside .The journey takes up to twenty five minute .Plus the roads need repairing .

Money needs to be spent in the St Radigunds area .

Ok for a new fangled sea front improvements but everyday travelling can be a nightmare .At 1.20pm on Monday people were standing all the way to the hospital .Pushchairs ,elderly trolleys you name it we had it .

So time for Cllr Collor to travel on pulic transport .You not only have to talk the talk but walk the walk as well .

4 August 2010 at 8:21 am

 

good post vic, we are a members club and share information about things.
you may remember anne posting about her washing machine breaking down this week and i instantly posted the name and number of a reputable chap that fixed mine days before.

problem solved.



3 August 2010 at 10:18 pm

 

Government Hater,I am very sorry you have lost your job, please tell us what you done for a living there just might be some one watching that can help you .

3 August 2010 at 9:56 pm

 

The government totally sucks. Why is it that if you work for this country and then loose your job because they went bust, that you are only entitled to job seekers contribution based. Where you dont get anything for free. As if I was entitled to Income based I wouldnt have to pay for perscriptions, dentists, or the opticians. I feel so angry with this. I might as well get pregnant and get a council house and live on the dole for the rest of my life. At least I would get something back from the council. Or if I was a different colour, well thats a different story. I think only English people should live in Dover. Its an outrage. This is the worst town in the world. I am disgusted that I live here. But cant move as I am unemployed. And all the foreigners have taken the jobs from us, and speak their language here. It drives me mad. I hate Dover and I hate the government.

3 August 2010 at 8:12 pm

 

Well Alex I was on that job last year welding the piles up till they put the new ones in and Nh is right I have done this kind of job for over 40years and it happens alot, the sea rots the base out of the piles over the years and gets in and it all collapse, it happen two times last year and we were very lucky that none of the public was walking across it when it happen the hole was over 20ft deep .

3 August 2010 at 6:03 pm

 

Alexander
Having spoken to the engineers at the works, the hole in the promenade was a result of the corrosion and abrasion of the wall by seawater which allowed wave action to suck material from below the wall causing the collapse. The current works in place are to provide a new wall and shore up the seafront.

3 August 2010 at 4:23 pm

 

Talking about floods, could anyone confirm if the hole that appeared on the seafront near the bench shelter, the one which is still cordoned off, came about from infiltrating sea-water, or, as I thought possible, from underground water coming from the land-side and which cannot get from the promenade into the sea?


3 August 2010 at 1:37 pm

 

They could always build the hospital on the DTIZ site

3 August 2010 at 11:21 am

 

I think if there was a new hospital it should be town based , no one liked the buckland hospital site, i didnt agree with the whitfield idea so the town the all round best option close to the port as we are the busiest shipping lanes. Also i would like to see a full maternity service in this new hospital , full a&e too. Lives will be lost in the long run if we keep allowing to be taken to margate or ashford, even simple appointments are now mostly canterbury . These hospitals are over streched as it is .

3 August 2010 at 7:59 am

 

The Mid-town flood-risk issue does need to be resolved, whether the hospital went there or not.

We have discussed this at length many times on here and I appreciate that new members come along who weren't part of that discussion.

Southern Water, the Environment Agency and KCC all have a responsibility to sort out the underground/river, flooding.

It was scheduled a couple of years ago to be in a couple of years time, so should be imminent, I'd have thought.

I did think at the time that these bodies need pressuring into bringing this flood-risk relief up the queue.

There's something like 90 (maybe more) properties who are at risk, plus any future Mid-Town development; so this work urgent for all sorts of reasons.

I don't know how long the flood-mitigating meassures will take, but longer than five minutes, so the sooner they start, the better for everyone - including Chris's Mum.




Roger

3 August 2010 at 5:58 am

 

Sorry you can talk till the cows come home about this site but why?it is not going to happen and thats it, so please move on with what can be done I have told you come to our meeting in Canterbury and have your say I will take you ,but do not keep on about this site.

2 August 2010 at 11:08 pm