by Sarah » 14 Mar 2008, 13:56
Good guys and bad guys...if only they'd wear black or white cowboy hats so we could really be sure!
It's a bit like an old episode of Soap really. So pay attention. In the past, TDC has been a bad guy. It sold Dreamland down the river by rewriting the Local Plan and allowing a change of use. However, there are good guys working within TDC. Some. Of late, the council has rather changed its tune and would probably consider itself a good guy now. I'm happy to work with them to ensure their good intentions come to fruition, but many people here will always have them wearing a black hat. Understandably.
Waterbridge/MTCRC/FUC are different companies but, for the sake of simplicity, let's assume they're one and the same. Which they nearly are. MTCRC own the site and I'm not entirely sure any developer can be a bad guy for wanting to maximise profit on its investments; it's just what they do. From our perspective, they would wear a black hat because, given absolute free rein, they certainly wouldn't be preserving any itty bit of Dreamland as an amusement park. However, given that they don't have free rein, they may yet end up wearing a white hat (albeit reluctantly).
Jimmy Godden wears a black hat. I could write an unauthorised biography on why. Maybe I will, once I've saved up enough for a good solicitor.
As for the 'Make Margate Better' groups, you usually can't go wrong with one run by volunteers with lots of locals as members. The Margate Civic Society's motto, for example, reads 'the love of our town leads us'. If you have a Street Scheme in your road (I'm lucky, I do) join up, they're fantastic. The Margate Historical Society is great too, and is hugely supportive of the Campaign.
I hope that has taken you a little closer to enlightenment.
Sarah