KCC's contribution, for what it's worth

Boldly Stepping...

KCC are happily throttling themselves with management speak and business jargon, which is why some of their worst ideas are dressed up as "Bold Steps". The latest in the series is "Bold Steps for Aviation" which is described as

"a discussion paper which suggests how the UK's aviation capacity needs could be met without the need to develop a new hub airport in the Thames Estuary.  It is intended to contribute to the national debate and is published in response to the recent proposals from Lord Foster and the Mayor of London."

Like it or not, KCC's voice will carry some weight in the interminable debate about future flight capacity in the south-east, and this document is what they're thinking of saying on our behalf.

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Estuary Airport - hot potato, fig leaf, or white elephant?

Wise words from Paul Francis on the awful consequences of realpolitik and the persistence of dumb ideas. The sudden (re)launch of the estuary airport idea has more to do with Boris' mayoral election bid and recent unemployment figures than strategic infrastructure planning. And then there is the blind faith that an airport automatically translates into employment and regeneration. These apparently impulsive pronouncements from politicians rarely mention the downsides of aviation, and never touch on the fact that aviation itself does not have a long-term future - when the oil runs out, what use is an airport?

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Paul Carter: Emperor of Kent

Katherine Kerswell "Group MD" of KCC has left her £197k post. [Oh, no she hasn't! Oh, yes she has! Oh, let's see what KCC's press release says. Oh, let's not bother.] Initial rumours had Paul Carter as Leader and MD - probably not legal, and certainly not advisable. Later rumours had it that the post may simply be left vacant, as a money saving option. Either way, Cllr Carter will be the biggest fish in the pond for a while yet.

It appears that Ms Kerswell was doomed as a result of ruffling too many feathers in her reorganisation of KCC, so the Tory back-benchers conspired to oust her. Her pay-off is too large for anyone to talk about.

Another interesting idea being put about is that the recent KCC Tory leadership contest was decided on the basis of which candidate looked most likely to return Ms Kerswell to the strawberry fields of Northamptonshire. Looks like that's one pledge Paul Carter has delivered on... [rolling updates on this story...]

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Why Steer Davies Gleave?

This is from the internal KCC document that describes how the contract (to produce the supporting report for the £10m RGF bid) was awarded.

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Outline of Project

Although KCC has previously carried out some outline feasibility work for the proposed Thanet Parkway station (most recently in July 2009), this requires significant updating and development; including more comprehensive passenger demand forecasting and a full feasibility design of the station and car park, if a robust and credible RGF bid is to be prepared. The Government is particularly interested in the job creation potential (both direct and indirect) of proposed schemes, which has not previously been a requirement of traditional transport appraisals. For these reasons, and in light of the challenging timescale for the submission of a first-round RGF bid, it was agreed with the Director of Integrated Strategy and Planning that KCC should invite three technical consultants to tender for this work.

Reasons for appointing this particular Consultant:

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Trickle of funding for Manston Parkway

0.13% of a station

On reflection, I think "trickle" may be over-stating it a bit - this is more of a slight dampening.

There is a document called Growth without Gridlock, which is KCC's grandiose plan for turning the Garden of England into a 24 hour blur of traffic. It includes:

• plans for a Third Thames Crossing (that the local councils at either end of the proposed crossing don't want),
• upgrades to the M2 and M20 (to squeeze more lorries through Dover),
• enhancements to Operation Stack (to provide parking for those lorries),
• upgrades to the high speed rail link to Ramsgate (to speed up the trains),
• and a new Manston Parkway station (to slow them down again).

All in all, as fine a display of joined-up thinking as we're likely to see from KCC any time soon, and a bargain at £1.77 billion. Yes, that's £1,770,000,000. KCC have been roaming the streets with their hands outstretched, seeking funds from every quarter. The latest mark to be suckered into coughing up is the Local Sustainable Transport Fund

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Council reveals unsuccessful bid to develop Manston services

It's like pulling teeth

Kent County Council has been forced to reveal details of its unsuccessful £10.8 million bid for Government money to develop services for Manston airport.  Campaigners, No Night Flights, challenged KCC's refusal to release details of the Regional Growth Fund (RGF) application.

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Manston boss claims it wasn't a "sweetener"

Bitter-sweetener

Manston's boss has defended efforts to persuade the government to underwrite the costs of a new service out of the Kent airport. Chief executive Charles Buchanan said subsidies from the public purse were commonplace and it was unfair to describe them as sweeteners.

His comments follow our disclosure that KCC and Infratil, which operates the airport, had sought to persuade ministers to provide £600,000 to underwrite a twice-daily service out of Manston for the first three years of its operation.

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Air Anon at Manston

From the once-secret KCC funding bid

There seems to be an endless supply of consultants, ready willing and able to tell the emperor of the day how lovely his clothes are, and how much lovelier the next suit will be.

Next up in line is an outfit called Steer Davies Gleave who aim "to provide unrivaled advice that helps deliver better transportation solutions to everyone, everywhere". And freedom from the nagging pedantry of spell-checkers, presumably.

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A closer look at that bid

The once-secret KCC funding bid

Bureaucracy being what it is, KCC and Infratil were obliged to spell out in detail the brazen cheek of their cash plea. Do please remember that Infratil is a New Zealand-based investment company, and that whatever profits it can (finally) squeeze out of this lemon of an airport will be going straight back to their antipodean investors, still smarting from years of multi-million pound losses.

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Yet another job forecast

From the once-secret KCC funding bid

What a wondrous thing is the Freedom of Information Act. Without it, we wouldn't know what KCC had said to the money-bags at BIS in their plea for free money. They have repeatedly tried to dodge FOI requests, until finally cornered by our tireless truth-seekers.

It will come as no surprise to the more cynical of our international readership that it's not just the tone and emphasis of what KCC and Infratil say in their bid that differs from what they've been saying publicly, it's the numbers too.

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KCC's empty begging bowl

In the middle of last year, the Government (in the form of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills - BIS) launched the Regional Growth Fund (RGF). The RGF aims to "support projects and programmes that lever private sector investment creating economic growth and sustainable employment. It aims particularly to help those areas and communities currently dependent on the public sector to make the transition to sustainable private sector-led growth and prosperity".

Across the length and breadth of our proud nation, there was a cacophony of snorts and oinks as snouts were pressed to the trough, greedy for their share of the £1.4 billion on offer. KCC was there, looking for a handout to support their crackpot proposal for a Parkway station at Manston, and some free money for the airport. Here's why they failed:

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Airport campaigner's anger over 'secret' bid

Town planners refuse to release details of rail proposal

Campaigners against Manston night flights were left fuming this week after county council officials refused to release details of their bid for a new train station at the airport.

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Manston boss and KCC make bid to government for east Kent regeneration cash

The second RGF funding bid

Manston airport's chief executive has called on the Government to recognise east Kent's economic problems when allocating the next round of Regional Growth Fund cash. Charles Buchanan is working with Kent County Council to submit an improved bid after a previous application for £10 million was rejected by the team in charge of distributing the £1.4 billion pot.

The Manston bid was for a parkway railway station serving the airport, an extension of the high-speed rail network between Ramsgate and Ashford, and cash to fund a daily air service to an undisclosed "European hub" airport. But the application was dealt a further blow last week when Lord Michael Heseltine - chairman of the RGF inependent advisory panel - hinted at a roadshow in Margate that Kent bids were at a disadvantage because the county's residents can travel short distances to London for work.

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Virginia

I like to think that one of humanity's great redeeming features is the ability to learn from mistakes. To my dismay, it seems that KCC does not learn from its mistakes, which is particularly unfortunate given that these mistakes involve large sums of our money. They've done it before, and they're trying to do it again.

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Dont rely on Manston

"Dont rely on Manston to rescue East Kent" warn Kent Lib Dems

Liberal Democrats at Kent County Council have welcomed the joint government / Kent County Council plan for the development of East Kent, but warned of the danger of relying too much on any employment opportunities of Manston airport.

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The Parkway Station fiasco develops

KCC are asking for £10m as a starter for the hundreds (?) of millions the station will eventually cost - as if they can't think of anything better to with that kind of money. Mind you, if the China Gateway saga is anything to go by, I would be completely unsurprised to find that some canny TDC councillors have had the foresight to buy some land (that would then need to be compulsorily purchased) slap-bang where the station is proposed. Stay tuned.

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New station 'would help airport lift off'

A proposed Thanet Parkway station would give a fantastic boost to Manston airport but the terminal would still grow without it, its boss has said. Charles Buchanan, chief executive of Kent International Airport, said rail links between Ramsgate and London were already much better, with high-speed journey times down to 75 minutes. A Parkway station close to the airport would cut this to around 64 minutes, although he would like to see it fall tobelow 60 minutes. But he insisted that the terminal would grow with or without the station.

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Clear boundaries

Breaking News - Council are not "in cahoots" with Manston Airport

I can't understand what would make people think such a thing! Behold the front Page of
"Around Kent, A magazine for the people of Kent. Your voice, Your services."

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Chairman sorry after complaints

Clipping: thisiskent

THE chairman of Kent County Council has apologised after complaints about the way he ran a Thanet Local Board meeting. Residents and councillors were angered by Bill Hayton's chairmanship of the meeting at Chatham House school on 27th September. They claimed Mr Hayton rudely curtailed and interrupted questions from the public on the issue of increased night flights from Manston airport.

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Thanet to play a crucial role in 21st Century Kent

Manston airport will play a pivotal part in Kent's role as the UK's "front door", according to a new report which sets out a long-term vision for the county. The report, commissioned by Kent County Council (KCC) and put together by one of the world's leading architects, Sir Terry Farrell, sets out ambitious plans designed to unlock the area's economic potential.

Many of the aspirations centred on the benefits stemming from the high speed rail line, which council chiefs plan to extend from Ashford and Thanet, further reducing journey times to central London. But infrastructure improvements are also planned at Kent International Airport, which the report says will have a "multimodal interchange" that is linked to the high speed line and forms part of a "co-ordinated national airport network". By 2030, rail passengers will even be able to check in at Ashford International to catch a flight out of Manston.

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