Public Toilet closed Memorial Park

Sent:31 October 2008 17:18:12 To: customer.services@canterbury.gov.uk

Att Street Scene Department. Canterbury City Council Please find below the original report to Canterbury Council via "fixmystreet". It appears the report has been sent to Serco who in turn have advised the complaint should be taken up with yourselves - Street Scene. I would be grateful to receive your advices by return email. You may also leave comment on the "fixmystreet" web page with the following link: http://www.fixmystreet.com/C/AsjMKfAQR2MTGwtBEn

I look forward to receiving your advices -------------------------- Thank you for your e-mail.

We will respond as soon as possible. Our target for responding to correspondence is within 14 days.

Customer Services

01227 862 300

Street Scene Department Canterbury City Council May I ask you please to reply to my email of 31st October as above. Marie Shannahan

I have not to date receved a response regardingthe closed public toilets. At a time when the government are aksing Council to bring public Toilets up to standard and provide more public toilets I would like to know wy thesepublic toilets are not available to the public. The park is used by Children and Adults alike and must have toilet and wash faclities. Please cofirm when the toilets were closed? why the toilets are closed? when they will be put back in use for the public to use?.

copied email of 19th Novembe to STREET SCENE who are apparently responsible for the Public Toilets and POavillion. As at 27th November no response? Not very impressive?

Cllr Peter Lee Thank you for copying me with your email to Kent County Councillor Lee. I have read local press report about this fund set aside of £500.00 and the Memorial Park Plans.

What I am asking is why these Toilet are not open and operations to the Publuc. At a time when the Governent are instructing Council to increase andupgrade Public Toilets I fail to see why they are closed. With the opening of the Parkside facility in January and the Councils aim to bring people to the Memorial Park, public Toilets are even more necessary. The cost off providing public Toilets to the Public are not part of the Memorial Park improvement plans or costs and nor should they be. This £500.00 fund is for regenration not maintenance. May I ask you the following questions How long have the Toilets been closed. Why were they closed. Why have the Toilets not been reopened When Can they be re-opened - regardless of long term plans for the Memorial Park. What was/is the annual budget for Public Toilets Street Scene are resonsible for the maintanence of Toilet Facilities is this correct I would be please to receive your proposals to re-open these Public Toilets urgently. M Shannie

Thank you for your email. I have asked for this information under the Freedom of Information Act. Can you answer my points regarding current issues: Are Street Scene responsible for the upkeep and running of the Public Toilets? The costs of reopening the Public Toilets would fall within the Council budget and not form part of the Capital fund of £500,000 set aside for improvements for the Memorial Park. At the meeting scheduled for Monday will you propose immediate reopening of these Toilets as per Government guidelines Thank you

The whole point of reporting the lack of Public Toilets through the fix my Street was a to have a public open honest discussion and to work towards providing Public Toilets without further delay, working with the Council and Councillors. The fix my Street portal allow for open viewing of the report and allows anybody to make comments and suggestions the site. One aspect of reporting the lack of facilities at the Memorial Park is to ensure that funds set aside for the REGNERATION of the Park are no swallowed up in costs of putting the park into a serviceable condition, such as public Toilets, crumbled footpaths, unkept pond broken Street Lamps insufficient CCTV coverage. We the Tax Payer and Electorate are asking the Council to carry out repairs and to re-open public facilities from Council funds and immediately. The taxpayers wants the regeneration funds to represent just that -regeneration and improvement of the Park. The Council have failed to provide proper facilities for over 7 years now, leaving the Park to decay and deteriorate, and the Town are pulling you to task to reinstate annual funding within the Council annual budget. The Government have instructed Councils to to make more Public Toilets available and to bring existing public Toilets up to a modern standard. I would ask your reassurance that you are doing your utmost to meet Government instruction. Hiding behind "confidential" discussions and reports does nothing to assure Herne Bay Residents that you are not scheming yet more cutbacks and withdrawal of facilities for the Town. Would you please advise details of the Agenda for the Memorial Meeting, the content of discussion, who attended and most importantly that we can rely on you for support as our Herne Bay Councillor. Where do you stand - quote your email

If toilets were opened in the Park servicing would be carried out by Serco as an extension to their current contract. The Council would have to provide extra funds for this from the Revenue budget. This contract is supervised by the Street Scene section. I shall consider the report of officers on the options available within the Park at Monday's meeting with my fellow Councillors, and we shall propose what we think is the best course of action. This will then go to the Friends of the Park and probably the Herne Bay Area Member Panel for consultation before the Executive decide what to propose. I am not prepared to say what would be my preferred option until I have seen what they all are, have heard my fellow Councillor's comments, and there is a preferred option which will go out to consultation. I would appreciate your most urgent and detailed response. Yours faithfully M Shannie

It is very disappointing news that Herne Bay was not successful in securing £1.5 million of lottery funds for their much deserved Memorial Park project. Canterbury City Council have just announced that it will continue with the project but on a scaled down version with the £500,000 already set aside. Why don't Canterbury City Council dig deep into our money pot (Council Tax Payers) and write a cheque for the £1.5m. After all they did just that for their Beany Project when they failed to secure full lottery funding they simply held an executive meeting, voted to give themselves the money, and wrote a cheque from tax payers funds. They did not scale down the Beany Project and delay by seeking public opinion. They steamed ahead with steely determination placing compulsory purchase orders on historic buildings and demolition orders followed costing hundreds of thousands of pounds additional costs. The same with the multi Million pound Marlow Theatre Project in the city. Surely Herne Bay is equally entitled to such determined action and financial support. Please Canterbury Council dig deep into the pot of Canterbury District Funds. It belongs to us all: Whitstable, Herne Bay and Canterbury City as a District not just the City.

The whole point of reporting the lack of Public Toilets through the fix my Street was a to have a public open honest discussion and to work towards providing Public Toilets without further delay, working with the Council and Councillors. The fix my Street portal allow for open viewing of the report and allows anybody to make comments and suggestions the site. One aspect of reporting the lack of facilities at the Memorial Park is to ensure that funds set aside for the REGNERATION of the Park are no swallowed up in costs of putting the park into a serviceable condition, such as public Toilets, crumbled footpaths, unkept pond broken Street Lamps insufficient CCTV coverage. We the Tax Payer and Electorate are asking the Council to carry out repairs and to re-open public facilities from Council funds and immediately. The taxpayers wants the regeneration funds to represent just that -regeneration and improvement of the Park. The Council have failed to provide proper facilities for over 7 years now, leaving the Park to decay and deteriorate, and the Town are pulling you to task to reinstate annual funding within the Council annual budget. The Government have instructed Councils to to make more Public Toilets available and to bring existing public Toilets up to a modern standard. I would ask your reassurance that you are doing your utmost to meet Government instruction. Hiding behind "confidential" discussions and reports does nothing to assure Herne Bay Residents that you are not scheming yet more cutbacks and withdrawal of facilities for the Town. Would you please advise details of the Agenda for the Memorial Meeting, the content of discussion, who attended and most importantly that we can rely on you for support as our Herne Bay Councillor. Where do you stand - quote your email

If toilets were opened in the Park servicing would be carried out by Serco as an extension to their current contract. The Council would have to provide extra funds for this from the Revenue budget. This contract is supervised by the Street Scene section. I shall consider the report of officers on the options available within the Park at Monday's meeting with my fellow Councillors, and we shall propose what we think is the best course of action. This will then go to the Friends of the Park and probably the Herne Bay Area Member Panel for consultation before the Executive decide what to propose. I am not prepared to say what would be my preferred option until I have seen what they all are, have heard my fellow Councillor's comments, and there is a preferred option which will go out to consultation. I would appreciate your most urgent and detailed response. Yours faithfully M Shannie

Why are we not allowed to know what is being dicuss by our Town Councillors. The futue of the Memorial Park is important to all Residents and Business's. This is dictatorship not a democracy and an utter discgrace.

Dear Councillor Lee It is some months since your email and in particular your comments

I am not prepared to say what would be my preferred option until I have seen what they all are, have heard my fellow Councillor's comments, and there is a preferred option which will go out to consultation. Regards Peter Lee I really would like to have some information regarding the options that are available for the park. Residents would like to have a say in the future of our Park and how our Council Tax is distributed. I do not understand why there is such a veil of secracy or reluctance to discuss proposals? Could you please provide this information or pass this request to somebody that will. Thank you

look at serco's human rights record!

Mysterious death of Serco prison human rights campaigner. Pauline Campbell investigated daughter Sheena Kotecha's apparent suicide at Brockhill prison (escort contractor: premier (serco)) & died herself in mysterious circumstances. http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/may/16/women.prisonsandprobation

Adam Rickwood 14, Youngest death in custordy. Killed? found hanging in his cell with a broken nose, broken wrist and covered in bruises at a serco jail. Police were prevented from finishing forensic examination of the cell by serco, who said they needed to reuse it. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2009/jan/22/youngpeople-deathsincustody

Allegations of bullying and racist abuse are common among detainees at Colnbrook removal centre near Heathrow, run by Serco http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3129221.ece

Doncaster Prison, run by Premier Prisons (serco) has been hit by controversy, with allegations of bullying and high numbers of suicides. http://www.privateci.org/rap_premier.html

woman "danced" in the road and stopping serco vehicle shouting at the driver and slapping at the bonnet. Van driver responds by running her down, dragging her 20 yards to her death in front of many witnesses chanting "murderer". http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-561416/Mob-chants-murderer-prison-van-runs-kills-woman-trying-block- path.html#ixzz0hCY5jjat

blind eye to appauling record: "Last week, Australia's Immigration Minister Senator Chris Evans, announced that Serco Australia, who also operates Western Australia's Acacia prison - where several deaths in custody raised many questions in the early 2000's - has become his preferred tenderer to operate Australia's Immigration detention centres, but the company has a history of deaths in custody in the UK and it was subject to several inquiries," http://www.safecom.org.au/news-1004-2009.htm

Another suicide. Just weeks before Home Secretary David Blunkett had visited Dungavel and declared conditions and facilities "entirely satisfactory". Many Dungavel inmates are regularly on suicide watch and there have been a number of attempted suicides in the past. http://news.scotsman.com/asylumseekerdeaths/Fury-grows-after-Dungavel-suicide.2548864.jp

Child abuse at serco detention center to discourage illegal immigration. http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk/whats_happening/media_office/latest_news/18550_news.html

One father said that he had found his daughter in the center without any clothes on. A mother commented on the sexualized behavior of children within the center. http://ecdn.org/2010/01/17/roll-calls-body-searches-and-sex-games/

Racism and abuse Degredation at serco detention centers to discourage illegal immigration, “Animal, come get your food”. 55 detainees on hunger strike at serco's Harmondsworth. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article3129221.ece