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Great riposte to Cllr Gardiner

On 28 Nov 2008 at 8:49pm Local wrote:

There is an absolutely perfect letter in the Sussex Express reminding Cllr Gardiner that councillors are elected to represent their constituents, not to represent the council. I cheered out loud when I read it.

On 29 Nov 2008 at 11:07am sashka wrote:

There is also a really hilarious letter from Councillor Gardiner trying to crawl out from the mess he has created for himself by not reading other peoples letters properly. He has written yet another rude letter (when will he learn?)in which actually agrees with the woman he is trying to belittle that the Council should keep the route of an ancient Twitten preserved, but gioves the impression that he doesn't. He then tries to distract with talk of a 'level' which is actually a glorified fire engine turning circle, that was a requirement of the planning process. He hasn't explained why the wall behind Lewes house was originally considered by the Council as needing planning permission, but now says that they all knew all along it was only a garden wall. But worse of all he doesn't understand that a feature does not become less important because it has been rebuilt since 1280. The wall intentionally marks the ancient twitten boundary, and if he had read the references that were provided, he would know that. But he has written yet another hasty, ill advised response, in a fit of pique, without checking the facts. I also notice that he hasn't even replied to another letter asking where the valuable bricks from a wall in east St car park have gone, or why it was knocked down and rebuilt without permission. He is a loose cannon, and I am amazed his colleagues put up with his sloppy discourteous letters.

On 29 Nov 2008 at 4:54pm Local wrote:

And this man Gardiner, as I think his supporter 'Ben' told us here, is a professor of the built environent and knows everything there is to know abou7t the planning process.

On 29 Nov 2008 at 5:10pm geoff wrote:

Well he does seem to know everything about telling his fellow councillors, and those of us affected by his decisions what to think. He doesn't seem to understand that not everyone agrees with him, which is why there is planning law, and a planning process. When it is followed, there is no debate over the outcome, just contentment, or disappointment. It would be nice if LDC could adhere to the law, as Peter Gardiner wouldn't then need to write silly defensive letters to the paper. I notice none of his colleagues are supporting his unsubstantiated comments!

On 1 Dec 2008 at 7:45pm Florrie wrote:

I have just submitted the following letter to the Express for publication this week...
Readers may be interested to know that tomorrow (6th December) is the "Feast of St Nicholas". Unfortunately Lewes' own St Nicholas Lane has nothing to celebrate as, after two and a half years (and counting)of over zealous development, the lane resembles a dogs dinner!
The 18 month road closure remains operational, the pavements rendered unuseable, the road surface a patchwork of crude bitumen repairs & sunken drains, the gentle street lighting replaced by intense lighting more suitable for use on main carriageways.
By failing to adequately consider (and monitor) the impact and appropriateness of intensive overdevelopment in the heart of the conservation area, it is no wonder that Lewes residents are deeply (and justifiably) suspicious of Peter Gardiner and his chums in the planning department. Likewise the integrity of the ESCC Highways department remains equally dubious. All I want for Christmas..................

On 1 Dec 2008 at 9:18pm Sashka wrote:

No wonder no one wants to live in the new flats, and the company that built them disappeared off the stock market when the share price collapsed some months ago. Trust LDC to back a loser. Has Cllr Gardiner ever explained why they didn't have a material consideration of fire access to the lane in the planning report, but did in the Lewes house site? This is the kind of long term mess we get when a Council (aided and abetted by Gardiner) pushes through applications without proper consideration. Even good ideas turn to nightmares if you don't get the details right. Gardiner is obviously a broad brush stroke man.

On 2 Dec 2008 at 10:10am Yet another local wrote:

Has anyone walked past these flats when it is raining? The noise of the water falling down the thin alloy downpipes sounds like a steel band. Also the rainwater flows directly onto the pavement - fun in a frost.

On 2 Dec 2008 at 10:23am Local wrote:

And the response of Gardiner, Frost and the massed bands of the Lewes planners will be? To ignore us completely, unless...

On 2 Dec 2008 at 10:31am S.oliver wrote:

If anyone cares to enquire, they could ask LDC how this sloppy arrangement meets legal requirements regarding the dispersal of waste water. The key words I would use are ' Council approved safety hazzard' Our Council is curiously impotent when it comes to enforcing building standards requirements, and planning conditions. (ask Norman Baker about the 'landscaping' required when the library extension was demolished' His Colleagues on LDC don't seem to care about him, or his neighbours in East st, but do seem keen not to upset one, Mr Elliott.)

On 2 Dec 2008 at 10:33am s.oliver wrote:

On 2 Dec 2008 at 10:55am Sylvia wrote:

I look forward S.Oliver, to seeing you and Sashka standing as candidates, under your real names in the elections. Knowing so much about planning it would be a pity if you didn't "come out"and reform it all.

On 2 Dec 2008 at 11:20am Nullify wrote:

Mr Elliott and Mr Frost are close family friends, are they not?

On 2 Dec 2008 at 11:23am s.oliver wrote:

Very kind Sylvia, but I don't need to stand for election, and couldn't anyway. All any of us need is for those who chose to do so, to do their jobs properly and listen to you, me, and anyone else that they 'represent'. That is the point of a democracy.
I do know more than some about planning law, but I also know there are others in the town who know more than me, our planning officers, and even the self appointed planning law guru, Councillor Gardiner. Unfortunately all that local talent is wasted, because our Councillors are pressuming that officers are always right, and that the electorate just needs to be told what is best for them.
The drain example above is a good one. Who on earth would try and defend such inappropriate drainage in the C21st and given that the whole site was dug up and re-developed, could have been completely avoided with proper drainage. It is a ludicrous situation that an effective Council would have either prevented, or be sorting out right now. Although it is just totally unnecessary, I would bet that anyone trying to sort it out will get a headache from unwilling Council Officers who won't want to admit that it is a mistake that they are now powerless to resolve.Cllr Gardiner would then shut his Councillor colleagues up, jump to the defense of officers instead of looking at what actually went wrong, and thus a problem becomes a dramatic irresolvable saga.
I despair.

On 2 Dec 2008 at 11:28am s.oliver wrote:

Incidentally, further to my now lost post above, there is no need to 'reform' anything, Sylvia. We have local planning policy, legal planning procedures, and conservation area protections, that enable other historic towns to avoid much of the controversy we have here. But they are useless when a council cannot, or will not adhere to them.

On 2 Dec 2008 at 12:00pm sashka wrote:

You are pressuming Sylvia that I am not currently, or once was a District Councillor.

On 2 Dec 2008 at 12:15pm Frank Keys wrote:

Well you could tell us whether you are or once were a councillor. That would solve that mystery.

On 2 Dec 2008 at 12:41pm Nullfy wrote:

Anyway, Sylvia, we'd have reached an interesting point in democracy if we were only allowed to criticise a council if we were actually a councillors ourselves. When I go into a restaurant i don't expect to prepare the meal myself, but I do feel entitled to complaint if the cook produces rubbish.

On 2 Dec 2008 at 2:48pm S.oliver wrote:

I rather like Sashka's air of mystery! Councillors do read this web, although with the exception of Merlin Milner, don't post anything. Cllr Eiloart did once, but his undemocratic colleagues seem to have stopped him doing so again. It is laughable /deeply disturbing that we have come to accept this pathetic level of communication with Councillors. If there is one reading this who is brave enough to expalin why they won't listen to their electorate, or reply to correspondence, do tell us, because we can only start pressume you are breaching your Code of Conduct intentiunallly.

On 2 Dec 2008 at 6:14pm Annette Curtin-Twitcher wrote:

I feel really sorry for people who live in St Nicholas Lane, the building works there seem to have gone on for ever.
To add insult to injury, the "affordable" housing that's reserved for key workers is available to people who work within (I think) a 50 mile radius, so doen't necessarily benefit local people at all and is aiming for the DFL market. I think people were hoodwinked a bit there. I certainly believed that it would be for people working locally and so did everyone I've spoken to about it.

On 2 Dec 2008 at 6:32pm Local wrote:

And if the Phoenix development ever went through - increasingly unlikely it seems - we can be sure the 'affordable housing' would be equally suspect. Mind you, who in their right mind would choose to live on the flood plain?

On 2 Dec 2008 at 6:50pm I dont live in lewes anymore wrote:

Maybe it's best that Clrs don't post on this forum. There have been some interesting threads and it would be sad to spoil them.
I can't help but notice that "Ben" is no longer with us.
Could it be that "Ben" and that much loved cartoon character "Clr part-time Gardener" are one and the same?
PhilX

On 2 Dec 2008 at 6:51pm I dont live in lewes anymore wrote:

Not I.
Been there done that.
PhilX

On 2 Dec 2008 at 11:14pm Gentleman Jim wrote:

I reckon Sashka is Cllr Gardiner. Her hyper-cynical attitude is but a facade. Or perhaps she is our ineffective but very lovely 'independent' Cllr O'Keeffe. Come on, out with it!