Losing Shepway's Heritage, one lift at a time

The agenda of Shepway Council's cabinet meeting on 18th March is now available online - but possibly the most controversial part of it is to remain secret. Item 16 on the agenda (available at http://www.shepway.gov.uk/webapp/service/query/cads/doc/cabinet/Agendas/acabt20090318.doc?download=download) lists the item as "Leas Lift Lease Termination". Apparently its supporting report (C/08/106) sets out the background of the Leas Lift lease and the proposals for its termination - but members of the public, are not allowed to see that report, or even listen to the debate at the meeting if they wish.

Setting the context, Folkestone's Leas lift is one of the oldest Victorian water lifts in the country. The lift is currently leased by the Council from the Radnor Estate and runs throughout the year between the Leas and Lower Sandgate Road.

Thousands of pounds, raised by Leas Lift campaigners (http://www.leaslift.co.uk) towards the restoration of one original decommissioned "step" lift that used to run in Folkestone, are now in limbo. Over £24,000 has already been raised towards the restoration of the second lift (towards a target of £25,000) from and by local people, in a real sign of the support and goodwill towards the project.

The Leas Lift campaigners were intending to put the renovated lift on or near the original lift tracks, which would have added to the attraction of the working lifts themselves. Visitors could have a look around, or perhaps the lift could have been used as a tourist information point. The termination of the lease on the running lifts would put the project in severe jeopardy, and could even see the current lifts stop running altogether unless another body steps in to take them over.

With the right management, and the added bonus of a newly restored step lift, the Leas lifts are a major attraction in Folkestone, and could be a real destination, information point and source of pride in the town. Instead, it seems that Shepway's Tory leaders are considering throwing all of that down the cliff.

Not content with jeopardising the future of one piece of Folkestone's history, the Conservative Council seem to be going for a double whammy. On the SAME agenda, there is another item "External Structural Survey And Proposed Fencing Works To Christchurch Tower".

Now this item has form.

Money had originally been budgeted for external repairs to the tower in the Remembrance gardens in Sandgate Road by Shepway (who own it) following an external survey that highlighted the poor condition of the exterior of the tower, and after sections of the tower fell off in 2006. Despite protests (http://www.shepwaylibdems.org.uk/news/001136/conservatives_christchurch_tower_shame.html) last year, the Conservative Council removed the budgeted £145,000 with the immortal justification "the circumstances have changed regarding the proposed external works as the stone fabric of the structure has been rigorously tested by the earthquake in 2007".

Read that slowly. A building that was in need of repair before an earthquake was, in the estimation of the Council, less in need of repair after an earthquake. Because it didn't fall down. Verily, the first earthquake in history to actually IMPROVE the fabric of a building...

So having removed the money from the budget to repair Christchurch Tower last year, it comes back onto the agenda again this year. Major change of heart? Yougottabekidding. The Council has had another survey done (http://www.shepway.gov.uk/webapp/service/query/cads/doc/cabinet/Other/rcabt20090318%20Christchurch%20Tower%20Survery%20Report%20Appendix%201.pdf?download=download), which - in a huge surprise - says that the external works still need doing. Things are certainly not better than the last report, and during the inspection quite large bricks were pulled off the tower and taken down for safety.

So, there are two proposals in the report to Council (http://www.shepway.gov.uk/webapp/service/query/cads/doc/cabinet/Reports/rcabt20090318%20External%20Structure%20Survey%20Christchurch%20Tower.doc?download=download) to deal with it. See if you can guess which the report recommends:

1. Repair the tower

2. Build a bloody great fence around the tower, so if / when bits fall off, they won't hit anyone.

I don't want to spoil the surprise of reading the report itself. However, if you are a fencing contractor, send your details to Shepway Council - they may need some quotes soon...

This fence will keep people away from the tower - inside the fence will be a "hard hat" area only. This is a tower with a Burma Star memorial amongst others at the base - a memorial which will no longer be accessible. Please feel free to pay your respects from a distance of no less than 5 metres.

Such treatment of our heritage, and the memory of those who fought for this country, is a disgrace on Shepway, and an outrageous way to treat our monuments.