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EDITORIAL ¥ 01303 817100 www.kentnews.co.uk for all the news and sport WEEK ENDING APRIL 18, 2010 letters I 23 Please be at the Woodville Halls at 6.30pm New police chief must on Monday and make sure our council listens to our views. For once. And for always. avoid the red herrings Victims need a brave man Peers Carter, Gravesend After the shocking waste of Kent Police’s spy As operations director of Gravesend-based It is imperative that Kent employs a drones, surely the priority for the new Chief charity Family Matters – the UK’s largest chief constable who has the vision and Lacking vision or value Constable will be to publish all salaries, specialist provider of therapy and support boldness to adopt the Baroness Stern expenses, pensions and costs, as already for child and adult victims of sexual abuse inquiry’s recommendation to place the vic- Having managed a theme park and consulted required by Freedom of Information for every and rape – I strongly recommend that tim at the centre of the investigation. on a number of themed facilities, I could public authority. whoever becomes Kent’s next chief For too long the police have assessed the claim better experience and knowledge than The delay from our public servants for full constable should have a proven track quality of their service to rape victims on most regarding Dreamland in Margate. disclosure suggests the bumf and bloat is record in improving the investigation of conviction or attrition rates. Such obses- Fact is, I could have helped them years ago only outmatched by tax and waste, as tax sexual violence. sions place the criminal justice system and but the operators had no intention of saving and council tax automatically increase each The sexual abuse of children and the its needs at the centre of investigations it. Now the bickering continues because there year. rape of women, girls and sometimes men and not the victim, whose needs are often is no real end goal or formula for the park. While with the appalling air pollution and are pernicious crimes that are all too com- sacrificed on the criminal justice high What one sees and gets is a stew of ideas lack of clean-up and scrutiny from Kent mon – as Family Matters’ statistics show. altar, encouraged by its priests and priest- and concepts, yet no real-time aim apart from County Council – whether it’s removing air We provide therapy for 700 men, women esses, the judiciary. the lack of vision. and noise monitors from Manston or failing and children each year and receive 3,000 Is the new chief constable sufficiently Dreamland has historic potential, yet even to detail repeated road pollution requiring air calls on our helpline. Rape and sexual brave and able to make the victim’s expe- this is staid by vision and lack of concept. quality management areas (don’t breathe in, abuse are a violation of the body that cre- rience of the police investigation the most Nostalgia is all right for the few, but lacks a presumably) and shipping pollution such as ates unique trauma, on a par with murder important element and not necessarily the future for the many. at Cliftonville sands or Kent’s ports – shows and serious assault. Consequently, the outcome? Which candidate, if any, can be One could say how big is the Big Wheel, but how little the various councils in the Kent investigation of these crimes is a unique that chief constable? then if one fails to incorporate the potential and Medway Air Quality Partnership have challenge for any police service. Malcolm Gilbert, Family Matters views from such, one has lost attraction done to protect the public compared with value, just as a meandering river holds no their pay and pensions. benefit. Only when true vision and value are Surely Kent’s MPs and councillors should followed by the construction of a jumble of First, our council forced the ordinary, hard- incorporated can one say Dreamland will join forces with Kent Police to pretend there 1980s-style, non-heritage, inappropriate working people of Gravesend to fight them attract the tourist numbers required to keep is no problem, and if there is to whitewash it buildings in their place. every inch of the way for over a year to stop it alive in future years. away. With a possibility for red herrings and The new scheme would surround the his- their horrible 36-storey tower. Not forgetting its yearly refreshment – a Macguffins like his Hollywood namesake, toric and lovely St George’s Church and block Second, it was the same scenario with the must for any theme park. perhaps Alfred Hitchcock is ideal for chief yet more river views. attempt to develop St Andrew’s Green. One must provide for all ages yet offer constable. Our ‘representatives’ will try to force And now we have another ‘degeneration’ selection and choice. Unless there’s an Inspector Charles through this hated scheme and continue to worse than the first two. Any park that doesn’t may succeed on Chaplin? override months of objections from the public Why is the council so keen on a scheme opening yet fail by year’s end. Tim Garbutt, Ramsgate – over 3,500 letters and countless private which would make our historic riverside The mistakes are already being made in representations. town look like Croydon? the comparison stakes, yet the light is miss- The fact is, almost nobody who does not Why is its response to our logical and polite ing for its success. have an interest in this scheme is in favour. comments always so dismissive and rude? Ultimately, the failures are in-bred and Stop this vandalism of growing factors that will lead to an unsus- YOUR LETTERS tainable park. our Heritage Quarter One can only hope those who are able get it KOS Media welcomes your comments and letters for publication. Please send correspondence to: Letters to sorted fast. Monday is D-Day for Gravesend. At 7pm in the Editor, KOS Media, Apple Barn, Smeeth, Ashford, Kent TN25 6SR. Alternatively fax them to: 01303 817002, Derek Packham, Canterbury the Woodville Halls, the council will decide or email them to [email protected]. Please include your name and address, although these will be with- whether or not Gravesend will go for large- held in exceptional circumstances. Please also include a daytime telephone number for verification (this will not scale demolition in the Heritage Quarter – be published). We reserve the right to edit letters. Letters continued on page 24 EXCLUSIVE READER OFFERS Look what’s included in the price of your Fred. 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