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Monday 31 March 2014

MOYLAN CLINGS ON TO HIS £75,000 A YEAR




  • In  the DAILY TELEGRAPH today Boris and his £75,000 a year Aviation Adviser have come up with another harebrained variant of their original scheme. 

  • One impertinent blogger suggested that Moylan is like a dog with a bone and won't give up even when Howard Davies finally kicks his idea into touch: but then if Danny Boys gives it up he has to give up his £75,000 a year....something he is very reluctant to do.





Daniel Moylan is a lowly Kensington & Chelsea councillor who has managed to garner quite a few taxpayer funded jobs...non exec directorships of Crossrail and Tfl give him a meaty £65,000 a year, plus his £12,000 from K&C. As Aviation Adviser to the buffoon Boris he gets £75,000 a year.. No wonder this is one stick he won't let go of. The longer he can keep it going the longer he maintain his near £150,000 a year off the taxpayer. Its an outrageous abuse of our money to keep a man like this in clover when he has nil qualifications for the job.




    • if what you say is all correct than this perfectly sums up politics at every level. Greed greed and more greed, it doesn't matter which party, which colour it is the disgusting behaviour of individuals like this councillor who are only it for themselves. No difference be tween him and Maria Miller.




      MYSTERY LAWYER FROM LOUISIANA TO STAND IN ROYAL HOSPITAL WARD

      Royal Hospital ward residents have sent the Dame a cheap and desperate scrap of paper pumping up the ward work of two councillors, Emma Will and Elizabeth Campbell.
      Their claims to have saved the Phene and prevented mega basements have caused much mirth.....

      Click to enlarge

      But what interested the Dame was the way Ian Donaldson, a dedicated councillor, with over twenty four years service to residents, was unceremoniously dumped to allow a very mysterious Louisiana lawyer and oilman to carpet bag his way in.
      The Dame has written about RINKER and it's clear that this social climber has plans to launch himself into Society....
      But cynics are pondering two things:


      • will they ever see him seeing as most of his jobs are in Louisiana
      • how much did he give to Conservative Association funds to persuade Cllr Ahern to knife Donaldson.
      Emma Will actually does good work, but Elizabeth Campbell is perceived to be a light as a feather. 
      The poor sad thing loves to posture as a latter day Margaret Thatcher causing much giggling amongst colleagues and officers....

      Friday 28 March 2014

      THE ROYAL MARSDEN COMES OUT FIGHTING

      The Royal Brompton's plan to flog off land to overseas property developers impacts upon Chelsea residents for two reasons.
      The Royal Marsden needs the Fulham Road Wing to  maintain and expand its world renowned reputation....
      .....and Chelsea residents want to halt to the exploitation of their community by greedy off shore property developers. 
      Residents are tired of the council changing the planning rules for the benefit of developers. 
      The Royal Brompton's estate is classed for medical use: and it should remain for that use only.

      If Guangzhou R & F Properties Corporation succeed in buying the Royal Brompton's property assets it will prove that overseas money is far more powerful than the wishes of our community.





      Briefing paper on the future of the Fulham Road Wing


      Background


      Last year The Royal Brompton Hospital made public their decision to sell off a large part of their estate in order to consolidate and redevelop their Sydney Street premises. The Royal Marsden hospital has had a long interest in one of these sites, the Fulham Road Wing building, which sits in between The Royal Marsden and our academic partner, The Institute of Cancer Research (“the ICR”) in order to further our world leading research, clinical trials and patient care. The Royal Marsden’s interest in this site has been known by the Brompton for many years with correspondence regarding this issue dating back to late 2009/2010 when we were looking at a potential joint use/development. We also publicly indicated an interest in this site in 2012 when these plans were first mooted, and submitted a pre-planning application and fee to RBKC council in Spring 2012.


      However, at the consultation of the issues and options for The Royal Brompton consolidation programme in December 2013 it became clear that the course of action being put forward by the Royal Brompton for the Fulham Road Wing was solely for residential use. This would entail a change of use application for the building. It was a great disappointment to see that no option for community, social or healthcare use was included and The Royal Marsden’s interest in the Fulham Road Wing was not highlighted.


      On 28 February 2014, RBKC launched a consultation into a draft Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) for The Royal Brompton’s development proposals where, again, only residential use was put forward as an option for the Fulham Road Wing. This made clear the Royal Brompton’s decision to ignore The Royal Marsden’s proposals to retain the building as a healthcare facility and instead to take the decision to maximise their cash receipts for the property. The consultation period for this SPD will last for six weeks up until 10 April.


      The Royal Marsden has therefore prepared this briefing paper to ensure that local people understand and support the hospital’s interest in retaining the Fulham Road Wing as a healthcare facility in order to extend beyond its current maximum size. This will allow the building to become part of a world leading cancer centre instead of providing even more luxury residential housing in this part of London.


      The current issue


      We are currently operating at maximum capacity and have no more room to expand our Chelsea site for further world class research, clinical trials and patient care. This is in part due to the building work made necessary by the fire at the hospital in 2008 when the number of beds were reduced by 30 per cent in order to meet modern building standards. We are now unfortunately in the position of turning away patient referrals, and the situation is only set to get worse.


      Why is The Royal Marsden important to Chelsea?


      A world leading cancer hospital on your door step. The Royal Marsden has been a proud member of the Chelsea community since 1851. Since then we have expanded to become the largest and most comprehensive cancer centre in Europe specialising in cancer research diagnosis and treatment serving 50,000 patients every year. Together, with the ICR, we are recognised as the number four cancer centre in the world with the other three located in the United States. Together we are also the only National Institute for Health Research Biomedical Research Centre for Cancer in the UK.


      Our pioneering work means that we can not only offer the best cancer care to those in the immediate area but impact on international treatment and research of the disease around the world. It is an unfortunate fact that with an ageing population cancer cases both in the UK and across the globe are rising. Thanks to the work of hospitals like The Royal Marsden, however, more people are surviving cancer. It is vital that The Royal Marsden’s ground breaking work can continue.


      We have always appreciated being in the heart of Chelsea and want to remain in the area for the foreseeable future. Our commitment to the area is demonstrated by the fact that we have invested £100m into our Chelsea site over the last five years.


      The Council needs to preserve health and social care facilities within Chelsea. While the Royal Brompton’s Fulham Road Wing is vitally important for the growth plans of The Royal Marsden we believe there is a wider point that goes beyond our hospital. The Council has a duty to ensure health and social care facilities are preserved for the community instead of even more luxury residential being imposed on the borough. The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea Council’s Core Strategy Policy CK1 seeks to protect and enhance health care facilities. However, by only allowing for residential options as part of the draft SPD the redevelopment plans of the Royal Brompton are set to go against this policy.


      As part of The Royal Brompton Draft SPD the Council have stated that the improved services through the consolidation of the Royal Brompton’s hospital facilities on Sydney Street means that the aims of CK1 are satisfied as the Royal Brompton’s overall health care facilities will be improved.


      However, we believe that if the Fulham Road Wing was converted into residential use and there was no option for The Royal Marsden to purchase the building and expand in Chelsea to continue to provide our critical health care services, policy CK1 would not be met. Rather than allowing further luxury residential to be built the council should treat the Fulham Road Wing as an individual building as well as noting the impact it will have on The Royal Marsden’s research, treatment and patient care. By doing this the Council would be able to enforce policy CK1 and allow the building to remain a health care facility for the community.


      Our proposal


      We understand the need for the Royal Brompton to reconfigure their portfolio so they can continue to offer world class heart and lung care. However, the Fulham Wing is a once in a lifetime opportunity for The Royal Marsden to expand within its current Chelsea base, into a building situated perfectly between the hospital and our academic partner, the ICR. We believe there is a way which takes the needs of both The Royal Marsden and the Royal Brompton into account and does not negatively impacting on the Royal Brompton’s overall goal


      If we were able to purchase the Fulham Road Wing we would also retain the façade, in keeping with the look and feel of the conservation area, while introducing a hybrid of healthcare service and provision including NHS facilities, private care, and delivery of world-leading clinical research. This will free up other space on our existing Chelsea site to ensure the continued development and substantial growth in world class translational clinical trial and research facilities.


      We have the finances available to purchase the Fulham Road Wing as a health care facility, valued at approximately £30m, and deliver this expansion of The Royal Marsden. The money to fund this project would come from a hybrid of donations from The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, Trust surplus, and a loan. The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity has an excellent track record in fundraising for significant projects, including the new Children’s Centre on our Sutton site, and a large chunk of the post-fire redevelopment work. Our Foundation Trust status also allows us to acquire low interest loans.


      Support The Royal Marsden


      If you would like to help The Royal Marsden continue to be a world leading cancer facility and prevent further luxury residential development in Chelsea taking much needed health care space, then you can by participating in the SPD consultation of The Royal Brompton’s hospital development plans highlighting the following points:


      1. The Council need to retain the Fulham Road Wing as a healthcare facility.  The decision to grant the change of use for the Fulham Road Wing will have widespread implications for local residents. If luxury residential housing is approved it will be another step towards removing important amenities from Chelsea and turning the area into a residential ghetto.  The Council should not be prioritising luxury residential housing as there is a sufficient amount already in Chelsea. In contrast, there are not enough world-leading healthcare services.


      1. The Royal Marsden needs to expand to continue being a world leading cancer hospital in Chelsea. The Royal Marsden has been serving the Chelsea community for generations and by allowing it to expand into the Fulham Road Wing there is a once in a lifetime chance to grow its research, treatment and patient care. The Royal Marsden has the funding to acquire and develop the site without negatively impacting on the Royal Brompton's plans to redevelop and should, at the very least, be considered.


      1. Due to the speed of the process, and The Royal Marsden’s proposals not being taken into account, not all options have been fully considered. The Fulham Road Wing site has been used for healthcare for over a century and all alternatives need to be explored before the Council makes any firm commitments. Therefore there is a need for a pause in the planning process so the two hospitals can work together to ensure both health care facilities can continue to work in Chelsea successfully.


      Consultation responses should be emailed to neighbourhood.planning@rbkc.gov.uk or sent to The Executive Director of Planning and Borough Development, The Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, The Town Hall, Horton Street, London W8 7NX


      We would also thoroughly appreciate if you could spread our campaign to as many residents of Chelsea as possible.

      If you have any further questions about The Royal Marsden’s proposals or our campaign please contact Matthew Faulding on 020 3178 3583 or email matthewfaulding@cavendishpc.co.uk

      Wednesday 26 March 2014

      THE WAR OF INDEPENDENTS CONTINUES.....


      Next week the Dame will be announcing the names of two more Independent candidates.
      One in Royal Hospital Ward and the other in Colville.

      Tuesday 25 March 2014

      CLLR WARRICK GETTING NERVES

      The Dame always heeds the wise insights of Person Familiar With The Situation.

      Cllr Warrick needs to be kicked out in May.

      Person Familiar With The Situation25 March 2014 13:20
      Cllr Warwick has told friends that he is not in the least concerned about "a few miserable residents who blast at him in the Hornet". He conveniently forgets that some "miserable" Tory Councillors have also made their views clear about what a democratic joke he and his Planning Committee are

      KRESPA AND CHELSEA INDEPENDENTS....PUTTING RESIDENTS FIRST....WHERE THEY SHOULD BE!

      The  Dame has always said that there would be electoral consequences in ignoring residents. 
      This statement from KRESPA confirms her soothsaying....
      Ludo, with his ear to the ground, tells her that there is growing unease amongst  Conservative councillors over the rise in dissident resident groupings. These things tend to snowball....

      Incidentally, Ludo tells his aunt, the Dame, that the Council's IT Dept have lifted the block on the Hornets Nest. 
      It was a silly, unworkable, idea in the first place...

      LUDO



       



      "KRESPA - the Kensington Resident's Party and the Chelsea Independents are united in feeling let down by this Conservative Council. Speaking on behalf of KRESPA I am happy to make the following update:

      The Scrutiny Committee and the subsequent Cabinet meeting last week confirmed our view that the Council refuse to listen the views of their electorate. Big business continues to be put ahead of the community. 
      • Money ahead of safety, 
      • Money ahead of traffic, 
      • Money ahead of their residents 
      This is NOT democracy. 

      We intend to change this!  
      For the first time, ever, we will offer voters in safe Conservative wards a winnable choice. 
      As a new Independent Party (with cross party support in Kensington and working with the Chelsea Independents) we are going to represent every person, including those who haven't bothered to vote in the past. 
      With your support we intend make a difference.  
      I am happy to confirm that we are drawing up our list of candidates and one way or another every councillor either side of Holland Park Avenue will be impacted. 

      RC
      KRESPA - Representing every resident!"



      Saturday 22 March 2014

      BACK THE ROYAL MARSDEN NOW

      It's vital that we all act upon this very important email.
      Do we want thousands more luxury homes for overseas investors: or do we want to ensure that the Royal Marsden can continue to expand their world leading cancer research and treatment facilities.
      It's a black and white choice..
      Please make your views felt to a council which fails to listen to its residents.


      From: Kim Howell <kim-howell@live.co.uk
       Date: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 21:38:39 +0000
      To: 'kim-howell'<kim-howell@live.co.uk>
       Cc: 'Joseph Carol'<cajoseph75@hotmail.com
      Subject: Royal Marsden

      Dear Neighbours

      As you may be aware, the Royal Brompton Hospital is planning a major redevelopment, including selling off a large part of their estate in order to raise money to consolidate and redevelop their Sydney Street premises.  The Royal Marsden Hospital has long had an interest in the Fulham Road hospital wing, which is just one portion of the Brompton’s extensive estate and sits between the Royal Marsden and its close academic partner, the Institute of Cancer Research (“the ICR”).

      The Royal Brompton wants to redevelop the Fulham Road Wing solely for luxury residential use in order to maximise proceeds for their Foundation Trust.  As such, they (and the current Royal Borough “supplementary planning document” or “SPD”) have ignored the needs and repeated requests of the Royal Marsden to acquire the Fulham Road buildings so that they can expand their world-leading cancer research and treatment facilities (which are now at maximum capacity).  It is astonishing that the Royal Marsden is not mentioned anywhere in the SPD.

      The SPD is now out for consultation with the general public.  If you are interested, two public drop in sessions are being hosted by RBKC to give advice to people on how they can respond to the documents.  These sessions will be held in the Small Hall of Chelsea Old Town Hall, King’s Road, SW3 5EE on Saturday 29 March 2014 from 10am to 1pm and on Tuesday 1 April from 6pm to 8pm.

      Even if you don’t attend one of these sessions, I urge you to respond to the consultation and, if you see fit, to communicate support for a requirement that the Brompton’s Fulham Road Wing be sold to the Royal Marsden.  I am a member of both the Marsden and Brompton Foundation Trusts.  And I support the Brompton’s desire to consolidate on one site.  However, that doesn’t mean the real needs of other important health providers in our community should be ignored.  In order to redevelop the Fulham Road Wing for residential housing, the RBKC must approve a “change of use” which potentially goes against the Royal Borough’s current planning policy.  However, unless strong public objections are made, they are currently indicating they will approve the change of use.

      The consultation period ends on 10 April, so any comments you may wish to make must be submitted in writing to the RBKC by this date.  You can view the Brompton documents and comment on them at www.rbkc.gov.ukroyalbromptonhospital.  

      Comments can also be sent via email to neighbourhood.planning@rbkc.gov.uk.  
      Even a short email would be helpful stating the following:
      I am a resident of the Royal Borough.  

      In relation to the Royal Brompton Hospital redevelopment, I am not supportive of a change of use for the Royal Brompton’s Fulham Road Wing.  The buildings should not be used for any purpose other than for the expansion of the Royal Marsden Hospital and the Institute of Cancer Research.

      If you want more, please find attached a briefing document which the Royal Marsden has prepared.  

      Also, my wife, Dr Carol Joseph, is the lead governor at the Royal Marsden Foundation Trust and will be more than happy to discuss the situation with you (see her email copied here and our phone number below).
      Lastly, I only have a few emails of neighbours.  I would ask that you please forward my email to others who live in the Royal Borough so that they also can comment on the plans which will have a major impact on all of us.

      Many thanks and very best wishes

      Kim

      Kim Howell
      13 Evelyn Gardens
      0207 244 6642

      Friday 21 March 2014

      RBK&C SHOULD RETURN TO THE COMMITTEE SYSTEM

      The Council's decision to ignore the recommendation of the Scrutiny Committee could have far reaching electoral consequences.

      The Council's friends, the Ritblat family, have fingers in many pies....local schools, the redevelopment of the Commonwealth Institute and the demolition of the much loved Odeon cinema in High St Ken. 

      Our council is in thrall to the power of Ritblat money: it denies them nothing, so what the Ritblats, pere et fils, want they tend to get.

      When Tony Blair replaced the tried and tested committee system he was warned there was potential for abuse of power- hence the introduction of the Scrutiny Committees as way of protecting residents. Now we know they are useless.
      AFRICAN FAG SELLER

      Cockell loved this new Cabinet system. 
      Instead of having annoying backbench committee members getting in his way he could appoint his own to the Cabinet and they would acquiesce to his every whim....whether new Bentleys, £30 million follies like Exhibition Rd....or a chunky £70,000 a year allowance for himself.
      And if they didn't acquiesce he could threaten them with the sack and the loss of a £45,000 a year plus Special Responsibility Allowance.

      No one knows much about Cockell. 
      His career, before deciding to become a 'local government entrepreneur', was a bit of a mystery....
      Certainly, its high point seems to have been flogging fags to Africans!
      So, from that rather squalid way of making a living, he has managed to sort himself out with various other local government sinecures. 
      At their peak they gave him an income of £130,000 a year....not bad for an ex fag salesman with nil education!

      Anyway, enough of Cockell and his machinations...

      Had the Committee system still operated in the Royal Borough the chances are that its members would not have agreed the Ritblat deal.

      There is no legal reason why any council should not return to the committee system: it worked well and allowed democracy a clear and strong voice.
      The Kensington and Chelsea Residents Group and the Chelsea Independents should make abolition of the Cabinet system a cornerstone of their campaigns.