ON CANOPIES & PRAISE WHERE PRAISE IS DUE

The Dame wants to make one thing crystal clear....
She was no more than a messenger for the valiant efforts of the Friends and the Kensington Society to protect a wonderful amenity for the benefit of all.
This victory proves that when amenity groups and resident associations flex their muscles (proven during the Sloane Square debacle) the Council runs for cover.

Amanda Frame's objection letter was a tour de force.....

It is time that Borough resident associations stopped allowing themselves to be stroked to sleep with silly Gold Stars for falling into line. Instead they need to form an 'associations umbrella group' able to lobby on issues of common concern. 
It would end this Councils' unctuous attempts to divide and rule.

LISTEN TO US MR BORE

Come on Jonathan Bore....stop pretending your Department consults: it does nothing of the sort. You know full well that Grenfell Action Group fight on many fronts over developments that impact on the lives of residents so the least you can do is listen to what they have to say.
An obvious case in point is the original Local Development Framework Core Strategy setting out, amongst other things, the development of the Kensington Academy.

We now find out that the Council is at last consulting on what will now be known as The Local Plan. Residents have until 31 January to give their feedback on amendments to the Core Local Plan

CANOPY CANNED

In the face of massive opposition and a large number of letters of objection, Opera Holland Park has withdrawn the planning application which would have allowed them to leave the canopy in situ all the year round.

 A further application to allow them to continue as before is predicted and it seems The Friends will not oppose that, but they will be asking for a reduction in the time taken to erect and dismantle the canopy and temporary buildings.

COCKELL AND BULL STORY!

A reader writes this extraordinary account of the Rotten Borough's attempts to get into manufacturing. Because some of our councillors have an unhealthy interest in public loo's this one got them all excited. It seems to have cost us all a packet. It shows p*****g away our money is not a new thing!

Dear Dame,

If we are talking spectacular wastes of taxpayer's money a la Exhibition Road, the 'Kensington Autoloo' debacle would take some beating.

Probably in the mid 1980's, just after the French autoloo was becoming to be popular with local authorities keen on shutting their public lavatories, K&C announced it was developing its own BRITISH autoloo, which it would sell to all the other British local authorities so they didn't have to buy the Froggie trash. I never found out who was actually responsible for this initiative, it may have been an egocentric Director of Engineering rather than a politician.

The mechanics were designed and a prototype (maybe two) were made at huge cost, and then a competition was held in the Royal College of Art Industrial Design faculty to design an exterior suitable for a 'Royal Borough'. The winner was a kind of rectangular shed with a pitched roof clad entirely in black polished marble - you can imagine the cost.

One of the prototypes, so clad, was installed at South Kensington with due Mayoral ceremony - just south of the station, and then intensive marketing was attempted to sell them to other Local Authorities.

Unfortunately the designers had not taken into account that people do not behave as they are intended to.  The whole interior was a dimpled highly polished stainless steel rectangular tank and it detected if someone was in it by the whole stainless steel floor being counterbalanced in a stainless steel pit, so it went down when you stepped on it. There was a reasonably conventional toilet bowl cantilevered from the far wall. Unfortunately people (especially drunk ones) failed to piss in the bowl and pissed on the floor or wall, the urine accumulating in the under floor void and smelling appropriately. Moreover the gap between the floor and the wall was rather large, and 'things' found their way down it, jamming the mechanism. The mechanism may also have been unreliable.

In contrast the French autoloo had a monocoque GRP moulded interior, which wholly  tipped backwards and was completely scrubbed with water and detergent automatically after every use.

NOT SMELLING OF ROSES

Needless to say I don't believe ANY were sold. Quite soon everything went quiet, and then unobtrusively the South Kensington one was stripped out and converted into a flower stall, in which incarnation it survived until quite recently until the South Kensington improvements. 

No more was ever said about 'The Kensington Autoloo'.

All this must have cost a PHENOMENAL amount of money. Was anyone disciplined? Was the District Auditor involved? Unfortunately there was not a Dame around at the time, only Harry James. I have often wondered what the true story was. Perhaps there are still Councillors around from that time who could tell us?

NOT AGAIN MR GREENHALGH!

Fresh from problems with hand/brain disconnection in a tightly packed City Hall lift 'Steve' is having further 'issues'. What a record! In his first police meeting he tells the Met Commissioner to stay away....then the 'elevation' problems and now this. Boris sure knows how to pick 'em!

A COUPLE OF SILLY MUCKERS

According to the Standard.....

"Boris Johnson’s policing chief Stephen Greenhalgh is being probed by the police complaints watchdog over alleged misconduct in public office.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission said it was “considering” whether to launch a full investigation into claims about his time as leader of Hammersmith & Fulham council.

Mr Greenhalgh, who runs the Met Police, has been accused of sanctioning “unlawful and improper inducements” to council residents. The deputy mayor, who earns £127,784 a year, dismissed allegations that people were offered new homes if they agreed their estates could be demolished.

He told The Standard: “I am immensely proud of my record as council leader. These baseless allegations are politically motivated.”

In a separate development, the council called in Deloitte’s to examine claims that councillors and housing officers offered places on a “VIP housing list” if residents agreed to the demolition of the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates to make way for an £8 billion redevelopment of Earl’s Court.

City Hall sources said Mr Greenhalgh had Mr Johnson’s “full support”

MOYLAN ON THE STARTING BLOCKS

In 2018 the World Gay Games will take place. The Sunday Telegraph say London is vying with Paris to hold the Games. If successful London will be the venue for a range of activities, including lesbian beach volleyball in Horse Guards Parade and trans-gender athletics in the Olympic stadium.

Boris, who is actively lobbying for London has two reasons to bring the Games to London......

• it helps recycle the Olympics facilities
• it will give Boris the opportunity to get Danny 'Boys' Moylan off his back

ATHLETIC  DIPLOMAT

Someone needs to take charge of persuading the Gay Games organisers to plump for London. Boris is actively considering Danny 'Boys' for the role. Could it work?
Though Danny 'Boys' started his short lived diplomatic career in S. Africa, diplomacy  has never been his strong suit. 
This could be another failed Boris appointment.
Watch this space....as the vulgar papers say!

A LABOUR COUNCILLOR WRITES.......

One of the tedious aspects of the Dame's work examining the folly and moral dereliction of this council, are the screams of  'this is a Labour blog.' 
Usually, they come from Pooter's 'attack buffoon', Matthew Palmer. He even suggests that the Dame is none other than Cllr Blakeman!

If only it were so simple....but then, to political simpletons, it is so much easier to accuse the Dame of political partisanship, rather than accept the Acton dictum about the corrosive nature of power.
But to forestall anyone trying to use that tired old canard of partisanship let the Dame remind them of the efforts the Dame went to publicising the Labour Leader, Judith Blakeman's cosy lunch with Cllr 'Oirish' Ahern. Such a good job did the Dame do she landed JB in Private Eye and the Mail too.

But back to the point...... many accuse the Dame of being professionally jealous.....they may have a point.
But she has to accept that in Emma Dent Coad's latest blog she systematically pinpoints the sheer wasteful madness of this council. Interestingly, it was a true blue, old school, City grandee living in the splendours of Holland Park who alerted the Dame to the brilliance of Dent Coad's demolition job.

It seems to take a Labour councillor to point out the abuse of taxpayer's resources, yet, being wise guardians of our money, is supposed to be a Tory virtue!

Read it Dent Coad here and make up your own mind about whether your money is being wasted-or not.

PLANNING LIES/APPLICATION WITHDRAWAL

Dissembling and lying are hallmarks of the Rotten Borough.

The Dames' readers will remember Pooter's claim never to have used the Mayor's Bentley, but under pressure, suddenly having a change of heart. 

Thus, it will come as no surprise to know that the Planning Department has picked up the habit of lying to residents.

Justin Downes gave the Council a second chance to come clean and admit that they were complicit in encouraging the Iranians to hide the good, but embarrassing withdrawal news until December 27. However, they stuck by their story stating "The date(December 27) upon which the Iranian Embassy, officially, formally and in writing, informed the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea of its decision not to proceed with an application for planning permission to construct a new embassy building."

 In reality, the Planning Department knew that the Iranians were withdrawing the application on Thursday, 29 November. Why did Mr Bore's department not insist upon a formal withdrawal then? 
We can only speculate......