Thanks for your letter of 09th April.

The Labour Party's Agent David Sandford will reply on behalf of the Labour group in Shepway, however I will attempt to comment personally on the issues you raise for speed and clarity.

Dungeness - The key issue in Dungeness for me is employment. I have grave worries about the nuclear industry's ability and will to support its ageing reactors.
I feel that new-build is an unlikely option for it to follow at Dungeness, and that over the next five years we may be facing a gradual closure scheme which could have negative impacts on the economics of the area.
The waste problems of the industry are more a national problem than a local issue, but I believe that more pressure can be brought to bear to control its mixed adherence in this area via (a) more explicit legislation (b)
full commitment to inspections (c) greater resources for enforcement and punitive measures. Polluter pays - and never does it again.

Wind-farms are a very positive addition to the local landscape and, contrary to popular belief, will not blight land values or deter tourism. Yes, the government should be urged to do more to develop and promote renewable energy. I have been following bio-fuels development and a number of other areas in this regard. Subsidies always depend on wide coverage - regrettably without even and balanced development nationally, I think this area is difficult to develop. A pilot scheme would however raise awareness considerably, but I do not think Shepway specifically will offer this opportunity to the government.

GM Foods: I have very deep concerns about GM crops and oppose all development in the UK in this area. It is my belief that man is not authorised to manipulate nature and is heretical in making attempts to do so. Research on the dangers to biodiversity is laughably inadequate but big business (not the scientific fraternity) believes it has understood the potential risk. Unfortunately, despite the now obvious dangers of global warming, global governments still have not understood that intervention in nature needs to be considered within a 50 year context, not a medium-term business forecast of a year or so.

Emergency planning and availability of medicinal protection is a major issue in Kent. It extends to international terrorism, natural disasters, transport incidents and many other areas. In Shepway, I have always been aware of the risks of a nuclear accident. I protested at Dungeness as early as in 1986. The local authority needs to make clear its contingencies in a measured way. My view is that the local authority is criminally under-resourced, and increasingly unable to fulfil its statutory duties in a number of areas. The only party-political comment I will make is this one: Councillors and Cabinet (predominantly Tories and LibDems) have treated the local authority as a private-sector enterprise - it has engaged in outsourcing, subcontracting, and devolution for the last ten years. The Labour group believes that this is a relic of the monetarism that afflicted us for twenty years up to 1997. It believes in a healthy and motivated local authority able to govern effectively. This includes providing people with the Emergency Plan information you are campaigning for.

Cycling: Yes - spatial planning and local policy need to put more weight behind this. If I were confident of achieving funding for projects in this area, I would make them a budget priority. However there are greater local issues covering policing, road safety and community development that would take priority in the short term. I have been instrumental in promoting Walking Bus projects, and work in transport, environment and education. I have been involved in many projects on inter-modality, modal shift and green transport.

Operation Stack: There are a number of approaches to these issues. UK forecasts of road traffic growth, especially in the freight sector are naive. European research says it could double by 2020 and at a national level we are just starting to react! Road-charging and other financial instruments look likely to be adopted in the medium term, providing the public can be confident that revenues will be deployed in improvement and mitigation schemes. In the short term, a night time or full diversion system to the M2 for all freight would be feasible, were it not for the delayed works on interchanges with the M25 and the generally poor condition of this road.
Operation Stack is normally related to delays in maritime transit or industrial action and therefore difficult to predict and contingency for.

Recycling: Is Shepway doing enough? No.

Sorry it's a bit long-winded. As stated above these are personal views, but I hope they help you make up you minds!

Best regards,
David David Snowman
Independent Development Consultant

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