And if you live in Faversham, you can probably walk to it. Later the same morning, PC Emma Willson emails Jackie Westlake to say the police had insufficient evidence to take this matter to court.. portfolio. Five days after the arrest, on 29 April the story hits the national and international press, beginning with a story in the Daily Mail. In another email Cosgrove had told Westlake: Think this links with the Independents. It was a time when supermarkets began to require more fruit to supply mass demand. environments. . Summary. a change of Both donated their time and expertise, as did Shepherd Neame (improvements to the bar) and Michael White (work on the garden courtyard). papers and run management courses and seminars in many Member of Its maintenance budget for 2018/19 is just 31.59, according to Swale Borough Council. She held parties, concerts and recitals in what was then called Gatefield House. over twenty I don't put any dates in my diary after today. primary criterion is to add capacity and value to the It is no secret our local councillors were behind John's arrest. articles on management subjects in refereed journals and Between 1973 and 1988, he was a health service manager in the Nottingham, Derby, and Reading areas. Services The Faversham workhouse was closed in 1929 and the building became a Public Assistance Institution under the control of Kent County Council. In each of the four years between 2013 and 2016, the charity made a profit totalling 38,659. It was not. an Young 32,500 one third of this went to the War Memorial. On April 24, 2015, six police officers marched into the house where John Wellard lives. to Radio 4s Gardeners Question Time . Favershams premier surrealist web publication. So in late 2016 Swale hastily applied for squatters rights adverse possession to use the legal term claiming the council had maintained the garden since 1990. The duty solicitor summed it up, telling John Wellard, this is a load of f***ing bollocks!. Many of them will also use or return to local shops and eateries. But little was known about the secret machinations behind it. amongst policy makers and Until now. Published and management Now hopefully the balance will be redressed., It was an interesting birthday, albeit alarming, said John. manual for effective negotiation. Not only did the key Bensteds trustees drive the project, the charity was used to handle the money. Opportunity: Developing Practice through Training The key issue was now the garden and, in particular, the concrete plinths. seminars: best What's for dinner? Trending. The lead police officer arrested him for collective harassment, a phrase he later repeated to one of Johns neighbours who came round shortly afterwards. 2023 Faversham Life All rights reserved. Reaching Worcestershire Family Support Project (in "@ZacGoldsmith Thank you for replying. Value The Institute of Directors and has a masters degree in RT @PaulOnPolitics: Conservative MP Helen Whatley has been reselected as prospective candidate for Faversham and Mid Kent, seat she has held since 2015. recently 'privatised'. Between 2013 and 2018, it spent 46,744 on management fees to Lloyds to look after its cash and investments. Then everything changed. The first task was to renovate the building. Towards the end of 2017, the Friends of Faversham Cottage Hospital gave 5000 to the project. residential services for children; services for drugs and We must not let this continue.. every case the But it was too late. Bensteds took in all the donations, claimed the charity tax relief and it is listed as a separate item in their accounts. Each year since 2015, the set aside has grown. But Trevor accepted the results and lost his seat on Faversham Town Council. TACT is now The Alexander Centre CIC (Community Interest Company), chaired by Graham Setterfield, and is a not-for-profit organisation. The following year, they gave 8,420 in grants, but put aside an extra 20,000 for future projects. But from 1943 to 2012, The Alexander Centres fine plasterwork and high ceilings were hidden under plasterboard and strip lighting. Delicious dishes at low prices are provided . The current asset position of the charity was further boosted last year. "Driving across England to Shripshire (sic), seeing the awful creep of new housing development across the countryside. Significantly larger sums were given on a regular basis to what has been criticised by many in the town as an unwelcome vanity project. . issues in social care; Of working in a Andrew Osborne, whose father had been a chaplain at the old peoples home challenged this, pointing out to the Charity Commission that the site was governed by the original trust deed from 1835. Ouch. The design looked not unlike the, In the library alone, more than 80 comments were against the scheme, many fiercely so. According to Swale, its councillors were all involved in personal capacity. He says that some people will like the design, others will not. After the Beauty Spot salon in West St was destroyed by fire, it carried on operating in one of the Alexander Centres rooms. The memorial, a modest cross to commemorate local men who fell in the First World War, was placed at the corner of the Cottage Hospitals garden on Stone Street. And the people were not impressed. In November 2015, comments books were left in the Alexander Centre, the Faversham Library and St Marys Church. This type of project would not fit under our funding criteria. Filled with colour, it attracted visitors and wildlife. guide for the Conditions were made to be deliberately very harsh to discourage people from wanting to receive help. the development In all, the War Memorial committee raised 206,000. of Voluntary Child Care He has In this conversation. Its a difficult decision to make, because they are in an exceptionally poor state. By 2018, there was 53,439 carried over at the end of the year. After WW1 Faversham people honoured the dead by spending money collected for a memorial on improving their local hospital. Chief Blackwell Sometimes they have As Chairman of Bensteds, Andrew Osborne says, quite rightly, that although the charity could spend the money, morally it must be spent on War Memorial projects. Quality - 1991. Best Value Social . child protection On any one day, you might find up to around 40 people working here. She was married to Sir Sidney Alexander, Mayor of Faversham from 1910-20. . What happened next was extraordinary. cultures Instead youre obliged to face a grandiose monument to arrogance, a self-important symbol of contempt for the community. Strategic identification of unit Since 2011 the Faversham Creek Trust has been working towards a regeneration plan that focuses on the upper part of Faversham Creek above the Brents Swing Bridge. He also argues that the opposition to the memorial was personal and came "from critics who did not like some of the key Trustees involved.". People rarely sit in the garden now. Neither did Cosgroves committee, the NHS, nor the Cottage Hospital. In our defence, we would like to point out that, in the interests of accuracy, we have tried to contact Mr Cosgrove on many occasions requesting all manner of information. He has a first degree in Economics and Geography and a Masters degree in Education Management from the University of Wales. A year after being frozen out, the garden volunteers were still desperate to see Cosgroves plans, fearing building work would go ahead with no consultation and no opportunity for Faversham people to respond. Bensteds, is a charity for the relief of old, sick and inform persons, and for the provision of educational and recreational facilities, with a typical annual income of around 25,000. The irony is that they did not need to spend this money. So far, he hasnt replied once. You can reach The Alexander Centre by both train and bus, and its near to the town car parks. 1992. Yet Swale had pulled the plug on the gardens 1,579 annual maintenance budget years before, precisely because volunteers were doing the work for free. of the North They called themselves a community led group but, in reality, they were a committee dominated by Conservative councillors and council officers. I was informed only recently by people more knowledgable by myself that there had been a possible violation of my rights. Young Persons Act 2001, Isle of Man [with Janet and Mike Its official purposes are: To mobilise, encourage, foster and maintain the interest of the public in the patients and the support of the work of Faversham Cottage Hospital and community health centres by means of voluntary services.. But it was never going to end without a bang - with winning Conservative councillor John Ogden-Starkel on 711 votes and Labour's Trevor Payne on 700, there were talks of a recount. rural Chair Housing Mike represents many of PCIA's largest professional firms. KCC did not own the land, it was controlled by the original deed. The puzzling secrecy surrounding this scheme leaves much we dont know. for children in rural areas to increase awareness What are the odds? On first glance, it looks more like an investment trust. Just who was harassing who here? Against the wishes of many Faversham people, councillors were aggressively pushing a deeply unpopular Neighbourhood Plan allowing development of sensitive creekside sites. Independent candidate Ben Martin, who has never been involved in politics before, said: "I am absolutely thrilled to have been voted in but we have worked really hard for this. Wheelchair users frequently visited and enjoyed the old garden without any problems. The general feeling was that this project would go ahead anyway, said Ros Young. Until the War Memorial project came along, the focus was on the future not the present. If you take a seven year view then once you strip out the money for the War Memorial, the charity has given just over 9,000 a year to other local charities. For many years Cottage Hospital staff, patients and their visitors have used the garden when weather conditions permit., Simmons continued: The donation was made with the restriction that it must be used to make the new pathway fully disabled access compliant using non slip materials. partner we can mobilise the necessary skills where and Netherlands, All photos copyright Lisa Valder / Faversham Life unless stated otherwise. A . The About 500,000 of this is the permanent endowment and comes from the original land sale. We can only imagine what the Faversham community of 1922 who voted to give money raised for their war memorial to the hospital would have made of trustees doing the exact reverse a century later. The most recent leader of the council Andrew Bowles retained his seat on Boughton and Courtenay ward. She then went up the ladder and contacted Detective Chief Inspector Tony Henley, the Swale District Commander. Swale didnt yet own the garden. What few knew then was that Cosgroves committee had applied for planning permission for land neither they or Swale owned. mike cosgroveRetweeted David Atherton @DaveAtherton20 9h Chiragh Chiragh, 39, has been found guilty of manslaughter of Mohamed Muhyidin when his submachine gun accidentally went off. them.. Mike has undertaken a consultancy role for 3 years, having set up The Institute of However, using incomplete and heavily redacted minutes obtained under a Freedom of Information request, together with other sources, Sonot exactly a grass-roots community organisation. His arrest, in March 2015, followed the appearance in the town of a number of satirical posters lampooning local councillors and brown envelopes containing photocopies of Venezuelan currency. Leading interior designer, Sue Timney, advised on colour schemes and materials. Association for The Council is shorthand for a number of civic upheavals. However, using incomplete and heavily redacted minutes obtained under a Freedom of Information request, together with other sources, Faversham Eye has pieced together how they forced their scheme through. They set about restoring the heritage features and bringing it back into the heart of the towns activities. He is used extensively by the NHS, and by other public sector clients, to provide a range of services from training and development programmes through to executive coaching for top managers. . In four years between 2013 and 2019, it gave 96,356 in grants. In 2017 and 2018, when the charity started making substantial donations to the War Memorial it spent 10,214 more than it earned in income. He has programmes for social care organisations in Wales and and people we They spent ,2000 of this the following year. Chairman Cosgrove and core members David Simmons and Anita Walker were all Swale councillors, while assorted council officers from both Swale and Faversham Town Council were drafted in to assist. report to ministers and Yet another email from Westlake to Cosgrove quotes comments made at a public meeting and online by a member of the public about the Neighbourhood Plan. At the time, talk of 'brown envelopes' was rife. . Evaluation of the A peace garden seemed a far better way to remember the fallen and look forward to a better future without war.. Around 35,000 people a year come through the doors for work or enjoyment. For now, plans to dismantle and relocate the memorial had been abandoned. Plan meals, try new foods and explore cuisines with tested recipes from the country's top chefs. Numerous articles on We know 9,000 came from Kent County Council, around 8,500 from Faversham Town Council and 7000 from Swale. The attics are in an exceptionally poor state . Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. In September, waste management company Viridor donated 20,000, which would pay for more than 500 names to be carved into the gardens stonework 377 from WW1 and 174 from WWII at a cost of 40 per name. management development handbook for middle and The attics, where their servants would have slept, have barely been touched in over 100 years. Since Cosgrove, Walker and Simmons all sat on Faversham Town Council, no-one was especially surprised when the council warmly endorsed the refined results. He is also a Visiting Lecturer with the Praxis Centre, Cranfield School of Management, where he works to help managers develop their core capabilities. Following suit from the general election's true blue wave across Kent, most seats on both Swale Borough Council and Faversham Town Council now belong to the Conservatives. Updated Child sectors, The peoples voice was clear. Healthcare Management, Member of the wider project. Family voluntary adoption service. Manchester City Council ACPC, 2000. development of a potential service Ten years that covenant has expired so the land can now be used for house building. He was a Tutor and Tutor Counsellor for the Open University Business School from Disregarding War Memorials Trusts earlier warnings about potential damage, Cosgrove and committee proposed holding 25,000 back for another bid to move the original granite cross, agreeing: It would be useful to build up a reserve for the second phase.. How much more? See next week's Faversham News for full coverage and pictures. Our Education Directory has everything you could possibly need! Creating The Trustees then put in two planning applications. So far Kent Police have stonewalled John Wellards requests for information under the Data Protection Act. The cross, repositioned in the centre of the garden, would be flanked by bulky concrete plinths bearing the names of dead servicemen, with empty space left for future conflicts. Trying to find the right nursery, school, college, university or training provider in Kent or Medway? management. In all, the War Memorial committee raised 206,000. organisations employing people with severe disabilities. command structure; Of best value; Of the theory and Meanwhile Swale Borough Council gave the war memorial group written permission to build on its newly-acquired garden. The councillors then met informally and decided that the satirical posters were a criminal matter, that John Wellard was responsible and should be prosecuted. has been extended for a further year to include a said Mike Cosgrove. planners and improve collaboration between the She is a Visiting Lecturer at Nottingham University. The Alexander Centres Gatefield Hall hosts everything from weddings . Music has returned to The Alexander Centre. By 2012, SBC no longer needed such a large presence in Faversham. PC Willson's emails also refer to a report from councillor Mike Cosgrove of 'an incident regarding Mr Wellard approaching him in Court Street and waiving (sic) in his face'. Posted: 13th July, 2018 Category: Architecture, Culture, People, Words Alexandra Campbell Photographs Alexandra Campbell. When the brown envelopes first appeared, Jackie Westlake, then Town Clerk, contacted the local police inspector, Gavin Wade, who told her that no crime had been committed. Published by MHNA Publications. But, of course, it cant lose money. However, the office rentals are popular, so The Alexander Centre is considering renovating the attics to create more offices for startups and charities. contracted to us; sometimes we have contracted to them. Cosgrove, Gates, Walker and Andrew Bowles were also trustees of Bensteds, the long-established Faversham charity chaired by former town councillor, town mayor and prominent local freemason Bro Andrew Osborne. Theres so much we want to ask you. New trustees were appointed and there was a reaffirmation of the original purpose of the charity the relief of the aged and those in distress and sickness, the provision of social welfare and educational facilities for local inhabitants. the internet and social care, negotiation and social They had something grander and more military in mind, even if it meant tearing up the garden and moving the Grade II-listed cross. well as SMEs. The cash mountain increased by 144,073 between 2013 and 2018, from 783,267 to 925,340. Several comments slated the project as an absurd waste of taxpayers cash. alcohol misuse; practice of Covers initiatives and strategies for building and But town councillors were told that there were 115 comments in total. Without further consultation, work started in March. Lady Alexander was probably the closest thing Faversham had to a great Edwardian hostess. The building was owned and run by the Council. Although these are mostly commercial ventures, so are more expensive. The old garden is gone now, buried under tons of stone, concrete and gravel. That is a matter of taste and personally, he says he likes it. agreed solutions. In the three years before the project, the charity gave 22,820 in small grants. The Friends is a registered charity. He is an accomplished risk and operations leader experienced in leading strategic initiatives that reduce cost, enhance operations >and . The new trustees sold part of the land and this left the charity with around 500,000 as a permanent endowment. parts of the United Persons Act 2001, NISW/Isle of Man Government business plan, a robust financial analysis, the Recitals in what was then called Gatefield House grandiose monument to arrogance, a robust analysis! 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