Coatham Protest

DVD APPEAL BY CRAIG HORNBY/ PANCRACK.TV...

The final cut of the film "Coatham a common concern", has been put together over the last 2 years with Pancrack funds and public donations. The campaign group and myself have worked for free because we believe the publichave A RIGHT TO KNOW THE TRUTH BEING DENIED THEM. This is about democracy in ourborough and stopping the misuse of public funds as much as it is about preservingpublic land; getting a real leisure scheme and a better deal for Redcar.

PLEASE HELP US SPREAD THE WORD ! We need £3,000 urgently so that we can get 10,000 dvds made to distribute across the borough. This will help us massively to inform the public and wider world of the true facts. If you can help us, please go to my website andmake a donation online via paypal or card (secure server). It's very simple to follow:http://www.pancrack.tv/news.html

EVERYONE WHO DONATES £10 OR MORE WILL GET A DVD SENT TO THEM! If we don't raise enough for 10,000 then we will do a smaller run, either way every penny will get spent on promoting the film. Many Thanks to all who have donated so far ! Craig Hornby - craig@pancrack.tv And please watch the Trailer Below:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWrtaGI1x6c Thank you.

A post script from me...Despite the council and our scrounging MP Vera Baird claiming that this film is dispicable, full of lies and libellous, no legal action has been taken against the people who made it, or to stop it being shown and it has now been seen by close to a thousand people in venues all over the borough?

Looking at the posting below, I am so glad that we have fought this most rotten of developments. All along we said that this scheme was never going to deliver any of the things that the council were misleading people into thinking that they were going to get. All along we said that the only way to have a baths was to borrow the money. All along we said that the main motivation of this scheme was the housing not the leisure element because there never has been any real hope of any leisure element.

All of these things. despite our names being dragged through the mud for having the courage to dare to point out the truth to people, are now happening. All of the leisure facilities that this council touted in order to sell the housing elemant to the public, are no longer part of the scheme. The only leisure element of the scheme is the pool and leisure centre which as we said, is going to be paid for with public money not through outside funding being attracted as a result of the houses being built. And as is now clear for all to see because there is no leisure scheme anymore and because what we are getting the public are paying for, the main motivation for this scheme is, for some reason, 359 Persimmon Homes.

Never have I felt more proud of all of the people and myself, who have fought this disaster being inflicted on our town. Never more have I felt vindicated and justified for dedicating five years of my life to exposing the truth that has always been there to see.

I urge every last person to do all that they can to stop this scheme so that Redcar can get the scheme that it deserves. Not the one that the council and their preferred developer are trying to inflict upon it. It is officially offering even less now then when Vera Baird made her statements on radio calling it a disaster and saying that a baths isn't a big enough pay back for all of the houses being built on our coastline. It isn't just a baths anymore Vera, Its a baths being paid for with borrowed money that the public will have to pay back through increased council tax.

That was something that you said you could never support. SO WHY ARE YOU?

Oh dear, here is the councils latest statement about Coatham. If you look at the statements they made about Coatham in May this year, just 8 weeks ago, compared with what they are saying now, you will see that yet again they differ.
http://www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/main.nsf/Web+Full+List/5AFE0AC58A838FD8802575E500393F58?OpenDocument

They are now finally admitting that the, at the last estimate £14,000,000 visitor centre, is now no longer a part of the scheme as it is being replaced with a £4,500,000 youth centre. What they aren't telling people is that this youth centre isn't, nor ever has been, a part of the Coatham scheme. It hasn't been before any planning committee, there has been no public consultation about it and most of all, they aren't telling people that this youth centre according to newspaper reports last year, will also contain a drugs counselling centre.

The Visitor Centre in the Coatham scheme was the most important element of the scheme. It was the main ingredient that was going to make this scheme a visitor attraction of regional importance. How on earth can a youth centre and drugs counselling centre be of regional importance? How is it going to attract visitors to our town? But the reality is that because of our persistance the council have finally, officially, had to admit the truth, the truth that we have been telling for nearly three years, that the Visitor Centre is now gone from the scheme. But this now throws up still more questions.

Firstly Colin Moore and Vera Moody stated way back in 2006, in the press, that funding for all the leisure had been secured. With the visitor centre now no longer officially part of the scheme, we know that this was definitely A LIE.

Secondly Council Officer Alan Logan. despite telling a magistrates court in March 2007 that the Visitor Centre was not going to happen, then told a High Court and a High Court of appeal in his statement later in 2007 and then again in 2008, that the Visitor Centre was going to happen and was part of the scheme? After this latest statement we now know that Alan Logans statement to the High court and court of appeal that the Visitor Centre was going ahead, was definitely A LIE.

Thirdly, Chris Abbott and Glynn Nightingale, at a full council meeting, told everyone there that the Visitor Centre was definitely going ahead. We now know that this was definitely A LIE.

Then in the the councils latest statement they tell us that we will get Improvements to the existing Mungle Junle premises and development of extreme sports.
Just improvements to the Mungle Jungle? This is a new one and a clear indication, along with the development of Extreme Sports, that there is no money for Extreme Sports, there never has been despite what the council have fed us and more than this, there never will be. The word development is used to give the impression that its still going to happen. A bit like when Alan Logan told the High Court and Court of Appeal that the visitor centre was still going to happen.
How can this eyesore be improved by doing anything other than flattening it? Infact, I would like to know if public money is being used to carry out these "improvements" on a privately owned business? Once again though, "improvements" to this eyesore with a white asbestos roof, is a far cry from an Extreme sports centre that they are still desperately trying to make people believe will happen, but you only have to look at the facts to know that it never will.

The MP stated that an Extreme Sports centre will never happen even if they gave the owners of the Mungle Jungle a thousand and twenty five year lease, not just a 125 year lease that they have already. This white elephant attracted no interest an no funding publicly or privately, when things were booming in this country and even with planning permission, so how on earth are they going to attract funding now that the country is in recession? Exactly! They aren't.

Then it says " D2 Leisure - to be determined ". To be determined? The D2 leisure site was supposed to be the bingo hall, the bingo hall that they claimed they had funding for. Now they are telling us that they still haven't determined what this is going to be? They had better get a move on if they hope to start work in a few months don't you think?

Even more laughable is they are still trying to make the public believe that the Health Village ( aka doctors surgery to you and me ) is still going to happen. But if you look at the letter from the PCT themselves on this site, posted on the 18th May I think, you will see that the PCT themselves have stated that they are looking for new sites for this doctors surgey and so as such, it is highly unlikely that the doctors surgery will be part of the scheme either. Not that anyone would regard a doctors surgery as a tourist attraction or a visitor destination anyway.

These people are absolutely on the ropes with this whole farcical situation. They have told so many lies to cover lies that they have already told, that their lies and their contradictions would be easy for a four year old to spot and pull apart, let alone educated adults who have been following the lack of progress of this scheme from the start. There is no leisure scheme anymore there never has been. Vera Baird has already said this on Radio. All of the things that our group have been saying for five years, all of the things that we have been smeared for saying, have all come to pass. It is just a housing estate built on our coastline with a baths paid for with public money.
The Single Screen Cinema, the Bowling Alley, the bingo hall, the Extreme Sports Centre, the open air performance area, the parade of shops, the iconic tower and most of all, the visitor centre were never going to happen and have all gone.

This council, backed up by Vera Baird, have lied outrageously. They are continuing to lie outrageously. They are lying every time they open their mouths about this subject or anything connected to it. You only have to look at the last posting that I made on this site, where we exposed their public statement about the police etc investigating corruption within the council to be an absolute lie, to know this to be the case.

You must all ask yourselves this. If everything about this scheme was above board, If this scheme was so great, so fantastic for this town, so regenerative, then it would stand on its own. The council wouldn't have to lie about it so blatantly.

So why are they?