Kent arrogance, is history about to repeat itself?

Last week the Adscene carried a report that a delegation from KCC with Victoria Pomery would be visiting all six architect firms bidding for the Turner thingy, this week Thanet Times carries a further report telling us that a panel of councillors and officials from the Arts Council and the Tate Gallery will pick one of the six shortlisted designs. I was sure that KCC were going to have some sort of consultation with the public, I assume they still will in the normal fashion, with a fait accompli.

Really it's too much to expect, the sophisticates of, the Arts Council, Tate Gallery, Turner contemporary, KCC, to have to dirty their hands discussing such matters of aesthetics and design of galleries with riff-raff from the planet Thanet. Anyway it would appear that KCC, have learnt little from their previous debacle with the Turner centre for which no adequate apology has been given to the people of Margate. The only concession or recognition that has been made to the previous cock-up is that if it is discussed they now euphemistically call it ' Turner offshore'.

The truth is that this gallery in whatever shape or form it is eventually made up of, is something that Margate cannot do without, literary millions of pounds have been spent by the private sector in conjunction with the previous Turner project and much future investment now hangs in the balance on whether KCC get it right this time. It would appear they've learnt nothing from the previous debacle and once again this project will start by alienating Margate residents with the sheer arrogance people deciding our future who don't live here.

I believe that next week Paul Carter is appearing for one night only at the Theatre Royal in Margate, if Thanet Times is correct this is one topic on which he ought to be challenged. Other areas you could challenge him on are the inadequate road system in out of Thanet, subsidising flights to obscure American towns, and his backing of projects such as Imperial Colleges to ruin the of village of Wye.

Personally given any choice in the matter I would like to see any gallery built to have lots of flashing neon lights and plenty of brightly-coloured Perspex, just so that when these arty types arrive in 2010 they know they're in Margate not London or would that be too iconic. Oh and could we this time, try and build it on the intended site!