Westministenders: The Truth Isn't A Made Up Concept

[RedToothBrush]

“In a time of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

Not George Orwell but often attributed to him. But a powerful statement with resonance nonetheless

Planning portal information for the Cummings family property is interesting.
I'd say Dom's 'cottage' is passed off as a covered swimming pool
classy

Sabrina
Lots of reasons why a residential property on an agricultural holding might not have planning permission - permitted development rules are different for a start.
Nope.
I am far too familiar with that part of planning regs.
Adding to the number of dwellings on an agricultural property is a big no no
and permitted development still has to be registered - and its not on the planning portal (which goes back to 1974)

I have read that speculators have £4.5 billion bet on a no deal brexit and need Johnson/ Cummings in place at the end of June to stop an extension. But I can’t find where I saw this. It was in the last 2 -3 days

But there are classes of development that allows conversion to residential, subject to various conditions. Think the building in question was listed as a pool house and there was an application for re-roofing it?

Plus the building appears to pre-date Cummings senior purchasing the property?

Another reason for planning permission is building control. Although I can't imagine Cummings Snr. in any way shape or form cutting any corners whatsoever in putting up a building intended for human habitation.

That's assuming it wasn't built over a maze of crumbling coal seams.

Meanwhile, speaking of coalfaces, back at the ....

Michel Barnier: UK needs to get real if it wants a Brexit deal

www.politico.eu/article/michel-barnier-uk-needs-to-get-real-if-it-wants-a-brexit-deal-withdrawal-agreement-customs-union-internal-market/

“The British have not understood, or they do not want to understand, that Brexit has consequences for them,” EU chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said in a punchy reaction to recent public statements by his British counterpart David Frost.

Speaking to German radio Deutschlandfunk Friday morning, Barnier demanded “more realism in London in the near future if they want an orderly agreement to withdraw from the single market and the customs union.”

U.K. chief negotiator David Frost told MPs on the House of Commons' Brexit committee Wednesday that Brussels' negotiating mandate would “need to evolve” in order for an agreement to be reached, or else the U.K. would walk away from negotiations.

Barnier said Friday that such changes are “out of question.”

“I would remind you that the United Kingdom is leaving the internal market and the customs union … it’s not us leaving the United Kingdom,” he said. “A third country, the United Kingdom, will not dictate the conditions of access to our market for British goods, services, data or for workers and businesses … We remain sovereign. This is my mandate.”

Speaking about the contentious issue of a so-called level playing field for common environmental, labor or competition rules — paramount for the EU and anathema to the U.K. — Barnier said: “What astonishes me a lot about the British position is that Prime Minister Johnson himself acknowledged [the need for rules of fair competition] in the Political Declaration [on the future relationship] he signed. We negotiated this with him and with David Frost in October, step by step, line by line and comma by comma.”

He added that reaching a deal before the end of the year will be “very difficult, but it is possible.”

But he warned: “We wish to conclude a partnership and balanced agreement with this great, friendly, neighboring and allied country … But that will never be at the expense of the single market, European consumers and European business, as the British are trying to achieve.”

Dominic Cummings is a part owner of the Durham property (land and buildings) so could not pass off responsibility for absent planning or Council Tax to his parents and the other registered owner - ownership researched last August by Observer and Daily Mail in connection with EU farm subsidies paid to the farm owners. EU payments are in the public domaain.

Interesting that Cummings referred to the cottage as not much more than a concrete blockhouse in his Jackanory session. Anticipated this as a potential issue?

Seems like there may be issues with a Coal Board covenant, but getting a bit tenuous.

Seems like there may be issues with a Coal Board covenant, but getting a bit tenuous.

Well if planning permission were needed, and not applied for, who knows what is going on ?

But for anybody else I would expect action to commence to investigate in detail. Either the Family Cummings cough up for retrospective planning permission, plus the unpaid council tax, plus whatever fine is appropriate for breaking the law. Or the thing gets knocked down at their expense.

Alternatively, local speleologists share their thoughts about the existence of tunnels and old mineworkings that might run under the land.

It’s County Durham, there’s lots of shallow coal workings as well as deeper seams across the entire county. You need still need all sorts of permissions if activities are likely to cause disturbance as some (many?) areas are still licensed for extraction.

It’s County Durham, there’s lots of shallow coal workings as well as deeper seams across the entire county. You need still need all sorts of permissions if activities are likely to cause disturbance as some (many?) areas are still licensed for extraction.

The idea that the family Cummings have only got into politics to subsidise their coal mining ventures is too close to absurd to not be true.

We need a new meme of DC with a miners helmet - looking for the truth I imagine.

www.dailymotion.com/video/x2q1ojy

Doubt that any Coal Board covenant would be to do with mineral rights, more likely to do with ensuring structural integrity of any buildings or sales of land with shafts, adits etc.

We've had a lot of problems locally with buildings built for 'agricultural purposes' deliberately to bypass planning law. They are build with the intention of converting them to residential property when they are out of the complusory time period.

It's not something unique to Durham and is a well known loophole in planning.

.

A structure with the same footprint as the supposed Cummings cottage pre-dates Cummings senior's purchase of the property.

Planning application to put a pitched roof with partial timber walls over an existing pool was made in 2001 by Cummings' sister and her then husband, with address given being the same as Cummings' father's address. Would be a big job to convert that into a blockwork cottage, but not impossible.

It's Rabbits out of Hats Time: Jenrick just announced that shielders can go outside starting tomorrow, and far from being grateful like they ought, they are asking,

1. Why Now?
2. Why so sudden?
3. Is it safe?

It's Rabbits out of Hats Time: Jenrick just announced that shielders can go outside starting tomorrow

Whatever ....

I'm sure all the shielders will be rushing out to enjoy the packed parks and newly opened shops...

....and the very fact that "shielders" can may go outside from tomorrow means that all official support for them will stop because "they no longer need it."

There are about 1 million shielded people, which would include very elderly people

How many of them have to work outside the home to keep their job ?
Not that many, in terms of who the govt should be supporting financially

There is no justification to suddenly abandon them financially now, forcing the choice of health vs job.

Quite different to the "merely" vulnerable of whom there are about 15-17 million,
most of whom are anyway young enough to be at low risk even with their less serious health conditions.

I would hope those shielded, who don't have to work, have sufficient self-preservation to stay safe until deaths & cases are a lot lower
and not get guilted into coming out for the "good of the economy" (or to provide childcare)

Shielded teachers, for example, should be supported to provide online / recorded education for shielded children

I thought there were 2.2 million shielded?

I think Jenrick mentioned in the briefing today how many shielders have jobs , some of which are impossible to do at the moment.

Eye spy with my little eye something beginning with 'policy change'.

The most vulnerable were supposed to be shielded until we got to level 1 in the covid alert system.

We are still currently at level 4.

Looking at the govt "Table of Lerts" below:

The UK was at alert level 4 and has just moved down into level 3

However, the most vulnerable going out again would be level 1 - which is says is "only likely with a vaccine"

Other countries in Europe starting reopening schools, all shops etc 4 weeks ago,
but I don't think anywhere has yet withdrawn support from their equivalent of shielded people

I hope the UK govt just means they can choose to go out again

• which of course they could before -

not that financial support etc would be withdrawn