Bath & NES A Family Request Please Help Us!

bath | local government | news report

Wednesday February 13, 2008 12:25

by The Shalom Family Campaign for Social Justice

wwwnoahsark at aol dot com

Chairman's Charity Event Sponsored by Bullies?

Chairman of Bath, Councillor Ian Dewey and North East Somerset Council, played host, at the Bath Guildhall on Saturday 9th February, to an ‘Elegance In The Afternoon’ Champagne Tea - Charity Fashion and Clothes Show. It was sponsored by Bath Western Riverside Project Developers Crest Nicholson. A dad and a few of his daughters had a message to present.

Elegance In The Afternoon Bath Guildhall Guests Invitations

Vince Shalom from Wales and three of his five daughters, Rachel, Rebekah and Jessica, (all immorally evicted by Crest Nicholson from their only Family Home at Cardiff Bay in Wales a few years ago), presented guests arriving at the ‘champagne tea event’, with an invitation of their own.

Painfully aware of the apparent opulence and somewhat pure presentation of this beauty show done in daytime, (some guests did not even know it was being sponsored by Crest Nicholson!) Mr. Shalom and his Family want the Chairman and North East Somerset Council to have a good think about what this company is capable of doing under the cover of night.

Following the Family’s presentation, which undoubtedly had an elegance all of its own, the Family have subsequently written to the Chairman and the North East Somerset Council asking for some help. Serious issues are raised as applied to corporate sponsorship of the Bath & NES Chairman’s nominated Charities, whilst the same council is in dialogue with multimillion pounds redevelopment schemes such as the Crest Nicholson Bath Western Riverside Project.

The Letter is reproduced below.

12th February 2008

Councillor Ian Dewey Chairman &
Bath and North East Somerset Council (Bath & NESC)
Chief Executive's Office
Guildhall
High Street
Bath
BA1 5AW

Faxed To 01225 477062

Dear Chairman Ian Dewey, Bath and North East Somerset Council,

‘Elegance In The Afternoon’ Charity Fashion Show

(The Guildhall Bath 9th February 2008)

Corporate Sponsorship / Re-Crest Nicholson /Right or Wrong?

Please Help Us!

With reference to the above and our most recent telecom received earlier yesterday, via Ms. Ruth Hutchings, we understand that the above event received corporate sponsorship from property developer, Crest Nicholson.

We kindly invite you to see our Family Campaign for Social Justice Website at:-
http://www.mvpicton.co.uk.

We kindly acknowledge that the Chairman has established his preferential charities in the office he occupies - including, but not limited to, Age Concern – (Bath & North East Somerset), The Quartet Community Foundation – (Bath and North East Somerset), Dorothy House Hospice, Bath Royal United Hospital Forever Friends NICU Appeal, Bath Branch of the Motor Neurone Disease Association (Bath), and The Peggy Dodd Centre (Supporting people with Alzheimer's,).

We also kindly acknowledge that Chairman Mr. Ian Dewey is a Member of the Avon and Somerset Police Authority and is Chairman of their Human Resources Committee. That he also represents the Authority on the Somerset County Council Pensions Fund and sits on the Association of Police Authorities HR Policy Group. We note that he is also currently Vice Chairman of the Avon and Somerset Police Authority.

We generally accept that Bath and NESC, as other councils around the length and breadth of the United Kingdom, (including the Vale of Glamorgan Council - in respect to the Crest Nicholson ‘Penarth Heights’ Regeneration scheme) may, ‘have to work with’, corporate developers in some shape or form.

We appreciate that, at times, Bath & NESC may have a difficult task in having to work with corporate developer Crest Nicholson. We are also aware that sometimes, decisions reached by the council, may appear to be made in conflict with the local community. It has come to our attention that Crest Nicholson and the Council is in some form of partnership agreement within the ‘Crest Nicholson Bath Western Riverside Development’ and other areas.

Upon reflection of our present situation, you may believe that what Crest Nicholson did to us was either, ‘right’ or ‘wrong’. You may say, so what? What’s that got to do with you? Please! We kindly invite you not to dismiss or diminish the severity of this company’s most disgusting, degrading, filthy, dirty, immoral actions against our Family, our five daughters and our houseboat home of 14 years. From their initial causing a night time grounding ‘accident’ to our home at Penarth Marina in Cardiff Bay, to the eventual 3 am, middle-of-the-night seizure, of our home and everything we owned, (including our children’s 7 pet goldfish) the company did something most distasteful. Our Home of 14 years was removed to the banks of the River Avon in England, smashed up, and yet still we have had none of our personal possessions returned. We believe it is immoral.

We accept that before bringing this disgraceful matter to your attention, the Chairman, the charity beneficiaries and the council in general, may well have been delighted to receive the benefits of corporate sponsorship from Crest Nicholson. We now hope that you will give this matter some serious thought.

We kindly make the following invitation to the Chairman and council. Please help us! Please reconsider your acceptance, and/or association of corporate sponsorship, (in any form from Crest Nicholson), even as it relates to ‘charity events’, since what is part of this company’s history, is indeed an act of bullying and violence against the smallest of communities. Ours! We believe that the Chairman and council should not be seen to be condoning this kind of anti-social behaviour, in any way whatsoever.

However, if you should feel that it is absolutely necessary, or in some way you find you are morally obliged to continue with your acceptance of Crest Nicholson sponsorship, we would be very grateful if you would also kindly bring this matter to the attention of Mr. David Shearer, Chairman, or Mr. Stephen Stone, Chief Executive Officer of The Crest Nicholson Group. Perhaps you would be so kind as to urge them to reconsider our Family Appeals for Social Justice previously presented to their company.

They can be contacted at their Head Office at Crest House, Pyrcroft Road, Chertsey, Surrey, England, KT16 9GN Telephone: 01932 580555. Please be assured that both gentlemen have been long informed of our Family Campaign for Social Justice.

Finally, whilst we may accept that the Chairman is unable to use his position to influence or become involved in Council business and matters of a political nature, it can not escape our attention, that in our ‘civilised society’, any relationships formed between such corporate entities, the Chairman, and/or council, should be well above and beyond reproach.

We simply believe that being humanitarian about this matter does not preclude any chairman or councillor from serving correctly, the office, or the public, they endeavour to serve. Please help our Family.

We kindly request a response and look forward to your reply and/or that of the Bath and North East Somerset Council in due course. Thank you.

With kind regards,

Yours sincerely,

Vince and Marie Louise Shalom

With our children, Hannah, Naomi, Rachel, Rebekah, Jessica

Formerly of the Houseboat M V Picton Penarth Marina Cardiff Bay Wales
A safe and satisfactory Family Home for 14 Years

c.c.

Bath NESC Councillors & Open Publishing

Links: Bath & Western Riverside Project Crest Nicholson http://www.bathwesternriverside.co.uk/