Torbay's Wreck the World organisation bid £3.5m for the Ark Royal to sink it off Torbay to create an artificial reef. The work to prepare the ship for sinking would have brought much needed work to a shipyard in the South West. Once that work had been done it would have been a much needed addition to our tourist industry. Not just diving schools taking people out to dive on the new reef but boat owners, hotels, catering and much more. Similar enterprises elsewhere in the world have always been successful. Even wildlife in the sea would benefit. Just look at pictures of the Titanic. This was a win win situation. Even the government would have got 3 and a half million quid out of the deal.
So what have the wise(sic) people in government done with the Ark Royal? Sold it to someone in Turkey for 3 million quid? That's half a million quid less then the Torbay group bid. Now all the people who will get employment from the scrapping of this ship live in Turkey and not Torquay and once they have finished cutting it up all benefits will be over instead of lasting for generations in Torbay. Has anyone got the slightest idea why stupid people all seem to end up working for the government?
Either someone has got a backhander or, more likely, someone in Whitehall hates Torbay.
4 comments:
Hasn't your local LibDem MP very recently been in the headlines for non-too complimentary remarks regarding senior official(s) in the coalition?
Politics is a strange game. Maybe, just maybe, this is a form of rebuke from high level for if the facts are as you relate (and I have no reason to doubt them may I hasten to add!) the government have some explaining to do as to why they accepted the cheaper bid. It does not seem like good value for the taxpayer.
It would be very surprising if this was a big slap-down from Whitehall on anything Adrian Sanders has said - my understanding is that he is very respected as a long-standing MP.
Besides that, all is not lost. I seem to remember Wreck the World saying they have a plan B in bidding for a smaller frigate vessel.
In Whitehall they think Torquay means Turkey. None of the tossers have ever visited as they don't ever venture further west than Godalming.
I agree with the above comment . i find this funny though lol
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