It is often mentioned as one of the stumbling blocks to any airport being built in the Thames Estuary, and this week the SS Richard Montgomery will make a reappearance on the political agenda.

A public meeting on the wreck is being held at the St George’s Centre in Chatham Maritime on Thursday (September 27) at 7pm.

It will be chaired by historian and film maker Colin Harvey, and there will be a panel of guests who will take part in a discussion about the vessel.

Among the issues they will consider are the potential disposal of the wreck, who would pay for it and whether the US government should be approached.

We know the consequences of the ship’s thousands of pounds of munitions exploding would be catastrophic, but the meeting might reveal some new information.

--

Cuts in funding from government put the council in a very difficult position when it comes to balancing the books.

A report this week lays out one of the hard choices the administration might have to make in the near future.

A rise in council tax of 4% in 2013/14 needs to be given “serious consideration” according to a report for a business committee meeting tomorrow (Tuesday).

--

Call off the search party.

Rehman Chishti has proven notoriously hard to get hold of in my time at the paper, but it appears his media operation is being ramped up.

Barry Watts, who used to be the political assistant to the council’s Conservative group, is now working for the Gillingham and Rainham MP.

And since that change my inbox has been bombarded with press releases keeping me fully abreast of what Reh’s getting up to.

I’m half expecting a release about what he’s had for breakfast to come through next.

A decision on changes to transport for children with special needs is close - and we’ve been given a flavour of the thoughts of parents in a report out this week.

The changes include sharing lifts and going to “pick up points” to get to their school.

A decision is due to be made in September.

More than 100 responses have been received from parents as part of the consultation, raising concerns about an extra burden being placed on them and their children being pushed towards independence before they’re ready.

Some of the concerns have arisen out of a misunderstanding of what’s being proposed. Reading the report, it’s easy to see why.

There’s talk of consulting with “stakeholders” and we’re told that Medway is a “pilot for the national SEN and Disabilities Pathfinder programme”.

A bit of plain English wouldn’t go amiss. Too many council reports are littered with jargon and “councilese”.

Councillors will discuss the changes at a meeting of the Children and Young People Overview and Scrutiny Committee tomorrow (Tuesday)

--

When it comes to the airport debate, a favoured line of attack from local Labour politicians is to accuse the Tories of being "two-faced".

The latest deployment of this came in reaction to former defence and foreign secretary Sir Malcom Rifkind backing the idea in the Evening Standard.

But hang on, aren't Labour the party that nearly ripped itself to shreds with infighting in the 1980s before deciding that, actually, it wanted to win an election again?

This is the party that can't decide whether it loves or loathes former leader Tony Blair, who won three elections.

Indeed, one Medway Labour member called him a c*** this past week in reaction to news he was being given an advisory role by the party.

Politicians in the same party have different opinions, it's not breaking news.

---

The biggest Conservative rebellion of the Parliament so far was over House of Lords reform, and one of our MPs was one of the rebels.

Chatham MP Tracey Crouch was one of 91 who voted against the idea on Tuesday. Rehman Chishti didn’t vote and Mark Reckless voted in favour.

It’s the third high profile rebellion from Miss Crouch – after tuition fees and the EU referendum.

Dear Dave,

For around about the past five years, we’ve been wondering if we’re going to have a massive airport plonked on our Towns.

We’ve had to deal with speculation, smoke signals, winks and nods. This month is supposed to be the month we begin to get somewhere with the start of a consultation into the idea.

But yet again there is speculation that the process could be beset with more delays.

There’s talk the consultation could be pushed back until September and the final decision until after the election in 2015.

We want answers and are tired of waiting.

You may want to build a time machine and fast forward to 2015 so you can get rid of those pesky Liberal Democrats, but the people of Medway aren’t very keen on going through three more years of uncertainty.

You’re going to upset people no matter what you decide to, so don’t dither again, bite the bullet and make a decision.

Yours in frustrated anticipation,

Medway

--

QUOTE of the week from MP Mark Reckless: “My interest in airports first came about because, at a time when many boys want to be train drivers, my younger brother had an ambition to be an airport manager.

“Consequently, whenever we went on holiday, my indulgent parents would take us to the airport four or five hours before we needed to be there, and my brother would go around and catalogue the catering outlets and investigate the cleaning rosters.

“I was delighted, a few years later, when he decided that he actually wanted to be a doctor.”

Would our MPs quit the Conservative party and stand at the next election as independents if the government decides to build an airport in the Thames Estuary?

It’s a big hypothetical to consider, but it will have cropped into the minds of many in the Towns following comments from London MP Zac Goldsmith.

The Richmond Park representative said he would do just that if the government decides to carry out another u-turn and plump for a third runway at Heathrow.

Such a move from our trio would be both drastic and daring. It would likely be well received by opponents of the airport in their constituencies.

It would also somewhat neutralise opposition attacks on the issue, which could define Medway’s political direction at the next General Election in 2015.

I admit I’m playing devil’s advocate here, but it’s worth keeping at the back of your mind as the consultation nears its start.

What do you think?

--

It may not be the most pithily titled document in recorded history, but the Council plan 2011/12 Year End Performance Report is an interesting read.

It lists commendable progress in a number of areas in the past year, such as investing in parks and green spaces, looking after at risk children, strengthening leadership in schools and reducing delays at the hospital.

But it appears the Love Medway app, which can be used by residents to report issues such as fly tipping and graffiti, is lagging behind somewhat.

It launched at a cost of £7,000 last March and the agenda for Thursday’s meeting of the Business Support Overview and Scrutiny Committee reveals just 364 non-council staff use it.

There have been more than 8,800 reports but there is no breakdown of how many of these are from members of the public as compared to council staff.

--

Quote of the week from Cllr Tom Mason (Con) talking about improvements to Medway Crematorium: “It’s important and we need to keep our finger on the pulse.”

One of the biggest controversies last year was the Balfour Day Centre being earmarked for closure.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) its future should be temporarily secured under the stewardship of Medway Community Healthcare.

Cabinet members will vote on a proposal to create a "community resource centre" offering health and social care services and support to adults with physical disabilities for a six-month trial period.

This will be of great relief to the people who use the facility, and in a way, the Conservative administration.

When the closure was first mooted in November, it kicked up a lot of controversy.

More than 7,000 people signed petitions against the move, claiming they would have nowhere to go if the centre closed.

Medway Community Healthcare expressed an interest on the last day of the consultation, and now we wait to see if the reprieve is permanent or merely temporary.

--

Also at cabinet, a proposal for a new primary school on the site of the former Chatham South School should be approved.

Officers will then formally notify the Department for Education of the council's plans, and a final plan for the construction of the school is due to be in place by December.

--

Cllr Craig Mackinlay, who represents River Ward in Chatham, will find out this Sunday (June 17), if he will be the Conservative party’s candidate for Kent's first elected Police Commissioner.

The £85,000 a year post involves holding the force to account and setting its budget and priorities.

--

As we reported on Friday, it looks like the Thames Estuary airport consultation will start next month. It's taken as a given that the council, campaigners and MPs will put in a very forceful submission, but will we see any set piece events designed to grab public attention? We've had car stickers and posters, what's next?

The Gills stadium saga could come to a head this week, with the Planning Committee set to grant outline permission to Peel's plans for Chatham Docks.

If that's the case, expect there to be plenty of fallout from this, given the rhetoric that has led up to this point. Gillingham chairman Paul Scally claims this could very well be the end of the club's presence in the Towns.

Chatham Docks is the ideal site for a new stadium and the only other alternative – a site at Mill Hill, off Yokosuka Way - wouldn't work alongside Peel's project, he claims.

However, planning officers have poured some cold water on that.

A stadium at Chatham Docks wasn’t pursued because of "viability reasons" and in a potential lifeline for the club, their report states a supermarket at the Docks wouldn’t necessarily render the Mill Hill dream a dud.

So there’s plenty for the club and the council to chew over.

--

The Towns' MPs had the chance to discuss the Thames Estuary airport with PM David Cameron last Thursday (May 24) but afterwards they didn't seem willing to talk about it.

Mark Reckless' office informed me he wouldn't be doing interviews and calls to Tracey Crouch and Rehman Chishti's office were not returned.

Why? Mr Cameron might not have been able to say anything revelatory, but to not even have a flavour of what was said – "we put our arguments across forcefully", "the discussions were firm and frank", that sort of thing - will lead people to ask questions.

Was the consultation date revealed? Did they not like what they heard?

As ever when it comes to the airport, the people of Medway are left with more questions than answers.

--

The controversy over primary school places will crop up again on Thursday, when councillors discuss building a new academy/free school on the site of Chatham South School.

We've known for a while that a new school would be needed in Chatham, but now we know where.

The plan is to have it open by September 2014.