Beauty spot reopens – in pictures

Friday 10th April 2009, 1:20PM BST.

A ribbon cutting in Ellesmere is interrupted as protester Ken Dakin presents a cup of squid to mayor of Ellesmere Geoff Elner. Pictures by Alex Taylor

The ribbon cutting in Ellesmere is interrupted as protester Ken Dakin presents a cup of squid to mayor of Ellesmere Geoff Elner. Pictures by Alex Taylor

A lone protester hijacked the unveiling of a £2 million revamp of a Shropshire beauty spot.

Ken Dakin, of Ellesmere, dished out leaflets claiming mismanagement of a lottery-funded project at the town’s Mere.

Mr Dakin made the accusations against Shropshire Council and Ellesmere Town Council

Carrying a poster saying “what, no food?”, he was attempting to highlight the plight of former Boathouse restaurant operator Charles Roberts whose business will be replaced by a new food outlet run by the council.

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  1. 1
    Christine Kirk

    So why was this “gentleman” with the cup o’ squid be given all this publicity? I thought I would be looking at photos of the new & improved area (that I’ll be visiting in September.) I’m just a bit puzzled at this article not being what I thought it would be!

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  2. 2
    ken dakin

    Hello Christine,
    If you were aware that 18 months ago there was a thriving restaurant run by Mr Charles Roberts (who has won the re-tendering process for re-opening it) and yet had to withdraw because of grant expiration due to Council incompetence, you would understand the outrage felt by many of his customers.

    Why you had to put gentleman in quotation marks suggests you may have some problems with the democratic process or are simply being rude?

    I was only the sole protestor because:-

    1. The Council changed the date at the last minute to avoid a larger protest

    2. They told other protestors to go away because it was a private opening on private property and denied entry to all except council staff and photographers.

    3. Certain elected council members have been illegally asking shop proprietors to remove petitions and notices from their premises and also making slanderous remarks about Mr. Roberts to discredit him.

    The Council also needlessly destroyed 5 ancient YEW trees for a somewhat pathetic reason and this needs bringing to public attention

    I hope you now understand a little better and will join the next (momentous) protest yourself at the official opening in July.

    Do you have any connections with any Council members perhaps?

    Needless to say I have received nothing but enthusiastic support for my protest from the people of Ellesmere who have watched the Council make an incredible mess of the project from day 1.

    Regards
    Ken Dakin

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