Local Plan: Herne Bay's 'Usual Suspects' call for Plan B

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There may not be any violence, drugs or crime, but Herne Bay's Usual Suspects are still hoping for an explosive impact.

The group of campaigners have stepped forward to produce their own proposals for the future of the town, claiming the council's draft Local Plan would prove as disastrous as the failed heist in the Oscar-winning film.

They came up with the name after councillors complained they always heard from the "usual suspects" and instead wanted to encourage as many people as possible to have their say on the council's vision for development over the next 20 years.

The original six – Dylan Hampshire, Jason Hollingsworth, Andy Lawrence, Phil Rose, Graham Cooper and Ros McIntyre – have already been joined by others who fear the council's draft Local Plan would mean Herne Bay residents would depend on the city for jobs and shops.

It includes proposals for five new housing estates, with thousands of new homes. Phil Rose, who is also involved with the Friends of the Downs and runs website Herne Bay Matters, said:

"The plan's mad. It's just houses, houses, houses with no thought for where all these people will work, shop, educate their kids, or spend their leisure time.  Worse, Herne Bay is being used as a cash cow to pay for improvements elsewhere.

We can't let this happen.  We think that a Local Plan should be by and for local people – the Local Plan needs to listen to local voices."

He said it was vital more residents had their say and got involved, and hopes the Usual Suspects theme will encourage them. Mr Rose added:

"We thought we would have some fun with the idea in the hope of encouraging others who care about the town to stand up for its future now.  The vast majority of residents have no idea what Canterbury City Council is planning for us."

The group is also concerned that the schemes put forward by the council would force people to Canterbury because of the lack of vision for Herne Bay's town centre. Mattress-maker Dylan Hampshire, of Cockett's Mattresses, said:

"This Local Plan will stop Herne Bay from having new major food retail outlets outside that area. We won't get Sainsbury's or Tesco if this plan goes through.  So where are we supposed to shop? Canterbury! Part of the money earned from houses built in Herne Bay will be spent on a new crossing in Sturry.  Canterbury will get new shops too. The idea is clearly that we're supposed to drive to shop in Canterbury, leaving our town without retail income."

The group say job creation should be included, as well as a new secondary school for the town, and say the two doctors' surgeries planned will not be enough to cope with the thousands of extra residents. Ros McIntyre added:

"We urged Canterbury not to build on greenfield sites, but all the major housing developments are on greenfield sites – five in Herne Bay alone.  The implications are huge. These five estates will have 2,990 new houses. If Herne Bay gets its share of the usual smaller developments on top of this, we'll end up with more than 4,600 new homes. There'll be more than 15,000 more people living here – that's a 40 per cent increase on our population of 38,000."

Council spokesman Rob Davies said the draft Local Plan was out for public consultation until August 30. He added:

"We look forward to hearing the alternative proposals for Herne Bay from this group in due course."

For more information on the alternative plan, e-mail LocalPlanLocalVoice@gmail.com or visit the Speciality Food Shop in Mortimer Street.

HB Times 4th Jul 2013

Pier flagpole under threat

The flagpole by the Bandstand being demolished.

12th Jan 2013

Plans to remove the flagpole at the front of the pier could be rushed through to save money, say opposition groups.

On Monday the council's regeneration group will discuss getting rid of the rarely-used mast near the pier entrance and transforming the area into an events space. Although the group has no decision-making power, it may recommend the plans to the executive if it considers them viable.

Councillors looking to minimise cost want the proposals pushed ahead while construction firms are still working on the seafront. They argue that redeveloping the flagpole would replace the space lost when the beach hut village and crazy golf course open on the pier.

Yet there are fears the plans could be approved without consulting residents to meet deadlines of construction firms. Another flagpole by the bandstand was taken down in January because the council said it had "decayed beyond repair" and would cost £32,000 to replace.

Cllr Ron Flaherty

Lib Dem Cllr Ron Flaherty said:

"I'm not happy about it. It is vandalism of a piece of heritage on the seafront as far as I'm concerned. At the moment, the demographic of the town is mainly over-55s. Elderly people, particularly, like to sit there in the summer months facing the sun and looking at the gardens. Will the gardens and seating have to be taken up as well? I am not convinced by this. I wouldn't like to see the executive rubber stamp this one without residents' consultation about it." 

Geoff Wimble

Also opposing the idea is former town partner Geoff Wimble of events organisation Herne Bay Group Community Projects Ltd. Mr Wimble, 65, of Sea Street, said:

"Where the flagpole stands is a lovely garden. Is this some kind of forward planning to develop something on the pier? They have destroyed one lot of gardens this year where they have built the playground. That won't grow back this year. Talk of taking the flagpole down is barmy. At the moment there are beautiful gardens. The seafront has got notoriety for its gardens. Why destroy more?"

Council spokesman Rob Davies said:

"There has been a proposal to remove the flag pole near the pier entrance, which is rarely used, to create an events space to complement other activities proposed for the pier. This idea would allow events to be staged at that end of the seafront, because currently these activities all take place by the clock tower. Two new flagpoles are also planned to go on the pier itself." 

Cllr Peter Lee

The idea to remove the flagpole was first floated at a meeting  of councillors on the regeneration committee some months ago. Cllr Peter Lee, who sits on the regeneration committee, said:

"If we have development on the pier, with the beach huts and a crazy golf course, it means we will have lost area to host events.  We have events near the clock tower and some businesses have said they could do with events at their end of the seafront, so we thought why not look at removing the flagpole and creating extra open space there.  We have a contractor working on the seafront at the moment and while someone is in place with equipment and man power, this would be an ideal time to do it."

It is thought councillors have investigated moving the flagpole to the site where the one at the bandstand used to sit but have been told it will be too fragile and old to survive.

HB Gazette 20th June 2013

Dolcie's shut by environmental health officer

Dolcie's

Council officers swoop on store

A shopkeeper was forced to use public toilets for more than three months because of the condition of the rear of the shop she rented. Dolcie Harvey, who runs Dolcie's in William Street, had to shut up shop and bring in her rails of stock every time she wanted to spend a penny.

It meant she lost custom, and then incurred more expense when her stock room suffered damp and customers were put off by the smell.

It was eventually forced to close by Canterbury City Council officers last week, as Dolcie opened the doors to her new shop, just down the road in William Street, opposite Roger's Menswear. She said:

"It has been an absolute nightmare. We have had to pay for storage, and for moving, and we are still battling to get our deposit back. Our solicitor advised us to leave because the building was so bad. We hadn't been able to use the toilets since February after the council saw what they were like and now the whole shop is unsafe."

The building's problems are thought to be due to the flat-roofed extension, which frequently let water in. It was propped up with a metal support after it started bowing, but environmental health officer Nick Mayne found it was at risk of collapsing.

He issued a prohibition notice on Dolcie Harvey and her landlord Tony Gedge after inspecting the property in William Street last week. It means until the building is made safe, no work can take place and it cannot be open to the public. Dolcie said:

"He locked the door to the back of the shop and banned anyone from going in there. It is a relief that others recognise how bad it was. I couldn't put a price on how much stock we have lost, plus the storage costs and the customers who were put off by the smell of damp. But our new shop is much nicer – it is clean and it doesn't smell, for a start!"

Landlord Tony Gedge, of KTV services, who owns the shop, did not want to comment. Council spokesman Rob Davies added:

"Officers from the council's environmental health, planning enforcement and building control departments have been working with the building's owners and tenants to maintain public safety."

thisiskent 10th May 2013

Mammoth find in little Herne Bay

A pair of woolly mammoth tusks have been discovered off the shores of Herne Bay. Lobster fisherman Barry Mount was trawling the coast last Thursday when he found the prehistoric fossils.

He said he spotted the rare artefacts after "a negative tidal surge" exposed a lesser-seen part of the beach. Mr Mount said:

"In my lifetime, the tide has only gone out that far about three times. It exposed grounds that hadn’t been exposed for a few years, which is when I saw the tusks."

The fossils, which were passed to Canterbury City Council, are currently being kept in tanks of water to prevent them from drying out. Council spokesman Rob Davies said:

"Two tusks were found offshore in Herne Bay last Thursday on an exceptionally low tide. Formal identification of them has yet to take place and no decision has been taken yet about what happens next.

One option could be to display them at Herne Bay Museum, but we need to establish how we would do that and the costs involved of conservation. It has not been long since their discovery and we will be in a position to provide more information in the weeks to come."

thisiskent 20th Feb 201

Serco retains £40m contract to empty bins in Canterbury

SERCO has retained the £40 million contract to empty the bins of Whitstable, Herne Bay and Canterbury. The city council announced the decision on Tuesday.

It followed a controversial three-way pitch where councillors were forbidden to know which firm was bidding. Among them was Veolia which attracted many protests because of its connections with Israel. The new contract starts on April 1.

Councillors made the decision based on price and quality but could not release details until a ten-day "standstill" period to allow failed bidders the chance to appeal.

The new contract will include fortnightly doorstep collections of glass for the first time and a return to weekly collections of food waste.

Serco was Bidder 2 and came in with the lowest price of £39,289,911. The most expensive was almost £45.5 million. Decisions on the type and size of wheelie bins or boxes will now take place.

Head of Neighbourhood Services Larissa Laing said:

"All three companies put in very competent bids. We would like to thank the two unsuccessful companies for their interest. This is one of our most high profile contracts providing essential services to residents. The tender process has allowed us to create a high quality service while achieving excellent value for money for taxpayers. We now have a lot of work to do on getting the new waste collection system ready."

Council spokesman Rob Davies said:

"The tender was based on a price to quality ratio of 60 per cent/40 per cent. While we understand the concerns that were raised, we have been clear throughout this process that allegations about Veolia's activities in Palestine could not be a factor in determining who won the contract."

Other contracts still to be awarded include grounds maintenance, public toilets, building maintenance and office cleaning. Serco continues to hold the contract for these until the end of March. But councillors have taken the decision to split them into four smaller contracts from April 1.

Canterbury Times