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Council fights bid to turn Downs into Village Green

Canterbury council bosses were this week racking up a huge legal bill battling to keep control of picturesque land in Herne Bay. A five-day public inquiry to stop the Downs being granted Village Green status opened on Monday 28th November, with top London barrister Richard Ground fighting the city council’s corner against local campaigner Phil Rose.

Mr Rose wants the mile-long stretch between the Kings Hall and Bishopstone Glen to be made a Village Green – taking its control out of council hands and protecting it from development. He made the application in September 2009 after plans surfaced to build beach huts on the eastern side of the site.

The council refused to support the bid, but independent inspector Lana Wood will rule on the case after the inquiry ends on Friday. It is expected complicated legal issues about what the land is actually owned for will play a huge part in her decision.

Mr Rose has collected more than 1,000 questionnaires from people backing his fight, making it the most strongly-supported application for a Village Green ever made in England and Wales. To qualify for the status, land must have been used by locals for “lawful sports and pastimes” for at least 20 years.

Mr Rose told the inquiry those who answered questionnaires had used the land for as long as 86 years. He also listed more than 70 sports and pastimes the land is used for, including dog walking, football, sledding, sunbathing and bagpipe playing. He said:

“We have met every single one of the tests required to register the application land as a Village Green.”

Barrister Mr Ground said most of the Downs has been owned by the city council or previous public authorities since the Second World War – large parts for longer. He added the council had no intention of developing the land or stopping anyone from using it for recreational purposes.

HB Gazette 1st Dec 2011 joewalker@thekmgroup.co.uk

Council refuses to back village green status bid

A campaign group will not have the backing of the council in its efforts to have The Downs in Herne Bay certified as a village green.

The Save Our Downs group has been urging the council to support the application, which if successful would mean that the area would be open to the public for free forever and that any development which takes place would have to be in the interests of the public.

A public inquiry is due to take place at the end of November to determine whether the 72-acre seafront area will be designated a village green. Kent County Council is the registration authority which will decide The Downs' fate, but Canterbury City Council owns the land and will not be backing village green status.

Members of the council's ruling executive met last Thursday and rejected the idea of turning The Downs into a village green. A report before them stated:

"If the land becomes a town/ village green then, whilst the inhabitants of Herne Bay may have special rights over it, the rights of the council and public in general are diminished. Herne Bay is a seaside resort. The council manages this land not only for the benefit of residents but also for the visitors the town seeks to attract. The interests of the two groups may often coincide, but sometimes they will not."

Peter Lee, the council's member for finance and the councillor for West Bay, spoke against village green status for The Downs. He said:

"It's important that this land is retained for the whole community. It's up to us to make sure that this area is available to the general public in perpetuity."

And council leader John Gilbey added:

"This application is wrong and should never have been put in the first place."

The week-long public inquiry into the village green application starts at St Andrew's Church Hall, Hampton Pier Avenue, on at 10am on Monday, November 28. It will continue at St Andrew's on Tuesday before moving to Christ Church in William Street for the Wednesday, Thursday and Friday of that week.

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Phil Rose is the applicant for village green status and a founder member of Save Our Downs. He believes the reason for the Council's rejection of the application is largely financial.

Part-quoting the Council's report during his speech to the Executive on 13th October, he said:

"If the Downs get village green status the Council will be unable to 'lease the land, offer a concession, charge for use, and build on it'. Herne Bay residents have long suspected that this kind of asset-stripping was the real reason for the Council's objection."

Mr Rose added:

"Village green status has not and will not stop you doing coast defence work. It will not stop visitors from enjoying The Downs. Village green status is what residents and tax payers want."

HB Gazette 20th Oct 2011 aclaridge@thekmgroup.co.uk

Kitewood Hillborough Extension: expert opinions

Those nice people at Protect Kent have given us the benefit of their wisdom...

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Stand against the new homes

In a time of climate change and food security issues one has to wonder what kind of organisation would submit a proposal to build 700 houses on grade 2 agricultural land. Yet this is exactly what a developer is planning to do on a 77-hectare site at Hillborough, just outside Reculver (“Developer's anger over MP's criticism" Times, September 15).

The developer has had the site included in Canterbury Clty Council's Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments and is now attempting to push it quietly into the district's Local Plan.

Once included in the Local Plan, the chances are heavily in favour of planning permission being granted. There are many reasons to fight this development. As mentioned it will take place on agricultural land which will be a valuable resource in the future.

Equally as important is the lack of current infrastructure and the fact that detailed plans on how services such as schools, hospitals and the police will expand has yet to be addressed. The inadequate sewage infrastructure is likely to be costly and difficult to upgrade and the transport infrastructure would need to be radically altered to deal with the increase in traffic that 700 new homes would create.

It is incredibly worrying that in times of rising food prices and a growing UK population we would even consider building on grade 2 agricultural land. If we are to develop Kent in a truly sustainable way then these proposals must immediately be ruled out.

We held an excellent and well-attended public meeting on September 26 to discuss the issue with residents who were unanimous in their opposition to the development and showed real passion for the protection of their beautiful countryside.

Jamie Weir (CPRE Protect Kent), Ashford Road, Charing: HB Times 6th Oct 2011

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Farming land should be safe from development

Plans have been published by builders to cover 77 hectares of Grade two agricultural land at Hillborough with residential development over the next 15 years.

The land has been continuously farmed for very many years. The builders have already persuaded the city council to include the land for potential housing in the draft Local Development Framework. As everyone is aware, the price of our food, the most basic necessity of all, has greatly increased over the last two years, mainly due to over-reliance on imported food, and lack of support for the retention of valuable agricultural land, to provide food security for Kent and the UK now and in the future, when the cost of imported food will rise still higher and our population increases.

PROTECT KENT has been urging local authorities to refuse planning applications for development of agricultural land in order that Kent can produce more local food, both to its own, and to national, advantage.

Kent used to be known as the Garden of England, but this already misleading description will be further diminished if the city council’s suggested use of farmland for development goes ahead. There seems to be a general consensus that we should be consuming as much home-produced food as we can, but at the rate our farmland is being diverted into the pockets of developers, this ambition will not be realised.

We held a recent meeting for the residents of Hillborough and Heme Bay. Not one person who attended was in favour of any development of the land, nor could anyone see a reason to build houses save for speculation.

It will now be many months before the council produces an amended local plan, but hopefully, although the consultation period has passed, it will still be possible for comments to be considered.

We ask that everyone with an interest in retaining our vital farmland should write to the council and ask that the plan should state that there will be a presumption against all proposals for development of agricultural land involving changes of use.

Barrie Gore, chairman Canterbury district, PROTECT KENT (CPRE Kent), Ashford Road, Charing. HB Gazette 6th Oct 2011

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Visit www.SaveHillborough.info for more

Village Green: how you can help

Two years ago, I applied to Kent County Council to register the Downs as a Village Green. In November this year, Kent County Council will be holding a public inquiry to decide whether to register the Downs as a Village Green.

If we’re successful, Canterbury City Council will have to continue maintain the Downs, but they won’t be able to sell the land, build on it, or use some of it for car parking as was suggested for the King’s Hall end.

Village Green status will protect the Downs as an open space for Herne Bay people to use for freely and free of charge forever… just as we use it today.

To succeed in persuading Kent Council to register the Downs as a Village Green, we need people like you to come along to the public inquiry to tell the independent inspector about the use you make of the Downs.

Can you help us?

The Public Inquiry will run from Monday 28^th November until Friday 2^nd December, and will start with hearing evidence from people, like you, who have used the Downs. The 28^th and 29^th of November have been set aside for hearing evidence, although we may need longer if lots of people want to have their say. We would like to hear about:

• how long you have been using the Downs;
• what use you may have made of it in the past, particularly if your use of the Downs has changed over the years;
• how frequently you use, or have used, the Downs.

The idea is that the inquiry will be pretty informal. You can bring along with you anyone you like. Indeed, if you know anyone else who would like to talk at the inquiry about how they use the Downs, do let us know!

Your “slot” should last a maximum of 30 minutes. We would need you to be there a bit before you’re due to speak, simply because some people may take less time to have their say than we had imagined and so we might need you to do your bit before the time we originally had booked you for.

We particularly need to hear from people who use the eastern half (i.e. the half nearest Reculver) as Canterbury Council is claiming that people don’t use this end of the Downs.

If you can help us, we can help you to write a short statement that you can read out at the hearing in November. We need to get the statements completed by late October.

Please help us if you possibly can. Despite the fact that we produced 1,181 questionnaires proving that local people have used the Downs for over twenty years, Canterbury is challenging this and is insisting that we produce people at the inquiry to testify that they actually use the Downs.

Without a convincing number of local people willing to come along and do that, we won’t be able to register the Downs as a Village Green, and Canterbury will be free to do whatever it likes with our land.

If you can help, do let me know by:

• emailing me on SaveOurDowns@gmail.com
• or phoning me on 07970 405678 or 01227 365942
• or writing to me at Phil Rose, 56 Beacon Hill, Herne Bay, Kent CT6 6JN.

Thank you in advance. We’re now in the home straight of a process that we started over two years ago. Please help us with this last bit if you can!

The Friends' Fête and the Council's greed

Oh look, here's another good thing that Our Council seems to be hell-bent on stamping out. Like the recent bus rally (but much more worthy) it doesn't take many brain cells to figure out that the hospital fête is a good thing that deserves encouragement and support, not fleecing. CCC are happy to fritter £17,000 of our money on new ceremonial robes for the Lord Mayor (which will benefit how many people, and how?) but insist on chiselling £400 from the Friends of QVMH (which benefits how many people, and how?).

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Street advert grounded by red tape

How much does it cost to put up a banner? Council bean-counters wanted £400 from hospital fundraisers to erect one over the High Street advertising their annual summer fete next Saturday. Organisers were stunned to be told of the cost - up from £200 last year and £120 the year before - and decided to scrap the aerial advertising and use the money to help patients instead. But Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital League of Friends spokeswoman Sandy Winkworth said it was a bitter blow to the hard-working team of volunteers.

"It is a disappointment. We just can't justify that sort of cost, particularly as we'd have to pay to alter the banner to this year's date as Well. Every penny We raise goes towards the hospital and the patients and keeping it as a service for Herne Bay. It's a shame that we can't get more support from the council."

The shock estimate came just weeks after bureaucrats tried to charge volunteer organisers of the Herne Bay Bus Rally £850 in compensation for the car parking spaces they would take up. After negotiation, they agreed to accept £200 instead. Mrs Winkworth added:

"It does seem unfair when all these events are organised by volunteers for charity. If the cost had increased by 10 or 20 per cent on last year we would probably have paid it. But when we raise between £6,000 and £7,000 it is a big percentage of the fundraising and it seems a waste. We have to try and get posters around town instead but people just don't look at them. The sad thing is that the banner really worked by reminding people of the fete and the date."

Council spokesman Steve James said the cost included a £50 admin charge. He said:

"The charge is applied by our contractors, Serco, and covers their costs. But they expect to have a new piece of machinery next month and once they have that it will reduce the admin and labour costs of putting up a banner. Those savings will be passed on so we hope next year the cost will be lower."

The fete, from 2pm on Saturday, September 3, will include cake stalls, children's rides, clairvoyants and a raffle. Donations are welcome, and for more information call 01227 367894 or 01227 452070.

HB Times 25th Aug 2011 l.crudgington@KRNmedia.co.uk

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Friends' fete too costly to advertise

The League of Friends to The Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital Herne Bay says it has become too expensive to advertise its annual fete on September 3 with a banner across the High Street. In the past the charity has used it to publicise the event but says the cost of putting up the banner has been doubled by the city council's contractor. But members are keen to promote the fete which is traditionally their biggest fundraiser of the year. Committee member Sandy Winkworth said:

"We felt the cost of the banner at more than £400 was now just too high and not a good use of our funds."

Council spokesman Steve James said:

"Unfortunately our contractor Serco has had to pass on the full cost of erecting banners like these, but it is soon to acquire a cherry picker which it says will make it much cheaper in the future. Sadly it will probably arrive too late for the Friends."

The fete opens at 2pm and there will be about 40 stalls and sideshows including bric-a-brac, plants, jigsaws, clairvoyants, cake stalls, tombola, children's rides, barbecue and refreshments. There will also be two raffles and a subscription stall encouraging new life members for £10. Mrs Winkworth said:

"All money raised goes towards the hospital. Over the past few months we have spent about £35,000. The corridors have been redecorated, a new digital TV has been put in the outpatients waiting area, new blinds for the day centre, various pieces of equipment and quite a bit of tidying work on parts of the gardens. The work goes on to keep our hospital in good shape. If anyone has anything that they would like to donate to the fete, we are happy to collect almost anything except clothes. Please call Rina on 01227 367894 or Liz on 01227 452070. Alternatively, items can be delivered to our little shop in the hospital."

HB Gazette 25th Aug 2011

Kitewood Hillborough Extension

Property developer Kitewood has unveiled plans to develop a new primary school, shopping centre and up to 1,375 homes on the outskirts of Herne Bay, on land between Hillborough and the Altira Business Park in Broomfield. This idea first surfaced in July 2010, when everyone was up in arms about the increasing risk of death on Blacksole Bridge. Click here to read up on the back-story, and find out who the bad guys are.

The plans for the proposed development will go on show during a public exhibition at Reculver Primary School

• between 12 noon and 8pm on Wednesday, August 31, and
• between 10am and 4pm on Saturday, September 3.

Kitewood have also set up a website to keep people updated on the plans, and say they intend to compile reports on the feedback and use them if proposals need re-shaping. Visit: www.hillboroughextension.com

The 190 acre, £240m scheme is planned in three phases.

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Phase 1

• Would use the land which lies to south of the railway line and north of the Thanet Way, all of which is controlled by Kitewood.  The land adjoins Altira Business Park at Bogshole Lane, and is crossed by the un-made Maystreet Road which goes over the railway line at Maystreet Bridge.
• Phase 1 land covers 25.5 hectares (63.3 acres):
  • 6 hectares (15 acres) of the land for employment use as an extension to Altira Business Park, providing 300 new jobs.
  • 12.5 hectares (31 acres) for 375 houses.
  • 7 hectares (17.3 acres) for landscaping and public open space.
• Will include a footbridge over the Blacksole Bridge railway crossing, and a new link road between Altira Business Park and Sweechbridge Road which will enable access to the Thanet Way at both the Margate Road and the Heart in Hand Road junctions.
• Planning application in early 2012 - if it's successful, work could begin as early as the end of 2012, and finish in 2016.
• Kitewood say: "It will cost in the order of £60 million - an enormous vote of confidence in Herne Bay".

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Phase 2

• Would use land which lies to the north of the railway line and extends to the existing commercial and residential areas of Hillborough, all of which is controlled by Kitewood.
• Phase 2 land covers 27.4 hectares (67.7 acres):
  • 4 hectares (10 acres) of the highest area of land to the west of the site would be used for a new primary school (to be donated to CCC) and a shopping centre.
  • 16 hectares (39.5 acres) for up to 500 houses.
  • 7.4 hectares (18.3 acres) for wildlife habitats and parkland.
• Realignment of Sweechbridge Road to the north of the railway to improve the existing dangerous layout.
• Preservation of the historical pedestrian and cycle links via Maystreet Bridge.
• Design of a traffic system to discourage non-local traffic from passing through Hillborough.
• Kitewood anticipate Phase 2 happening between 2016 and 2026.

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Phase 3

• Would use land lying to the west of phase two and north of the railway line.
• Development of this land would require an additional bridge over the railway because the Maystreet and Sweechbridge Bridges wouldn't be sufficient.
• Approximately 16 hectares (39.5 acres) could be developed to provide an additional 500 houses if the need exists.
• 7.7 hectares (19 acres) would form an extension to the central park on the higher ground in the middle of the scheme.
• The two wooded areas on the northern part of the site would be retained for landscaping and wildlife purposes.
• The central part of this land would be landscaped and planted with trees.
• Pedestrian and cycle links and possibly a bus link would also be provided to Osborn Gardens, Churchill Avenue and Highfield Avenue, enabling residents of Beltinge to access the site whilst preventing traffic from entering Beltinge.
• It is not anticipated that Phase 3 would start before 2026.

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If you have any comments on this proposal, you can add them below, or you can visit www.hillboroughextension.com, or contact your councillors or MP.

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Visit www.SaveHillborough.info for more

Bus rally threatened by Council

Our Council demanded £850 compensation for 'lost revenue' - and the red tape almost drove this Sunday’s Herne Bay bus rally off the road.

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Organisers admitted this week they were considering cancelling the annual event when Canterbury City Council demanded payment for unused parking spaces. Julian Bowden, who took over running the rally last year with Nigel Coupe, said:

"The city council's events team and town co-ordinator Chris West have been brilliant, and know how many visitors the rally brings to Herne Bay. But then the council’s parking services department stepped in and dropped a bombshell by demanding £850 compensation for lost revenue from the spaces the buses use in William Street car park. It was virtually the same amount We raised for our chosen charity, Demelza children’s hospices, last year. We felt it was a little excessive."

The volunteer organisers were also hit with a bill for £40 to cover administration charges. But a deal was struck at the 11th hour over the compensation demand. Mr Bowden, said:

"We had a very sensible meeting and reached a compromise of £200. Luckily we carried out a traffic management survey the weekend before which showed only 53 spaces were used on the Sunday. After our buses and coaches have taken up 216 spaces there will be 48 spaces left. We thought that was nearly adequate."

However, he admits his survey coincided "unknown to us" with the Whitstable Oyster Festival, which kept Herne Bay parking artificially low. The team hope to cover the costs with extra advertising in the programme. Council spokesman Rob Davies said:

"The original charge was based on the loss of the whole car park to the event. However, we discussed the situation with the organisers and agreed on a lower fee. We hope the event is a great success."

This year Bay bus driver Chris Ingram has rejoined the organising team after a year off. Organisers are expecting 40 buses, ranging from a 1937 pre-war single-decker East Kent coach to an open-top former Maidstone and District bus. The rally runs from 10am to 5pm on Sunday; there will be a free shuttle service from the station and free bus trips around town.

John.Nurden@KRNmedia.co.uk

Review launched into HS1 impact on regular rail services

Canterbury City Council is conducting a review into the impact of fast rail services on Kent’s network after research revealed journeys on regular trains are now slower. Rail campaigners have accused operator Southeastern of slowing down mainline services by adding additional stops in a bid to make High Speed 1 more appealing.

It followed a report by Canterbury City Council which revealed the total journey time on regular services on the north Kent line was up to 20 minutes slower since the introduction of HS1. This has prompted a critical review by the authority, which is expected to be completed in two months. Southeastern denied the accusations of slowing down trains stating that timetables were based on service specifications set by Government, outlining how many services there should be from a particular station.

Tory MP for Thanet North Roger Gale and campaigners from the Alliance of Kent Commuters said adding more stops had been detrimental to the still-popular classic service:

“The classic service time table has been adjusted to accommodate faster services. There are now more stops on the mainline service, some of which are not needed; the trains are overcrowded; and they travel very slowly. This could make HS1 more appealing, but it doesn’t serve east Kent.”

For people living in east Kent, travelling from Margate along the north Kent line through towns including Herne Bay and Whitstable to London, the high speed train does not reach speeds until Ebbsfleet or for trains travelling from Ramsgate, until Ashford. The same problem is seen in Medway where the trains fail to pick up speed until Ebbsfleet. But when commuters opt for regular trains, they are faced with longer journey times due to added stops and overcrowded carriages where classic services were reduced to make way for HS1.

The review at Canterbury City Council will look into the impact of the high speed service. Lib Dem Cllr Alex Perkins, who commissioned the review, said he was pleased with HS1, but said there needed to be research conducted into its effect on the network.

“We all know HS1 is great. What we want to do is find out what impact it has had on other services. It has been detrimental. A lot of this is anecdotal and we need to get facts and figures together, but we do know that lots of standard services are being affected. There are lots of people left standing on platforms while a high speed train goes past with just two people on it. I have experienced it myself when Jean Law, deputy leader of the council, and I found ourselves stuck on a packed platform at Faversham station and an HS1 came through with one person sitting in one of the cars – does that mean a good service? My own experience with HS1 is absolutely fantastic, but we need to find out how bad the situation is with the regular service. We’re doing this for Canterbury, but it’s quite possible this could kick off other reviews.”

Mr Gale said he would support anything which looked to help solve problems experienced by commuters in east Kent. A spokesman at Southeastern defended the operator stating that to meet its contractual obligation some trains had to stop at more stations, therefore slowing that particular service:

“Any change would need to be made by the Department for Transport (DfT) and a new service specification will be developed by the DfT for the new franchise in 2014. We appreciate that no one wants to see journey times increase but to speed up trains would require missing stations out along the route, which would not be popular with those towns. Passengers now have a choice of service and can choose to take a far quicker journey on high speed or use the Mainline services.”

kentnews 24th Jul 2011

Ex-councillor Martin Fisher jailed for child pornography

A former Sheriff of Canterbury has been sent to prison today after admitting indecently assaulting a vulnerable youngster and downloading child pornography. Ex-councillor Martin Fisher, 61, later told one police officer:

"Some people like Picasso..I like pictures of children with no clothes on."

The paedophile pleaded guilty at Canterbury Crown Court to five charges, including two sexual assaults on an adult and 11 charges of downloading disgusting images of children - including one depicting sado-masochism on a child. Fisher, from Queen's Road, was told by Judge Adele Williams he had a "deviant sexual interest in children" who had shown no insight about the effect on his victim.

Fisher, who ran his own insurance business in Sittingbourne, was jailed for a total of 15 months and banned him from working with children for 10 years. The sentence was the culmination of a 15-month long investigation by the East Kent Public Protection Unit, based at Canterbury Police Station. Investigating officer, Detective Constable Richard Allen, said:

"This was a joint investigation with Kent Social Services in which Kent Police took the lead. We arrested Fisher in April 2010 after one of his victims reported the offences. During the course of the investigation computers, video cameras and cameras were seized from Fisher's home in Whitstable and his business address in Sittingbourne. We found indecent images of children and paedophilic stories that had been downloaded from the internet both on his home and business computers. Paper copies of indecent images were found in the office at his home and copies of paedophilic stories were discovered underneath his bedside cabinet. When Fisher was arrested and interviewed he admitted accessing and printing the images and stories but he said he didn't accept they were indecent - he felt they were artistic.

Throughout police interviews Fisher denied the sexual assaults, but changed his plea to guilty at a court hearing on June 20. Detective Chief Inspector Paul Fotheringham, head of CID at East Kent, paid tribute to Fisher's victims, who, he said, had been prepared to give evidence against Fisher, should there have been a trial. He also paid tribute to officers at the Public Protection Unit for carrying out a meticulous investigation:

"Thanks to their dedication and thoroughness a damning case was built up against Fisher. Throughout the investigation Fisher refused to accept that he was sexually interested in children, despite using search engines on his computers to look for sites specifically involving sex with children. He maintained that indecent pictures and explicit paedophilic stories were 'art'. He has also since claimed that he pleaded guilty to save his victims the trauma of going to court and that he was also a victim in the case. We wholeheartedly dispute that. Hopefully, following today's sentence, he now understands that this behaviour is not acceptable and the only victims in this case are the people he sexually assaulted. I also hope that the case shows other victims that Kent Police will do everything in its power to bring offenders like Fisher to justice."

Alongside the 15 month sentence Fisher will stay on the sex offenders' register for 10 years. He was also given a sexual offences prevention order, banning him from working with children for 10 years.

kentonline 21st Jul 2011

Have your say about beach huts

Community groups are to have their say about plans for more beach huts in Herne Bay. Councillors agreed to ask for people's views about proposals to site extra huts at a range of locations, including two sites on the Downs.

But campaigners from the Friends of the Downs said the peace of the area would be spoilt by extra huts. And Gillian Reuby, councillor for Reculver, agreed. She said:

"The Downs are a place where people go walking in peaceful surroundings, to get away from the hubbub of the town. Putting beach huts here would threaten that."

Richard Griffiths, outdoor leisure manager for Canterbury City Council detailed potential locations but said some had already been scrapped because of planning, legal or engineering issues.

Comments should be sent to michelle.killick@canterbury.gov.uk by July 4th, and a final decision on which sites to investigate further will be made by councillors on the ruling executive at the end of July. Before any more beach huts are built, planning permission would have to be granted and there would be more opportunity for public consultation.

HB Gazette 23rd Jun 2011

Making allowances

Council leader John Gilbey once again tops the table for take-home pay among city councillors, new allowances figures show. Mr Gilbey, who represents Blean Forest, earned £32,382, more than half of which came from his special allowance of £21,361 as council boss. The Tory's expenses included £2,000 in mileage and £570 for his mobile phone.

Conservative vice chairman of the council's executive and Seasalter representative Jean Law was runner up with £17,235 – her basic allowance of £4,710 topped up by special responsibility allowances totalling £8,502.

Executive member Peter Vickery-Jones, who represents Herne and Broomfield, came next – his £13,093 including £5,505 in special responsibility allowances and £408 for his mobile phone.

Lib Dem leader Alex Perkins, who represents Wincheap, earned £12,378.23 including £6,611.78 for special responsibility, while former Labour leader Julia Seath, who did not stand in this year's elections but used to represent Harbour in Whitstable, claimed £6,134.

The figures were released by the council last week and broken down into basic allowance, special responsibility, travel and subsistence and PC allowance for the financial year to 31 March 2011.

HB Times 9th June 2011

Our Chosen Few

Here's what they said about themselves in the papers before the election.

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Greenhill & Eddington

Robert Bright, Conservative

Occupation: Businessman. Rob has been a city councillor for eight years. His priorities have been to champion the cause of the people with the constituency work he does in the area of housing and social issues. His son, daughter-in-law and three grandchildren live in Greenhill.

David Hirst, Conservative

Occupation: None stated. David has represented you at Kent County Council since 2001. In today's world it is clear that membership of both Kent and the city councils enables more to be achieved locally. His priorities are providing the cost-effective services you need, safeguarding our pensioners and improving the environment and quality of life.

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Herne & Broomfield

Evelyn Bisset, Conservative.

Occupation: None stated. My one joy has been living in Herne, a lovely village and people. I am also lucky to live near Herne Bay. I just love Mortimer Street and the private shops and even the larger stores. The future looks inspiring.

Sharron Sonnex, Conservative.

Occupation: None stated. Since being elected I have gained a wealth of knowledge both from the training I have received and practical experience. I have a Citizens Advice Bureau background which enables me to work with the public resolving benefit and housing issues.

Peter Vickery-Jones, Conservative.

Occupation: None stated. I am proud to represent Herne and Broomfield. I have always tried my best to resolve local issues and if re-elected I am determined to continue working on them. I can be a nuisance and I know I get it wrong sometimes but no one can ever accuse me of not being fully committed to representing you. I am active with my support for the family fun day, carnival float and for Santa's float every Christmas. I apply commonsense to any issue and will not promise something I know I cannot deliver.

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Heron

Andrew Cook, Conservative.

Occupation: None stated. Andrew moved to Herne Bay in 1986 having had fond memories of the town from his childhood. He went on to bring up his three children with his wife Alison (who is a local school teacher) in Heron Ward and is currently celebrating 20 years of business in the town. He is the founder member of the Beach Hut Association and has key roles with the Friends of the Museum and the Friends of the Memorial Park. Many will know him for fighting to keep the visitors information centre and museum and getting domestic waste sacks removed from the streets.

Joe Howes, Conservative.

Occupation: Education officer. Former secondary school teacher Joe spent his childhood here but returned 13 years ago after university. He is married and has three children all at Dane Court Grammar School. He works at the Parish Church of St Mary of Charity, Faversham. Education is an issue that he feels passionate about and he sits on the Independent Appeals Panels for Schools.

Ron Flaherty, Liberal Democrat.

Occupation: Magistrate. Ron has lived in the town for 25 years and has been a Heron Ward councillor since 1991. He worked at the University of Kent until 2001 and now concentrates on city council work including licensing and personnel. He is also a magistrate.

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Reculver

Ann Taylor, Conservative.

Occupation: Housewife. I am married with two grown- up children and four grandchildren. I have lived in Herne Bay, on and off. for over 60 years and have seen the town develop from a seaside resort that attracted many caravan owners to a town that attracts day—trippers from surrounding towns. I attend St Andrew's Church in Hampton. I help at a club for primary school children run by the Family Work from Christchurch. I enjoy taking the family dog Alfie for walks.

Jennie Edwards, Conservative.

Occupation: None stated. I am 25 and have lived all of my life in Herne Bay. I am passionate about the town and heritage. The regeneration project is the way forward. I have been an active member of the carnival committee for five years and support several animal welfare charities.

Gillian Reuby, Conservative.

Occupation: None stated. I have lived in Reculver Ward for over 35 years and have had the honour to represent the ward on Canterbury City Council for 20 years. Public open space is very precious and I will continue to fight for this. I am chairman of the Friends of the Downs Group. I have helped provide the Bishopstone Glen steps and bridge; upgrading of the Burton Downs Play area: the coastal footpath resurfacing; the Shopmobility Scheme for the town and new bus shelters. I supported residents in their fight against night flights into Manston.

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West Bay

Sebastien Byford, Conservative

Occupation: Quantity Surveyor. Sebastien has lived in Herne Bay for almost 30 years and studied at Canterbury College. He believes Herne Bay is a lovely coastal town and supports its regeneration.

Peter Lee, Conservative.

Occupation: IT consultant. I would like to continue to represent the people of West Bay and drive forward the Herne Bay regeneration plans on which we have made a great start. I would like to be able to see the project through to completion.

2011 Election Results

Previously: Roger Matthews (LibDem), Margaret Flaherty (LibDem).

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Previously: the same three.

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Previously: Ron Flaherty (LibDem), Robert Bright (LibDem), Ken Hando (LibDem).

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Previously: Gabrielle Davis (Con), Gillian Reuby (Con), Ann Taylor (Con).

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Previously: Peter Lee (Con), Vince McMahan (Con).
Click for full results across the District.

Yellow lines, etc.

Canterbury City Council is consulting on the latest requests for new yellow lines, parking bays, residents' parking and so on. Any objections to any of the items will be reported back to councillors in June and July. Items for which they do not receive objections will be implemented after the consultation period.

If you wish to object to any of the proposals you should write, stating the reasons for your objection, to the Transportation Manager, Canterbury City Council, Military Road, Canterbury, CT1 1YW. Alternatively you may email your response.

Your submission must be received by 9am on Thursday 28^th April 2011.

Click the picture below for more details.

"Standards"

Standards for England "We believe in principled local politics. Our mission is to champion and promote high standards of conduct amongst our local politicians".

Roger Matthews did wrong. He accepts he broke the rules. Standards for England agree he broke the rules. Guess what happened next...

The Ethical Standards Officer found that, in respect of his promotion of the proposal to develop land at Greenhill, the member breached the Code of Conduct by bringing his office into disrepute. The member also breached the Code by failing to withdraw from a meeting when two planning applications in which he had a prejudicial interest were considered. The Ethical Standards Officer took all the relevant circumstances into the case before deciding that no further action needed to be taken.

Following his clearance on corruption charges in 2010, the police were less than happy (having spent a lot of time and effort on the case) and probably hoped someone could make something stick. The Standards Committee had not received an official complaint about Cllr Matthews before or during his trial. The Standards Committee do not have the power to initiate enquiries or disciplinary proceedings - they can only act in response to complaints received, and details of the complainant are not published. We don't know who lodged the complaint about Cllr Matthews with the Standards Committee.

The Standards Committee decided, for whatever reason, that this was too big/difficult/hot to handle and passed it up to Standards for England, their overseeing body. The heroic and highly principled conclusion that Standards for England have arrived at is to do absolutely nothing. Their "reasoning" being that the trial had been expensive, Matthews had withdrawn from his party, and there's an election soon anyway. CCC's Standards Committee cannot appeal against this decision.

"Standards for England" - aren't they breaching the Trades Descriptions Act in some way? Cllr Matthews appears in today's papers saying "I broke the rules"; Standards for England's investigation confirm this; no action is taken, no sanction imposed.

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Read the Standards for England report.

Complain about Standards for England HERE.

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Recycling bags

The unutterable shambles drags on. Canterbury City Council's ham-fisted penny-pinching, masquerading as waste reduction and cost saving, has proved such a failure that even they have had to accept it. I expect they'll say 'you said, we listened'. They never say 'we screwed up, we're sorry'.

Once upon a time, we had adequate numbers of adequate recycling bags, and could get more from the Council offices if we ran out. The Council decided that some 40% of the bags being distributed for recycling were not being used for recycling. Their solution was to distribute fewer bags and make us register if we needed more. Coincidentally, and to worsen the situation, these bags provided under the new regime were of inferior quality - the initial batches were simply not fit for purpose.

Not surprisingly it all went wrong, in entirely predictable ways. The bags split, so people double-bagged their rubbish, and got through their small supply of bags at twice the rate. Registering for more bags was not a smooth or convenient process for many. People resorted to using carrier bags, or just putting their recycling rubbish in the landfill bins. The Council said we could BUY more recycling bags from the supermarkets. Bloody cheek.

The Council repeatedly told us what a great idea it was and how swimmingly well it was going, how the wrinkles would be ironed out, and it was all for the best in the long run. But now, at very long last, the penny seems to have dropped. The Executive meeting on Valentine's Day now has an extra, urgent item to consider regarding the provision of recycling bags. The preamble says "the service would benefit from an increase in sacks offered. This has followed customer feedback which has been critical of the number and quality offered" - a lot of under-statement in a small space, if you ask me.

Herne Bay's redevelopment

A scheme for the redevelopment of Herne Bay town centre is now moving to the next stage in the approval process. Plans for the Herne Bay Central Development Area (CDA) will be considered at various city council meetings – Overview and Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday 26 January, a special Herne Bay Area Member Panel on Tuesday 1 February, Development Control Committee on Tuesday 8 February, a special Executive on Monday 14 February and Full Council on Thursday 17 February.

Consultation on the draft development brief for the CDA took place last summer. Around 120 written responses were received, showing that local people were broadly in favour of the plans. Issues raised included the need to maintain a good level of parking, a desire to see Herne Bay’s Victorian architecture reflected in any scheme and concern about possible impact on retailers in Mortimer Street and the High Street.

The council has been working through all the comments and amendments have been made to the scheme to address them. These will now be discussed by councillors at the forthcoming meetings. Papers for these will be available at council offices and on the council’s website five days before each one. Members of the public can register to speak by emailing democraticservices@canterbury.gov.uk or calling 01227 862004 at least one working day before the committee.

The comments and the council’s response to them can be viewed on the Herne Bay Projects page on the council’s website.

To read the supporting committee report, visit the committee meetings page (item 8).

The council is also gearing up for the annual Herne Bay projects and business exhibition at the Kings Hall between 2pm and 7pm on Wednesday 9 March. This popular annual event will update local people on the progress being made on the town’s big projects, including the Central Development Area.

Walk the walk

In about 6 months' time, there will be a flurry of democracy as we all choose our councillors. We might choose the old councillors; we might choose new councillors; we might choose you! Next week, CCC will be explaining how to be a councillor. I'm intrigued.

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Ever thought you could run the council better? [Just about every time I think of it!] Now there is a chance to find out. Canterbury City Council is holding an open evening for would-be councillors at the Guildhall, Canterbury, on Tuesday, November 30th. The event kicks off at 6.30pm and could appeal to anyone thinking of standing as a candidate in the local elections in May, or those involved with parish councils and voluntary organisations.

Speakers will include the city council's chief executive, Colin Carmichael, and councillors who will offer an insight into the work involved. The evening will consist of brief presentations followed by a question-and-answer session.

Anyone who wants to attend should e-mail democraticservices@canterbury.gov.uk, indicating whether they are a prospective candidate or a member of an interested group. If the event is oversubscribed, priority will be given to prospective candidates. There will be a separate session for parish council elections and candidates.

For more details, call democratic services officer Nicola Adams on 01227 862005.

thisiskent

Community space

HB Times 28th Oct 2010