MOD Shoeburyness - Forthcoming Activity Alert: 1-12 July 2013

Detailed below is advance notification of activities which may be noticed in your neighbourhood. All of the limitations and stipulations outlined below apply.

---

Date: Reason for Notification

1 & 3 July 2013: Explosions may be noticed.

9 July 2013: Gunfire and Explosions may be noticed earlier than usual, 08:00.

10 July 2013: Explosions may be noticed earlier than usual, 08:00.

12 July 2013: Gunfire may be noticed earlier than usual, 08:00.

---

Note:

Local Gunfire = Gunfire that is likely to be noticed only by communities close to MOD Shoeburyness.**

Gunfire = Gunfire that may be noticed by communities in the vicinity of the Thames Estuary.**

Explosions = Explosions that may be noticed by communities in the vicinity of the Thames Estuary.      **

---

MOD SHOEBURYNESS WEBSITE

This information was correct at the time of publishing. The most accurate and up to date information can be found on the MOD Shoeburyness website at www.shoeburyness.qinetiq.com, why not visit and save it to your favourites for quick access.**

---

I hope that you find this information useful. Please feel free to pass it on to your neighbours.

Local Plan: letter - Strode Farm

click

Why we don't want this development

We have objected to the development of Strode Farm for the following reasons:

• We have camcorder film of a serious flooding issue several years ago in Bullockstone Road with homes and gardens under water by over 1ft, followed later by another serious flood in which the same homes again went under water.
• What drainage will be installed to deal with the water from Home Farm to Lower Herne Road? This floods the road and in winter ices up, making the road a skating rink and causing numerous accidents.
• Strode Farm has already put in a lagoon to the north of the new bypass because of drainage problems with the land. This takes a lot of water every time we have heavy rain. What drainage is proposed to cope with the flooding there?
• The present culvert that takes water from both Hares Brook and Plenty Brook collapsed in February 2013.
• How much traffic will be trying to get out on to Bullockstone Road from the new developments which include the old golf course? The road already suffers serious problems as it is still just a small country lane with sharp bends and bad surfacing.
• What measures are going to be put in place for the safety of local residents who already take their lives in their hands trying to come out of drives and onto Bullockstone Road?
• A doctors' surgery is to be installed on the present golf course, but how will the Estuary View Minor Injuries Unit cope with such an influx of people to the area?
• What will happen about supplying more police for the area? We already have trouble with the lack of policing, and it takes time to explain to Maidstone Control where Bullockstone Road, Lower Herne Road, Owls Hatch Road, and Thornden Road are, as they are not local to the area, already causing delays in getting here.
• There are four stable yards using the roads. How are you proposing to provide safe and secure riding for them when the traffic increases and roads become even more dangerous than they already are?
• With more and more food being imported from abroad more often these days, farmland should not be developed for housing when we need to feed ourselves.

It is also delightful to be able to look out at such a green and verdant landscape which is why most people live here.

This tiny hamlet has remained unchanged for hundreds of years, with only more modern buildings being erected on the sites of the old.

Mrs Margaret Clark, Bullockstone Road, Herne Bay

HB Gazette letter 27th Jun 2013

Local Plan: doubts over golf course scheme

Plans for a Tesco on the outskirts of Herne Bay have been thrown into doubt after an application for a major development stalled.

Developers Quinn Estates have put on hold proposals to build a sports hub and supermarket on the former golf club site after questions were raised over Tesco's commitment to the scheme.

The official line is that negotiations with the retail giant, the third largest in the world, are "ongoing".

Yet the delay has been significant enough to force a rethink in strategy for Quinn Estates, which planned to build the supermarket and sports hub first before gaining planning approval for 400 homes and commercial properties.

The company now aims to submit a planning application for all its proposals together, which it says will ensure "certainty and deliverability".

Managing director Mark Quinn exclusively told the Gazette this would not rule out approaching other supermarkets or getting rid of a store all together. He said:

Mark Quinn

"We may consider not having a supermarket or having a small one. At the moment we are still negotiating with Tesco and we are not going to talk elsewhere until negotiations are resolved one way or the other. It will either have a food store or it won't. There will be housing there instead and some other mixed houses."

Once the outcome of negotiations with Tesco is clear, Quinn Estates aims to submit its new all-encompassing planning application in the fourth quarter of this year.  It then hopes to gain planning permission by this time next year, with work beginning from the middle of 2014.

Mr Quinn insists housing would be built after roads and the sports hub were put in place, including a state-of-the-art clubhouse and football, hockey and cricket pitches. He said:

"We have decided after much careful consideration that what's important is delivering what we say we are going to. The way we answer that is master planning the entire scheme and delivering it. We don't want to get planning for something and it then not to go ahead. By doing the whole scheme at once, we gain certainty and deliverability."

This latest development indicates that fears over Tesco's desire to come to Herne Bay may have been a long-running concern at Quinn Estates.

In February, Mr Quinn insisted to the Gazette his development was not reliant on a Tesco superstore being opened, but that having one would create jobs for local people and give them more shopping choice. Mr Quinn added:

"This development will definitely happen. What we are doing ensures that. All our plans are doing is evolving. They may or may not include a supermarket but we hope it does. We are waiting to see the outcome of these negotiations."

Despite several requests, Tesco had not given the Gazette a comment at the time of going to press.

HB Gazette 27th Jun 2013

Local Plan: Golf course might not get Tesco

click

The developer behind plans for a new housing estate and sports centre at the former Herne Bay golf club has vowed it will go ahead - with or without a Tesco store.

Mark Quinn, of Quinn Estates, told members of Herne Bay Town Partners last week the scheme had been delayed as negotiations continued with the retail giant. An application was due to be submitted this summer for the supermarket. as well as a sports hub that would provide a home for four town clubs.

The store would provide income to allow the sports hub to go ahead as a gift to the town. But Mr Quinn said the scheme would now be dealt with as a whole rather than in two stages, with 400 houses and commercial units as well. He said:

"I told the group we would go for it with the whole scheme. whether Tesco were a part of it or not. It means a delay of four or five months but it guarantees certainty and that is not a bad thing. It means we create a solution for the whole scheme rather than just a part of it."

Both he and Tesco bosses insisted negotiations were continuing and a spokesman for Tesco said it remained committed to the scheme. Mr Quinn added:

"What is important for me is that we don't let down the sports clubs and that I deliver what I said I would. We are certain that it will happen and it will take place. Whether Tesco are in the mix or not, it will go ahead. I have spoken to all the chairmen of the sports groups and we are really confident with what is going on."

The hub would bring together Herne Bay's youth football team. cricket club, tennis club and hockey club on one site. A planning application should be submitted by the end of this year. and work could start by the middle of next year. It is expected to take 18 months to complete.

HB Times 27th Jun 2013

Sense prevails, flagpole safe.

So they won't be knocking it down, but the Engineers say it's nearing the end of its life. Has anyone thought of repairing it? "A stitch in time saves nine"  as my Gran would say. "Make do and mend" that was another catch-phrase.

---

The flagpole opposite Herne Bay pier has been saved - for now. The Gazette exclusively revealed last week that councillors were considering rushing through plans to pull down the historic mast while construction workers were employed on the seafront.

The plans were shelved at the latest meeting of the regeneration committee on Monday, which sits in private, after there was no clear majority on what to do with the flagpole.

The mast is not completely safe, however, as engineers say it only has another four or five years' life left. Councillors agreed to leave the flagpole and to revisit the issue in the future. Cllr Peter Lee said:

"It will not be a permanent fixture but for the moment, people think leave it where it is. Given the time it will take to consult the public, the opportunity with construction workers on site will be lost, so on that basis we decided not to take it any further."

Cllr Ron Flaherty said:

"I said there is no rush and I would rather leave it for the moment. I am not so sure the plantage around the flagpole should be removed to have an open space."

HB Gazette 27th Jun 2013

Councillors to be cut by a quarter

That's a quarter OF them, not OFF them.

Here's an attack on local democracy that will damage not just Herne Bay, but the whole district.

Reducing the number of councillors from 50 to 38 is not something that the public have been clamouring for - it was initiated by, and is being driven by, CCC's Conservative administration. More accurately, the Executive. Which means Cllr John Gilbey.

The publicly stated reason for this is to save money. Cllr Peter Lee has said that the current 50 councillors cost about £450k a year, so this would potentially save about £112k.

Fewer representatives and less representation to save £112k. And this from the people who frittered £60k on the disastrous Westgate Towers traffic scheme, and peed away over £50k fighting the village green application for the Downs, and regularly give £20k to the Sandwich Open golf beano, and so on, and so on.

We already have one of the highest ratios of residents to councillors, and this reduction in the number of councillors would push it even higher. And that's without taking into account the extra 40,000 or so new residents that would move in to the district to fill all the new homes proposed in the draft Local Plan, which would push the ratio higher still.

When this was discussed in Council, one of the councillors argued that the reduction in numbers would result in an improvement in quality of councillors. I can't believe these people are so naive! This will not be a careful culling exercise where the sub-prime and lacklustre are shown the door, leaving only the shining stars. Come election time, the public will still choose a mixed bag of useful and useless, daft and deft, lions and donkeys. But there will fewer of them.

Each councillor - and this is a part-time job, remember - would have significantly more people to represent. This will inevitably damage our local democracy.

I'm sorry to say this is another example of Cllr Gilbey's anti-democratic - and in my view morally repugnant - instincts. He operates what is amusingly referred to in his job description as the "strong leader" management style, and is much happier with the Executive/cabinet model rather than the more democratic Committee structure we used to have.

Reducing the number of councillors would suit him down to the ground, as it would concentrate power in even fewer hands. 

The consultation runs from 25th June to 6th August. Please  take the time to contact the Boundary Commission and let them know what you think - it would be years, possibly decades, before we would have a chance to undo this.

I don't want fewer councillors, I want better councillors.

---

The independent Local Government Boundary Commission for England is asking local people how many councillors they think should represent Canterbury City Council in the future after proposing chopping 12 from the current structure.

The six-week public consultation is the first part of an electoral review which will also consider changes to the number, names and boundaries of the council’s wards. It follows hot on the heels of a proposed shake-up at Shepway District Council which is suggesting a reduction of 16 councillors.

The commission has considered evidence submitted to it by the council and is now consulting residents on a proposal that would see the authority represented by 38 councillors in future, 12 fewer than the current arrangements.

Max Caller, chair of the commission, said:

“This is your chance to shape your council for the future. We are asking people across Canterbury whether they agree that 38 councillors is the right number to represent their area in the future. We want to know if you think 38 is the right number of councillors to be able to take decisions effectively and whether it’s the right number to represent the interests of all Canterbury’s communities.

If you don’t agree that Canterbury should be represented by 38 councillors, we want you to tell us your alternative and why you think there should be more, or fewer, members of the council in the future. Once we have taken a view on the number of councillors, we will re-draw ward boundaries to accommodate those elected members and we will ask local people to have their say during that process as well.”

Residents can have their say directly at consultation.lgbce.org.uk

kentnews.co.uk 25th Jun 2013

180 years of Herne Bay at Beach House

From 26th June until 3rd July, the Historical Records Society have an exhibition at Beach House (corner of Beach Street and King’s Road, opposite the William Street car park) to mark the town’s 180th anniversary.

This takes the form of a timeline of 180 years of interesting pictures and artefacts celebrating the anniversary of the establishment of Herne Bay as a town.

Beach House is open 10am-4pm daily, and entrance is free, so do pop in when you’re nearby.

Celebrating the King's Hall's 100th birthday

At 6pm on 10th July, the Centenary Exhibition in the King’s Hall foyer will open, and it will run until 22nd July. It will feature an illustrated history of the King’s Hall and a special section devoted to residents’ memories of the Hall through the years.

To coincide with the exhibition, there will also be two book launches.

Mike Bundock of the Historical Records Society will launch his latest book - "The Kings Hall Herne Bay - Celebrating 100 years". Drawing on Mike's extensive rearch and detailed knowledge, and using pictures from the HBHRS archive and Mike's own collection, this is a fascinating illustrated history of the King's Hall from construction to the present day.

Sylvia McKean of the Herne & Broomfield Local History Group will be launching "Coronations and Coronets” which relates how Herne villagers and schoolchildren celebrated Coronations, Jubilees, Royal visits, from Queen Victoria’s Silver Jubilee in 1887 to Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee in 2012.

180 years of Herne Bay at the Little Theatre

On Friday 28th June at 7:30pm at the Herne Bay Little Theatre, Mike Bundock will present:

“Celebrating 180 years of official existence”

to mark the 180th Anniversary of the Act of Parliament that provided for

“paving, cleansing, lighting, watching, repairing and improving a certain Portion of the Parish of Herne in the County of Kent”.

Tickets are £3, from Herne Bay Little Theatre, 44 Bullers Avenue, CT6 8UH 01227 366 004

MOD Shoeburyness - Forthcoming Activity Alert: 25-28 June 2013

Detailed below is advance notification of activities which may be noticed in your neighbourhood. All of the limitations and stipulations outlined below apply.

---

Date: Reason for Notification

25-28 June 2013: Explosions may be noticed.

---

Note:

Local Gunfire = Gunfire that is likely to be noticed only by communities close to MOD Shoeburyness.**

Gunfire = Gunfire that may be noticed by communities in the vicinity of the Thames Estuary.**

Explosions = Explosions that may be noticed by communities in the vicinity of the Thames Estuary.      **

---

MOD SHOEBURYNESS WEBSITE

This information was correct at the time of publishing. The most accurate and up to date information can be found on the MOD Shoeburyness website at www.shoeburyness.qinetiq.com, why not visit and save it to your favourites for quick access.**

---

I hope that you find this information useful. Please feel free to pass it on to your neighbours.

Rogue councillor

The suggested demolition of the flagpole at the Pier is a shining example of some of the problems that our town faces.

Penny-pinching short-termism. Cllr Peter Lee - one of our own town councillors - decides it's a good idea to start knocking things down on the seafront, simply because it's cheap to do it now.

Lack of Planning. Cllr Lee claims this idea is to make "event space" that has been lost to the crazy golf and beach hut village on the Pier - clearly, this didn't cross anyone's mind at the time they were granting planning permissions.  Anyway, there's no certainty that the crazy golf will go ahead.

Disregard for the residents. Cllr Lee is ignoring (or is unaware of) the months of public consultation that have gone in to shaping a management plan for the new QE2 Coastal Park, which agreed to keep this flagpole. Councillor - when the people speak, it literally pays you to listen.

Greed. Cllr Lee says this will create an "events space" - translated into plain English, this is simply "a space the Council can charge for". For the 98% of the year that it's not being used, it will be just another swathe of paving or tarmac - not very inviting for visitors, not very good for regeneration.

Anyway, this irked me enough to write to the press (don't know if they'll print it). 

Dear Sir,

I am horrified by the casual vandalism of Cllr Peter Lee and his regeneration committee ("Fears over plan to demolish pier pole", HB Gazette 20th June 2013).

The Council has created a new park - the QE2 Coastal Park - that covers the seafront from Hampton to Reculver, and ran a consultation with local groups to agree a management plan for the park.

Over a period of months, dozens of residents spent hour after hour thrashing out how to make the most of this new attraction. We were keen to keep both flag poles, but the incredibly high costs (£32,000) that CCC quoted for repairing the pole by the bandstand persuaded us to lose one and keep the other.

But now one of our own councillors has taken it into his head to ignore the results of the lengthy public consultation (is anyone surprised?) and knock it down, because it's cheap to knock it down while there are workmen on site.

The argument seems to be that it's fine to destroy the flag pole because "it is rarely used". This is a very odd argument. The Westgate Towers in Canterbury are completely unused since the museum there closed - will Cllr Lee propose demolition? I doubt it.

Cllr Lee says he wants to create an "events space". We already have a superb "events space" on the pier platform... but our Council swapped that for a quick buck without a thought for the consequences.

Would you like to know what else Cllr Peter Lee and his regeneration committee have up their sleeves? Well, that's tough - all their meeting are held in secret, and are un-minuted.

Yours etc,

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

Mortimer Street Showcase & Party

This is a brilliant idea. A swarm of our beloved independent retailers put their heads together and came up with the idea of showing off what they do, and what happens "behind the scenes".

It's going to be a great opportunity to find out more about our independent shops - the lifeblood of our town - AND there's more free stuff than you can wave a stick at, so put it in your diary, and get there before they run out of free goodies.

Saturday 13th July 10:30am - 4pm

Local Plan: Parish pledges to halt Strode in its stride

Parish councillors have vowed to stop a massive housing development they fear would link Herne to Herne Bay.

Members of Herne and Broomfield Parish Council are working with charity CPRE Protect Kent to find reasons to stop 1,000 homes being built at Strode Farm owned by Hollamby Estates, of which parish councillor Andrew Brealy is a director.

Mr Brealy left the room when the issue was discussed at a meeting on Thursday, but chairman Tony Day said the charity's advice was to focus on highways issues.

The development, included in Canterbury City Council's draft Local Plan, would involve upgrades to Bullockstone Road to turn it into a "relief road". But Councillor Day said they did not go far enough. He said:

"The road will end up more or less as it is. It is totally inadequate. It is less adequate than the current route through the village. People from all the new developments will all want to go to Canterbury and will be going through our village or a relief road. All these developments should hinge on the proper infrastructure being in place."

The parish council plans to hire an independent expert - part funded by CPRE Protect Kent - to examine the highways issues but members said it was crucial residents also got involved. Councillor Ann Blatherwick said:

"We need to find out why we are not being considered separately to Herne Bay and why we are not mentioned as a village. We are a separate community. But we are just lumped in together and that explains why they are trying to join us up."

Members also discussed the loss of agricultural land, and the lack of school places. County councillor Alan Marsh said:

"We would need new schools, two primary and two secondary, to deal with the numbers of children. There isn't money for one school, let alone four."

The parish council won the backing of city councillor Peter Vickery-Jones, who stressed he had not been part of the Local Plan steering group that put the proposals together. He said:

"It is about time Canterbury picked up where it should. There has been huge resistance to South Canterbury but it is right it should be developed there."

But he cited the need for an alternative option, and suggested Thanington near Canterbury.

Village Hall plans on display

Plans for a new village hall for Herne will go on display next month. Herne and Broomfield Parish Council members have asked flve developers to provide drawings and costs for a new building in St Martin's View, next to the School Lane car park.

Villagers will be asked to choose their favourite and fill in a questionnaire before councillors decide how to proceed.

At a meeting of the parish council on Thursday, clerk Monica Blyth said developers would be at a public exhibition on Friday, July 12th from 1 to 7pm to answer any questions and results of the consultation would be considered by the hall committee.

Cllr Tracey Jones said it was important the consultation was as wide as possible, with an exhibition at the weekend as well as during the week. Councillors agreed to investigate other dates the material could be on display and to print extra leaflets and posters to distribute via schools and shops.

HB Times 20th Jun 2013

Eye-popping variety at the WEA

What does lifelong learning mean for Herne Bay?

Quite a lot, really. And I am not referring to the resources of Canterbury, or Faversham, or even Whitstable. I am referring to adult learners in Herne Bay finding within their own town the possibility to go on learning, discovering, exploring throughout their lives.

I wish every form of learning throughout adulthood represented in Herne Bay would advertise itself during that week in every medium. Many people would be surprised at the wealth and variety of resources available. I, personally, would like to concentrate on the courses offered in Herne Bay by the WEA.

The WEA (Workers’ Educational Association) was founded in 1903, to support the educational needs of working people who could not access further or higher education. It is at present the major voluntary adult education organisation in Britain and provides courses for all kinds of adults, without losing sight of its original mission.

It operates at local level through its regional offices and volunteer-led branches. The Herne Bay branch has been in existence for 30 years and has been providing an eye-popping variety of courses over the years.

As all the courses are held during the day, most of Herne Bay students, though not all, are retired, but still enthusiastic about learning. And they can do it without the time and effort required to go to another town, a very real advantage as you get older.

The tutors are fully qualified and they need to be, as adult learners are there to learn, and if you cannot hold their attention, they do not come back!

The programmes are chosen in consultation between tutors and students. and the courses are more like seminars, guided conversations, trips of discovery that leave you with a smile and eager for more. And no exams at the end.

To all this, add the therapeutic effect of keeping your brain active, expressing your thoughts and listening to others, making contact with others in a very civilised way.

As always, these courses will depend on sufficient attendance, so please come if you can, tell your friends, support your local Herne Bay branch of the WEA.

What other small town would offer such an array of courses, given locally by such good tutors?

One-day courses at St Andrew’s Church Hall. Hampton Pier Avenue. Fee: £20 each including refreshments and light lunch.

Marcel Duchamp.
Saturday July 13th, 10.30am to 3.30pm

Sibelius.
Saturday November 23rd, 10.30am to 3.30pm

Myth and Fantasy in Western Art.
Saturday January 25th, 10.30am to 3.30pm

Poems old and new about the Age of Chivalry, Myth and Legend.
Saturday March 22nd, 10.30am to 3.30pm

Ten week courses at the North Room, Christ Church, William Street. Fee: £79 each.

Joseph Haydn.
Starting Tuesday September 24th, 10am to noon

The Brontes.
Starting Thursday September 26th, 10am to noon

Oscar Wilde.
Starting Tuesday January 14th, 10am to noon

Music from and Portugal.
Starting Tuesday January 14th, 10am to noon

Poetry of Seasons and Gardens.
Starting Thursday April 24th, 10am to noon

Five-week courses at Beach House, Beach Street. Fee: £39.50 each.

Kentish Man and Men of Kent.
Starting Tuesday April 22nd, 10am to noon

The Story of the English Garden.
Starting Thursday April 24th, 10am to noon

To book a course, or for more information click HERE.

HB Times 2nd May 2013

MOD Shoeburyness - Forthcoming Activity Alert: 18-21 June 2013

Detailed below is advance notification of activities which may be noticed in your neighbourhood. All of the limitations and stipulations outlined below apply.

---

Date - Reason for Notification

18 June 2013 - Gunfire and Explosions may be noticed.

19-21 June 2013 - Explosions may be noticed.

---

Note:

Local Gunfire = Gunfire that is likely to be noticed only by communities close to MOD Shoeburyness.

Gunfire = Gunfire that may be noticed by communities in the vicinity of the Thames Estuary.

Explosions = Explosions that may be noticed by communities in the vicinity of the Thames Estuary.

---

MOD SHOEBURYNESS WEBSITE

This information was correct at the time of publishing. The most accurate and up to date information can be found on the MOD Shoeburyness website at www.shoeburyness.qinetiq.com, why not visit and save it to your favourites for quick access.**

---

I hope that you find this information useful. Please feel free to pass it on to your neighbours.

Local Plan: Parish Council oppose Strode Farm plans

Parish councillors are set to outline their opposition to the Local Plan tonight (13th June 2013) as the public consultation on proposals for 3,000 homes in Herne Bay begins. Herne and Broomfield parish council is expected to focus its arguments against plans for 800 houses at Strode Farm.

Although it has expressed disapproval for a 400-home development at Herne Bay Golf Club, councillors are expected to say they will accept the scheme as a compromise. They are calling on residents to write to the city council in opposition to the inclusion of Strode Farm on the draft Local Plan.

The document outlines housing strategy for the Canterbury district until 2031, proposing 15,600 homes for the area overall. Parish council spokesperson
Monica Blyth said:

"The big thing for us is to get out the importance of people responding to the consultation. It carries more weight if several individuals respond rather than getting a petition together. We are going to have to accept some development and of the two proposed developments in the area, we do not want Strode Farm.

Residents want to keep that buffer and the lesser of the two evils is the golf club. It is not such a big development and will have less impact. A development at Strode Farm would have a tremendous impact on the parish."

The parish council is in discussion with the Campaign to Protect Rural England about putting together an environmental challenge to the plans.

Ms Blyth added:

"Canterbury City Council don't appreciate Herne and Broomfield are villages and not part of Herne Bay. Herne was here first and long-established before Herne Bay arrived. This amount of properties will be huge and add 50% to what we have already."

HB Gazette 13th Jun 2013

Local Plan: Letters

Bay is getting poor side of housing deal

What is going on? Canterbury City Council wants Herne Bay to have another 2,000 new homes built. How many Herne Bay people will live in them, and what does it do for the people that live here?

We have had our share of developments: Talmead, Neville Road, Barnes Way, Sea Street, Dence Park, two lots in Kings Road, and Town Court, just to name a few. Some of these have been built on brownfield sites and have made the town look better, more could be built this way, leaving our green fields alone, but of course Canterbury City Council don't get their big handouts for doing it that way.

Canterbury City Council has said Whitstable and Canterbury are last on their list for development, why? While they are getting the money, they do not want it there so we have to have it at Herne Bay. Herne Bay has become the dumping ground, and all investment goes to Canterbury.

Why is the money going to the Sturry crossing, how often do any of us in Herne Bay use that bit of road? I can only see Canterbury City Council are taking off us our green and pleasant land, and yet again giving nothing in return. Herne Bay roads are full of pot holes, I can't see much going on in the way of repairs, yet the money is needed for Canterbury. Two of these sites are farmland why are we taking away arable farmland and allotments to put houses on, don't we need to grow food anymore?

Shame on you Canterbury City Council!

Brenda Jones, Herne Bay

HB Times letters 30th May 2013

Local Plan: Developers' cash should stay in town

I was angered and dismayed to find that the draft Local Plan explicitly stated that developers' contributions (once called S106, now called CIL - Community Infrastructure Levy) would flow OUT of Herne Bay.

There was no mention of CIL money flowing out of Canterbury or Whitstable, and no mention of CIL money flowing IN to Herne Bay. So we were going to get screwed.

I decided to ask our beloved councillors what they thought. Only one of them answered. Cllr Peter Lee apparently has no idea how Herne Bay residents would feel about this, and will wait for the outcome of the consultation. Incredible. 

---

Councillors have refused to back calls for cash raised from new housing estates planned for Herne Bay to remain in the town.

At a meeting of the town's area members panel, made up of city and county councillors, campaigners said contributions from developments included in the new local plan should be spent on projects in Herne Bay. Local resident Ros McIntyre said:

"There are five new estates planned for around Herne Bay but money from them is earmarked for a crossing at Sturry and a relief road at Herne. Why has improvement money been channelled from Herne Bay to Canterbury and why is there no provision for a bridge at Blacksole?"

Phil Rose, from the Friends of the Downs, asked councillors to raise their hands if they were against the scheme to divert the money to other projects, adding:

"Money that could and should remain in Herne Bay is already being earmarked for projects out of our town."

But West Bay councillor Peter Lee said it was too early to have a view. He said:

"We haven't had any consultation yet and we don't know what people's views are. I am sure there are plenty of people who use that road who will be all for it."

Panel chairman Gillian Reuby said the money would not all be spent on the road schemes - some was for affordable housing and education contributions. She added:

"The infrastructure isn't at Canterbury, it is at Herne for a relief road and Sturry, the route most people from Herne Bay will use to go to Canterbury."

HB Times 30th May 2013

Canterbury spouts nonsense, Herne Bay fountain of wisdom. Nobody surprised.

#FUCCC Our Council's Culture & Enterprise bureaucrats seem to think they know what Guardian readers are interested in (how?), but I put it to you, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that Guardian journalists have a much clearer picture of what interests their readers.

In fact, they've already said that they'll be coming to Herne Bay to cover this summer's marvellous Duchamp Centenary celebrations... FOR THEIR READERS.​

---

Arts festival will bring Guardian journalists to Herne Bay

Guardian readers may not be tempted by the town but the paper's reporters will be heading to Herne Bay this summer.

Staff from the art and travel section of the national newspaper are planning to cover the three-week festival dedicated to artist Marcel Duchamp and his links with the town, amid a storm over an advert that praised Whitstable and Canterbury but left out Herne Bay.

Tourism chiefs, who paid up to £10,000 for the full-page feature in the Guardian's travel section, say they were concentrating on the brands most likely to attract Guardian readers. But at a meeting organised by the team behind the August festival, they revealed the paper's journalists were looking forward to their visit.

The festival marks 100 years since Duchamp spent a month in Herne Bay, a period believed to be critical to his career. Volunteer Sue Austen, from Bayguide, which is behind the festival, said it could be a boost to the whole town. Southeastern trains have agreed to display posters on board. She said:

"It will hopefully encourage people to Herne Bay who have not been before. It will be covered by the Guardian arts section and Guardian travel section and is already listed in Coast magazine as one of the top things to do this summer."

Sue revealed both Kent County Council and Visit Kent had readily offered support, but said "conversations were ongoing" with Canterbury City Council, who have so far offered to waive the rent on the Kings Hall for a one-day conference to discuss the artist's work.

Steve Coombes, who stood in the KCC elections to raise awareness of the festival, added:

"Charlotte Higgins is the chief arts writer of the Guardian and we have been in enthusiastic communication about the Marcel Duchamp Centenary, by email and phone, since last October. The same is also true of the Times, Telegraph and BBC arts. Unlike the CCC dept of Culture and Enterprise, they were all thrilled by the idea."

Members of the Cartoonists' Club of Great Britain are also planning to take part, after Ralph Steadman created a one-off design for a promotional poster. They will create cartoons for toilets, pubs and other places and there will also be quotes from Duchamp in unusual places around the town and themed window displays from shops.

David Cross, who will be curating the gallery shows, said:

"We would like to make it successful to show them that Herne Bay can be - and has got to be - equal to Whitstable and Canterbury."

Other events planned include an open exhibition at Beach House from July 11 and introducing Mr D at Herne Bay Museum from July 16. Invited artists will show their work at galleries around the town from July 23 and there will also be an art bike trail.

Children can take part in workshops and add their own designs to postcards for a pop-up gallery, and live music, street theatre and chess games are also planned.

Jason Hollingsworth, from Bayguide, said:

"There is a huge cultural legacy to this. There will be a trail and a plaque on the house where he stayed in Downs Park."

For more information on the festival, or to get involved as a volunteer, visit www.iamnotdead.co.uk

Canterbury Times 24th May 2013