Canterbury's Pilgrims Hospice to close

"Hospice closure means we can care for more patients"

A hospice boss says closing a third of its inpatient beds will mean more people with terminal or life-limiting illnesses can be cared for at home.

Steve Auty, chief executive of Pilgrims Hospices, said hospice care was not about buildings but delivering care where people needed it, whether at home, in a care home, a hospital or a hospice.

Speaking to the Times after news of the closure of the 16-bed in-patient unit at the Canterbury hospice was revealed, he said the changes were necessary to allow the charity to continue into into the future, when numbers of patients are expected to increase. Mr Auty, who has worked at the hospice for nine years, said:

Steve Auty

"There are many more people who will die in east Kent than we, the hospice, can ever cope with. We want to work with health and social care professionals to improve end of life care, and we want to educate and develop those professionals and share best practice with them. Irrespective of illness we will stay true to our holistic way of doing things by caring for people's physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs at the most vulnerable times."

The closure plan is part of a new strategy for the hospices, developed by senior doctors and discussed with groups of staff for the last year. It was endorsed by the trustees last month and includes a commitment to developing more education and development programmes.

Several new roles will be created as part of the changes, including an associate director of education and development, a volunteer development manager and a database manager responsible for improving relationships with supporters. Planned inpatient respite care will also stop, but the 16 bed units at Ashford and Margate run by the charity will remain open. Mr Auty said:

"The strategy has been generated by staff who have the knowledge of providing care. The demand is going to increase in two ways, complexity of illnesses and numbers of patients and there is a need for the whole of the health care system to operate in a different way to make sure the care is delivered for an increasing number of people. We can't cope with everybody now, we are not going to cope with everybody in 20 years time."

And Mr Auty appealed to people to continue to support the charity, which needs £10.5 million a year to run. The changes will cost £500,000 over three years. He said:

"What is important is to maintain support from the community for what we do. We still need people's support to keep going even though we will be operating in a different way. It is an emotional time for everybody. But the clarity of what we want to do in the future makes so much sense. Hospice care is a philosophy of care, it involves education, training and research. Ultimately it is not about buildings it is about the quality of care and we are still going to do that."

HB Times 8th May 2014

MOD Shoeburyness - Forthcoming Activity Alert: 6-14 May 2014

MOD Shoeburyness – Forthcoming Activity Alert: 6-14 May 2014

Dear Resident,

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

6 May 2014

Gunfire and Explosions may be noticed.

7, 8, 9 & 14 May 2014

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.

Aldi: Down to earth with a bump?

Pottering about in Herne Bay this morning, I happened upon an odd contraption in the King's Road car park. This is the site of the future Aldi supermarket, which is described as being Phase 1 of the long-stalled regeneration plan for Herne Bay known as the "Central Development Area".

My insatiable curiosity got the better of me, and I had a chat to one of the men peering at the machine - a soil sampler which drives hollow tubes into the ground to find out what it's made of.

He turned out to be the recently appointed Development and Build Manager (something like that) for the Aldi construction project. He told me that this kind of building is usually built on concrete foundations (simple and quick), or is perched on top of piles driven into the ground (more expensive).

Apparently using driven piles would be more expensive than Aldi wants to pay, so he was looking into the feasibility of concrete foundations. This explains why Aldi hasn't yet submitted a planning application. Aldi wants to make sure the building is buildable at an affordable cost before going through the time and expense of the planning process.

While I was there, they finished drilling the first of the 15 or 20 holes they were planning to make across the car park. They had gone down 5 metres before hitting a concrete slab, which he assumed was probably something to do with the old gas works that used to be on the site.

The man said that other parts of the car park may have "only" 2 metres of sloppy clay covering the required "sound ground" - there's no telling without drilling. But as he pointed out, the deeper the holes are, the more soil has to be removed, and the more concrete has to be poured.

If it's 5 metres all over, that would be what he described as "a very big hole" - I love jargon. And, crucially, it would be as expensive (or more so) than driven piles. Which Aldi regards as too expensive. The Build Manager told me that the outcome of the drilling would decide whether the build happens at all.

So after all these years of waiting, it's still not certain that Phase 1 will go ahead. If the nature of the ground means that building anything the size of a supermarket is prohibitively expensive, then that will apply equally to any brand of supermarket, and any building of that scale.

I hope the Herne Bay Regeneration Team has a Plan B. They've had long enough to think of one, surely.

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This is Brilliant!

Have a look at http://uk.votematch.eu/

As it says:

"Vote Match is a short quiz which aims to help you find the party that best reflects your political views in the 2014 European elections".

Quick, easy and useful - what more could you ask for?

Whatever party it tells you is the best match for you, PLEASE vote in the election. It's your right, and it makes a difference.

MOD Shoeburyness - Forthcoming Activity Alert: 24 April - 2 May 2014

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

24, 29 April 2014

Gunfire and Explosions may be noticed.

25, 28, 30 April & 2 May 2014

Explosions may be noticed.

1 May 2014

Explosions 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.

WEA Summer program

An excellent line-up for the summer - perfect for the Garden of England!

Hurry to book your places - contact details below.

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LITERATURE

Poetry of Seasons and Gardens

Tutor: Ron Dodge - 10-week course

Green thoughts in green shades or seasons of mist and mellow fruitfulness. We have these and other less well known but fine poetry in this course.

Thursdays 10 am – 12 noon from 24.04.2014, fee £79.00

Meeting in North Room, Christ Church, William St. Herne Bay, CT6 5NR.

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LOCAL HISTORY

Kentish Men and Men of Kent

Tutor: Deborah Cole - 5-week course

We will look at archaeology, place names, literature, places and connections, administrative areas and new research in linguistics and genetics. Does a pattern emerge of cultural regions, and what about their origins?

Tuesdays 2.00 - 4.00 pm, from 22.04.2014, fee £39.50

Meeting in Beach House, Beach Street, Herne Bay, Kent CT6 5PT

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GARDENS

The Story of the English Garden

Tutor: Sally Berkeley - 5-week course    

The English Garden has evolved over two millennia. What did various invaders – Romans, Anglo-Saxons and Normans – bring to our gardens?

Thursdays – 2.00 to 4.00 pm, from 24.04.2014, fee £39.50

Meeting in Beach House, Beach Street, Herne Bay, Kent CT6 5PT

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For further information or to book a place on a course please contact:

Graham Woolnough - 01843 822971 - HerneBayWEA@gmail.com

John Gilbey's blueprint for Herne Bay

The Leader of our Council has produced a blueprint for debate. As he says:

Cllr John Gilbey

As a member of the City Council for 11 years and as Portfolio Holder for Regeneration for 9 years, I have had a unique insight into many issues across the District and the County.

I don’t have all the answers to questions that are asked and would never make such a claim, but I would like to use my years of accumulated knowledge to present my ideas for the future of the Canterbury District.

This is not a plan, or a proposal, these are merely my own personal thoughts, a blueprint to encourage meaningful debate on these issues. This is a document to encourage you to write to me with your views and opinions, to stimulate positive ideas on the ways forward for all of us.

After a little chat about how in love with the Local Plan he is, and how we will all be living in "garden towns", basking in the glow of "sustainable urban design", Cllr Gilbey goes on to focus on specific areas.

Here's what he has to say about Herne Bay [with my comments] - do feel free to add your own comments below.

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Herne Bay

The council will complete the town centre upgrade [after how many years, while you were portfolio holder for regeneration?] including moving the market and preserving some of the buildings currently in a state of decay [examples?]. There is a need to re-open some disused buildings and homes [examples?], and tax second homes appropriately [why, how, and how much?].

A proposal to open up Beach Street and rejuvenate that environment will also be completed [completed? has planning been approved?] as part of the upgrading of the town and in that context the sea front itself should be the subject of renewal/upgrading with analysis and decisions to be taken in the light of local views and aspirations [NO! it should be DRIVEN by local views and aspirations] on the future purpose of such an attractive location. We should widen the appeal and facilities of Herne Bay even further to encourage both tourism and business to provide local jobs.

We will have a solid foundation for a greater marketable attraction with all these planned developments. I strongly believe we should also support the Pier head activities [I think you mean the Pier stub - your Council has long since admitted it has no intention of rebuilding to the Pier head], satisfactorily resolve the future of the Museum [after YOUR Council cut its opening hours, following YEARS of neglect] and continue protection for the Downs [your Council is the ONLY objector to the village green application - village green status is the greatest possible protection under English law]. King's Hall needs to be fully supported in its endeavours to become a self supporting venue for events while providing community facilities. The replacement of the Beach Huts at the base of the Downs should also be part of the package [NEVER!].

The Roman fort remains at Reculver need to be enhanced and protected. The general environment of the coast at Reculver needs firm and direct action to provide an environment worthy of the history, nature, culture and attraction of this unique area [yes, it could be a great place for a caravan site...]. Overall Herne Bay should strive to be a modern vibrant town that provides attractions and facilities for residents and tourists, both taking advantage of the seaside location. The Bends should always be protected as a valuable green gap and open space.

This council has, over the last 9 years made huge progress in Herne Bay and this is often forgotten about. We have renovated the clock tower (with the recent announcement there is much more renovation to come) [so how good was your first renovation?] and sea front flood defences [er, no - this was Environment Agency funded], we have enhanced the whole concept and environment of Memorial Park, designated large Queen Elizabeth II Fields which permanently protects green open spaces from development [it affords no such protection - QEII land can be developed on, if a matching area nearby is provided as a replacement - in contrast, a village green can NOT be developed, which is why the Council is objecting], upgraded the Leisure Centre facilities and cleared the pier head [knocked down a building which had become unsafe through Council neglect, and put down a poor tarmac surface]. We have built a sports centre at Herne Bay High School incorporating a roller hockey rink while also encouraging and supporting local involvement throughout. We have prepared an Area Action Plan for the Town Centre and work is now underway. With residents there is much to be done still to preserve and enhance the ambiance and economic well being of the Town but we are well on our way.

John Gilbey got out of the wrong side of bed Part 2

It would seem that John Gilbey's Saturday didn't improve. Having slain his traffic-related opponents with his mightier-than-any-sword quill pen, he then swivelled his attention to focus on those who simply would not follow orders - in this case regarding the supposedly independent commission he was thinking of setting up to waylay the referendum on governance. (Translation: moving away from elected dictatorship, towards something more like democracy.)

This press release is altogether punchier, even though it has fewer exclamation marks. It may read like a snarky comment on some social network site, but this is actually an official statement from the Leader of our Council.

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Governance

Cllr John Gilbey landing a few metaphorical punches

A few weeks ago, we said that we wished to set up an Independent Commission to inform the public openly and completely about the various options with regard to the governance system of the council.  This totally transparent exercise, completed by a wholly independent commission would have enabled everyone with an interest in this admittedly remote subject to inform their vote in a referendum next year. Three of the four parties had agreed in principle to support a Commission.

With appropriate weasel wording, the Lib Dems believe that the public should not be informed until much later, after a petition reaches the required level - which they assure us will be reached.  This purely political manoeuvring means that the public will not be provided with information at an appropriate time.

Council decisions will always be made by the party with the majority of seats, whatever the governance system.  Decisions with the executive system are better-made, without politics and at appropriate speed and I therefore believe that we should be very wary of a return to the politically-charged committee system.  There would also be cost and officer-time considerations to assess under the various systems and I regret that these members have decided to reject the opportunity to inform the electorate.  Unfortunately it means that we cannot proceed without the full support of members for an Independent panel.  I am not going to support adding costs to the council without cross party agreement.

Finally, I would welcome any of the other Parties coming forward with a Policy rather than purely relying on opposition to anything the current majority group does.  This suggests simple laziness or lack of interest?  It has been going on since 2005 and perhaps even before that.

News Release - Saturday 15th March 2014, from John Gilbey's website, and on Facebook

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"Decisions with the executive system are better-made, without politics..."

I laughed till I stopped.

Cllr Gilbey's wariness of a committee-based system makes me wary of the "independence" of his now-never-to-be Commission.

John Gilbey got out of the wrong side of bed Part 1

Our Precious Leader didn't have a good start to Saturday by the looks of it. Someone or something, or possibly everything, had him riled and the solution was to let rip on his very own website and Facebook page.

It may be that he was displeased with the public reaction to his support for the proposed one-way system in Whitstable - some churlish ingrates have drawn unfavourable parallels with the Westgate Towers fiasco, er, trial. It may be that the Barham by-election result irked him.

Whatever the cause, the following tirade was the result. In my mind's eye, I see it being accompanied by quite a lot of finger jabbing.

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Westgate

Cllr John Gilbey making a point

Sadly I have to re-open this issue to fully counter accusations made recently about the traffic trial but everyone should be aware that activists and opposition councillors are still distorting the facts and being economical with the truth.

Remember the trial had the full support of both councils and many others and was a joint operation between the two councils.

Remember the decision to close showed exactly who was the dominant partner - as they should be as it is their responsibility.

Remember there were so many positive aspects to the trial and further work around Canterbury would have given us the much better traffic movement we sought.

Remember we could not introduce these additional features because we were in a trial phase.

For the record, we were given no option but to remove Councillor Hirst from the Conservative Group because of his behaviour.  He persisted in working as a county councillor to the great detriment of the City and his duties to the City. We could not persuade him that he had also been elected as a City Councillor.  He was never, as widely reported, removed because of his opposition to the Westgate Trial, the issues were historic prior to this event.

With the Chairman of the North Thanet Conservative association, we spent six hours in three meetings trying to keep him in the fold.  Sadly we failed, but it was never within my power to expel him from the Party.

There was no great dismissal as portrayed in the media and he was given ample opportunity to return to the party and resolve any issues he had. I have seen his written resignation letter to the Party.  He was a Conservative on Friday and joined another party on Monday, yet despite many accusations, I have never once smeared this individual in the press or anywhere else.  You must judge!

The recent by election saw this continuing accusatory behaviour. No Policies from the opposition, just lies, distortions and negativity. What a world we now live in!  What happened to serving the community and the electorate?

News Release - Saturday 15th March 2014, from John Gilbey's website, and on Facebook

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Jolly good question, that last sentence. I've been asking myself the self-same thing.

Look everyone - it's that Ed Targett again!

Greens unveil Ed Targett as election candidate

The latest contender to challenge for North Thanet and Herne Bay MP Sir Roger Gale’s seat at the next election has been revealed.

Former Herne Bay Times reporter Ed Targett is the Green Party’s first candidate in the seat since 1992 after helping establish a new Thanet group in 2012.

Father-of-two Mr Targett, 31, grew up in Herne Bay and now works as a energy writer and wants to raise awareness on a number of issues including changes to at Margate’s Queen Elizabeth Queen Mother Hospital and Queen Victoria Hospital in Herne Bay.

The Canterbury-born campaigner has welcomed party leader Natalie Bennett to East Kent on a fact-finding visit and wants to raise awareness of issues including the NHS, public transport and town centre regeneration.

He lives in Margate with his fiancée and is a member of the O’Neil’s Boxing Club. Mr Targett stood as a Green candidate at the 2013 county council elections in Margate and Cliftonville.

The Greens plan to stand several candidates in the council elections and Ian Driver is confirmed as the party’s candidate for South Thanet. The other confirmed candidate for the seat so far is retired nurse Frances Rehal for Labour as the main parties seek to shrink a 13,528 Conservative majority.

Canterbury Times 10th Mar 2014

Herne Bay Food and Drink Fair

A storming success by anyone's reckoning - plenty of stalls selling excellent food and drink, plenty of happy punters streaming in, and then streaming out clutching their bags of goodies.

I hope this becomes a regular, and frequent, fixture in the town calendar.

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How can Herne Bay find its voice?

Will Scott's logo for Herne Bay

Town council or Herne Bay Society: what does the town need?

Does Herne Bay need its own council, or would a Herne Bay Society be better? Is it time to reclaim our Bay? That’s the question campaigners are asking this week after another Canterbury City Council council decision was met with fury in the town.

This time, it was the decision to block two-hour parking bays in the town, even though it was supported at a meeting of Bay town councillors and by business leaders. Members of the joint transportation board voted to go back to the drawing board, raising fears traders would suffer.

Nigel Hancock, from the Bay Independent Retail Group (BIRG), said:

“The fact is that we, as a town, are being stymied time and time again by Canterbury City Council. With every move made by us, and other community groups, to improve Herne Bay for its traders, residents and visitors, the current council seem to dish out another blow which knocks us back.

The policy-makers in Military Road seem to think that one size fits all and policies made for the city of Canterbury will somehow work in Herne Bay. They are deluded.”

Mr Hancock questioned whether it was time to reconsider the idea of setting up a Herne Bay Town Council, to give the town more effective representation and control.

But long-time campaigner Phil Rose, who is part of the Campaign for Democracy in Canterbury District seeking to change the way the city council is run, believes said there may be better options. He said:

“When people talk of a Herne Bay Town Council they are often thinking of the old Herne Bay Urban District Council but it would not be anything like that. It would be a layer underneath Canterbury City Council, that would decide how to set it up and what powers it has. The solution for local people who are unhappy with things as they are is to get involved but at the moment there is no vehicle for them to easily do that.”

He suggested a town-wide community group could be set up, with representatives from existing clubs and organisations. It would be non-political and could reach hundreds of people under the same umbrella organisation. Mr Rose, who runs the Herne Bay Matters website, said:

“A Herne Bay Society would be a good move, representing all the existing groups, as the people of the town, without a political axe to grind. We have the BayPromoTeam who do fantastic work but they are more about arranging events and promoting the town. I think there is a need for a group to represent people’s views and provide a platform for serious, formal debate with the council.”

The group would be similar to the Whitstable Society and Canterbury Society and council spokesman Rob Davies said those groups worked well. He said:

“They work effectively to represent their towns and we would be interested if Herne Bay were to create a similar society. We would work with them in exactly the same way we work with the two existing societies.”

Herne Bay Times 6th Mar 2014

How to run a Council - the case for change

THE PRESENT SYSTEM

Canterbury has what is called a ‘Strong Leader and Executive’ system. This was adopted in 2002 after the government of the day made all councils choose between this and having an elected Mayor. The Councillors elect the Leader, who then chooses the Executive members, and can throw them off the Executive if they don’t say the right things or vote the right way. Key decisions are made by this small group, and often in practice by just the one person.

IS IT WORKING WELL?

Having decisions made by a small group, or even by one person, is supposed to make for speed and decisiveness. In practice it produces the opposite. Decisions made without sufficient thought, without proper consultation and without proper debate, arouse resentment from local people. Instead of swift action we then get a long drawn-out battle which could have been avoided. We’ve seen this on issues such as the Westgate Towers traffic scheme and Kingsmead Field in Canterbury.

WHAT’S THE ALTERNATIVE?

The present government, in the Localism Act 2011, gave councils the option of changing back to the earlier Committee System. With this system, the Council forms a number of committees each dealing with a particular area of issues. All councillors serve on one or more committees, and the committees make recommendations to the full Council for it to approve.

WOULD IT BE BETTER?

No system is perfect. In any system, the largest party is able to have the final say. But a return to the committee system would have these advantages:

• Decisions would be more thoroughly debated – all the parties would be represented on committees
• Decisions would be informed by a greater range of knowledge and experience
• All councillors would have an input into the decisions
• Councillors would all build up their own expertise by serving on committees. At present the time and effort of those who are not on the Executive is wasted.
• There would be greater transparency – key information and the real reasons for decisions could no longer be the preserve of a small group or a single person.

HOW COULD WE CHANGE?

If we got enough signatures on a petition, the Council would be required by law to hold a referendum in which local people could vote to change to the Committee system. The number of signatures needed would be 5% of the electorate – at present that’s 5,611. If that target were reached by the end of 2014, it would automatically trigger a referendum in May 2015.

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To find out more, visit the Campaign for Democracy in Canterbury District at:

www.CDCD.co.uk

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Queen Victoria fills the King's Hall

The King's Hall was packed - a fantastic sight. It gladdens my heart to see people getting involved in local issues, and the turnout this evening was clear evidence of the importance of QVMH to our town. 

Congratulations to Gillian Fowler, and the League of Friends of QVMH, and a swarm of others around town for alerting us to the proposals, spreading the message, and mobilising support so effectively.

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The King's Hall - full to capacity with people wanting to save Outpatient Services at QVMH.

Some of those who couldn't squeeze in

About 15 minutes before the meeting was due to start, the Hall was at capacity. There were some helpful women (from the Trust, I think) acting as bouncerettes, and patiently explaining that for Health & Safety reasons the later arrivals would have to stand in the lobby and listen as best we could to the presentations.

Apparently they were expecting "about a hundred people to turn up", but they got about 500. Not their first miscalculation, I fear.

There were several councillors milling about, both in and outside the Hall. I'm sure they all registered the strength of popular opinion (i.e. number of voters) and will make a principled stand to support our hospital, or at least jump on the bandwaggon.

The good news is that the Trust have sensibly decided to hold another meeting to cater for those who couldn't get in today, or couldn't face the rubbish weather. No date has been set yet - I'll let you know as soon as I find out.

QVMH - it's our hospital, so it's up to us to save it

As you may know by now, the Outpatient Services at Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital are under threat of closure. The hospital is covnenient for Herne Bay residents, with good public transport links and ample parking - we need to protect the services our hospital provides.

If you want to save the QVMH Outpatient Services, here are three things you can do:

1. click the poster below to download it, and stick it in your window,
2. click the petition form below to download it, and get as many signatures as you can,
3. come along to the public meeting at the King's Hall on Wednesday 29th January at 6:30pm

Council gerrymandering: Oh no we won't! Oh yes they have.

Two months after saying that they would not submit any proposals in the boundary change consultation, our beloved leaders have, er, done just that.

A quick reminder: the Local Government Boundaries Commission for England (LGBCE) has been invited by our Council to review our local government arrangements. The LGBCE is looking at the number of wards, the boundaries and names of the wards, the number of councillors per ward, and therefore the overall number of councillors we have to represent us.

Back in October, Cllr Gilbey said:

"It is essential the setting of new boundaries doesn't lead to accusations of gerrymandering or voter manipulation by the council. After discussions with colleagues, I have taken the view the council itself should step back and let the Boundary Commission decide the new wards based on its own studies and after giving detailed consideration to the opinions of any individual, group and parish council."

Lo and behold, tonight (10th December) the Council will be presenting their proposals for boundary changes. They said one thing, and did another. Surprised?

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Of course, some of the more cynically minded residents (and councillors) suggested at the time that the decision not to put forward a proposal was simply a ruse to avoid having to debate that proposal in public, in Council.

The more deviously minded suggested that the Council's (i.e. the Conservative group's) preferred option would be submitted to the LGBCE by a proxy, such as a local Conservative Association, presumably to be accompanied by some nodding and winking.

My guess is that the Blue Team have been a little rattled by the sensible-looking proposals from the local Red Team (38 councillors, one councillor per ward) and have decided that public debate is a price worth paying in order to have an Official Preference published.

Windy everywhere

Damaging Windstorm Lashes UK and Northern Europe 

A significant wind event is ongoing across Ireland and the United Kingdom and will spread over northern Europe through Friday. The strongest winds on Thursday impacted Northern Ireland, Scotland and northern England where sustained winds of 65-80 kph (40-50 mph) were common.

Data accessed by Accuweather.com meteorologists show that wind gusts reached 183 kph (114 mph) at Aonach Mor in west Scotland. According to STV News in Scotland the wind reached 228 kph (142 mph) at the ski resort in Aonach Mor around 6 a.m., local time.

Wind gusts reached 111 kph (69 mph) in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, Tiree, Scotland, had a peak wind gust of 132 kph (82 mph). The winds resulted in many accidents involving lorries that were overturned by high winds, one of which resulted in the death of the driver.

Train service was suspended for several hours across the region due to the high winds. Airborne debris resulted in damage to the glass ceiling in Glasgow Central Station leading to an evacuation. More than 100,000 homes were left without power across Scotland according to STV News.

Although the worst of the storm was expected to bypass London, winds had increased Thursday afternoon with gusts over 60 kph (37 mph). Winds will diminish Thursday night across all of the United Kingdom.

Extreme winds caused havoc at an airport in Birmingham, England forcing multiple planes to abort landing at the last moment. (Video/Epsigo)

Meanwhile, these damaging winds will shift into the Netherlands, northern Germany and Denmark where they will continue into Friday. Winds across the region have already surpassed 80 kph (50 mph) with the worst of the storm expected Thursday night.

Sustained winds of 65 to 80 kph (40-50 mph) are expected along with gusts over 120 kph (75 mph). Isolated gusts over 145 kph (90 mph) can pound Denmark and northern Germany.

Winds of this magnitude will be capable of damaging roofs and buildings while also downing trees and power lines. Significant power outages are expected across the region.

On Friday, the strongest winds will prevail from southern Norway through Denmark, northern Germany and Poland. The winds on Friday are expected to be less intense than those through Thursday night; however, winds over 80 kph (50 mph) will be possible.

Weather following the storm will feature a shot of much colder air. Snow showers will be possible through Friday across Scotland and northern England. This cold air mass will create dangerous conditions for anyone who loses electricity for an extended period of time.

Another effect of this storm system will be the threat of coastal flooding which will be possible along the east coast of Scotland and England into Friday. The potential exists for some areas to experience the worst coastal flooding in decades.

The greatest threat for flooding in the United Kingdom will be along the northern shores of Kent where the strong northerly winds will cause water to pile up against the coastline.

Coastal areas from the Netherlands through northern Germany and Denmark will also be threatened by significant coastal flooding which could cause the worst flooding in decades. Waters could briefly rise several meters above normal levels during high tide.

AccuWeather.com

MOD Shoeburyness - Forthcoming Activity Alert: 29 November - 12 December 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

29 November 2013: Gunfire and Explosions may be noticed earlier than usual, 08:00.

2, 5, 10, 11 December 2013: Local Gunfire and Explosions may be noticed.

3 & 4 December 2013: Local Gunfire and Explosions may be noticed earlier than usual, 08:00.

6 & 13 December 2013: Local Gunfire may be noticed.

12 December 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.

£50k for the Bay

Yes folks, it's free money time!

The People's Millions people have £50,000 to give away, and we're up against Ellington Park in Ramsgate. The winner is decided by the number of phone-in votes, which will cost you 10p. You can vote up to 10 times - I don't know why this should be, but rules is rules.

Call 0871 626 8861 before midnight today (26th) to vote for Herne Bay in the People's Millions.

If you would like to help on voting day (handing out leaflets, encouraging people to vote and so on) call 07540 392 916.

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Beach Hut Charges - have your say

Our beloved Council is reviewing the way it charges people for having huts on the public beach. Apparently they have had legal advice that the current arrangements fall short of best practice. This document spells out the background, and the proposed new charges.

In a nutshell, the rents go up, there's no discount for being a local or for being a long-term owner, and the cost of selling a beach hut goes down. There's a suggestion that these changes be phased in over two years.

The Council is asking three main questions:

1. What do you think of the proposed Beach hut rents for 2014/15?
2. Do you think the market rent should be introduced fully in 2014/15 or phased over two years?
3. What are your views on allowing beach hut owners to sub-let their beach hut?

This consultation is open to all residents (not just hutters or community groups), so if you have an opinion one way or the other, do be sure to let your Council know.