News

Overnight closures of part of B2063 Risborough Lane, Cheriton, near Folkestone are planned for the nights of Wednesday 10 March to Saturday 13 March 2021 inclusive, from 8.00 pm through until approximately 5.00 am each night. 

B2063 Risborough Lane will be closed between the junctions with B2064 Cheriton High Street and Church Road, to the actual extent indicated on site.

The alternative route for through traffic is via B2064 Cheriton High Street, A2034 Cheriton Road, A259 Castle Hill Avenue, Shorncliffe Road, Earls Avenue, Sandgate Road, Sandgate Hill, Sandgate High Street and B2063 Military Road back to Risborough Lane.

Risborough Way will be closed at the junction with B2063 Risborough Lane, with personnel on site to allow managed access.

Access for any residents affected will be maintained when it is safe to do so, but there are likely to be delays and certain times when this is not possible for safety reasons.

The closures are to enable Kent County Council to carry out essential carriageway resurfacing works.

The works have been timed to be carried out overnight, to reduce their impact.

Some delays are likely, especially earlier in the evenings, so it is recommended that motorists allow extra time for their journeys or consider using alternative routes during these works.

These works are weather dependent, and if adverse conditions prevent works being fully completed within the planned dates given, the duration may need to be extended or some works re-scheduled.

The most up to date information on these works can be found here: https://one.network/?tm=120988995

The Kent County Council Highway Helpline phone number is 03000 418181 – please ask for Road & Footway Asset Team

Although Sandgate Parish Council is happy to try to help with sorting out issues in Sandgate, often we are not the ones who can actually get the problem sorted. In those instances, we need to pass it onto other agencies or Councils, such as Kent Police, Kent County Council and Folkestone and Hythe District Council.

Often the quickest way of getting those issues resolved, especially if it is urgent, is to report it directly to the right authority. We’ve complied the list below of many of the key services and places to report below.

If you would prefer to contact Sandgate Parish Council we are here to help, but a direct report to the correct authority may get a quicker response.

Kent Police

http://www.kent.police.uk/

Phone 101 to report a non-urgent crime. Crime prevention advice can be found on our website: www.kent.police.uk. You can report a crime online at:  www.reportacrime.kent.police.uk or call 101 to report a non-urgent crime.

In case of emergency dial 999 for Police, Fire, Ambulance or Coastguard Services.

If you are deaf or speech impaired text Police and your message to 60066.

If you wish to contact Kent Police to report non-emergency issues, here are some useful online reporting websites or ring 101.

• Reporting anti-social behaviour

• Report a crime

• Report Possible breaches of Covid regulations

• Report a road traffic incident

• Report an abandoned vehicle

• Report Scams

• Report a dangerous dog that has either already attacked, or put a person in genuine fear for their safety or the safety of others. For non-urgent matters report it online to Kent Police or in an emergency call 999)

Kent Highways (Part of Kent County Council)

If a problem may cause an accident please call immediately on 03000 418181 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday or on 03000 419191 at all other times.

You can report all non-urgent issues online at their fault reporting address of https://www.kent.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/report-a-problem including:

• street light faults
• potholes
• drainage
• traffic signal faults
• overgrown vegetation (including hedges and grass).

Problems Kent Highways don’t manage

You need to contact:

• Folkestone and Hythe District Council for bus shelters, fly tipping, litter, graffiti, parking or street cleaning;
• Highways England for motorways and major A road problems;
• your community representative for junction improvements, new signs and lines, traffic calming or changes to speed limits.

To report any emergency issues outside of normal office hours (Monday – Friday, 9am till 5pm), please telephone 03000 41 91 91.

Kent County Council

Enquiries about Schools, Social Services, and Registering Births, Deaths and Weddings amongst others should go to Kent County Council.

Folkestone and Hythe District Council

https://folkestone-hythe.gov.uk/

To report issues locally on the Folkestone and Hythe District Council website you need to sign up to their MyAccount service. Registering is free, quick and simple and allows you to make use of the benefits of having all of your own information in one place. You can register in advance, or at the time of using the service, such as reporting a problem.

Having registered you can – amongst other things – report issues (and see updates on those reports), make a council tax payment and look at planning applications within a 500m radius of your registered property.

Issues you can report online to Folkestone and Hythe District Council include:

• Report a missed bin collection

• Report a street that needs cleaning directly to the contractor

• Report a full or damaged litter bin or dog waste bin

• Report unpleasant smells, problem bonfires, dust or light problems

• Report a dangerous structure

• Report fly tipping

• Report Council Tax fraud

• Report tree problems

• Report taxi or licensing issue

• Report a stray dog

• Report a breach of planning controls

• Report benefit fraud

• Report rubbish on private land

• Report Graffiti

• Report a missing or damaged lifebuoy

• Report dog fouling

• Report a dead animal

• Report a suspected abandoned vehicle

Environment Agency

Report an environmental incident by calling the Environment Agency incident hotline on 0800 80 70 60 (24-hour service) or email enquiries@environment-agency.gov.uk to report:

• damage or danger to the natural environment;

• pollution to water or landpoaching or illegal fishing;

• dead fish or fish gasping for air;

• main rivers blocked by a vehicle or fallen tree causing risk of flooding;

• flooding from any river, stream, canal, natural spring or the sea;

• incidents at Environment Agency-regulated waste sites;

• illegal removals from watercourses;

• unusual changes in river flow;

• collapsed or badly damaged river or canal banks.

Folkestone Town Centre Place Plan development

This is a message for services and charities who support residents of Folkestone and who are interested in being part of the stakeholder group for the development of Folkestone Town Centre.  We Made That have been commissioned to engage with stakeholders in the development of the plans. For more information see the attachment and the press release here:

https://www.folkestone-hythe.gov.uk/news/place-plan-appointed

If you are interested in feeding into the development of the plans, please email Alex Sansom at communitydevelopment@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk with a contact name, organisation name, email address and a brief sentence on your role in Folkestone for me to pass on to We Made That.

Social Prescribing Webinar

The National Academy for Social Prescribing are delivering a free webinar on Wednesday 17th February, 3pm.

This webinar is designed for those in voluntary, community, faith, and social enterprise groups and organisations who want to learn more about how the NHS is structured and how social prescribing fits in. Find out what is an ICS, STP or PCN. Understand the NHS’ structure, its jargon, and how social prescribing fits in.

In this webinar you will hear:

·       how the NHS is structured and how it works on a local level

·       how social prescribing fits in with the NHS and local authorities to build an effective social prescribing ‘eco-system’

·       about the impact social prescribing link workers are having on primary care

·       how community groups and organisations can work effectively with their local NHS and social prescribing structures

Please visit the Eventbrite page to register.

Job Opportunity

RMDC are recruiting a Services Manager to join the team. See the attached advert.

People can access the job description, person specification and job application on the website www.rmdc.org.uk or email jon.wilson@rmdc.org.uk for more information and an application form.

Closing date is Friday 19 February 2021.  Interviews will be held on Friday 26 February 2021.

Specialist Volunteers Ready to Help Kent Charities

Stronger Kent Communities (SKC) are in contact with specialist volunteers who can offer their skills to assist your organisation.

Examples of the types of volunteers and their skills that could assist your organisation with a task or project are:

·       Website Developer

·       IT Professional

·       Impact & Evaluation Volunteer

·       Professional Photographer

·       Student volunteers such as accountancy and media, are also looking for volunteering tasks and roles, as part of their courses

If you would like to enquire about a specialist volunteer to help your organisation, please fill in the online form here:

https://strongerkentcommunities.org.uk/our-services/specialist-volunteering-service/specialist-volunteering-needs/?mc_cid=9170815fb9&mc_eid=84d1706907

Hold the Date – ‘Staying Connected’

Folkestone & Hythe District Council in partnership with Red Zebra, are planning the next virtual Community Networking Event, ‘Staying Connected’.

The provisional time and date is 10am on 25^th February.  Look out for the invitation next week with further details.

The 13 councils of Kent are working in partnership to tackle flytipping and waste crime.

Flytipping is a crime with serious consequences and serious penalties.

There should be no excuses for flytipping, with residents and businesses aware of their responsibilities when disposing of waste following last year’s campaign around illegal waste carriers.

Flytipping is dealt with by your local district or borough council.

Residents can continue to dispose of waste either by:

·        Going direct to their local household waste recycling centre.

·        Booking a bulky waste collection from their local district/borough council for a small charge.

·        Hire a waste contractor to dispose of their waste. Before doing so they should ask for a waste carrier licence, where the waste will be disposed and a receipt/invoice.

According to the Environment Agency (EA), over a third of illegally dumped waste is from households which have used unlicensed waste operators.

Illegal waste carriers often target people via social media or local advertising, luring customers in with cheap rates to dispose of unwanted furniture, fridges or garden waste.

However, these unlicensed carriers often simply dump the waste along country lanes or farmers’ fields leaving the bill for removal and disposal with the landowner.

Householders or small businesses found to be using criminals to dispose of their waste can and are being prosecuted by local authorities in Kent and issued with a fine.

KCC operates 18 HWRCs, providing facilities for the recycling and disposal of more than 30 different types of waste. You can check what you can bring to a recycling centre by checking on the council website.

If you are unable to visit an HWRC you can book a bulky collection from your district or borough council or alternatively, use a company that’s properly licensed.

Householders should protect themselves and the environment.

The government’s Test and Trace Payment scheme has been extended until 31 March 2021. This means that if you live in the district of Folkestone & Hythe and you have received a notification from NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate you may be entitled to a payment of £500.

To qualify for this payment you must:

• Comply with the notification from NHS Test and Trace to self-isolate
• Be employed or self-employed
• Be unable to work from home and will lose income as a result
• Be in receipt of one of the following benefits: Universal Credit, Working Tax Credit, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Housing Benefit, Income Support, Income-based Job Seeker’s Allowance or Pension Credit

Central government has also awarded Folkestone & Hythe District Council limited further funding to administer its discretionary scheme for those that do not meet the criteria above.

To be considered for this payment, residents must have been told to stay at home and self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, either because they have tested positive for coronavirus or have recently been in close contact with someone who has tested positive.

To be considered you must:

• Be employed or self-employed
• Be unable to work from home and will lose income as a result
• Have less than £3,000 in capital and savings;
• Demonstrate exceptional financial hardship

Cllr Tim Prater, F&HDC Cabinet Member for Revenues and Benefits, said:

“We know that self-isolating is hard and costly for many, but it is an essential way of stopping the spread of the virus.

“If you have been told to stay at home and self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace, please do. If you meet the criteria for the support schemes, please apply.

“Although we have only been given a limited grant by government for the discretionary scheme, we will support as many people as we can with the money we have.”

Further information and the application form can be found online: folkestone-hythe.gov.uk/coronavirus/testandtrace/payments