News

There will of course be many questions raised over the coming weeks and during the consultation with local residents on the potential purchase of Martello Towers 6 and 7 and Surrounding Woodland (the Sandgate Escarpment). Below we try to answer some of them, but if there are other questions please send them to Deputy Parish Clerk Peter Savage at clerk@sandgatepc.org.uk

How much will the land cost? We can’t answer that question at this stage as we’re still in discussion with the vendor.

How will you finance the purchase and conservation? We will apply for a long term low interest loan from the Public Works Loans Board.

How much is it likely to cost Sandgate residents? Repaying the loan will cost an average of £9 per annum per household (ie 17p per week)

How will you finance conservation and renovation works? The initial loan will cover some immediate works to the woodland to improve paths and access throughout the area and views of the towers. The Parish Council will then seek grant aid support from appropriate sources.

What will you do with the Martello Towers? It will take some time but we would intend over the next five years to be able to open them to public and community uses. We would welcome suggestions from Sandgate residents as to what future uses they might be.

What will you do with the woodland? We very much want to preserve and improve the woodland to encourage a diverse range of wildlife. We will listen to stakeholders as to their views.

What if the residents don’t support the application? We will respect the response and not proceed. We very much hope the residents will agree this is an exciting opportunity to preserve an important part of our local heritage and environment.

Where exactly are the towers and woodland? The towers and woodland sit above Sandgate village, with the land essentially stretching just below the Army Camp from Military Road in the East to Brewers Hill in the West, with the two towers within the land. The below PDF shows the site and location of the two towers.

Sandgate Parish Council has decided to consult residents on an exciting opportunity to purchase woodland on the escarpment, including two Martello Towers, to protect it from planned development.

Martello Towers 6 and 7 sit in woodland above Sandgate Village and are subject to planning consent to develop part of that woodland for housing and to convert the two Martello Towers into a dwelling house and a holiday home. The Parish Council objected to that application and has now agreed terms with the owner with a view to conserving the towers for community use. The Council would also not implement the permission to build five homes as it wishes to protect this important site for its heritage and environmental benefits.

Residents of Sandgate will be consulted over the next few weeks as to whether they support the proposal. If the residents do support the proposal the Parish Council will proceed with the purchase.

As a part of the public consultation process, there will be two public meetings on:

• Thursday 26th April at 7 pm in the Chichester Hall;
• Wednesday 2nd May at 3pm in the Sandgate Library.

The Parish Council has published a series of FAQs on the proposal, but any other questions should be directed to Deputy Parish Clerk Peter Savage at clerk@sandgatepc.org.uk

The Sandgate Parish Council Action Plan 2015-2018 has been reviewed and updated to check on progress.

You can find a copy of the reviewed and updated plan at https://sandgatepc.org.uk/action-plan/

I write to advise you of the publication of the Places and Policies Local Plan Submission Draft for public consultation. This is the final consultation before the Plan is considered by an independent Planning Inspector at the Examination in Public.

The purpose of The Plan, supported by an up to date evidence base, is to allocate sufficient land for future development to meet the outstanding requirements set out in the Core Strategy (2013) for residential, employment and community needs. It also includes a series of detailed planning policies to be used to consider the suitability of future development proposals.

This draft follows the previous public consultations for the ‘Issues and Options’ (2015) and ‘Preferred Options’ (2016) stages.  The District Council would like to thank all who have made representations and comments in the past which have helped shape the Plan.

After this consultation we will submit the plan to the Government’s planning representative, a Planning Inspector, who will carry out a public examination.

The Inspector will consider if the plan:

• Complies with the legal requirements;
• Complies with the duty to cooperate and;
• Meets the tests of soundness.

We will collate and summarise your comments and pass them on to the Planning Inspector.

To further explain, a local planning authority should submit a plan for examination which it considers is “sound” – namely that it is:

• Positively prepared – the plan should be prepared based on a strategy which seeks to meet objectively assessed development and infrastructure requirements, including unmet requirements from neighbouring authorities where it is reasonable to do so and consistent with achieving sustainable development
• Justified – the plan should be the most appropriate strategy, when considered against the reasonable alternatives, based on proportionate evidence
• Effective – the plan should be deliverable over its period and based on effective joint working on cross-boundary strategic priorities
• Consistent with national policy – the plan should enable the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies in the Framework

During the publication stage representations can be made to the council over a six week period between 5^th February and 23.59 on 19^th March 2018.

Your comments for this consultation should be based on whether or not you agree that the plan complies with the legal requirements, complies with the duty to cooperate and is sound, as outlined above.

If you don’t think the plan meets a requirement you should be prepared to explain why and support your reason with evidence. It will also be helpful if you say how the plan should change to meet the relevant requirement.

We will collate and summarise your comments and pass them on to the Planning Inspector.

The plan, Sustainability Appraisal, Habitat Regulations Assessment, public notice, timeline of work and other evidence base documents are available to view on the District Council’s web site at www.shepway.gov.uk/places-and-policies.

Copies of the Plan (and representation form) are also available to view at all local libraries within Shepway, the New Romney One Stop Shop and the council office in Folkestone (a list of opening times can be seen below).

You can make a representation by submitting the standard representation form on the Council’s consultation portal, which is the preferred way of making a representation as this allows you to decide which paragraph you want your comment to relate to and summarise in your own words.

Alternatively the standard representation form can be downloaded from the Council’s web site and sent via email (to planning.policy@shepway.gov.uk) or by post to the address above.

If you do not wish to be notified of any further stages of the Local Plan, please contact the Planning Policy team.

If you have any other queries please feel free to contact the Planning Policy team at the above email address.

Yours sincerely

Adrian Tofts

Planning Policy Manager

Shepway District Council Offices & Libraries and Opening Hours

*New Romney Library will be closed for three days for redecoration from Monday 19 February to Wednesday 21 February inclusive. The library will re-open as usual on Thursday 22 February 2018.

Graham Turnill would like to welcome local resident who wishes to attend his mother’s funeral to be held on Thursday 15th February at 2pm at Barham Crematorium.

You may have seen that bad weather is on the way and we are likely to see high winds in some areas this evening through to tomorrow morning.

Our electricity network is built to be resilient but extreme weather can damage overhead power lines resulting in some customers losing their electricity supply.  Where this happens we work to restore power as quickly and safely as possible. We have organised for additional staff in our contact centre to help customers whose electricity supply might be affected by the predicted weather, and we have called up additional engineers to carry out repairs to overhead lines and poles as soon as the wind reduces to a speed at which it is safe to work.

Both you and your local residents will be able to find regular updates on our website www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk and social media @UKPowerNetworks throughout this period.

Anyone experiencing a power cut should:

• Call 105 to report power cuts and damage to the electricity network, or 0800 3163 105 (from a corded phone or mobile phone if you have no power)
• Visit www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk for the latest updates
• Visit www.ukpowernetworks.co.uk/powercut and type in their postcode to view our live power cut map
• Tweet @ukpowernetworks to report a power cuts or to receive updates

We advise people to stay clear of power lines and report damaged power lines immediately by calling 105 free from either a landline or a mobile phone. If they see electricity lines that are down or causing significant risk to the public they should call 999.

We provide extra help to customers on our Priority Service Register during a power cut.  Households with older or disabled people, those with children under five, or where someone uses medical or mobility equipment that requires electricity as well as other reasons can join the register.  You can find out more information about our Priority Service on our website: ukpowernetworks.co.uk/priority.

Many of us were shocked and saddened to hear of the death of well known and respected resident, and driving force of the Tower Theatre, Peter Heselden in December.

There will be a celebration of Peter’s life at the Tower Theatre on Monday 8 January 2018 at 17.30 following a private family service.