Nov 2011: most read

1. Sanctions busting at Manston
2. Great public speaking
3. Manston's 2012 schedule
4. Save Hillborough Blog
5. Infratil selling Prestwick... Manston next?
6. Number-crunching
7. Paul Carter: Emperor of Kent
8. NOT the longest runway
9. Support from CPRE Protect Kent
10. Manston: there's no fine print to read

The finest public art

For your delectation, ladies and gentlemen, here's the loveliest piece of public art I've seen in a long time. In the middle of the Chicago, a long strip of land near the coast of Lake Michigan was reclaimed - it used to be railway sidings, but was converted into a Millennium Park. (It was finished four years late and over budget, but that's another story.)

Anyway, amongst the many attractions of this welcome green space in the City is this stunning piece of public art. Entitled "Cloud Gate" - but everyone calls it The Bean - it is made of highly polished stainless steel. And it is lovely. I want one in my town. Click the picture for a better look...

Oct 2011: most read

1. Night Flight proposals to be outlined
2. Woken in the small hours, 5th October
3. About the Save Hillborough Campaign
4. Does Manston already have a night flight schedule?
5. Oh. There goes another one.
6. Herne Bay in Bloom welcome
7. Manston Aircraft Noise Maps
8. Flybe plummets
9. Taskforce Day Weds 19th October
10. Manston's dreams and nightmares

Parish councillors hope to derail Tesco Express

Village councillors have vowed to fight plans to build a Tesco in Herne "every step of the way". They were unanimously defiant this week against speculation of the supermarket giant taking over the empty Upper Red Lion pub.

Tesco is believed to be in talks with brewery Punch Taverns to turn it into an Express store, but the idea was given short shrift at a parish council meeting on Thursday.

Click to read more ...

Council refuses to back village green status bid

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

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

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

Click to read more ...

Save Hillborough

The Save Hillborough campaign is fighting Kitewood's proposed development of 1,300 houses on farmland at Hillborough. Click the logo to visit their new mini-website and find out more.

Artists' Open Houses Trail in Herne Bay

Now in its 12th year, the popular Artists' Open Houses Trails, features 53 houses with over 182 artists, offering a rare opportunity to experience a diverse array of high quality work in a relaxed setting. With so many venues to choose from there should be something for everyone, so plan your trip and prepare to be inspired and surprised.

For further information on each individual trail, please contact:

• HERNE BAY Mandy Troughton 07890 065046

• CANTERBURY Tessa Mangiavacchi 07729 156953
• FAVERSHAM Anne MacLaren 01795 591555
• WHITSTABLE Paul Elliot 01227 282462

DOWNLOAD THE OPEN HOUSE TRAIL LEAFLET

Select the link above to download the full trail leaflet with details about each house included in the event along with maps of each trail. All houses are open weekends during the Festival 15th/16th, 22nd/23rd, 29th/30th October 2011 11am - 5pm (unless stated).

Here are the details for the Herne Bay Trail. Click the pictures to enlarge them...

Click to read more ...

£25.6m later, a New Marlowe

The tourists drifting past in boats on the river Stour didn't realise it, but the music they could just hear in the distance was the very first performance in Canterbury's brand new £25.6m Marlowe theatre. Appropriately (for a building in which the first year's programming finds space for Peppa Pig, the 84-strong Philharmonia Orchestra, Peter Pan on Ice and Glyndebourne touring opera), mezzo soprano Rosie Aldridge sang arias from Bizet, Saint Saëns and Gilbert and Sullivan.

The archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has been in for an approving look – the uncompromisingly modern theatre, surrounded by medieval listed buildings, is clearly visible from the tower of the cathedral, and the view of the cathedral spectacularly fills an entire window in the theatre – but very few of the townspeople have had a chance to see what their taxes were spent on.

Click to read more ...

Kitewood Hillborough Extension: expert opinions

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

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Stand against the new homes

In a time of climate change and food security issues one has to wonder what kind of organisation would submit a proposal to build 700 houses on grade 2 agricultural land. Yet this is exactly what a developer is planning to do on a 77-hectare site at Hillborough, just outside Reculver.

The developer has had the site included in Canterbury Clty Council's Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments and is now attempting to push it quietly into the district's Local Plan. Once included in the Local Plan, the chances are heavily in favour of planning permission being granted. There are many reasons to fight this development.

Click to read more ...

Public meeting: Kitewood development at Hillborough

A public meeting next week will discuss plans to redevelop land between Hillborough and the Altira Business Park. Residents and stakeholders living around the site, which has been earmarked for more than 1,300 homes, are being urged to attend to have their say and learn more about the proposals.

Reculver and Beltinge Community Hall, Reculver Road, hosts the meeting from 7pm next Wednesday, the first of its kind since the scheme was first confirmed in August.

Click to read more ...