Herne Bay's growth threatened by Canterbury's greed

Herne Bay's future centres on tourism - it's a business model that is tried and trusted, it's well-understood and it's sustainable.

It makes sense to make the most of the most obvious quality Herne Bay has - the fact that it's a nice little town by the seaside.

Tourism is not isolated from the rest of the local economy, quite the reverse. Our vistors - whether coming for a day trip, a weekend, or longer - generate business and spread wealth at every turn. B&B room tabs, restaurant bills, pub rounds, shop tills, even parking meters.

Money, time and effort spent encouraging tourism in Herne Bay is not expenditure, it's investment.

But Canterbury City Council seems to think differently.

Read more...

Herne Bay rejects Manston night flights

As you probably know, Manston airport recently presented Thanet District Council with a proposal for scheduled night flights. TDC eventually organised a brief public consultation. Manston airport is obviously outside Canterbury's feudal realm of control, but TDC agreed to let CCC have an input to the consultation...

The agreement was that CCC would be sent copies of all the submissions made to the consultation that came from the Canterbury district. CCC could then collate the replies, mull over the contents, and then base the Council's response to TDC on what Canterbury residents had said.

230 people from the Canterbury district responded to the TDC consultation, and 80% of them opposed the night flight proposals. You can see the all the responses, or at least CCC's brutal summaries of them, HERE. And this is CCC's conclusion (you can find the full report HERE)...

Conclusion

Whilst in principle supporting the continued role that Manston Airport can provide in the economic well being of East Kent, the City Council considers that the potential for adverse impact on residents of this night-time flying proposal is not justified. The Council will therefore wish the method of operation to be kept to the current one and that further discussions are held regarding the monitoring of night-time flying activity.

Pier pressure

At long last our Council has described its vision for the future of our Pier. In a word: short.

Some of the trustees of the Pier Trust have been angling for a new Pier for years if not decades. All of the trustees have given generously of their time and expertise. They have drawn together a wealth of national and international experts to produce first rate proposals and business plans which they presented to our Council.

CCC dismissed them, and now we know why.

Read more...

Our Council must support the Pier Trust

An open letter to CCC from the Pier Trust's ex-Treasurer Jason Hollingsworth and ex-Chairman Graham Cooper:

In light of all the recent Council criticism of the Pier Trust in the press, as past Trustees we feel compelled to respond and set the record straight.

Firstly and perhaps rather tellingly, our first observation is astonishment that CCC should level any criticism at the Trust at all, after all the Pier Trust is a community organisation and if the council considers there are deficiencies why has CCC not done the right thing and wholeheartedly got behind the Trust and to support it and help to rectify those supposed failings.

Read more...

Plea for a free parking

He is the "mattress king" with a commitment to a traditional town centre. She's the "queen of shops" trying to revive the country's high streets. Now Herne Bay's Dylan Hampshire says town bosses need to take the words of Mary Portas to heart and make parking free across central shopping areas.

Read more...

"Free" parking for Herne Bay

A free parking scheme could be launched in Herne Bay to compete with out-of-town shopping centres like Westwood Cross. Town boss Chris West wants businesses to refund parking tickets to people who spend £10 or more in their shops.

He hopes to convince at least 20 traders to sign up to the proposal, which he says could be introduced by the spring.

Read more...

Council fights bid to turn Downs into Village Green

Canterbury council bosses were this week racking up a huge legal bill battling to keep control of picturesque land in Herne Bay. A five-day public inquiry to stop the Downs being granted Village Green status opened on Monday 28th November, with top London barrister Richard Ground fighting the city council’s corner against local campaigner Phil Rose.

Mr Rose wants the mile-long stretch between the Kings Hall and Bishopstone Glen to be made a Village Green – taking its control out of council hands and protecting it from development. He made the application in September 2009 after plans surfaced to build beach huts on the eastern side of the site.

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.

Read more...

Kitewood Hillborough Extension: expert opinions

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

---

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.

Read more...

Village Green: how you can help

Two years ago, I applied to Kent County Council to register the Downs as a Village Green. In November this year, Kent County Council will be holding a public inquiry to decide whether to register the Downs as a Village Green.

If we’re successful, Canterbury City Council will have to continue maintain the Downs, but they won’t be able to sell the land, build on it, or use some of it for car parking as was suggested for the King’s Hall end.

Village Green status will protect the Downs as an open space for Herne Bay people to use for freely and free of charge forever… just as we use it today.

To succeed in persuading Kent Council to register the Downs as a Village Green, we need people like you to come along to the public inquiry to tell the independent inspector about the use you make of the Downs.

Can you help us?

Read more...