QE2 Coastal Park in Herne Bay

Question asked at HBAMP on 3 January 2012

Phil Rose:

I am very concerned that Members are mistakenly believing that the ongoing village green application requires that a number of activities on and around the Downs at Herne Bay must be deferred until the outcome of the application is known. None of the Items in the QE2 Coastal Park Action Plan that are being deferred pending the outcome of the village green application actually need to be deferred for that reason.

A couple of examples:

• Why should Community Cleanups on the application land over the coming months (Item 2.3) be affected in any way by the outcome of the application?
• Why should the outcome of the application have any effect on the clearance of the channel at Bishopstone Glen (Item 3.8)? The Glen is entirely outside the application area - the bridge across the Glen is ¼ kilometre west of the application land.

Response

The Queen Elizabeth ll Diamond Jubilee Field — Herne Bay Coastal Park puts the Downs into a legal trust that Fields in Trust states "protects forever the land for leisure and recreation". As this is a consultation report we are seeking feedback on the proposal.

As the Downs Village Green application is still ongoing it is not appropriate to discuss the legal issues relating to it. It is worthy of note that the implications of a successful village green application are not part of the decision making process.

One result of a successful Village Green application is that enhancements that take place between the date of the application and the final decision may be at risk of being removed once the application is decided, particularly if they breach the Victorian statutes that govern village green land.

Fields in Trust will not consider any external funding application until the village green application is resolved.

This means that many potential projects on the Downs are on hold due to the application for village green status. With regards to the two examples given:

• The existing community clean ups can continue, but we cannot access the funding to obtain extra equipment specifically for the community group.
• The clearance of the channel at Bishopstone Glen can proceed because it is outside the Downs Village Green application area, thank you for the feedback.

What we found on the Litter Pick

Our recent litter pick was very impressive. Many, many thanks to all of you who came along. In less than a couple of hours, we collected eight sacks of rubbish from the eastern end of the Downs, including a few surprises like an arrow (!), a chunk of kitchen sink, a ping pong bat, and a very unattractive pair of Y-fronts. The mind boggles!

I think my least favourite bits of rubbish are crisp bags (which seem to be indestructible) and plastic vending machine cups, which split into dozens of white plastic sticks which then go everywhere.

Mystery Gull

Shortly after we arrived at the car park at the end of Reculver Drive, we were befriended by a very people-friendly young gull. It turned out that this youngster is regularly on the scrounge, and has trained a number of people to turn up and feed it each morning! If you have any idea what species this is, please let us know in the comments section below.

Mystery Plants

One of the good things about litter-picking is that your attention is focused on the ground, so you see things that would otherwise go unnoticed. Here's a couple of rather lovely plants that I spotted, and I have no idea what they are.

If any of you green-fingered botanical types can enlighten us, fill in the comments bit below.

Litter Pick on Saturday

This coming Saturday (28th) we'll be litter picking on the Downs in Herne Bay. Meet at 10am at the car park at the eastern end of Reculver Drive. Bags, gloves and magic picking-up sticks will be provided. If it's blazing hot, bring some water and some sun lotion. If it's pouring with rain, stay at home and hang on until the next litter pick!

Litter picking month!

Throughout May, we will be organising a number of litter picks across the Downs. With four and a half weekends, and a couple of public holidays, there are plenty of opportunities for you to come along, be brilliant, and make a real difference to the Downs.

Morning Picks will start at 10am, afternoon Picks at 2pm. If you're not on the Friends of the Downs' mailing list, just click here to sign up - it's quick and it's free!

Litter on the Downs is unsightly, and sometimes dangerous. By giving up a couple of hours of your spare time, you will earn yourself a warm glow of satisfaction, knowing that you have made the Downs better for everyone!

Meeting with CCC at the King's Hall

[Rosemary Selling was taking proper minutes - this is the condensed version...]

FotD: Cllr Gillian Reuby, Phil Rose, Ros McIntryre, Phil Cheeseman
CCC Outdoor Leisure: Richard Griffiths, Rosemary Selling
CCC Street Scene: Richard Davidson
Kent Wildlife Trust: Fred Booth

1. Richard Griffiths (RG) told us that the Downs Management Plan would now be part of a wider Management Plan for the QE2 Coastal Park. This is unlikely to speed things up.

2. RG said the Plan would be "survey-led", with the Plan being produced when we know what we've got.

3. Fred Booth (FB) pointed out that in parallel with the fieldwork, desk research would also be useful, particularly in well-documented areas like ornithology (check Kent Ornithological Society).

4. FB's Survey will run from April-August, the results are expected in September.

5. The Kent Mammal Group (KMG) would help with a survey from September onwards. The necessary training would be provided at Wildwood.

6. RG expects the Plan to be drafted in late Autumn/Winter 2011, issued for consultation Spring 2012, and signed off Summer 2012.

7. Serco's contract up for renewal in 2013, but is being reviewed currently.

8. In October 2009, there was a pot of £14k of S106 developers' contributions ear-marked for the Downs. The cost of the KWT survey and "signage" leaves us with £10k.

9. Community Payback "volunteers" widely praised for their work weeding the paths and clearing shingle.

10. Litter picking - we now have the necessary sheaf of paperwork to complete before litter-picking. Now we just need to find out what dates our volunteers are available on.

11. The number, location and style of litter bins and dog bins will be discussed at the next PACT/Panel meeting, as will grass cutting and trimming.

12. Shelter. Although the Victorian shelter was covered by CCC's insurance, it was under-insured. There is a suggestion that the shortfall can be absorbed by rolling it into the QE2 proposal... the Queen's Shelter, perhaps.

---

My thoughts:

QE2 status is not a foregone conclusion - the process is ill-defined and involves bidding and public voting. CCC display great confidence that it will be awarded, to the point of making progress on the Downs management plan dependent on it. RG emphasised the the management plan should be "survey-led", and this seems to him to be reason enough to put practically everything on hold until the Plan is complete.

The S106 Budget: We knew £2k was allocated to the KWT survey, having agreed to it at the FotD launch meeting in Autumn 2010. RG says £2k has been spent on "signs" - presumably the three new information panels, which were a Herne Bay in Bloom initiative. I'm surprised any of "our" S106 went towards these boards. The fact is that we have no control over the S106 Budget, although we are allowed to bid for funding from it on a project by project basis.

Richard Davidson (of CCC Street Scene) said there wouldn't be any more gang-mowing on the rough Downs this year, as the contract for that area stipulates one cut a year. We would welcome a statement (in writing) to that effect, and a clear understanding that the trimming around the steps (4 times a year) won't be done with tractors that leave wide swathes scalped. Similarly, we would welcome a written assurance that no grubbing, cutting, pruning or trimming of the blackthorn will happen before the Management Plan is complete.

If you have any thoughts on this, or any suggestions for the agenda of our next meeting with CCC, please add a comment below.