Allotments

Allotment gardening is popular in the town with all of the three sites full. The council is researching and writing an allotments strategy to ensure they are supported and invested in, and to look at ways in which provision of plots can be increased.

The Eddington Lane site is an example of good practice with a very active and out going site association that has won prestigious national awards such as the Best in Britain, an award sponsored by the Kitchen Gardens Magazine and the National Allotments Gardens Trust. It has also won Digging for Victory competition run by the UK TV Gardens channel.

A wide variety of plants can be found on this site from fruit and vegetables, to heritage plants and spectacular roses. Every May the association hold a plant sale, and this year it was held on 22 May.

Members supply any surplus plants and the proceeds go towards the cost of an annual show. This is held on the last Saturday in August and has categories for vegetables, fruit, flowers, flower arranging, cookery and special children's entries. The show is open to all and members of the public are able to enter any category, with judging taking place and prizes awarded on the day. In June plots are judged in the local competition and the best six go forward to the county competition.

The association has won the Medway Trophy (for the highest aggregate score) every year since 1992 and one or other of the sites has won the Best Site category.

Herne Bay Memorial Park Regeneration Project

This is an on going project to regenerate the centre of Herne Bay. It was a premier Victorian resort, which is divided into three distinct areas including the seafront, the town centre and the Memorial Park, which is its green heart.

The park is close to the town centre and seafront and links to the coastal cycle path. Connecting the seafront, town centre and the park is key to Herne Bay's regeneration; the future market position of any destination is linked to the economic prosperity and quality of life of its residents. This will create a strong sense of place.

Tourism is an economic driver, and people will travel to distinctive destinations that also deliver quality of life and are visually attractive to residents and visitors. Key to regenerating the town is restoring its green heart, the park. The city council has consulted widely on the future of the park, and an active and supportive 'Friends of' group has been formed. £500,000 has been made available from the council's capital budget and a further £50,000 has been awarded from the government's 'Playbuilder' scheme.

The play area was refurbished earlier this year and is now open, and other projects in the park include installing CCTV, restoring and improving the lighting and paths, refurbishing the garden area, installing signage and toilets, creating a community hub, refurbishing the street furniture and up-grading the lake. The aim is to turn the park in to a 'green flag' park.

Other notable horticultural achievements include the installation of a kitchen garden plots in Memorial Park which will be offered for the use of community groups. This project was designed by residents of the Family Investment Homes Project, who have also produced a design for a sensory garden. The gardens will be installed by Oakapple who have worked on other projects in the district.

Last year Family Investment Homes held a competition to design a new bed at the Kings Road entrance of memorial Park next to the Parklife centre. This area had been particularly neglected and was in need of a revamp. They then carried out the installation of the new bed using plants they had grown at their nursery.

Looking after the environment

A biodiversity group has been formed to consider ways of reducing the impact of activities on the environment, and ways of improving environmental performance. The mulching scheme is being extended and includes mulching of Christmas trees and a spring bark mulch giveaway, which took place on 8 May this year. At this event, people from the Herne Bay In Bloom committee were on hand to give gardening advice.

Most local primary and secondary schools take part in the council's recycling scheme. This year Herne Bay Infants started an awareness campaign for controlling dog mess. The street inspection team regularly check all the street furniture for defects and ensure that remedial action is carried out in a timely fashion. Similarly any vandalism, graffiti and persistent dog fouling are dealt with.

The city council has a two-man graffiti hit squad that is available during the normal working week, and responds to offensive graffiti out of normal working hours. The graffiti is treated with a special acid and then removed with grey water. Grey water is also used to remove chewing gum from pedestrian areas.

The Clean Kent Team initiative continues and is proving to be a popular and worthwhile initiative. This is a joint venture between a range of partners including the city and county councils, Kent Police, Kent Fire and Rescue and shared between the neighbouring district councils of Thanet, Dover and Shepway. The team's remit is to improve the local environment for the benefit of residents and visitors. They undertake a wide variety of work including fence painting, cleaning memorials, disposing of fly-tipping and tidying up neglected areas such as ponds and ditches. The team is co-ordinated by the city council as the lead authority.

The probation service and Youth Offenders Team provide labour from individuals carrying community payback, and is a very successful exercise.

The city council also provides a fortnightly garden waste collection service, with householders either having a green bin or reusable garden sack. Once collected the green waste is taken to a local composting unit, processed and sold on to landscape gardeners in bulk, or made available to the general public at recycling centres in Herne Bay and Canterbury at a cost of £2.50 per 50 litre bag.

Broomfield Woodland park and BMX Track

In 2008 Herne and Broomfield Parish Council began a project to create a Community Woodland Park on a former landfill site. A regional competition standard BMX track has been constructed, which is the first of its kind in Kent. This project also provides the local community with a quality public open space with opportunities for informal recreation, enjoying wildlife, and enjoying the view.

Tree and hedge planting has been carried out and is establishing well. The site receives support from Kent County Council, Entrust, SERCO, and the city council.

Wildlife gardening

The importance of wildlife corridors is recognised, and the council is changing its maintenance regimes to encourage wildlife reserves on appropriate roadside verges, hedges, and grass areas, in accordance with the Natural Environment and Communities Act (NERC).

The city council continues to work with Kent County Council and Kent Wildlife Trust in producing information packs on gardening for wildlife. Additionally there is a Gardening for Wildlife Award scheme sponsored by Mid Kent Water. To encourage wildlife, the City Council is changing its planting policy to make sure that bird and insect attracting plants are used wherever possible.

Natural burials at Herne Cemetery a copse, glade and meadow area have been created to provide a natural environment to lay to rest loved ones and also enhance the biodiversity interest in the cemetery. Not only has a tranquil setting been creating for contemplation, taking on board stunning views across the district; but also habitats for wild flowers, wild grasses, birds, insects and small mammals.