Planning-Minutes-28-07-20-1
31
Jul
2020
30
Jul
2020
Sandgate Parish Council Annual Return 2019-20
Sandgate Parish Council is defined as a “smaller authority” for the purposes of publication of its annual accounts and statements.
The Local Audit and Accountability Act 2014 and the Accounts and Audit Regulations 2015 require that:
1. The accounting records for the financial year to which the audit relates and all books, deeds, contracts, bills, vouchers, receipts and other documents relating to those records must be made available for inspection by any person interested, during a period of 30 working days set by the smaller authority and including the first 10 working days of July.
2. The period referred to in paragraph (1) starts with the day on which the period for the exercise of public rights is treated as having been commenced i.e. the day following the day on which all of the obligations in paragraph (3) below have been fulfilled.
3. The responsible financial officer for a relevant authority must, on behalf of that authority, publish (which must include publication on the authority’s website):
(a) the Accounting Statements (i.e. Section 2 of the Annual Return), accompanied by:
(i) a declaration, signed by that officer to the effect that the status of the Accounting Statements are unaudited and that the Accounting Statements as published may be subject to change;
(ii) the Annual Governance Statement (i.e. Section 1 of the Annual Return); and
(b) a statement that sets out—
(i) the period for the exercise of public rights;
(ii) details of the manner in which notice should be given of an intention to inspect the accounting records and other documents;
(iii) the name and address of the local auditor;
(iv) the provisions contained in section 26 (inspection of documents etc.) and section 27 (right to make objections at audit) of the Act, as they have effect in relation to the authority in question.
All the required accounting statements, declarations, annual governance statement and additional statements are available in this 2020 Full Annual Return of Sandgate Parish Council. The declared period for the exercise of Public Rights is 1 September – 12 October 2020, but in practice it was published on the Sandgate Parish Council website on 30 July 2020.
Sandgate-Parish-Council-Annual-Return-2019-20-1Scanned pdf documents do not comply with the Accessibility Regulations but the above documents can be provided in an alternative format or on alternative media, on request.
There is a National Audit Office guide Local Authority Accounts: A guide to your rights.
27
Jul
2020
Parish Council Minutes 21-07-2020
26
Jul
2020
Sandgate Community Garden: Update 26 July 2020
Now that restrictions are lifting and it is possible to go away or simply go back to work, it meant that the Wednesday morning session was quiet and many of our jobs on the list did not get done. However, we made up for it Saturday, with beginner gardeners, and a steady trail of visitors either coming to look or to take vegetables or cut flowers home.
In the week, the parks department of the Folkestone and Hythe Council very kindly brought us some compost from their yard which will be going to good use. Some of the courgettes are sitting on a thin layer of compost, and a couple got pulled out by a visiting fox or badger, so some compost was spread around them to help them bed in better. Our own compost bins got turned, and we now have a ton of simply the best compost waiting in the wings to be used on the garden over the winter. With any luck we should have at least three ton bag size heaps of the stuff to go onto the beds later….. happy days!
The Pink Fur Apple potatoes got harvested, and some kale plants immediately planted in their place, and of course covered in a mesh for protection. We did not find time to block the spaces under the fence – maybe this week! The priority is to make sure we keep up with the picking of the flowers, courgettes and beans in particular, or they will stop producing any more. We were surprised to find we had some rather large cucumbers lurking in the foliage, they had been totally missed and we had no idea they were there and ready! Quite often you have to search hard for ripe veg, as they are experts at camouflage.
Bee news
Chris has now got a second hive, and sent some amazing action pictures of bees in flight; one is shown below – beautiful.
Incredible Edible news
Some of the Incredible Edible team and the Community gardeners joined forces on Tuesday to begin work on tidying and clearing the brick planters in the Golden Valley shopping car park. We are working with the Parish Council and the shop keepers to plant up the space with edibles and bee attracting plants that the shop keepers will be happy to perhaps help look after and make more personal to them. Meanwhile, we commissioned three wooden planters to be made by Martin who lives locally, to position in Fremantle Park (he did an amazing job; got them done in no time and they are proper solid too!). The Sandgate Society has kindly donated some funds to enable us to get them planted with herbs and vegetables for residents to help themselves to. Thanks also go to Adrian and Gaye who funded two of the planters. The Parish Council since taking over responsibility for the park have upgraded the children’s play area as well as made repairs and planted some trees. They are keen for local people to get involved with using the park, and we hope that there could be an interest in starting up a small community garden there. Please contact the Sandgate Parish Council if you are interested in becoming a friend of the Fremantle Park and would like to get involved. There are to be more working parties over the next week or so and we will keep you updated with progress.
What’s next?
- Keep picking, but might only need to water some things after the rain on Saturday!
- Sow rocket, pak choi, coriander, dill, chervil and land cress.
- Cover the gaps under the fence
- Check the brassicas just in case they have been sabotaged by cabbage whites!
Beautiful Sandgate front garden dedicated to fruit and vegetables – Hoorah! 
One of our own grown cauliflowers under the butterfly mesh 
Chris’s action picture of a bee in flight The Golden Valley planters looking better already New planters made by Martin now in Fremantle Park
21
Jul
2020
Resources Minutes 14-07-2020
21
Jul
2020
Planning Agenda 28-07-2020
Sandgate Parish Council will broadcast this meeting as a video on Facebook live at the time of the meeting itself on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pg/sandgatepc/
Planning-agenda-28-07-20
19
Jul
2020
Sandgate Community Garden: Update 19 July 2020
Every session these days there is something to pick, this week was salad leaves, the first of the dwarf beans, beetroot, courgettes and summer squashes, along with the last of the spring onions. The sweet peas are producing more and more flowers, as are the zinnias, and now a few dahlias. We are always pleased to see any visitors on our Wednesday and Saturday morning sessions keen to take produce home with them, and have had reports of how flavoursome the vegetables are.
The kale and purple sprouting got planted, two varieties of each, and immediately they were covered with a fine mesh to prevent the cabbage white butterflies from laying their eggs. It is also important to make sure the plants are clean of eggs before they go under cover. Any outside the mesh will have to be checked and cleaned every week as a caterpillar infestation can finish them off. Cabbage whites can be seen dancing around the brassicas desperate to get at them.
Since reporting on the amount of blackfly last week, happily this week there is evidence of more and more predators such as ladybirds. It makes sense for them to appear in numbers after infestations, to give them plenty of food to eat, and they certainly have some catching up to do.
With extra weed, the pond is starting to look more pond like! It still leaves a lot to be desired, but if you take time to really peer into the water it is teeming with all kinds of creatures, including a spaniel that decided to squeeze under the fence and jump in one hot day…… we need to put some mesh along those gaps!
Bee news
Our bees in the garden are always looking very busy, and we are assured by Ray and Chris that all is well. Ray has been busy collecting honey from another hive he has, and Chris has her own new hive close by. Her bees are collecting pollen that is black in colour, and it will be interesting to find out what that may have come from on the pollen chart for July.
Incredible Edible news
The Incredible Edible team have been measuring up and planting large planters in Cheriton High Street. Several shop keepers are keen to have their own edible displays. The lettuces in the Sandgate High Street planter have been harvested and hopefully eaten. They have been replaced with Palla Rossa Chicory and some edible viola flowers ….. they look great mixed in with a leaf salad. We hope to have some news about things taking shape in the Golden Valley area of Sandgate soon.
What’s next?
- Keep picking, weeding and watering.
- Get some mesh in the fence gaps
- Check the Pink Fur Apple potatoes to see if they are ready…. If so, harvest and replace with more kale.
- Sow more chard, and maybe some Chinese cabbage
Cheriton High Street Incredible Edible planters Pink tassels on this variety of sweet corn This is what we picked on Saturday – just look at the colours! Cabbage white fighting against the brassica mesh
17
Jul
2020
Seagull Proof Sacks for Refuse Collections: Now Available in Sandgate
Seagulls and bin bags don’t mix. Well, perhaps they do. Too well. For the seagull.
Following an approach by Sandgate Parish Council, Folkestone and Hythe District Council have agreed to make available ‘seagull proof’ bags for households in Sandgate that have a purple sack rubbish collection (ie no wheely bin).
This will help prevent your rubbish sacks being attacked by seagulls on collection day (which should make Sandgate High Street on a Wednesday a slightly less rubbish-strewn area – we hope!). It’s not compulsory, but we hope any household that has seen their sacks attacked will take part to help keep our village tidier!
You simply put your current purple sacks, sealed, into the outer Seagull proof sack. The sack is then emptied and left for you to use again (and again, and again – they are not disposable).
We were, pre-Covid, planning to distribute sacks to qualifying households from stalls at the Sandgate Farmers Market and via Sandgate Library, but that’s clearly not possible right now.
So to order your sack email clerk@sandgatepc.org.uk or call 01303 248563 with your name and address. We are only permitted to give sacks to those with a current “purple sack” collection, so please don’t ask if your usual rubbish collection is a bin collection. We will drop the sack to your property in the next 5 working days.
Please note that bags DO NOT replace purple sacks – you place your purple sacks IN the seagull proof bag.
How to use your seagull proof bag:
- Please secure your sack outside your property before 7am on collection day;
- Please place your purple bags inside your gull proof sack and make sure that the sack is securely closed to avoid the gulls attacking your waste;
- Our waste crews will remove the purple bags from your gull proof sack on collection day;
- Please take your bag in as soon as possible after collection, any gull proof sacks left out permanently will be removed and not replaced;
- You may wish to number your sack so that it can be recognised as yours.
13
Jul
2020
Parish Council Agenda 21-07-2020
Sandgate Parish Council will broadcast this meeting as a video on Facebook live at the time of the meeting itself on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/pg/sandgatepc/
Agenda-council-meeting-21-07-20-1
13
Jul
2020
KCC Director of Public Health response to national media reports re: Covid cases in Ashford and Folkestone
Kent County Council Director of Public Health, Andrew Scott-Clark statement on recent Covid case numbers in Ashford and Folkestone:
As part of our outbreak plans, we work closely with Public Health England to monitor the figures across Kent – the seven day rolling average for Ashford and Folkestone continues to decline from the peak seen in April/May, so this PHE report does not mean there is a current need for any local lockdowns.
While the figure for cumulative confirmed cases will always appear high for these areas, there is no comparison to be made between the rates of new cases currently occurring in Ashford and Folkestone, and areas such as Leicester.
We have seen a number of infections in care settings and these are being effectively managed but we have not seen any evidence of any widespread community transmission of COVID-19 and there are currently no plans to introduce any lockdowns specifically these areas. Should, however, the need arise, we will not hesitate to take further steps should it be necessary.
Ashford and Folkestone have seen higher rates than other areas and is a combination of higher testing rates earlier in the pandemic, a large NHS Trust and many care homes in the area plus the London commuter effect.
We have known Ashford has experienced high numbers for a while and as a result we have deployed mobile testing sites to this area to increase the amount of people who are tested to allow us to better understand how and why this is happening.
As a result we are finding more positive results because we know that some people can be infected with Covid-19, but not exhibit symptoms (asymptomatic cases).
The public should be reassured that the levels of testing across the whole of Kent have also been ramped up and we would expect to see a rise in the number of cumulative confirmed cases.
We have increased our testing capacity so that we are able to identify and confirm cases in our community and support the NHS Test and Trace programme. We appeal to residents to follow the guidance should they be contacted by NHS test and trace. This will all help us control the spread of the virus.
The NHS in the region have also been working hard making sure that there is sufficient testing resources for their patients and staff to get the testing that they need to support their safety and treatment.
The Government has also set up a home-testing service where kits can be delivered to someone’s door so they can test themselves and their family without leaving the house.
The message to residents remains clear – to follow national guidance on social distancing, use thorough and regular handwashing, and follow advice if contacted by the NHS Test and Trace system. For more information, go to www.kent.gov.uk/kentprotect