Tim Prater

Sandgate Parish Council Email Newsletter: Markets, Libraries, and Tours!

Sandgate Parish Council Email Newsletter: Markets, Libraries, and Tours!

The latest edition of the new Sandgate Parish Council email newsletter is out now.

Much of the content is below (as much as I could cut and paste!) but the most reliable way of getting your own copy fresh ‘n warm to your email inbox each time is to subscribe for free at https://sandgatepc.org.uk/email-updates-and-newsletters/


There is a LOT going on over the next few days in Sandgate!

  • Sandgate Farmers Market is BACK this Saturday
  • Sandgate Library Reopening from 7th September
  • Last Few Dates for 2020 Sandgate Walking Tours

See below for more details of each!

Nina Bliss would also like to thank everyone through the village who have showed so much support for her and respect for Robert since his death on 10th August. The welcome for the cortege through the village on Tuesday was hugely appreciated by the whole family. If you wanted to give a gift in his memory, there is a collection on behalf of the RNLI: please send cheques payable to “R.N.L.I. Dungeness” c/o W J Farrier and Sons, The Island, Red Lion Square, Hythe, Kent, CT21 5AU. Thank you.

Sandgate Farmers Market is BACK this Saturday

It’s great to see the return of the Sandgate Farmers Market this Saturday 5th September from 10am-12.30pm in the newly refurbished Chichester Hall.

There is a lovely line-up of stallholders at the first Sandgate Farmers Market since lockdown: please do pop in and show your support (and see what’s been done in the hall!).

Sandgate Farmers Market flyer with stallholder details.

In order to ensure safety for all, visitors will be welcomed at the front door, name and a contact number or email taken (for trace and trace) and you’ll be invited to sanitise your hands on entry. Masks are required (except medical ground exemptions) in the hall, only a maximum of 20 visitors at any one time, and please observe distancing through the hall. The cafe will not be open.

Diary Dates: The Market should then be operating again as usual on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of each month, from 10-12.30pm in the Chichester Hall each time, so 19th September, 3rd and 17th October, 7th and 21st November.

Library Reopening

Sandgate Parish Council is delighted to announce that Sandgate Library will be re-opening on 7th September.

In keeping with other Kent libraries which are re-opening, a Click-and-Collect loan service will be available, and – for Sandgate residents only – a Home Library Service for those who, because of age or disability, are unable to get to the library.

To book these services, borrowers will be able to contact the library from 1st September on the dedicated phone number 07552 810271 or by email to Sandgate.Library@kent.gov.uk.

Reading or listening choices can then be discussed with a member of staff, and arrangements made for a suitable time-slot when books will be available for collection or a Home Library Service delivery will take place.

At reopening, Sandgate Library’s opening hours will be from 9.30-12.00 Monday-Friday (closed on Wednesdays) and from 9.30-1.00pm on Saturdays. You should only attend if you have called / emailed first and been allocated a time slot.

Please note that Click-and-Collect & Home Library Service loans are for a maximum of 6 items per occasion and, for the time being, will be limited to the stock held within Sandgate Library.

In addition, there will be one WiFi area available at the front of the library, bookable via Netloan, but there will be no print facility for the present. Obviously, every effort will be made to ensure the safety of both staff and customers. Please call 07552 810271 in advance to check if there is space for you.

Only one Click-and-Collect user will be able to enter the library at a time and they will be expected to use the available hand sanitiser and to wear a mask. Staff will also be wearing appropriate PPE.

It is hoped that in the near future more access to stock and browsing may become available, but we would ask that you bear with us as we learn a new way of working and understand that we are trying to provide the best possible service.

Last Few Dates for 2020 Sandgate Walking Tours

Sandgate Walking Tour leaflet with dates and booking details

Tour Guide Extraordinaire Tony Quarrington invites you and your family to join his guided walking tour of Sandgate. Many of his Sandgate tours to date have been sold out, but there are still a few spaces left through September and October: book early!

Tours depart from the Chichester Hall at 11am on a Saturday morning (so time to check out the Farmers Market first!) and cost just £5 per person for a circa 2 hour tour – great value. Call Tony on 07738 624522 or email tonyquarrington@msn.com to book.

Posted by Tim Prater in News, Newsletter
What’s in the Name?

What’s in the Name?

Sandgate Parish Council is considering renaming Enbook Valley Park to highlight its value as a community asset.

We can easily leave it as it is but perhaps you have a much better name! The council are asking for any nominations for a new name to be put to a community vote in the Autumn.

To suggest a new name, email clerk@sandgatepc.org.uk or call 248563 by 30th September.

All suggestions will be considered by Sandgate Council and a shortlist, which will include as an option the current Enbrook Valley Park, will then be put forward to the community vote.

Suggestions that are offensive or unacceptable (F&H District Council have to accept the final name) won’t make it to the shortlist: sorry Parky McParkface!

Posted by Tim Prater in News
Environment Agenda 08-09-2020

Environment Agenda 08-09-2020

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/ Comments made on the Facebook video during the meeting will not be monitored and are not a way of feeding back to the Council.

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Posted by Tim Prater in Agenda, Environment
Planning Agenda 08-09-2020

Planning Agenda 08-09-2020

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/ Comments made on the Facebook video during the meeting will not be monitored and are not a way of feeding back to the Council.

Members of the public can ask a question at a Full Council meeting. Any questions (deemed to be reasonable) sent to clerk@sandgatepc.org.uk will be read and answered at the meeting. If a member of the public would prefer to ask their question themselves, they can do so by emailing clerk@sandgatepc.org.uk at least 2 working days before the meeting asking to put a question to Full Council. Members of the public joining a Council meeting to make a representation will be asked to follow the protocol at https://sandgatepc.org.uk/public-speaking-at-online-meetings-of-sandgate-parish-council-protocol/

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Posted by Tim Prater in Agenda, Planning
Sandgate Library to reopen in September

Sandgate Library to reopen in September

Sandgate Parish Council is delighted to announce that Sandgate Library will be re-opening on 7th September.

This is the result of discussions with Kent County Council and reflects the unique status of the library, which will be re-opening well in advance of similarly-sized libraries in the district.

At reopening, Sandgate Library’s opening hours will be from 9.30-12.00 Monday-Friday (closed on Wednesdays) and from 9.30-1.00pm on Saturdays.

In keeping with other Kent libraries which are re-opening, a Click-and-Collect loan service will be available, and – for Sandgate residents only – a Home Library Service for those who, because of age or disability, are unable to get to the library.

To book these services, borrowers will be able to contact the library from 1st September on the dedicated phone number 07552 810271 or by email to Sandgate.Library@kent.gov.uk.

Reading or listening choices can then be discussed with a member of staff, and arrangements made for a suitable time-slot when books will be available for collection or a Home Library Service delivery will take place.

Please note that Click-and-Collect & Home Library Service loans are for a maximum of 6 items per occasion and, for the time being, will be limited to the stock held within Sandgate Library.

In addition, there will be one WiFi area available at the front of the library, bookable via Netloan, but there will be no print facility for the present. Obviously, every effort will be made to ensure the safety of both staff and customers.

Only one Click-and-Collect user will be able to enter the library at a time and they will be expected to use the available hand sanitiser and to wear a mask. Staff will also be wearing appropriate PPE.

It is hoped that in the near future more access to stock and browsing may become available, but we would ask that you bear with us as we learn a new way of working and understand that we are trying to provide the best possible service.

Posted by Tim Prater in Library, News
Watching and Speaking at Online Sandgate Parish Council Meetings

Watching and Speaking at Online Sandgate Parish Council Meetings

Until April 2020, no Councils met online for full Council or Committee meetings – they simply weren’t legally allowed to do so. When new legislation to allow Councils to meet online in response to Covid-19 was put in place in April 2020 (currently to expire in May 2021) then Councils had to learn how to adapt and meet online fast.

Sandgate Parish Council was one of the first to do so, and came up with a structure that worked quite quickly. All online council and committee meetings of Sandgate Parish Council are held on Zoom, and all broadcast from there on Facebook Live to our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/sandgatepc/

Any member of the public is welcome to watch the meetings live on our Facebook page, and recordings of meetings will be available to view after the meeting on Facebook for at least one month.

Since April, emails from the public to the Council have been raised and noted at full Council and Planning meetings (as appropriate). However, we wanted to go further and reinstate the ability for people to ask questions at full Council and make representations to Planning meetings themselves if they so wish.

We think we now have a reasonable way to do so, so in addition, the public are welcomed to ask questions directly at full council meetings, and make representations on applications at Planning meetings, as well as emailing in to either as before. The guidance / protocol to doing so is at https://sandgatepc.org.uk/public-speaking-at-online-meetings-of-sandgate-parish-council-protocol/

Posted by Tim Prater in Council, News, Planning

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 30 August 2020

The high winds continued to run their course at the start of this week, and so we have found the answer to our question about the viability of growing runner beans on the site – a big fat no, when for the second summer they were destroyed by the high winds in spite of all measures to protect them.  So it will be dwarf beans or nothing from now on.  A few beans are still standing, but looking very sad and sorry.  The sunflowers suffered the same fate, but happily the tomatoes are made of stronger stuff, and although the sweet corn was partially blown over and looked tattered and torn, they were on the whole still alright.  Considering we did not expect to be able to collect any corn after finding out there were badgers running amuck, the now ripe cobs were a bonus.

The planter outside the ship suffered the same fate, and was battered mercilessly, but the foliage is dense, and after a bit of a trim to remove the blackened areas, the plants looked in fine fettle.  The planter also had ripe corn cobs, but certainly not for sharing as corn relies on being pollinated by the wind ironically, but with only three plants, were not enough to make for a good example of a corn cob, being sparse and not worth bothering with; and so it has in effect been ornamental .  The space cleared will be planted again this week with something yet to be decided.  We are pleased at how the planter has fared being in such a position, both outside a pub and practically right on the seafront, and it still has plenty to offer.  We have heard tales of how locals are nipping out to collect a few herbs when they suddenly realise they are missing an ingredient in the cupboard which the planter can provide – perfect!

We put in some winter mustards this week and a few more pak choi, there will be sowings of spring onions and bulb onions to overwinter and be ready to harvest in the spring or through to high summer 2021. 

We are still continuing to collect more of the strawberry compost from the strawberry farm and stockpile it for using in November/December to cover the beds.  The compost heaps were all turned again and we found two slow worms tucked up in them – they were carefully moved to safety. 

You might have thought that the rain we had was enough to refill the pond but it is still only about a third to half full.  We are pleased to notice dragonfly larvae in the pond, and on a recent sunny afternoon, the pond was host to many bright red dragonflies, and a picture of one is included below.

There comes a time when you have to be brave and remove the mesh protecting the brassicas from the dreaded cabbage white butterflies eager to lay their eggs, simply because the plants need staking and have outgrown their enclosure.  We will still have to keep a close eye on the plants and continue to remove eggs, and we have positioned some mesh hanging over the broccoli as they were plagued by pigeons last year, but pigeons do not like to be under structures apparently, and so we hope this arrangement will work.  Soon find out!

We heard from the Hythe Hops scheme that the first harvest date for the hops will be this Thursday 3rd September.  We will be collecting our hops this day as they are certainly ready now, a little wind scorched but generally fine.  These fresh hops will be used to make a ‘green brew’ by Docker brewery.  Any hops collected at a later date by other growers in the scheme, are hopefully to be dried and used to make ales that can be bottled or canned over the months to come.

What’s next?

  • Plant out the mooli radishes
  • Harvest the hops
  • Continue to collect compost
  • Sow spring and bulb onion seeds
  • Find plants for the Ship planter
Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden
Paying Respects to Robert Bliss

Paying Respects to Robert Bliss

The funeral of Robert Bliss will take place on Tuesday 1st September.

Sadly, due to the ongoing Covid restrictions, the ceremony is limited to 30 invited guests only.

However, Robert’s cortege will be pass along Sandgate High Street and Esplanade from Folkestone towards Hythe just after 11.15am on Tuesday 1st September for those that would like to pay their respects. We know that many people have said they would like to do so, and would be pleased to be joined by friends and neighbours lining the route.

Nina Bliss, and Robert’s family, have been very touched by the support shown by so many friends from across Sandgate and beyond.

Posted by Tim Prater in News