The flower displays will be delayed this year because the plants have not matured sufficiently. This is as a result of weather in April and May being cold at times.
The colourful displays should be in place between 7-10 June.
The Parish Council is disappointed with this news, as we are sure are residents, but we are promised that the displays will be worth waiting for.
There continues to be more interest in the new community garden, and locals have noticed that things are happening, and approve of the project and the changes we have made so far!
We have continued to dig the area to the right of the fruit trees, making planting strips and paths as we go. The grass edges are gradually being straightened to make for a neater edge! The tomatoes have been staked. The fruit and herb area have been weeded and watered. Sunflowers, marigolds, and courgettes have been planted, and the two raised bed boxes have been treated with two coats of preservative.
Watering is an issue on site; however Paul the head gardener has very kindly been watering this week! He has managed to source a large water container for us, which he is busy cleaning, ready for installing on site ASAP! This is great news, and much appreciated, so thank you Saga!
What’s next?
A group of us are meeting up at 10am Wednesday 29th May and Saturday 1st June 10am. As the nights are getting shorter, and some people may prefer to come along in the evening, I will also be on site Wednesday 29th May from 6pm. However, you are free to come along when it is convenient for you!
Sandgate Parish Council is going to repeat the successful sponsorship of the planters within the Parish Council area as follows:
Sponsors will be promoted through the use of an A5 notice (A4 for the rowing boat) planted in the relevant planter together with items added to the Council’s Facebook page (and therefore Sunny Sandgate as well)
Sponsorship is on a first come first served basis with the exception of rowing boat for which the Folkestone Rowing Club shall be offered first refusal as they donated the boat. Requests should be sent to the Parish Council at the following email address by 31 May 2019:
Peter Savage
Deputy Clerk and Responsible Finance Officer
21 May 2019
What a fantastic, productive morning! I met up with six people at 10am at the horse trough as arranged; some came to stay and work, some came to just introduce themselves and take a look at the site.
We continued to clear the piece of ground to the right of the fruit trees of small roots and stones, and started to define growing areas or strips, and pathways between, by raising the soil into mounds (see photos attached). I had managed to get hold of some wooden boxes at £7 each (bargain!) which can be used as growing boxes. They can be used as they are, and can also be stacked up for height, which is something we will need to provide for some growers at some point. They will need treating with wood preservative suitable for edible plants, to make them last longer.
We also weeded the fruit and herb area, then planted nine cordon tomatoes along the wall and watered. They will need stakes. Ann kindly brought along two borage plants in the week which were planted in the herb area, and have been marked with yellow plant labels, so please look out for them when weeding!
So! An excellent beginning! Sheila has kindly offered to make a start with Instagram and Facebook , so if anybody would like to help, I’m sure she would appreciate that.
What’s next?
A group of us have arranged to meet up on Wednesday 22nd at 10am, and Saturday 25th at 10am, so if you are interested in joining us, then please come along! Of course, you are always welcome to go along to see progress and lend a hand any time you are passing.
Please feel free to contact me any time with any questions or suggestions either by email or on my mobile. Look forward to seeing you at the Community Garden soon!
Since the announcement of the possibility of the start of the Community Garden in the Saga grounds at Enbrook Park, fifteen people have expressed an interest in taking part in the project.
I was asked by Kay McLoughlin of Academy radio to come in for an interview last Wednesday 15th, to promote it further, and to invite any volunteers along to see the site. On Wednesday afternoon and evening I met up with some people, and on Sunday morning at 10am, I have arranged to meet up with more people at the horse trough outside the Saga main entrance, from where we will proceed up to the garden site to talk and to start work!
Paul, the Head Gardener of the Saga grounds has been incredibly supportive, and since the first planting of fruit trees, soft fruit and herbs, has spent two hours with a digger clearing the next piece of ground for us to work on.
On Sunday we plan to continue clearing small roots and stones, rake and weed, then start to look at where we can place individual and communal plots. It is such a beautiful site, where the old kitchen garden for the old house used to be, and is surrounded by the old original wall.
Keep Britain Tidy has today revealed the England’s best beaches with announcement of Blue Flag and Seaside Awards for 2019 – and Sandgate is on the list for the SEVENTH year running!
This year environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy is presenting 71 international Blue Flags and 137 Seaside Awards (12 more than last year). This includes the award to Sandgate beach, near Folkestone in Kent. Sandgate is the only beach in Folkestone and Hythe to win the Seaside Award, and one of only 11 in Kent. Learn more about Kent’s award winning beaches.
Sandgate beach has won the Seaside Award for 2019 – for the seventh year running. It joins the country’s very best beaches, from popular holiday spots to quiet, more hidden-away spots. What unites them all is knowing that they are clean, safe and meet the highest environmental standards, as well as the tough international bathing water quality standards.
Keep Britain Tidy’s Chief Executive Allison Ogden-Newton said:
“From environmental education for the local community and ensuring responsible beach use, to cleaning regimes and an increasing number of recycling facilities, it is a full-time commitment to create beaches worthy of the awards.
“Thanks to the Blue Flag and Seaside Awards, visitors can be reassured their destination is cared for and they will be able to help maintain the high standards of these awards thanks to their environmental initiatives.”
Sandgate Councillor Tim Prater added:
“The Seaside Awards recognise the highest standards of beach management and, in the case of bathing beaches, indicate that they meet the required standards for water quality.”
“Sandgate have received this award for the last seven years not just due to the quality of our beach, but also due to the hard work of a number of people in making sure everything is in place. Marjorie Findlay-Stone has been instrumental in our winning this award for so many years, as have a number of Councillors like Nabin Siwa and non-Councillors working as a team – thank you all.
“For Sandgate to win this award seven years running is magnificent. It’s also no mean feat: Sandgate is the only beach in Folkestone and Hythe to have received the award this year, and only one of 11 in Kent. It’s great news.”
Sandgate Parish Council have had a number of reports over the past few months over concerns on the cleanliness at times of water in Enbrook Stream, which we’ve followed up with the Environment Agency who are responsible for the water quality. They have been investigating, and have now found (they think!) the cause. we had forwarded them various photos and videos we had been sent, which assisted their investigations.
In an email to us yesterday, they say:
“Thank you for the updates and the photos, they are vital to our ongoing investigations.
“We are aware of the ongoing issue with the Enbrook stream. We have undertaken extensive investigations and have identified a misconnected domestic property discharging in to the stream. Misconnections are reasonably common and occur when a properties drainage or an appliance is plumbed in to the rain water drains rather than the foul sewer system.
“We have been working with the local authority and the property owners to rectify the issue and work to fix the pipe is due to begin on the 20th May. If the problem in the stream continues when the misconnection is fixed we will carry out further investigations, but we are reasonably confident that we have found the problem.
“The nearby designated bathing water at Sandgate is currently at ‘Excellent’ status, the highest standard it can achieve. The Bathing water was last sampled on the 1st of May 2019 where potentially harmful bacteria was at below detectable levels.
“For more information about this bathing water and others please visit our bathing water explorer. https://environment.data.gov.uk/bwq/profiles/ ”
Many thanks to the residents that reported this issue to us and provided us with the photos and videos that have helped the Environment Agency’s investigation.
if you have concerns about the water quality of the stream in future (after the works above have taken place) please do let us know, or report to the Environment Agency’s National Customer Contact Centre on 03708 506 506 (or 24hr emergency hotline number for pollution incidents – 0800 80 70 60).
