Tim Prater

14
May
2021
Sandgate Beach Gets Seaside Award for NINTH Year Running

Sandgate Beach Gets Seaside Award for NINTH Year Running

Sandgate beach has been named as one of country’s best beaches by environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy – for the NINTH year running!

Sandgate’s award places it amongst 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.

Tim Prater, Chairman of Sandgate Parish Council, said:

“Just 132 beaches in England have won the Seaside Award this year, no other beaches in Folkestone & Hythe, and Sandgate is the only Parish Council in the country on the winners list. We have so many reasons to be proud that Sandgate Beach has won the Seaside Award for the NINTH year running.

“It’s totally a team effort. Fom the residents and businesses that play their part in keeping the beach tidy, the facilities provided by and signposted by the Parish Council and others, Councillors like Nabin Siwa and non-Councillors working as a team to apply year after year, and the support of F&HDC and Veolia for their work in collecting waste and emptying bins. it just wouldn’t happen without all of them, and it is something we should celebrate together.”

Keep Britain Tidy Blue Flag and Seaside Award Winners 2021Download

Environmental charity Keep Britain Tidy announced the winners of prestigious Blue Flag and Seaside Awards for 2021. 132 beaches in England have received a Seaside Award, and 76 have acheived Blue Flag status.

The international Blue Flag and the UK Seaside Awards are the quality marks for our beaches and mean those visiting them can be sure 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 OBE said: “This year, more than ever, we are going to be relying on our country’s beautiful beaches to escape for a much-needed break after all the stresses and strains of the past year.

“Whether it’s camping in Cornwall, renting a cottage in North Yorkshire or simply having a day out at the seaside in Sussex, a fantastic beach is an essential part of a holiday for so many of us.

“Last year, due to the pandemic, we did not have the opportunity to celebrate all the great award-winning beaches around the coast so this year we are delighted to have even more winners than we did in 2019, thanks to the incredible work of the teams around the country that make our beaches clean and safe for us all to enjoy.

“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 these awards.

“As we all plan our 2021 holidays much closer to home, thanks to the Blue Flag and Seaside Award those choosing to holiday at a destination with an award-winning beach can be assured it will be clean and safe and meet the highest standards for water quality and management.”

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Posted by Tim Prater in News
14
May
2021

Virtual Meeting to Question Home Office on Continued Use of Napier Barracks

Another virtual community engagement meeting is being held to answer residents’ questions regarding the Home Office’s use of Napier Barracks to house temporarily those seeking asylum in the UK.

The Home Office continues to use Napier Barracks as an asylum centre despite opposition from Folkestone & Hythe District Council, local residents and asylum support groups.

Folkestone & Hythe District Council (F&HDC) is organising the online event, which will be streamed live on YouTube on Thursday 27 May at 3.30pm.

The meeting will be chaired by F&HDC Leader, Cllr David Monk. Folkestone & Hythe MP Damian Collins will be on the panel for the meeting and the leader of Kent County Council, Cllr Roger Gough. Representatives from the Home Office, Kent Police, Migrant Help and KCC Public Health have also been invited to attend.

Questions are requested ahead of the meeting and should be submitted by 5pm on Thursday 20 May via the council website folkestonehythe.gov.uk/napierbarracks/home-office or can be sent in writing to Committee Services, Folkestone & Hythe District Council, Civic Centre, Castle Hill Avenue, Folkestone, CT20 2QY.

A council spokesperson said:

“We understand that our residents may still have questions about the continued use of the barracks in Folkestone and we want to bring together the Home Office and those involved in providing support services to provide the answers to those questions.

“It may not be possible to answer every question individually so our intention is that themes raised by residents will be discussed by the panel.

“We hope that the event will reassure our residents that despite not being involved in the decision to use Napier Barracks we are prepared to organise and lead this virtual meeting to ensure that our communities are provided with the answers they are seeking.”

Enquiries may be rejected – as is standard council practice – if they are considered to be defamatory, frivolous or offensive.

Members of the public will be able to watch the meeting by visiting bit.ly/YouTubeMeetings

Posted by Tim Prater in News
13
May
2021
Sandgate Parish Council Signs The Armed Forces Covenant

Sandgate Parish Council Signs The Armed Forces Covenant

At the 2021 Annual Parish Council Meeting it was unanimously agreed that Sandgate Parish Council should sign the Armed Forces Covenant.

The Armed Forces Covenant is a promise from the nation to those who serve. It says we will do all we can to ensure they are treated fairly and not disadvantaged in their day-to-day lives. This includes offering injured servicemen and women and bereaved families extra support where appropriate.

Sandgate Parish Council Chairman Tim Prater was delighted to sign the Covenant on behalf of the Parish on 15th May 2021.

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For more about the Covenant and what it means, visit www.gov.uk/government/policies/armed-forces-covenant

Have you been disadvantaged because of your service? Contact your Service Families Federation or email the Ministry of Defence Covenant Team at covenant-mailbox@mod.uk

Need help buying your first home? Visit www.gov.uk/forces-help-to-buy

Posted by Tim Prater in News
10
May
2021

Sandgate Community Garden: Update 9 May 2021

This week we have had high winds through to hail, thunder and lightning, followed by torrential rain!

We did not manage to achieve all our tasks for the week as the Saturday session was cancelled due to rain, but all the squashes and courgettes did get potted on and at least we did not have to do much watering.  The high winds at the start of the week flattened the broad beans and rhubarb in particular, as well as battered many other things where the fleece covers got pulled off and blown about.  Two of us went to Enbrook Park once the winds had died down and replaced all the covers, and by Wednesday the broad beans were looking perky and standing up again.  The temperatures are still low for this time of year and it is good that we have not planted the tender tomatoes, courgettes and flowering annuals just yet.

In February we were given a Community Grant from Kent County Council for us to buy some cold frames and a new tool box for the garden at Enbrook.  The tool box was ordered online, and although the web site had shown the item was in stock, by the press of the button to complete the order, there was something like a 14 week wait before it would be in stock again and we are still waiting with a promise of it appearing sometime in May.  From the writing of the grant before Christmas 2020 to it being awarded, the cold frames had increased in price by nearly a third and we had to find another source.  We commissioned the maker of the planters at Fremantle Park and Cheriton High Street to make the cold frames for us instead(when he could fit it into his order book), and the first two were delivered this week, with another two due soon.  In a picture below, you can see that they are very solid and have a Perspex lid as a safety feature.  They have already been put to good use sheltering many newly potted seedlings.

On Tuesday a couple of us made a visit to Godinton House at the invite of the head gardener Viv Hunt. We were shown around the beautiful gardens, and given some seedlings and rooted cuttings of several flowering shrubs and plants.  We were most taken with their beautiful bug hotel and aspire to make something similar at some point.  We hope to remain in contact with the staff, and have invited one of their apprentices to visit our garden as he is studying how to set up a community garden in his home town.  What a privilege it was to see the hub of where all the magic of plant propagation happens, their beautiful greenhouses and potting sheds.

This coming week we have another visit planned to another Kent Community Garden in East Malling called Communigrow.  This is a garden which is ‘focused on reconnecting people to freshly grown food, the outdoor environment it comes from and the soil it grows in’, which is pretty much our ethos too. This trip has been in the pipeline for over a year now but because of ‘you know what’, has been postponed and put back until finally we think it will actually happen.  It may not be possible to compare our gardens as there are many different circumstances, but there is always something to take away from such visits and to consider as a possibility.

What’s next?

  • Pot up the cucumbers and tree spinach
  • Spread compost on small bed at Enbrook and Wilberforce Green
  • Move wood chips
  • Start work on turning the compost
  • First pick of new spinach beds
  • Salad pick
  • Any radishes to pick still?
  • Weed alley way
  • Godinton House bug house
  • New cold frames
  • Lovely fresh lettuce leaves
  • Asparagus – but no picking until 2023!
Posted by Tim Prater in Sandgate Community Garden
08
May
2021

Cheriton, Sandgate & Hythe East Division of Kent County Council: Declaration of Results

Election of councillors to Kent County Council for the Cheriton, Sandgate & Hythe East division on Thursday 6 May 2021

CandidateDescription (if any)Number of votes cast
BINGHAM Paul RichardLabour Party792
LOVE Rory CassianThe Conservative Party Candidate2143
PRATER TimLiberal Democrats2122
SEGAL EricTrade Unionists and Socialists Against Cuts91

Turnout: 34.95%

Declaration_of_results_-_Cheriton_Sandgate_and_Hythe_East

Posted by Tim Prater in News
05
May
2021
May 2021 Foodbin

May 2021 Foodbin

There is a Food Bin drop off point for donations to the Folkestone Rainbow Centre Foodbank in Sandgate Library.

The call on the Foodbank, and their need for donations is greater at this time than ever. They really do need any help and donations you can offer: simply bring them to Sandgate library and drop off in the foodbin.

Waitrose in Hythe, Asda & Tesco in Folkestone, and Sainsbury’s also all have drop off points, and all dried or tinned food donations would make a big difference.

At this moment, there is particular need for long life UHT milk, tinned meat, instant mash, long life orange juice and toothpaste.

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Thank you.

Posted by Tim Prater in Foodbank