Now that the summer months are upon us we have been asked by Kent Police to remind everyone not to leave back/garden doors open and unattended, as this could provide an opportunity for thieves to gain access to your property.
It is also advisable to keep handbags and keys out of sight from doors or windows.
Folkestone & Hythe District Council is conducting a review of the polling districts, polling places and polling stations that fall in the Folkestone & Hythe Parliamentary constituency.
In accordance with The Review of Polling Districts and Polling Places (Parliamentary Elections) Regulations 2006, the Acting Returning Officer will be invited to make a statement on the existing arrangements and any proposals made. In addition, we are seeking feedback from electors, political representatives, town and parish councils, community organisations and political parties from within the District area.
Representations should include views and opinions on:
Any representations must be received in writing by 14 August 2019. Comments are also welcomed on the Acting Returning Officer’s statement and must be submitted by 04 September 2019.
If you wish to make representation or comment, please send your correspondences as follows:
By post: Democratic Services Manager, Folkestone & Hythe District Council Civic Centre, Castle Hill Avenue, Folkestone, CT20 2QY
By email: elections@folkestone-hythe.gov.uk
We would also like to welcome the views of any person or body with expertise in access for persons with any type of disability.
A timetable, and other documents relating to this review can be inspected at the Council offices at the below address, or online at www.folkestone-hythe.gov.uk/elections/polling-review.
Decisions relating to the review will be made in November and the review will conclude on Sunday 01 December 2019.
2019 - PD PP Review NoticeSandgate Beach is a dog-free zone from Sandgate Castle to the Seabrook BP (formerly Murco) garage at the far end of the Esplanade from 1st May and 30 September every year.
Outside these areas (from Sandgate Castle to Mermaid’s Beach, and the length of Princes Parade) dogs are welcome on the beach, although it remains your responsibility to clean up after them at all times, and to keep them on a lead on the Promenade.
Folkestone and Hythe now have an enforcement team who are now patrolling across the district regularly including early morning, late afternoon, evening and weekends – it’s no dogs at any time over the summer.
You must clear up after your dog if it fouls wherever you are in the district. The penalty for failing to clean up afterwards is £100.
Small plastic bags or nappy sacks make ideal poop scoops. Keep them where you keep your dog lead so that picking up a few bags becomes as automatic as clipping your dog on its lead before going for a walk.
There are free dog bag dispensers on the block by the Boat House of Granville Parade, at the seawalk entrance to Castle Road Car Park, and in the dog run at Sandgate Park. Please only take as many as you need to use.
To avoid smells and prevent flies, please tie the bag before depositing it in a dog waste or any street litter bin (it DOESN’T have to be a dog waste bin). Please don’t throw bags into hedges, verges or drains: keep them until you find a bin.
Beaches_and_Dogs-V2
A number of local residents had raised with us that the “Solarium” area (by the Sir John Moore statue / start of Sandgate Esplanade) was full of shingle and inaccessible.
We’ve raised this with Folkestone and Hythe District Council, and are delighted to say that they have now cleared the area and is pictured today, resplendent and ready to use (you’ll see it has good ramps for wheelchair / buggy access).
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 2018 Full Annual Return of Sandgate Parish Council. There is also a Notice of Public Rights and Publication of Unaudited Annual Governance & Accountability Return. The declared period for the exercise of Public Rights is 19 June – 1 August 2019, but in practice it was published on the Sandgate Parish Council website on 20 June 2019.
annual audit docs 2018-19 final approved-1
There is a National Audit Office guide Local Authority Accounts: A guide to your rights.
After the most recent tests a week ago, Sandgate Beach bathing water quality still remains excellent.
We have a page on this site that includes the most recent results from the regular Environment Agency testing. Samples are taken weekly between May 1st and Sep 30th.
Sandgate Parish Council are delighted to support the work of the Folkestone Rainbow Centre by hosting a Food Bin at Sandgate Library.
Any items that the Sandgate community collect will be received by the Rainbow Centre team at their warehouse prior to being sent out to their Distribution Centres, Foodstop and the Winter Shelter.
Help feed local people in crisis. Items we would especially appreciate this month are:
Please ensure all food is well within date and unopened as we are not allowed to distribute out of date food. You can drop donations to the red food bin at Sandgate Library during library opening hours. Thank you!
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.
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
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.”
