None in Herne Bay
Planning Applications: 28th Dec 2012
Reply
Monthly Archives: December 2012
Bean Ban Bombshell
New EU rules will outlaw
flying Kenyan veg into Manston, meaning fewer cargo night flights in 2013.
Thanks to the automated
cleverness of the web, I get a steady stream of more or less interesting stuff
from every corner of the globe. This little snippet is courtesy of the European
Commission, and I think I’ve managed to get the right end of this new bit of red
tape.
Since 2009, the European legislators
have been heroically protecting us from iffy food. The sort of things they look
out for should never form part of a balanced diet – Aflatoxins, Salmonella, Norovirus,
Hepatitis A, Pesticide residues, Aluminium and suchlike.
Anything that they’ve spotted
as being a potential problem – specific foods from specific countries – goes on
a watch
list. The watch list is periodically reviewed, with items being added and
removed, or having the testing frequency adjusted.
Two of the
latest additions to this watch list are peas and beans (in the pod) from
Kenya, the cause of concern being pesticide residues (in
particular residues of: Dimethoate (Sum), Chlorpyriphos, Acephate,
Methamidophos, Methomyl, Diafenthiuron, Indoxacarb). It doesn’t appear to
be a screaming dib-dabs panic, as they only plan to test 10% of imports – the
lowest level of inspection. These additions to the watch list were published on
12th Dec 2012 and come into effect on 1st Jan 2013.
So what? Well, I’ve heard
many descriptions of the freight flown into Manston – cut flowers, fruit salads
– but a recurring feature has always been Kenyan green beans. This is what
Cargolux and others are flying in when they arrive in the small hours, in yet
another unexpected late arrival.
Watch list items can only be
imported through Designated Entry Points – DEPs are the ports and airports that
have the Food Standard Agency (FSA) approved facilities for randomly testing the
agreed percentage of imports.
Manston is not a Designated Entry
Point.
These are the UK’s current DEPs:
Belfast port, Felixstowe port, Gatwick
airport, Grimsby and Immingham port, Harwich port, Heathrow airport, Hull and Goole port, Liverpool port, London
Thamesport, London Tilbury port, Manchester airport, Port of Bristol, Port of
Tyne, Portsmouth port, Sheerness port, Southampton port, Stansted airport, Teesport.
This seems to mean that as of
1st January next year, Kenyan peas and beans (in the pod) can’t be
flown into Manston – unless/until the airport is FSA approved. The FSA website
site has a handy application
form, if Infratil are thinking of taking that route.
Of course, all of this is
exactly the sort of thing that most modern businesses prepare for through contingency
planning, risk registers, SWOT analysis, and so on. Manston’s business plan
should be able to deal with one income stream drying up.
With a bit of luck though, we’ll
be getting fewer night flights while Charles Buchanan manages this unexpected opportunity.
ScribdX.DocWidget.BASE_URL = “http://www.scribd.com”;
ScribdX.DocWidget.ASSETS_BASE_URL = “http://s7.scribdassets.com”;
(new ScribdX.DocWidget({
type:”public_document_collections”,
resource_id: 4058883,
show_resource_owner: true,
show_doc_thumbnail: true,
show_doc_owner: false,
show_doc_reads: true,
colors: {primary: “#1982AB”, secondary: “#302523″, label:”#888888”, background: “#FFFFFF”},
height: “300px”,
width: “400px”,
document_order: “ascending”
})).asyncGET();
Pssst… wanna run a festival?
Hmmm… our beloved Council is looking for someone to run the HB Festival. You’ll have to hurry though – the closing date for applications is 16th January 2013. Don’t these people ever plan ahead? Do they really think they’ll get the best possible applicants by leaving it until a few days before Christmas to publish the invitation to tender? Unless, of course, they’ve already got someone in mind…
Council seeks coastal festivals delivery partners
The
city council is looking for organisations or individuals who think they
have what it takes to build on the successes of the Whitstable Oyster
Festival and Herne Bay Festival in 2013.
The successful delivery
partners will take the established festival brands and develop an
exciting programme of events and activities to take them to the next
level.
Managing and delivering these popular events that regularly attract
up to 15,000 people each year, the successful organisations will
actively work within the local communities to shape, and help put their
mark on, these annual community celebration events.
The council is keen to ensure that events and activities that are
important to the local community, economy and visitors, such as the
coastal festivals, are led by those that have the experience,
specialisms and networks to ensure their future growth and success.
The council will be looking to contract new delivery partners for
both festivals in early 2013. Expressions of interest from organisations
or individuals are being sought through the south east business portal
at www.businessportal.southeastiep.gov.uk ,
where the opportunities and individual requirements for each festival
are set out. The closing date for expressions of interest is Wednesday
16 January 2013.
The council’s Head of Culture and Enterprise, Janice McGuinness,
said: “The coastal festivals are an excellent example of how culture,
tourism and our local economy can enhance our communities by promoting
and celebrating what’s great about where we live.
“Ensuring our festivals are rooted within our local communities is
key to their future development and growth, and the council looks
forward to working with the new delivery partners.”
CCC 21 December 2012
Planning Applications: 21st Dec 2012
Old tree, new tree
If you’re one of the people who think that plants have feelings, and have been worrying about THAT Christmas tree that came in for so much stick, you can rest easy. After being needled in the press for days, it has been rather neatly recycled by Herne Bay in Bloom and Beach Creative in their Christmas grotto in the bandstand. All its branches have been (gently) snipped off and artfully arranged on the seasonal backdrop to the Christmas Fair.
The Christmas Fair is running this weekend – click HERE for details.
And what of the new tree? Well, at first it too was on the receiving end of a communal raspberry. I’m delighted to say that some of our townsfolk didn’t just shuffle away grumbling, but got together and pulled together (Blitzmas spirit?) to primp and prettify it into something very definitely Christmassy.
Christmas message from the Pier Trust
Good News for the future of
the Pier
Three trustees of the HB Pier
Trust attended the executive meeting of Canterbury City Council last Thursday
and although they arrived smarting from the negative vibes in the press about
an ultimatum to “shape up or ship out”, they were pleasantly
surprised by the positive attitude of the councillors at the meeting. Anyone
wanting to hear what actually happened and what was said can listen to the
recording of the executive meeting on the CCC website.
Repairs to the Existing Pier
The first item on the agenda
relating to the pier was what actions should be taken about the poor condition
of the wood in the substructure – not the planks you see when you walk on the
pier but the wooden joists underneath them. The Pier Trust and CCC had already
discussed this problem and it was mutually agreed that the Trust is not in a
position financially to tackle repairs on this scale. This was a major reason
for the Pier Trust preferring the management of the pier to remain at present
with the council. Until it has established the hut village as a regular source
of income, it knows it is not ready to take on management of the pier.
The 4 options to fund the
urgently needed repairs ranged from a 2 year patch-up to a major overhaul and
the good news for Herne Bay and the Pier Trust is that the executive
unanimously voted for the best option which will cost in the region of
£200,000. It will be carried out in stages with minimal disruption to the short
term plans to progress activities on the pier.
That Report!
Dawn Hudd, the Culture
Officer’s report was the next item about the future of the pier and it also
contained 4 options: close the pier, hand over management to the Pier Trust,
CCC to retain management, or a combination of the latter two options. Both the
CCC and Pier Trust favoured this recommended option 4 – that the CCC retain
control including maintenance costs until the Pier Trust is in a sufficiently
strong financial position to take over management. This, especially in the
light of this year’s huge maintenance bill, is seen as the only realistic
option for us this year.
The executive councillors
expressed very supportive comments about the current Pier Trust. They wished us
well with the plans we are submitting for a beach hut village up the leg of the
pier. The executive viewed the pier as an integral part of the regeneration
plans for Herne Bay. Mr John Gilbey, Leader of CCC, said he had attended our
AGM and assured us that CCC did not want to stand in the way of any sustainable
ideas and only wanted what was right for Herne Bay and the Pier. We three
trustees thought the comments at the meeting fair and positive.
The Adventure Golf on the
Platform
Last week, we met with Mr
Cain to discuss his plans for a crowd-pulling tourist attraction on the tarmac
of the platform. The Trust is happy to work together with Mr Cain and the beach
hut village and the Smugglers’ Adventure Golf will be mutually beneficial this
year both bringing in tourists and locals. There will still be full access for
walkers to enjoy the walks on the pier. Mr Cain will be investing a large
amount in the pier and hopes to attract over 5000 visitors to the pier in
August. Maybe next winter we shall see the pier lit up with lights and a
Christmas Market complete with Santa on the pier.
Looking forward to 2013
Thank you for all your
support this year. Don’t believe all you read in the press – we have come to
realise that a good story built on a few disconnected comments is often a
priority for journalists – we are learning, with difficulty, to take it as
modern media speak.
A special thank you goes to
our volunteers who have been standing in the cold this month outside
supermarkets meeting members, collecting subs, manning the office and the
Santa’s grotto in the bandstand and doing so much to keep us going. Their help
is much appreciated by us. Thank you.
The Office in the Pier
Gallery on Central Parade is now up and running and we are in the process of
sorting out the administrative problems that we have suffered in the last year.
Hopefully 2013 will be a good year all round for the Trust.
We are moving the Wine and
Wisdom date from the 4th of January to a later date as general opinion
indicates that was too near Christmas. We shall email you the new date as soon
as possible. The bands event specifically aimed at the younger audience will take
place at the King’s Hall on Feb 9th and tickets will be available at £5 each in
the New Year – we shall email you with details then.
If any Member wishes to stand
themselves or wishes to nominate another Member to stand for the role of
trustee next year we are looking specifically for members with expertise in the
following areas : legal experience, promotional expertise, financial and
fund-raising (big fund-raising!) expertise.
Lastly but by no means least
come down to the Bandstand at the weekend and find out more about the 2013 on
the Pier. We together with other community organisations will be there between
11:00am and 4:00pm. Santa will also be there so bring the kids or grandkids and
they will receive a free gift. All we ask is that you bring a few tins of food
as a donation to the parcels that will be given to the less fortunate at
Christmas.
Happy Christmas
Doreen Stone & Joe Howes – Joint Chairmen
Fury at plan to cap leases of beach hut
Here we go again – the vexed and thorny issue of beach huts: private pleasure on public land. It would be so much simpler if all beach huts on public land were Council-owned and Council-managed, and rented for a maximum of a year at a time with shorter term and seasonal lets available. If demand outstrips supply, the Council should gradually increase the charges until demand matches supply – a commercially sensible approach to its public responsibility to maximise the revenue from its assets.
City councillors are threatening to limit beach hut owners to a 30-year lease. Owners say the proposals would knock down prices and stop them from passing the huts on to their children. Some have stayed in families for more than 50 years. One Tankerton owner and barrister has waived her normal fees to help block the proposals.
The news leaked out during a meeting of the Tankerton Bay Beach
Hut Owners Association annual meeting. It is estimated it could affect
300 hut owners in Whitstable and Herne Bay.
The city council wants to force beach hut owners to move out
after a maximum of 30 years. At the moment, leases can he renewed every
year. Under new proposals the lease would be renewed every six years
for a maximum of 30 years. After that, owners would have to remove their
huts from the beach or sell them.
The council also wants to levy a £1,300 fee if the huts are sold
and charge owners £1,260 if owners let out their huts in the summer. Huts in Tankerton fetch about £20,000. Six huts currently listed
for sale on website beach-huts.com range from £17,000 to £25,000.
Pensioner John Richardson, 77, from Saddleton Road, Whitstable,
said:
“I think the proposals are unlawful. We already have a lease. That
can’t be overwritten. These proposals would mean that for the last ten years of the lease owners won’t bother looking after their huts. Tankerton will end up with lots of derelict huts. It will lose its charm. Individual hut owners look after their huts and give them characteristics that add to Whitstable’s charm.”
Marilyn Richards, secretary of the Tankerton Bay Beach Hut Owners
Association, remained tight-lipped:
“I can only say at this
point that we are in ongoing discussions with Canterbury City Council
about our hut ownership.”
But Alan Ratford, chairman of Herne Bay Beach Hut Owners Association, said opposition was unanimous:
“At the moment I can sell my hut without restriction. If
there is a 30-year cap, then the value of the hut will decrease. It’s
not a problem today but It will be tomorrow. We co-operate very well with the council but this is a major stumbling block.”
Deborah Hickman, who runs Tiddly Pomme in Brogdale Market Place, Faversham, sold their beach hut three years ago for £20,000. She said:
“We are happy we sold when we did. The huts are a real money-spinner for Canterbury City Council. But it keeps wanting to add more. This proposal seems really
greedy. For the people who have bought in the past ten years when prices
shot up, it is horrendously unfair. It is a privilege to have a beach hut but it cost us £1,000 a year to keep ours. You can’t just sit on it to make a fortune.”
City council spokesman Steve James said:
“The council is engaging in confidential conversations with beach hut owners. The finite lease is merely speculation. No conclusions have been reached.”
Whitstable Times 13th Dec 2012
Next Christmas will be dazzling
Traders and the community have teamed up in a bid to ensure Herne Bay does not once again become a national laughing stock for its Christmas lights. The town made national headlines after stars from the Marlowe pantomime in Canterbury flicked the switch of a poorly lit tree – and rather than cheers, got jeered by the crowd. As a result, Herne Bay’s lights were dubbed the worst in the UK.
Now, however, a group has been set up to organise next year’s illuminations. At its inaugural meeting, organiser Geoff Wimble said businesses and supporters had already pledged more than £2,000 with donations from the chamber of commerce and individuals. The total was boosted further by a cheque presented by Jean Herwin, a member of the group and secretary of the Hotel Business and Leisure Group.
More than 50 businesses have signed up to be involved, and five schools from across the town are also poised to offer their support. Mr Wimble said the group aimed to provide lights for the whole town, including Sea Street. He said:
“Our intention is to ensure we never get slated again. We want lights around the town and our intention is to make other decorations too, as they do on the continent. We want to buy enough trees so every shop can have a tree above or outside it, and we want to make sure we get a reasonable tree for the town centre too.”
kentnews.co.uk 18th Dec 2012
Open Spaces Society
OPEN SPACES SOCIETY
NEWS RELEASE
OPEN SPACES SOCIETY DELIGHTED THAT HERNE BAY DOWNS ARE SET TO BECOME A VILLAGE GREEN
The Open Spaces Society is delighted that the Downs at Herne Bay in Kent are set to be registered as a village green. An inspector, appointed by Kent County Council, has recommended to the council that the land be registered.
The
application was made by Phil Rose of the Friends of the Downs in
September 2009. Because the landowner, Canterbury City Council,
objected, there was a public inquiry starting in November 2011.
The
inspector, Miss Lana Wood, concluded that 43 acres of beautiful coastal
downland met the criteria for a green, ie that they had been enjoyed by
local people for informal recreation, for 20 years, without being
stopped or asking permission. The total application area was 50 acres
but she concluded that seven acres had been fenced off for engineering
works and therefore were excluded from public use during part of the
20-year period.
Canterbury
City Council claimed that the land was held under the Public Health Act
1875 and therefore had, in effect, been used with the council’s
permission and therefore did not qualify as a green. The inspector
concluded that the council had not proved that it held the land under
that Act during the relevant period (1989-2009). Mr Rose produced
evidence from 64 people, 36 of whom gave evidence at the inquiry, who
had used the land freely.
The
city council has until 4 January to raise any objections to the
decision, after which Kent County Council will consider the inspector’s
recommendation.
Says
Phil Rose: ‘This is great news for Herne Bay. The Downs is the largest
open space in town. For many years residents and visitors have used it
for recreation, from flying kites to playing bagpipes!
‘Nearly
1,200 people completed detailed questionnaires in support of this
application. We’ve spent hundreds of pounds and thousands of hours
publicising the application, leafleting, collecting questionnaires and
witness statements, answering the city council’s objections, researching
the historical and legal background of the Downs, producing our
statements to support our case and working through the eight-day public
inquiry.’
Adds Kate
Ashbrook, general secretary of the Open Spaces Society which supported
and assisted the Friends of the Downs with their case: ‘This is a
wonderful result for the Friends and shows that hard work and
persistence pays off. We just hope that Kent County Council now
registers the Downs as a green, to protect this wonderful open space for
all to enjoy.’
Parking Consultation
It’s good to know that people are taking the trouble to respond to the Council’s Parking Consultation…. here’s a good one:
First of all WE (Herne Bay) are not Canterbury, so why match
our tariffs? Sooner you realise this the better it will be for Herne Bay.
1 – We don’t have the same facilities as Canterbury
2 – We don’t have the same variety of shops as Canterbury
3 – We don’t have the same footfall as Canterbury
4 – We don’t have the same customers as Canterbury
5 – We don’t have the same transport facilities as Canterbury
And most importantly
6 – The council don’t spend as much on Herne Bay
as Canterbury for the redevelopments and shopping experiences, such as the
Christmas lights! Out of the supposed £53,000 what did Herne Bay get? I know
for a fact that it wasn’t an equal share, so why should we equal the
price of Canterbury for anything! (Business Rates, Parking or anything else!)
It was only 2012 when you raised the price to park for the
day in Herne Bay from £1.10 to £2.50! That’s a MASSIVE 145% rise, and now
you want to raise it further 20% on top!!!!!!!
As a business owner in Herne Bay we have seen a fall in
trade since the rise in parking charges, as people bypass us and head to
Westwood cross.
Are you actively
trying to kill the town?!? People and traders would say you are!
This raise in parking will make trade even harder than it
already is. It’s time for the council to stop being greedy and help the
towns or we will all end up like Margate town centre, and then you won’t
get any money for parking as no one will come to Herne Bay. It the same example
as doubling prices you take double the money! This is NOT the case, if we all
raised our prices by 145% at the beginning of 2012, and then put another 20% on
top now we would be out of business, not rolling in the money! Why can’t
you people work that out with the parking!!!!!
However, these emails are probably ignored and you do as you
wish anyway, but if the parking prices are put up to be in line with Canterbury
then we should have everything as equal. ALL, and I mean ALL budgets for
everything should be shared 33% each to Herne Bay, Whitstable and Canterbury.
Now if you think the parking is a fair increase due to the Canterbury prices,
then it’s only fair we get 33% of all money available.
I would like a response to this email, to make sure that our
point has been heard!
Regards
Daniel Peters and John Potts (The Studio, Mortimer Street)
HBM 