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Your Parish magazine December 2016

This newsletter is compiled and edited by David Cowell who is totally responsible for content.

If you do not wish to receive these newsletters please email UNSUBSCRIBE to him at david@davidcowell.net

from the editor, advertisers and contributors. Have a great time.

In the Church this December December 4.

Benefice service. 10.00a.m.

Please wear a Santa hat December. 11. Eucharist. 9.00a.m December 18. No morning service Christingle service 6.00p.m Followed by coffee and mince pies. All donations of mince pies gratefully received.

December 25. Eucharist. 9.00a.m January. 1.

Benefice Service. 10.00 a.m at All Souls.

For any further Church information please contact The Reverend Janet Thornby on 01303 271267

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Did you know that...

December is the twelfth and last month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian Calendars. It is the seventh and last month to have the length of 31 days.

December got its name from the Latin word decem (meaning ten) because it was originally the tenth month of the year in the Roman calendar, which began in March. The winter days following December were not included as part of any month.

For a great pet and garden shop near you give us a call today on: 01303 275 223 or email wmartin4@btconnect.com

Later, the months of January and February were created out of the monthless period and added to the beginning of the calendar, but December retained its name.

In the Western World the month is strongly associated with Christmas.

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If you are an aspiring writer and would like to contribute to the Sandgate Creative Writer's Page, please contact Joe at:

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Fully

Newington Village Hall Coffee Morning Saturday 4th February 10.00am - 12.00noon Did you know Newington Village Hall is managed by villagers?

Would you like to get involved? All it takes is a couple of hours every other month and on odd occasions throughout the year.

The Village Hall Committee invite you along to a friendly and informal coffee morning. Come along for a chat to find out more, to meet the committee and have a cuppa.

There will be carol singing around the parish starting week commencing December 19.

We will meet in Peene at 6.15 p.m on Monday December 19. Anyone who is able to join us will be most welcome. All children must be accompanied by a responsible adult. As usual, the collection will be for Christian Aid. Please bring a torch and wear sturdy shoes.

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New season programme of films

4th April 2017

6th December 2016 Whale Rider

Timbuktu

3rd January 2017

2nd May 2017

Manon des Sources 7th February 2017

The Salt of the Earth 6th June 2017

Pride

Tangerines

7th March 2017

4th July 2017

Raise the Red Lantern

O Brother Where Art Thou

Where The Tin Tabernacle, Portland Road, Hythe, CT 21 6FL. Parking in council car parks (including at Aldi) is free after 6 pm, and there are often spaces alongside the canal. Full disabled access.

When 7.30 on the first Tuesday of the month, from October to July. Doors open 7.00.

Entry ÂŁ5 on the door, or ÂŁ3 for Hythe Cinema Card holders.

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www.aridzonaawnings.co.uk For the finest German engineered awnings and glass rooms Installed by a Kent based family company.

Call Sam Ruddle for a free survey on 0330 6600949

ur o Y Stop

Location

Stop day

Peene

Underhill Cottages

Tuesday, 7th December

11.35am to 12.05pm

Tuesday, 20th December

11.35am to 12.05pm

Tuesday, 3rd January

11.35am to 12.05pm

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Stop time

If you have any photographs of the area either current or past do send them to me by email and I will feature them in future editions.

No job too small

If you just have prints do drop them into Clyme House and I will scan.

Please call to discuss your needs 8

To advertise in all three of The Sentinels with circa 2300 targetted readers and growing please email me at: david@davidcowell.net for a rate card.

Thank you.

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District Councillor Report I arrived back in UK from a short holiday to be met by the tail end of Storm Angus.

I sincerely hope that none of you suffered any lasting damage unlike Hythe Pool which lost part of its roof and had to be closed again. This further closure demonstrates why Shepway District Council’s is proposing to replace this ageing structure with a modern new leisure centre on Princes Parade together with quality housing which will help cover the costs of the leisure facility. We are fully committed to ensure that any development, which will need to go through a proper and diligent planning process, is in keeping with the surrounding areas and provided and open up an enhanced promenade and Military Canal backdrop.

Hopefully some of you will have taken the opportunity to view provisional plans and make your comments at two exhibitions which were held at Seabrook and Hythe on 28th and 29th November On the subject of public consultations there are a series of community engagement sessions where residents can contribute to the Councils plans for the exciting new Otterpool Park Garden City proposals which recently received central Government support which is a significant achievement for Shepway.

Obviously not everyone will welcome these developments but the Council must plan for future generations who will require and deserve the opportunity to have their own homes. My 25-year-old granddaughter remarked that most protesters seem to come from the generation that probably own their homes and have benefited from increased values her generation with a virtually impossible dream which can only be fulfilled by providing more homes.

The first of this series of engagement sessions are 8th December - Sellinge Sports and Social Club 1400-1700 and Hythe Town Hall 1830 -20.00 9th December - Folkestone racecourse 1400-1700 10th December - Lympne Village hall 1000-1700 There will be more opportunities for you to help shape this development through 2017 Turning specifically to Newington/Peene I recently attended your Parish Council meeting with my friend and colleague Susan Carey who has already written a lengthy piece on local issues so I will restrict my comments to the more pleasurable face of being a Councillor.

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The Historic Houses Association (HHA) represents over 1,640 of the UK's privately and charitably owned historic houses, castles and gardens. These are listed buildings or designated gardens, usually Grade I or II*, and are often outstanding. Many are considered to be iconic symbols of Britain's unique heritage.

Around 500 of these properties open their doors to visitors for days out, special tours, school visits, film locations, weddings and events, or as memorable places to stay. 24 million people a year visit HHA Member properties and there are over 45,000 Friends of the HHA. Members range from iconic stately homes such as Blenheim Palace, Highclere Castle, Castle Howard, Knebworth House, Longleat and Burghley House, to more intimate houses such as Traquair in Scotland, Treowen in Wales and Belle Isle in Northern Ireland. Most are still private family homes.

The Association was established in 1973 to help owners conserve these wonderful places in the interests of the nation and carries out important lobbying, advisory and marketing work on behalf of Member properties.

Please visit http://saveprincesparade.org

CHAMPAGNE BY THE SEA ALL YEAR ROUND Why wait for New Years or special occasions?

We feel anytime is a good time for champagne!

Bar at the Hythe Imperial

Hythe Imperial Hotel, Princes Parade, Hythe, Kent CT21 6AE

Moet & Chandon, excellence from grape to glass. A seductive palette in every glass.

01303 267441

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The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers)

FOLKESTONE QUAKERS MEET IN SANDGATE We gather at

ST. PAUL’S CHURCH HALL on the 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays of the month at 10.30am Anyone is welcome to join us.

A Quaker Meeting for Worship is very simple and may be just what you need. It is a coming together in silence in which we ponder the deep issues of life without the constraints of pre-fixed beliefs. Anyone can share a heartfelt thought in the meeting. We don’t answer it or discuss it - we just receive it. In some meetings no-one speaks at all. The meeting ends with handshake and chat over coffee or tea.

We also hold house discussion groups and monthly social coffee chats.

Quakers have always been prepared to speak out on social issues and act on their convictions, resulting in the practical and social action that we have been known for over the years. www.eastkentquakers.org.uk

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From your County Councillor I joined in with the volunteers for the litterpick in Newington on 29 October - we managed to collect quite a haul in just two hours in the autumn sunshine. Thank you to those who helped. I also attended the Newington parish council meeting on 14 November where I was able to report on the action being taken in Arpinge by Kent Highways following a report by parish council chairman, Sally Coleman of an unsafe opening made by farm equipment onto the road. Kent Highways have issued an enforcement notice and the worst of the problem has been rectified. It is being monitored daily until all is properly restored.

This sort of problem is unusual and thankfully no one was injured although the District Manager for Kent Highways tells me she was amazed there were no casualties. The usual cause of road traffic casualties is driver behaviour – inappropriate speed, lack of attention, aggressive driving, dangerous parking (particularly by HGVs) and mistakes are all part of the mix and such behaviour is also intimidating for other road users, pedestrians and people whose homes are close to roads. It’s a problem that hard to solve through changes to the roads themselves and we need Kent Police to give a higher priority to dealing with the problem drivers.

It’s an issue I raised with Matthew Scott, Kent’s Police and Crime Commissioner, both before and after his election and one I recently returned to when I was with him at an event in New Romney on 05 November. I was therefore particularly pleased that Mathew used his Governance Board meeting of 07 November to question Kent Police about what it is doing to tackle traffic offences on the county’s roads.

I then had my own chance to tackle Alan Pughsley, the Chief Constable, when he met with the Kent County Council’s cabinet on 14 November. He gave an excellent presentation about the work of Kent Police but didn’t mention road traffic offences at all. Kent Police received high ratings when assessed in 2015 by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and is on track to receive higher marks for 2016. Several of us raised the need for a higher priority to be given to road traffic offences as well 15

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as more visible policing in our communities. (KCC introduced its own Community Wardens some years ago to try to fill the gap created by the lack of the traditional local bobbie.) Alan Pughsley talked about initiatives such as the body webcams that officers now wear and the new ‘phlablets’ (a cross between a phone and a tablet) both of which were freeing up more time for the officers to spend with the public. Officers were now taking their breaks in local cafes rather than going back to the station which also helps visibility.

My third contact with those responsible for Law and Order was an event in Hythe on 18 November where the Home Secretary, Amber Rudd was the guest speaker and was introduced by Lord Howard of Lympne a former Home Secretary and our last MP. One of the subjects she covered in her speech was the work the British and French authorities were taking against people trafficking and to stop the re-establishment of camps like that near Calais. I have written before about the strain that dealing with Unaccompanied Asylum Seeking Children, UASC, creates for our Social Services system and the extra cost that falls on Kent taxpayers. A new dispersal system for UASC to spread the burden across the country has recently led to a big fall in the numbers we are being asked to accept in Kent although we still have a legacy of 1,300 of young people who remain in our care. Our new Home Secretary has made a real difference for Kent by tackling this issue.

Finally a reminder that there’s lots of information about winter services provided by KCC on www.kent.gov.uk and please make your own preparations – wellingtons, a shovel and a blanket are simple additions that make sense to have in your car for the next few months.

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

Susan Carey, Member Elham Valley, Kent County Council susan.carey@kent.gov.uk 01303 670561

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Re pe sc rfo he rm d u l an ed ce

Saturday, 25th February 2017 7:30pm St Leonard's Church, Hythe

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I visited the November Craft Fair and Apple pressing at the Barn and was pleased to be shown the impressive results of the Nature to Art project which I was able to assist with a grant from my Ward budget. As at the time of writing I still have upward of £1500 funds in my budget so please let me have your ideas and if they fit the criteria I will be pleased to support an application.

Signing off by wishing you all a Happy Christmas and rewarding New Year Cllr David Godfrey- Cabinet member for Special Projects. editor's note: In the interest of balance I quote from the Resource Scrutiny Committee 28 October 2015 minutes regarding the Princes Parade proposed development: Dr Geoff Burrell was invited to address the Committee and made the following observations: • Hythe Green could be the best location although it had major problems (editor: it was subsequently eliminated as a suitable site) • The Princes Parade site was not the best alternative location because of a number of factors including concerns over best value; local plan issues; doubts as to whether the site was classified as a brownfield location.

• The Nickolls Quarry site provided better solutions including amalgamating with a community centre, good open space, waterside location, public transport, location on the west of Hythe rather than the east.

In its consultation paper Places and Policies Local Plan Preferred Options, Shepway District Council (SDC) policy UA25 states regarding the Princes Parade development: An appropriate mix of well designed homes within a landscape led setting, including appropriate accommodation for the elderly, affordable housing and self/custom build.

The paper also acknowledges that the details of the 150 houses are yet to be advanced although SDC policy is that 30% of new developments of 15 homes or more should be affordable.

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Please go to: http://soskent.org.uk

If you would like to submit an article or letter please ensure it is emailed to me by the 20th of each month.

I will print almost anything as long as it’s not libellous, racist or unkind.

Name must be supplied but can be withheld if requested.

Please put your articles etc in plain text or Word and images should be in .jpg, .tiff or .png.

My contact details are: Address: Clyme House, Hillside Street, Hythe, Kent CT21 5DJ Mobile: 07771 796 446 Landline: 020 3239 5828 (via Skype) email: david@davidcowell.net