Dear Residents,
Last Saturday, 3rd December, saw the gathering of local people to demonstrate against Shepway District Council for the shoddy way in which we are all treated when it comes to deciding what is best for us.
On a very cold day, approximately 350 people gathered outside the Council offices to march, waving banners, beating drums and blowing whistles into the main shopping area of Folkestone to hear representatives from Princes Parade, Sellindge & District Residents Association, SECN at Lympne, SOS Kent and Kent County Councillor, Martin Whybrow.
The Lorry Park, Otterpool New Town and Princes Parade were all in the firing line of the residents opprobrium, but how have we come to this? The simple answer is our District Council, led by David Monk and our Member of Parliament, Damian Collins.
The tangled web that is being spun by those in authority is far too complex to document here but all we can say is that the total lack of transparency is evident. Residents require honesty, integrity and honourability from our representatives: this is the complaint that we hear time and time again. Deception and obfuscation is rife, from people that purport to be our representatives. This can not go on.
The so called Otterpool Park Housing Estate proposal has turned into a cacophony of spin being spouted to gain favour with the uninformed and residents from outside of the area. We have heard how homes will be affordable. How can they be? We have seen no true working mechanism to support that claim. How can the average Shepway salary support a mortgage or even secure a deposit of a lower end property of £250,000. These are questions yet to be answered. Where are the council homes? Shepway Council's record of Council home building is abysmal. Where are the jobs?
Where is a new hospital? Where is the evidence that GP's are filling vacancies here already – they're not. Why aren't we being told of how Southern Water's Sewers are full to capacity. That's why Portaloo's will be used on the proposed Lorry Park, should it ever be built.
There are residents that live in squalid housing conditions that need to be upgraded and not ripped off by private landlords. More council homes need to be built. Real jobs need to be created in Shepway or very close by. All in all, we need to care for our residents and support our young residents who are trying to get a foot on the housing ladder. Rents need to be realistic and affordable.
We need a forum; a forum that will bring residents, especially young residents together with Parish and Town Councils to build on existing villages and towns, in keeping with the surrounding dwellings, in addition to brownfield sites and dilapidated housing upgrade. Our farmland is precious and needs to be kept to grow our food. As one placard clearly stated 'We can't eat Concrete'.
Over the coming months our team at S&DRA will be working with our alliance partners to put forward alternative plans to a 12,000 dwelling new town that will be little more than a dormitory housing estate for commuters who can afford to buy and private landlords charging exorbitant rents for struggling local's, usually young families. This isn't what a community is about.
Residents are cynical of the District Councils plans. Is it any wonder when massive developers are involved whose only cause celebre is profit for themselves and their shareholders.
Our message to the people of Shepway is clear: Join us in the building of Shepway through the existing system of a local plan and core strategy. Insist on transparency from your District Council. Make them accountable. They are your servants. If you feel that they are not working for you, vote them out at the next election. We are supporting change: a change for the better, a change for the people of Shepway.
S&DRA.
