Environment

Leas Pavilion Development….

AFRA

6th October 2022:
a local resident’s update on traffic management issues and other matters…

We are beginning to experience the consequences of the decision of FHDC’s Planning Committee, when they consented to the Leas Pavilion development.

Since they came on site, Ant Yapi the construction company, despite the terribly confined space they find themselves working in, have co-operated and communicated with local residents.  They have taken on board all the concerns of the local population regarding transport and deliveries, something Highways, FHDC Planning Department, and The Planning Committee (watch the video) certainly did not.

They have come up with the best solution they could and it is now in place.  This solution had to go before Highways for consent, now obtained; it took them long enough to agree to something that they must admit is the lesser of lots of evils.  Only time will tell.

Time began this morning when, because a motorist parked illegally on the double yellow lines, an Iceland delivery truck could not negotiate the corner into Longford Terrace and had to drive over The Lees Lawns in order to back in to Longford Terrace.  Nice big truck ruts over the grass.  

The illegally parked car caused the problem.  However, having happily given consent to the removal of the parking spaces, despite residents protests (already short of spaces) especially the disabled, this is going to happen. One wonders, how much is the developer paying FHDC to have those spaces taken out? 

People are desperate and are having to park further and further away from their homes. 

Safety of our residents is paramount.  Ant Yapi are aware of this and have done their very best to work with what they have got.

Hopefully this is the first and last incident.

Unfortunately, another truck from Macdonalds could not negotiate the badly parked car and decided to go round the one-way system into Sandgate Road and right in to Cheriton Place and left into Longford Way, going against the 3T limit placed there a good number of years ago because of a cellar under the road and the car park opposite. 

This warning sign was dismissed by highways as being irrelevant and dismissed in the consultation.  However, lots of concrete appeared to be poured into that corner some weeks ago, and the 3T sign is now given prominence.

AFRAid? Community Champions!

AFRAid? Community Champions!

AFRA

What is it that lies at the heart of AFRA? It’s simple: people who care about our community, regardless of their politics or personal situation.

AFRA members are all highly active members of the community… so it’s not surprising they get stuck into the issues which really need to be dealt with. At the same time, we also put forward suggestions at a strategic level – the right sort of planning which would eliminate many of these problems before they happen!

Examples of ongoing AFRA campaigns – which tend to get a positive response – working with the District and Town Council and other community groups…..

Licensing review: getting it right in reality

Attitudes to Anti-social behaviour management

Waste management planning and provision

Cycling safely – for cyclists and others

Hi-revving revellers: ‘boy racers’ vs pedestrians

Planting and greening initiatives

Doing Development… decently

Community consultation work

Some of our website visitors may find this report by the New Local (formerly New Local Government) group into community engagement interesting reading.

The Community Paradigm – click to download or read the report

Work in progress

Work in progress

AFRA

AFRA is continuing as a group to press for a better approach to consultation over the future of the Town.

While welcoming the initiation of some consultation work intended to contribute to the Place Plan, there is more work needed if this is to be a credible exercise. Many individuals have already pointed to many oversights or errors in detail; this highlights some of the problems in the approach used.

We have now added a new page specifically to focus on this important issue: Our Town, our future – click here to connect – and add your views and comments, please!

Our Town, Our voice matters

AFRA

Folkestone Town Centre regeneration planning

Folkestone and District Council has announced the appointment of We Made That – a consultancy firm which has been commissioned to engage with stakeholders in the development of the plans for the revival of Folkestone Town Centre, at a cost of over £80k.

This is a significant moment for our town – with a coherent approach to CoVid19 recovery urgently needed to take our community forward with confidence.

Cllr David Wimble, Cabinet Member for the District Economy for Folkestone & Hythe District Council, said:

“Although we’re at an early stage the ambition of this Place Plan is very exciting.
Folkestone is brimming with potential and we will do our bit to make sure that we are proactively engaging and using our influence to create a town fit for an extraordinary community that surrounds it.”

AFRA and our member organisations have registered an interest in being involved – as have a number of other groups and individuals.
We’ve heard nothing back so far, so cannot really comment on the consultation approach – as there hasn’t really been any consultation yet.

Given that the contract runs for 6 months from 7 December 2020 to the end of May and will presumably finish with a report in early June it is surprising that so little has been heard in the public domain of this major initiative.

As of today, the Folkestone Town Council website had no information about this key programme .
The District website has no further information to offer.

Watch this space.

White Paper consultation on planning

AFRA

For those interested in the levers and mechanisms governing development, there are links provided here fo the white paper Changes to the Current Planning System consultation, which closed recently.
The key information on proposals are contained a further second stage consultation on the Planning for the Future white paper and its consultation, which closes at 11.45pm on 29 October. 


As these matters affect our lives and our environment for generations to come, we hope this information will be useful and that some of our readers will respond with their views on these proposed changes.

First thoughts!

AFRA

AFRA was born from a simple concept: we want to make a difference by working together.

Who are we? We started meeting as a group of Residents Associations representing communities in and around the Folkestone & Hythe District. Over time, some additional members have joined the group, reflecting a common set of interests.

Will it make a difference? We hope so.

In place of the very justifiable expressions of frustration that we all get involved in from time to time, AFRA is all about working together to come up with positive ideas, solutions and suggestions for making Folkestone and Hythe a better place to live and work.

If we don’t make constructive suggestions, then we can’t complain if things don’t get any better.

And one thing that the CoVid19 virus has shown all of us: we are all in this together.