HOW SAFE DO YOU FEEL?

How safe do you feel in Thanet? That's the question being asked in the new Local People, Local Places survey from the Thanet Community Safety Partnership.

The new survey is part of an information pack that has details about crime in different parts of Thanet, highlighting how much crime has reduced in recent months and including details of the teams in each area, who are working to make Thanet a safer place to live, work and visit.

The survey aims to find out from residents in every part of Thanet how safe they feel in their local area, what they feel would help to reduce crime in their area and how much of a problem certain issues are in their areas.

The leaflets, posters and business cards cover central Margate, Cliftonville, Dane Valley, Newington, central Ramsgate, Westgate and will be extending to cover other parts of Thanet shortly, but views are wanted from people in all areas of the district.

Community Safety Manager, Mark Richardson, said: "Anyone who has any opinion on what's happening in their area in terms of crime or anti-social behaviour should take the time to fill this survey out. If we're honest, that's probably nearly every person in Thanet, as we know it's an issue that matters to local people and that's why we're asking for your views. We aim to tackle the problems that local people have identified and the easiest way of letting us know that is by filling in this survey. We look forward to seeing as many completed surveys as possible over the next few weeks."

Completed surveys should be returned to Communications, FREEPOST SEA8273, Thanet District Council, Margate, CT9 1XZ. The survey is available online at the council's website at www.thanet.gov.uk and at Thanet's Gateway Plus, all council offices and libraries. The consultation runs until Friday 18 December. The feedback will be used to help shape the Thanet Community Safety Partnership action plan for 2010/11.

Last weeks planning applications,

Ed. The TDC planning website is one of the most bizarre websites I have ever come across in as much as the web addresses of the pages on it change after a few hours so you can’t publish links to them. If you want to look at any of the applications you need to go to the site and enter the application reference in the search box, this link takes you to the site http://www.ukplanning.com/thanet


09 Nov 2009
A/TH/09/0870
BOOTS THE CHEMISTS LTD 14 HIGH STREET BROADSTAIRS CT101LH
current
09 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0755
METHODIST CHURCH AND METHODIST CHURCH HALL, BUCKINGHAM ROAD, MARGATE, CT9 5SR
current
09 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0808
CAPITAL HOUSE NORTHDOWN ROAD MARGATE CT91QH
current
09 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0810
28 NICHOLAS DRIVE CLIFFSEND RAMSGATE CT125JS
current
09 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0822
6 & 7 WILLSONS MEWS, WILLSONS ROAD, RAMSGATE, CT11 9FF
current
09 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0824
58 & 58A, ALBION STREET, BROADSTAIRS, CT10 1NF
current
09 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0828
74 HIGH STREET RAMSGATE CT119RS
current
09 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0847
187 WESTBROOK AVENUE MARGATE CT95HN
current
09 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0859
14 CANUTE ROAD BIRCHINGTON CT79QJ
current
09 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0873
26 SURREY ROAD CLIFTONVILLE MARGATE CT92LA
current
09 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0876
38 THE WARREN DRIVE WESTGATE-ON-SEA CT88JB
current
09 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0882
BRADSTOW SCHOOL 34 DUMPTON PARK DRIVE BROADSTAIRS CT101BY
current
09 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0884
LAND BETWEEN 58 & 60 STATION ROAD, BIRCHINGTON
current
09 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0894
6-8 OAKLANDS AVENUE BROADSTAIRS CT102SQ
current
09 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0896
22 WESTCLIFF ROAD MARGATE CT95DN
current
09 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0900
34 HIGH STREET MANSTON RAMSGATE CT125BG
current
09 Nov 2009
L/TH/09/0760
UPPER LODGE NETHERCOURT HILL RAMSGATE CT110RX
current
03 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0779
10 BERESFORD ROAD RAMSGATE CT119BH
current
03 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0872
LAND BETWEEN 156 AND 162, GRANGE ROAD, RAMSGATE, CT11 9PR
current
03 Nov 2009
L/TH/09/0758
BARFIELD HOUSE, 32 ALBION STREET, BROADSTAIRS, CT10 1LU
current
03 Nov 2009
L/TH/09/0787
80 MONKTON STREET MONKTON RAMSGATE CT124JF
current
03 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0674
15 HAROLD AVENUE WESTGATE-ON-SEA CT88QU
current
03 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0806
23 VICTORIA PARADE BROADSTAIRS CT101QL
current
03 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0814
102 PIERREMONT AVENUE BROADSTAIRS CT101NT
current
03 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0833
15 GRANVILLE ROAD BROADSTAIRS KENT CT101QB
current
03 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0846
THE CENTRE, NEWINGTON, RAMSGATE, CT12 6LB
current
03 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0851
3 ST CLEMENTS ROAD, WESTGATE ON SEA, CT8 8RP
current
03 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0855
FLAT 1 SOWELL STREET BROADSTAIRS CT102AT
current
03 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0856
115 DANE ROAD MARGATE CT92AF
current
03 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0860
80 BROADSTAIRS ROAD BROADSTAIRS CT102RU
current
03 Nov 2009
F/TH/09/0864
3 ALMA PLACE, RAMSGATE, CT11 8PZ
current
03 Nov 2009
L/TH/09/0825
4 FORT CRESCENT MARGATE CT91HN
current
03 Nov 2009
L/TH/09/0857
CROQUET LAWNS, ROYAL ESPLANADE, RAMSGATE, CT11 2HE
current
03 Nov 2009
L/TH/09/0858
RAMSGATE RAILWAY STATION STATION APPROACH ROAD RAMSGATE CT117RE
current

New documents published by Thanet District Council,

09/11/2009 - Minutes published: Meeting of Oct 21 2009 7:00PM, Planning Committee

09/11/2009 - Agenda published: Meeting of Nov 18 2009 7:00PM, Planning Committee

09/11/2009 - Agenda published: Meeting of Nov 17 2009 7:00PM, Overview and Scrutiny Panel

09/11/2009 - Agenda published: Meeting of Nov 17 2009 3:00PM, Corporate Improvement & Budget Working Party

09/11/2009 - Agenda published: Meeting of Nov 17 2009 5:00PM, Asset Management Working Group

05/11/2009 - Meeting held: Nov 5 2009 7:00PM, Cabinet

04/11/2009 - Meeting held: Nov 4 2009 9:30AM, East Kent Joint Scrutiny Committee

CONSULTATION LAUNCHED ON BETTER FACILITIES

Local people are being asked for their views on proposed new planning guidance on providing new community facilities paid for by housing developers.

The consultation is part of the ongoing work on putting together the Local Development Framework for the area, which will replace the Thanet Local Plan.

As part of this work, residents are being asked for their views on the guidance for developers on the community facilities that they need to provide as part of larger developments in Thanet. The guidance expands on previous policies and aims to give more clarity and about what local people can expect to see as part of a new development and what developers can expect to have to deliver.

Recent developments where developers made contributions under the existing guidance are St. Augustine's Park at Westgate, where the developers Millwood Homes contributed over £60,000 towards new school places within 2 miles of the development, and at Westwood Cross developers Carillion contributed £307,500 to the installation of a new local bus system, now known as the Loop.

Planning Applications Team Leader Cherry Butcher said: "We're already working closely with developers to ensure that improved facilities that benefit the local community are delivered as part of any new development. We want to make that process more effective, which is why we're looking to introduce this new guidance and we want to hear local people's views on it. It's something that developers welcome, as they want more certainty in the process and want to know what's required of them and it brings benefits to local people, as they will have more idea of what they can expect."

The consultation runs until Friday 18 December and the document can be viewed and comments made online at http://consult.thanet.gov.uk or copies can be seen at the Gateway, Cecil Street, Margate and at all local libraries. It is anticipated that, once the consultation is complete, the new supplementary planning document will come into force next year.

TRIAL OF SEAGULL PROOF BAGS AGREED

A new trial is to be carried out in the Eastcliff area of Ramsgate, to see how effective reusable seagull proof bags are, as an alternative to black sacks.

It comes after the local PACT (Partners and Communities Together), residents’ groups and ward councillors in the area raised concerns about seagull attacks on the waste that’s put out in the area, which is especially severe during the breeding season in the spring and summer months. The option preferred by residents was the introduction of seagull proof bags, made out of polypropylene, which will protect the black sacks.

Following a decision last night (Thursday 5 November), by Thanet District Council’s Cabinet, a trial will now take place from the beginning of February 2010 until September 2010, to cover the seagull breeding season, to see how effective the bags are at containing waste, how well the service is used and ways of improving it. The trial will cover 220 properties in Eastcliff, in Augusta Road, Augusta Place, Truro Road, Artillery Road, Arklow Square, Shaftsbury Street and Balmoral Place. Waste collection will continue to be provided on these roads on a weekly basis.

The first bag will be provided free of charge to each property, with one replacement free of charge per year. Advice from other councils, with similar schemes in place, indicates that the bags should last at least a year. If additional replacement bags are required, there will be a cost of £4.50 per bag to cover purchase and administrative costs.

Waste should be contained in black sacks, tied at the top and put into the seagull proof bags. Waste should not be put loose into the seagull proof bag, as this will not be taken. Any waste outside of the seagull proof bag will also not be collected. Residents will need to mark their bags, so that they can identify them and will need to either secure them to a fixed point, such as railings, or put a brick or other weighty object into them, so that they bags do not blow away.

Director of Environmental Services, Mark Seed, said: “We’ve already introduced the alternate weekly wheeled bin system to almost 45,000 properties across Thanet, but there are a number of areas where it’s not possible to introduce wheeled bins, because they simply don’t have the storage space. In these areas, homes have remained on black sack collections, but we’re aware of the problems with those collections, with attacks from birds and animals, mainly seagulls, littering the area. We’ve heard what local people would like introduced into Eastcliff and, as a result, we’re going to be trialling out these reusable seagull proof bags to see how effective they area. This pilot project will allow us to see how much the scheme will cost and the impact on waste collections. We also need to see how well the scheme is used, before we can make any decisions about whether to continue with it or expand it to other areas.”

BUDGETING FOR THE FUTURE

The grim financial future facing local government has been outlined in a report to Thanet District Council’s Cabinet.

Cabinet Members were last night (Thursday 5 November) told that the council will need to save what was described as an “incredible” £5.9 million over the next five years. Next year’s budget for 2010/11 will need to achieve savings of £1.8 million. Around £1.07 million of this is as a result of losses in income from a range of sources, including planning fees, bulky waste, car parking and land charges. There are also some essential additions to the budget such as increased costs in the concessionary fares scheme and the cost of elections.

The council is also budgeting for a cut in the grant it receives from the government, which makes up approximately 60% of the council’s funding. The settlement for 2011/12 will be announced in due course and the council is anticipating a cut of 3% each year in the money it receives for the three years from 2011/12.

The report outlined a number of ways of achieving the required £5.9 million worth of savings between 2010 and 2015, including merging different council functions, and reductions to staff costs. One of the areas being looked at is sharing services with other councils across East Kent, with work underway to bring services, such as finance, IT procurement and human resources, into a shared services vehicle, operated by Canterbury, Dover, Shepway and Thanet councils. It is hoped that such a move could produce savings, on its own, of between £2.5 and £3 million over the five year period.

Options for delivering additional savings for 2010/11 totalling £1.326 million have already been identified by the council, including reductions in; the senior management restructure, use of agency staff and consultants, overtime payments, maintenance of verges, and the cost of member support. Savings of around £450,000 for 2010/11 have been identified in previous years.

Director of Finance and Corporate Services, Sue McGonigal, said: “The financial future in local government is looking bleak at the moment. There’s no getting away from that fact. The recession has left the country with a massive amount of borrowing that’s going to have to be paid back. There’s a realisation in the public sector that one of the most likely ways that can be done is by cutting the amount of money invested in local government. We’re fully expecting to see our government grant reduced over the next few years and are already making allowances for that, but of course, that means we need to make further savings to keep the council’s budget balanced. The next few years are going to be exceptionally difficult, with some tough decisions ahead of us on how we provide our services. However, we fully intend to protect the front line services which are important to our residents, in spite of a reducing amount of income.”

NEWS RELEASE

Landlords who let their properties fall into a poor state of repair may find themselves charged by the council in the future, if an enforcement notice has to be issued against them.

Cabinet Members last night (Thursday 5 November) agreed the plan, which would see landlords being charged when improvement notices, prohibition orders, emergency prohibition orders or demolition orders are issued or emergency remedial action is taken.

Charges will be made on a case-by-case basis, with officer time charged for on a minute-by-minute basis. With improvement notices, a demand will only be issued, if the notice is not complied with.

Surveys of other Kent authorities show that a number are already charging for these services, with others considering introducing similar charges.

Between April and August 2009, the council’s Housing Improvement Team served 17 improvement notices, one prohibition order and six emergency prohibition orders. If these had been charged for, the total fees due would be around £13,000.

Tanya Wenham, Housing Improvement Manager, said: “Thanet has one of the largest stocks of privately rented homes in south east England and, where landlords fail to keep their properties maintained to acceptable standards, it can take our team many hours to deal with the resulting problems. Introducing these charges should act as a deterrent to landlords allowing their properties to fall into disrepair. It’s only right that landlords should be the ones footing the bill for this work, rather than the ordinary Council Tax payer.”