Local News

A Litter Angel has had her winning poster design put up in local McDonald’s car parks following last year’s anti-litter poster competition in primary schools across Sittingbourne and Sheppey.

Zosia Szancilo, who attends Borden C of E Primary School, won the 2021 Litter Angels competition. She was presented with a certificate, a personalised mug and a £50 cheque, whilst her winning poster was printed onto a metal plaque and will be displayed in the car parks of the McDonald’s restaurants, along with previous winning posters.

Local MP Gordon Henderson helped Matt Hogben, manager of McDonald’s in Mill Way, Sittingbourne, presented Zosia with her very own plaque to hang in her bedroom.

Mr Henderson, who created the Litter Angels charity, told SFM News: "The theme of last year’s competition was that the poster had to include Keep Britain Tidy’s Tidyman logo, which Zosia incorporated onto a bin in her design of a clean and tidy park scene. Her poster won because it was very bold and colourful with a clear message to encourage people to pick up litter. Zosia captured the essence of what Litter Angels is about, which is to improve our local environment by reducing the amount of litter that is dropped in our streets and fields."

You can find out more about the charity on their website: https://www.litterangels.org .

Councillors have agreed to designate a new conservation area in Rodmersham Church Street.

Swale Borough Council’s proposal to create a new conservation area around the church was agreed at last week’s cabinet meeting (Wednesday 16th March).

Cllr Mike Baldock, cabinet member for planning at the council, told SFM News: “After reviewing the nearby conservation areas at Turnstall and Rodmersham Green, it was clear that the thirteenth century, grade I listed church, the collection of grade II listed buildings and surrounding orchards at Rodmersham Church Street would benefit from the protection of a conservation area. We went to public consultation on the proposed conservation area for Rodmersham Church Street in November and received valuable feedback from the parish council and local residents".

Cllr Baldock went on to add: “Following the consultation, we moved our proposed boundary northwards to include Ashgores House after feedback from the parish council and several residents expressed the importance of the period building as a visual gateway into the hamlet. We also received a request to include Rodmersham House but the vast gap of landscape between the house and the church does not meet the Historic England criteria for inclusion in a conservation area, however, not including the Rodmersham House cluster does not diminish the significance of the listed building or its historic and ongoing connection with the church-centred hamlet.”

Cllr Alastair Gould, deputy cabinet member for planning at the council, told SFM News: “A conservation area is an area of special architectural or historic interest and it’s our job to preserve the character of the buildings, road layout, landscape, paths and boundaries all included within the boundary. Now that councillors have agreed to the new conservation area, we’ll register the area with Historic England and publish the details on our website.”

For more information about conservation areas in Swale you can visit the council's website at: https://swale.gov.uk/planning-and-regeneration/heritage-and-landscape/conservation-areas

Three people were arrested on Saturday (12th March) night following the report of a fight in Sittingbourne involving the use of weapons, by the Kent Police Tactical Operations unit.

At 9:42pm TacOps officers posted a message on social media saying they had been called to a fracas, accompanied by the Dog Unit and police from the Swale unit. After their arrival, three people allegedly involved in the fighting were arrested for affray, an offence defined as a group fighting in a public place that disturbs the peace and can also include threats of violence from one group of people to another.

In their post on Twitter, Kent Police said that one of the arrested people had gone to the scene of the fighting kitted out in a stab vest and carrying 'nunchucks', a marital arts weapon comprising two sticks connected by a short metal chain, with officers adding the alleged offender "was no Jackie Chan".

According to witnesses there were no reports of any serious injuries and the presence of the police and dog unit appeared to have brought the situation under control within minutes of attendance.

The Leader of Swale Council, Cllr Roger Truelove, has written to Highways England calling for urgent action to clear up the extensive litter along the A249 between Sittingbourne and Sheppey.

Drawing particular attention to the stretch between Grovehurst and Bobbing, Cllr Truelove points out that Highways England are responsible for this road and despite discussions and assurances, the situation remains unacceptable.

Cllr Roger Truelove told SFM News: “I know that litter is everywhere along the side of main roads but the situation here is awful. We’re encouraging people to come to Swale, especially to the Isle Of Sheppey in the summer, and this massive amount of litter impacts on our prospects of doing that. We clear up litter and empty the litter bins in the lay-bys on the A249 on their behalf, but we don’t have the ability to clear away the excessive amount of rubbish and plastic carrier bags along the side of the road and in the adjoining trees. We hope this letter will prompt the litter to be cleared away and we’re looking forward to improvements in the near future.”

We will let you know the latest on this story when available.