Local News

Swale Friends of the Earth say they were overwhelmed on Sunday (11th February) morning by a magnificent turnout for the litter pick along Faversham Creek and the saltmarshes.

The event was organised to support the upcoming ‘Say No to Throwaway Plastics Week' in Faversham (18 - 24 Feb). The aim was to collect the litter along the Saxon Shore Way to prevent the rubbish, particularly the plastic, from further degrading this valuable and bio-diverse place. 

Said Amanda Thesiger, Swale FoE's Secretary, told SFM News: "What a great turnout from the brave and the bold of Faversham and further afield who came to clear the Saxon Shore Way and saltmarsh of some rather disgusting rubbish and litter! More than 80 people, young and old, came to help and we brought in around as many sacks, and large amounts of bulkier items, some of which has been lurking in the area for years. Hopefully, by clearing the rubbish we've helped the prospects of the Sea Aster Bee, the Redshank, the Kingfisher and the Frogbit, to name a few of the local species."

Just before 10am, a steady stream of volunteers of all ages arrived on Standard Quay. Once issued with pickers and bags, they fanned along the Creek from Standard Quay to Nagden. They returned with rich pickings, the most spectacular (and heaviest) of them a leather armchair! Members of local groups such as Faversham Footpaths Group, Plastic Free Faversham, Swale Lib Dems and Swale Green Party also went along to support the morning.

Kent MPs have welcomed the news of an extra £3.9 million for social care here in Kent, announced today (Tuesday 6th February) by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid.

The announcement follows a series of meetings between Kent MPs and Ministers, pressing for rising costs to be addressed in the forthcoming Local Government Finance Settlement. Paul Carter, Leader of Kent County Council, has also argued vigorously for a more generous funding settlement for the county.

In recognition of the growing need for Social Care, the Government is providing an extra £166m Social Care Grant to Local Authorities across England for 2018/19. Kent's share of that Grant will be £3.9 million.

In addition, Kent is one of just 12 authorities piloting the retention of Business Rates, which this year is expected to generate £25 million for the county.

Today Mr Javid released details of this year's Local Government Funding Settlement which will see Kent's core funding increase by 2.5%, which equates to an additional £25 million.

Local MP, Gordon Henderson, told SFM News: "I have been working with the Leader of the KCC, Paul Carter, and other Kent members of Parliament to lobby the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Sajid Javid, to get more funding for adult social care in our county. Kent MPs met with the Secretary of State yesterday and I was able to highlight to Mr Javid the unique nature of Kent's problems, because of its proximity to London and the English Channel, and the pressure that geography places on the county's roads, housing, schools and social care. I am delighted that Mr Javid appears to have listened to our concerns and has increased support for Kent. However, this is just a start. We need to ensure that Kent's problems are taken into account when future settlements are made. I was able to raise with Mr Javid also the problem Kent is facing in getting from the Government the millions of pounds owed to the county for looking after unaccompanied minors who have made their way to this country via Dover."

Aslan Odev, has been named caretaker boss at Sittingbourne FC following Nick Davis' resignation at the weekend.

A committee meeting on Monday (29th January) evening unanimously agreed to give Odev the chance to step up from his role as coach. Odev is a chief coach at Soccer Elite and will now be in charge for the first time when Sittingbourne visit South Park on Saturday (3rd February) and will be taking training on Thursday. It is expected that the majority of players will remain with the club and the other backroom staff have all stayed. 

Club Secretary, John Pitts, told SFM News: "Given the strength of the candidates who've applied there's a lot of pressure on Aslan and he knows that. A number of applications for the vacant managers job were received, even though the vacancy was not formally advertised. Aslan is caretaker manager and for how long for depends on results but we're looking at the rest of the season. He's on probation. If he loses every game then obviously we'd have to consider it again but we really don't want to disrupt things too much".

Sittingbourne FC have a long tradition of giving people their break in management - Richard Brady (former Manager and now chairman of Leatherhead), Gary Abbott, Mark Beeney (ex-Leeds Utd and Brighton goalkeeper and now a full time coach at Chelsea), Matt Wyatt and, latterly, Nick Davis.

Meadowfield School, on Swanstree Avenue, could receive a boost of £3.95m towards expansion plans.

KCC (Kent County Council) Councillors will decide later this week whether the school, whose pupils are children with severe and complex needs from the ages of 4 through to 19, should increase it's size by an additional 150 pupils.

Cllr Roger Gough, Kent County Council's Cabinet Member For Children, Young People and Education, told SFM News: "Currently the school has gone over 209 and has 282 students. We plan to expand it to 348 to meet the needs of the area. This is part of a general set of expansions for special schools that we have needed to do. This is to meet the demand for places for children with profound, severe and complex needs. Over the last three years there has been an increase in places needed including children who have autism."

A report conducted by KCC shows that children on the Isle of Sheppey are travelling more than 20 miles to Maidstone and Tonbridge to schools due to a lack of places in the Swale area.

Meadowfield has been rated outstanding by Ofsted in every category and has been praised for its "outstanding leadership and management".