Local News

Broadband users in the Eden Village area of Sittingbourne have been experiencing outages with their broadband over the past week.

It is believed that the main Open Reach infrastructure in the area is to blame. Cabinet 77, which is the one covering the roads affected, has been relying on batteries that should operate in short power outages, to allow broadband and now digital voice services to continue to operate.

Open Reach have confirmed to SFM News that a part, that controls all the power in the cabinet, has been ordered but "may take time to arrive". In the meantime engineers are having to regularly visit the cabinet to replace the batteries.

Unfortunately residents in Eden Village have learnt how long those batteries last and the time it takes to swap them out, resulting in outages lasting 30 to 45 minutes affecting customers of BT, TalkTalk and Sky - who all use the Open Reach infrastructure.

For those working from home, or running a business, gaps in service can cause all sorts of problems and the 'Think Broadband' website suggests that when broadband is critical it is worth having a back-up option, such as:

• Connecting your laptop to the mobile hot-spot on your mobile phone.
• Using a broadband router that has a built in 4G/5G SIM with automatic failover, or more commonly support a USB mobile dongle.
• You can installing a second broadband connection ahead of time, making sure it uses a different technology e.g. ADSL2+ instead of FTTC, or cable broadband instead of FTTC. This incurs an additional monthly cost, but if you're working from home routinely some firms will pay for a second connection, particularly as a dedicated connection can avoid contention caused by others in the home.

We will be updating you with the latest on this story as and when we have it.

A Sittingbourne man has been charged in connection with a series of burglary and theft offences including several break-ins at The Central Park Greyhound Stadium.

It is alleged that between Sunday 1st and Monday 2nd January 2023, entry was repeatedly forced to bar areas inside the stadium in Murston and that alcohol, including multiple bottles of spirits, was stolen. Three laptops and a tip jar containing around £100 were also reportedly taken, with damage to the Church Road premises estimated in the region of several thousand pounds.

Officers from the Swale Local Policing Team have also been investigating allegations that yesterday (Monday 30th January) a man walking around Bourne Place car park in Sittingbourne had been seen trying a number of vehicle door handles. The suspect is also alleged to have tried to steal a bike from outside Sittingbourne train station.

On the same day, Liam Wood was arrested and taken into custody. Aged 32 and of Crown Quay Lane, Sittingbourne, he was later charged with four counts of burglary, going equipped for theft, two counts of vehicle interference and with the attempted theft of a bicycle. He was also charged with possession of a knife in a public place.

The suspect has been remanded in custody to appear before Medway Magistrates’ Court later today (Tuesday 31st January).

Detectives are appealing for witnesses to a serious assault in Faversham yesterday (Wednesday 25th January) evening.

Between 5pm and 5.20pm a silver BMW, driving along Lower Road, is reported to have been driven at a man standing on the pavement.

It is alleged some men got out of the vehicle and chased the victim into St Paul’s Avenue where he suffered an injury consistent with a stab wound.

The 19-year-old was taken to a London hospital where he remains in a stable condition. It is thought the victim and the suspects were known to each other.

Earlier today (Thursday 26th Janauary) a 40-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault and taken into custody.

Detective Inspector Pete Smith told SFM News: ‘An investigation is underway into the circumstances including house-to-house enquiries in the area. We are urging witnesses or anybody with information to call our appeal line. Motorists with dashcam and residents with private CCTV are also asked to check for relevant footage.’"

Anyone with any information is asked to call 01795 419 119, quoting reference 46/15282/23 or, alternatively, they can contact Crimestoppers free and anonymously on 0800 555 111, or by using the online form on their website.

Swale Borough Council has been awarded £20 million to improve health, education, leisure, and employment opportunities in Sheerness on the Isle Of Sheppey.

The Sheerness Revival project has been awarded the money from the Government’s Levelling Up Fund.

The scheme will expand the existing health centre to provide more and better services from the Healthy Living Centre for local people.

Sheppey College will offer new courses to give young people aged 14-18 on the Island easier access to more training and education opportunities. The conversion of the Master’s House studios to creative workspace will help create and support local jobs.

There will also be new leisure activities such as soft play, adventure golf, TAG active, new café and outdoor gym at Beachfields will give local people and visitors a greater choice of things to do in the town.

The funding will also deliver public realm improvements from the train station and around the leisure complex. Improvements will be made to better connect the high street, train station and seafront to encourage visitors to explore and enjoy more of the town.

Cllr Mike Baldock, Leader of Swale Borough Council, told SFM News: “This is fantastic news for Sheerness, and the whole Island, and I’m immensely proud that all the hard work that has been put in by the local community and our officers has paid off. When the criteria for the Levelling Up funding were announced we knew we had to try to get some much-needed investment in Sheerness, and Gordon Henderson has given us nothing but his full support throughout the process, for which we are immensely grateful." 

He went on to add: “We spent a considerable amount of time and effort listening to the local community to put together the best bid possible for the budget allowed – without that support, I don’t think we would be where we are now. This is the largest amount of funding we have ever received, and I am confident it will make a real and lasting difference to local people’s lives and opportunities .It's a major step towards the revival of Sheerness, with benefits that spread across the whole Island.”

Gordon Henderson, member of parliament for Sittingbourne and Sheppey, told SFM News: “I’m delighted to have supported this bid by Swale Council, which will make a great difference to people in and around Sheerness. I have been lobbying the Government hard since the bid was submitted, emphasising how much my constituency needs this added investment, so I am pleased, and grateful, ministers have listened to my pleas. This scheme shows that by working together, we can improve the health, education, and employment prospects for local people, in a meaningful way.I look forward to continuing to work together with Swale Council to make this scheme a success, and to find ways we can build up on this to keep improving the Island for everyone.”

For more information on the bid, visit www.swale.gov.uk/levelling-up.