Local News

Swale Borough Council is deploying uniformed marshals to help keep Sheerness and Sittingbourne town centres safe.  

The street marshals, who will be operating over the school holidays, are one of several initiatives being rolled out as part of the Safer Streets campaign.    

The council, through the Community Safety Partnership, worked with the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner to secure the funding needed for the campaign from the Government’s Safer Streets Fund.  

The marshals will wear body cameras and have radios connected through Swale Link to the council’s CCTV centre, which they can contact if any issues arise.   

Swale Borough Council will also be promoting being an active bystander as part of the project.  

The council recently teamed up with Kent Police and the charity SATEDA to visit licensed premises in Sittingbourne to speak with staff and members of the public about the initiative.  

It means you should take:   

• Direct action: call out negative behaviour, tell the person to stop and ask the victim if they’re ok.  
• Distract: interrupt, start a conversation with the perpetrator, use an excuse like asking the time!   
• Delegate: if you don’t feel you can get involved, ask someone else to (bar staff, bouncer).  
• Delay: if it’s too dangerous, call the police and wait for the situation to pass, then check on the victim.

The money will be invested into measures in the town Centres that will help tackle the higher level of crime, ASB and violence against women and girls, such as:-

• funding for additional youth programs, that can challenge the behaviour and perceptions of young people towards crime  
• new fixed site security cameras and three Rapid Deployment CCTV Cameras  
• more lighting, CCTV, and other general improvements to specified parks and open spaces, creating a safer environment for the children of the area while also discouraging antisocial behaviour in green spaces 
• investment into a Community Engagement Programme for the Beachfields area, to enable greater community ownership and activity within the space.  
• increasing community guardianship activities within these areas, including the introduction of these Street Marshalls whose work will help to keep the streets safer  
• offering Active Bystander training to people who work at night in the town centre and members of the public, which gives them the knowledge and skills to safely challenge the unacceptable behaviour of others in public  
• investment into Swale Link, which helps prevent crime by providing businesses with ways to share information about incidents. Including reports of shop lifters and anti-social behaviour, by providing radio equipment for them to stay connected with other businesses  
• additional monitoring of empty premises that attract antisocial behaviour. For example, the empty Sheerness library now has window shuttering and will receive some new fencing.

The measures have started and will continue to run until March 2025.    

Cllr Richard Palmer, the chair of the community committee, told SFM News: “We are incredibly proud to have successfully bid for this funding from the government’s Safer Streets fund through our Community Safety Partnership. We have set out a detailed plan of what we want to achieve with this money, and it is amazing to see the first steps we are taking. The ultimate goal is to reduce antisocial behaviour, and in particular, combat violence against women and girls. We know that these new measures, including the two street Marshalls, will make Sittingbourne and Sheerness town centres a safer place to be.” 

Six men have been jailed after smuggling more than £1 million of cocaine into the UK by coating it invisibly on broom handles.

London's Metropolitan Police say this is thought to be the first time the method has been used to import the drug into the UK.

The gang members were convicted in June, after a four and a half-month trial, of conspiracy to import cocaine, almost two years after their original arrest in October 2021 following an investigation by the Met and the National Crime Agency (NCA).

Nigel Rogers, 62, of Whitstable, Frank Asante, 48, of west London, Yuni Alexis Pacheco Miranda, 65, of north London, Daniel Oliver, 52, of Margate, Ermal Shtrezi, 41, of north London, and Terrence Allen, 74, of south-east London, were jailed for a total of 135 years at Kingston Crown Court yesterday (Thursday 14th December).

William Adams, aged 76 and of Brunswick Field in Teynham, was due to appear alongside the other men but was unwell and will be sentenced at a later date.

The court heard that a shipping container, containing the brooms, arrived from Columbia on Saturday 23rd October 2021 and was transported to the industrial unit of 'Pamper Cleaning' on the Darent Industrial Park in Dartford where Met Police and NCA officers swooped.

A conservation area in Swale has been expanded to include more areas of local importance.

Swale Borough Council has reviewed Hartlip and Bredgar Conservation Areas as part of their commitment to deliver the adopted Heritage Strategy 2020, Action Plan 1. 

After undertaking a public consultation on the conservation area’s character appraisals and the proposed management plan, the Council has expanded the borders of Hartlip conservation area (CA) and have kept the existing boundaries of Bredgar Conservation Area. 

Hartlip conservation area now includes the Cuckoo Orchard, Redcliffe chase, Keites Styles and part of Mount Lane. Hartlip is surrounded by beautiful orchards and is said to have derived its name from the Old English words ‘heoret hliep,’ meaning leaping place for harts or stags. The Hartlip parish church, which is dedicated to St. Michael, is one of the oldest standing buildings dating back to 1190. There is also evidence of Roman influence with a large Roman villa being discovered one mile from the church.  

Bredgar has substantial historic value having archaeological evidence of prehistoric, Iron Age and Roman settlements within the village and surrounding area.  

The buildings in both towns also add to their special character. The mix of building styles, dates, materials and types combine to create unique places, which speak of their locality and history. 

The council, as the local planning authority, is responsible for reviewing conservation areas from time to time.  

These reviews offer the opportunity to see if the areas still possess the special architectural and historic interest and are worthy of continued designation, which made them conservation areas in the first place.

The council also assessed how successful the designations had been over the past 50 years and whether they should be expanded or made smaller. 

Once an area has been designated a conservation area planning permission is needed to alter or demolish even unlisted buildings, trees within the area are given special protections and, in some cases, development is more restricted.

Cllr Mike Baldock, Swale's Heritage Champion, told SFM News: “We are fortunate to live in a place that not only offers incredible natural beauty but is also historically and architecturally important. Swale is an amazing place, and protecting the identity and charm of these villages is incredibly important to myself and the council. These conservation areas are a tool we can use to protect and enhance their uniqueness from irresponsible or unsustainable development. It is important for us to review these areas every now and then to determine how successful they have been in preserving their identity and if we need to make any changes to them".

Cllr Baldock went on to say: “Both Hartlip and Bredgar have great historical importance and the review found that they still need to be designated as conservation areas. I am very happy that the Hartlip area has become larger, this allows us to manage more of the village keeping its identity safe.” 

You can find out more about our local conservation areas by clicking this link:- https://swale.gov.uk/planning-and-regeneration/heritage-and-landscape/co....

A house in Newington has been subject to a partial closure order after it was linked to a disturbance.

The 28-day order was granted at Medway Magistrates’ Court last Wednesday (8th November) after Kent Police applied to the court for the partial closure of the house in Church Lane.

Under Section 80 of the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014, the order prevents anyone from visiting or being inside the property, other than the landlord or the tenant, during that period, or else risk a custodial sentence or an unlimited fine.

Officers made the application following an incident which happened inside the property at around 6am on Sunday 22nd October.

While responding to the disturbance four officers were assaulted, which led to one of them sustaining serious facial injuries.

Seven people were subsequently arrested. Of those arrested the following were charged.

• Luke Crowley, 32, of Lowe Avenue, Canning Town, was charged with wounding with intent and affray. He has been released on bail and is due to appear at Medway Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 21 November.

• Emma Tatham, 30, of Church Lane, Sittingbourne and Lauren Walsh, 21, of Winstanley Road, Sittingbourne, were both charged with affray and assault of an emergency worker.

• Kerry Crowley, 52, of Church Lane, Sittingbourne, was charged with affray.

The three women were bailed upon charge and are due to appear at Medway Magistrates’ Court on Thursday 30th November.

Kent Police remind that anyone who find themselves affected by assault should report it via the Kent Police website (or by dialling 999 if a crime is in progress).