Government

The Highsted Park development, proposed by Quinn Estates, to the south and east of Sittingbourne has been "called in" by The Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government.

Swale Borough Council’s Planning Committee were due to decide on the application at a meeting at Swale House last night (Thursday 7th November), but the decision was “ripped out of its hands at the eleventh hour” as Swale BC confirmed it had been called-in by the government at short notice after a letter was received from them at 3:00pm.

Sittingbourne & Sheppey's newly elected Member of Parliament, Kevin McKenna MP, has made his maiden speech in The House of Commons following his General Election win in July.

Kevin addressed the house at 16:27pm yesterday (Thursday 12th September) afternoon with a passionate look at his constiuency and the previous work his two predecessors, Gordon Henderson (CON) and Derek Wyatt (LAB) had done in the constitunecy since it's creation in 1997.

You can hear a full copy of his speech here:-

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.

Local MP Gordon Henderson, in partnership with Sittingbourne and Sheerness JobCentres, welcomed over 30 local businesses on Friday (17^th September) morning to their Kickstart Scheme Seminar, where they were encouraged to offer 6-month work placements to young people on Universal Credit.

Businesses that have been forced to close or have been severely affected by the new restrictions can apply for one of the following business grants from Swale Borough Council:

• Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed) or
• Additional Restrictions Grant (ARG)

Businesses in rated commercial premises that have been forced to close can get grants of between £1,334 and £3,000 to cover the 28-day period from 5 November through the Local Restrictions Support Grant (Closed).

Swale Borough Councilor (Cllr) Richard Palmer (pictured above) has public condemned the KCC (Kent County Council) Cabinet Member for Highways & Transport, Cllr Michael Payne, for ignoring residents’ concerns about the failure of KCC to fully refund money paid for the KCC school bus travel scheme that could not be used because of COVID.  

Cllr Palmer says that he has raised this with Cllr Payne on more than one occasion, but as yet, Cllr Payne has failed to respond to his concerns.

The first 776 local businesses that have applied for business rate relief grants from Swale Borough Council will be receiving payments worth £8.9 million between them later this week.

The council wrote to 2,600 eligible businesses in the borough with details on how to apply for the grants, which are part of the government's measures to support small businesses and businesses in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors through the period of disruption caused by coronavirus (COVID-19).

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.