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Parents and carers whose children may be eligible to receive Free School Meals due to the family’s financial circumstances are being urged to apply for them ahead of the upcoming April school holidays, even if their child is in Years R, 1 or 2.
The Government announced this month that it was extending the Covid Winter Grant Scheme until Friday, April 16th to allow local authorities to help vulnerable families feed their children and keep them warm during the Easter holiday period.
Kent County Council will use some of its share of the money to provide families with one £15 voucher per eligible child per week of the two-week holiday, which can be spent in supermarkets and local shops.
Even if a child receives Universal Infant Free School Meals (UIFSM) during term-time, because they are in Year 2 or below, eligible families will still need to apply for benefits-related Free School Meals in order to receive vouchers during the Easter break.
Both primary and secondary schools receive additional Government funding, called Pupil Premium, for each of their pupils who receive benefits-related Free School Meals. Schools use this funding to support pupils’ learning so signing up for Free School Meals will likely benefit a number of pupils in addition to parents and carers’ own children.
Schools will allocate the vouchers to their pupils, as they have done during previous holiday periods, so parents and carers should direct any enquiries to their child’s school.
The scheme was launched towards the end of 2020 and vouchers were issued to families for the December school holidays and February half-term.
Find out more about who is eligible and how to apply here: www.kent.gov.uk/education-and-children/schools/free-school-meals
Kent County Council
Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch Ward
Crime Number: 46/49370/21
A blue VW Golf, reg number: FP21 WHJ was stolen from Spade Lane, Hartlip at 2:30pm on Thursday the 25th of March.
If you have any information that could help investigators please contact Kent Police on telephone number 101 and quote the relevant crime number above.
For more information on crime prevention visit: www.kent.police.uk
Kent Community Messaging
INRI - Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum.
Meaning “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”.
The inscription placed over
Jesus'
head
by Pontius Pilateto mock him during the crucifixion.
An Empty Tomb created by Frank Osborne has been installed in the Churchyard at St Mary's, Upchurch, in-time for Easter.
Behind the tomb are three crosses representing the cross of Jesus and the crosses of the two thieves crucified on either side of him.
The thief to Jesus' right has become known as Saint Dismas the “Good Thief” while the one to his left is referred to as Gestas the “Unrepentant Thief”.
The stone will be rolled back on Saturday the 3rd of April when people invited can bring along potted plants to place at the tomb to create a glorious Easter Sunday Garden when Christians celebrate Jesus, their risen saviour.
The importance of the Empty Tomb
The resurrection of Jesus from the dead has been at the heart of the gospel message from the beginning.
The Empty Tomb is the Christian tradition that on the morning of the first day of the week (Easter Sunday), women followers of Jesus went to the place where he had been buried and found his body gone.
The Empty Tomb points to the bodily resurrection of Jesus and holds promise for believers that they will also have victory over death like Jesus when he bodily rose from the grave, showing it could not hold him.
Because Jesus has risen, believers can look forward to their own resurrection as well. The Empty Tomb is a symbol that death is not the end of the journey. There is much more to come.
Upchurch Matters
All Chalkwell Coach Hire bus services are due to return to their normal timetable from Monday the 29th of March, and journeys that were suspended during national Coronavirus lockdown restrictions will be running again.
Face coverings remain compulsory on all public transport unless you are exempt.
Click map to enlarge.
Bellway Homes are proposing a residential development of 78 new homes (including 25% affordable housing), together with associated access, parking, open space, landscaping and drainage on land North of Moor Street, Rainham.
Access to the site is proposed off of a new roundabout junction from Otterham Quay Lane, which will serve the Leigh Academy Rainham.
The developer is yet to make a formal planning application and has published a consultation website with their proposal asking residents for their views ahead of submitting a detailed planning application to Medway Council.
To read more about the proposal, visit the Bellway Homes consultation website at: www.landatmoorstreet.co.uk
Upchurch Matters
Southeastern will begin running longer trains from next week.
With the government roadmap easing of lockdown restrictions and a gradual but steady increase in usage, capacity on Southeastern services will be boosted by adding extra carriages from Monday 29th March.
Longer trains will provide additional space at peak and off-peak times in anticipation of more customers returning to the railway over the Spring when lockdown measures will be eased further.
The move follows the boost to capacity on Monday 8th March when schoolchildren returned to travelling on the railway network.
A national network timetable change in May will see a further significant boost in train services across the country.
Summary of changes to train lengths:
All off-peak services on the London Charing Cross - Hastings line will be formed of eight carriages.
All off-peak services on the London Charing Cross - Tonbridge - Ramsgate line will be formed of eight carriages.
All off-peak services on the London Victoria - Medway Towns - Ramsgate line will be formed of eight carriages.
All peak time mainline services will be formed of at least eight carriages with many of these formed of twelve carriages.
Busier peak time Highspeed services to and from London St Pancras will be formed of twelve carriages.
Hi everyone,
All Easter Trail pictures should now be displayed in house windows and at locations in Upchurch.
There are 23 pictures in total depicting Jesus' ministry, death and resurrection.
Children can download and print the map and list to follow Jesus' story around the village.
If you have been given a picture, please make sure you have it clearly on display.
Thank you
Very important
If you need to leave your home for any of the permitted reasons, please stay safe and always stick to the current government rules around exercising and being outdoors, which you can read here >> http://bit.ly/2XYOjhn
Have fun, stay safe, and we hope you enjoy the Trail!
Gill Gay
Residents living in Lower Halstow, Upchurch and Lower Rainham will have seen tankers transporting sewerage from the wastewater pumping station at Lower Halstow to the Southern Water treatment works at Motney Hill, Rainham.
The Tankers have been required to transport the sewerage while works are carried out to repair burst sections of sewerage pipework that cross the marsh between Motney Hill, Rainham and Poot Lane, Upchurch.
Thank you to Barry Woodham at Southern Water and Vice Chairman of Lower Halstow Parish Council Martin Szabo for keeping residents updated on the progress of the works.
Below is the latest update received from southern Water:
Dear customer,
We would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the disruption to the community while we work to repair the damaged section of pipework. We’re aware that the continued presence of tankers in Lower Haltow village will affect the community in different ways.
Immediate next steps
The site team have met with Natural England on 24th March as the damaged pipe is located in an area that is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).
We have reached an agreement with Natural England to install an additional section of overland pipe, approximately 900m in length, which will bypass the damaged section of the pipe. Once this pipe is installed and operational, we can return Lower Halstow Wastewater Pumping Station (WPS) to normal operations and remove the need for tanker activity in the area.
We are currently working with landowners to agree access through their land and Lower Halstow Parish Council will receive a daily update until the work on site has been completed.
Community engagement
Our Stakeholder Manager, Barry Woodham, County Customer Manager, Kelly Robinson and Customer Case Lead, Emma Healing will be working together to ensure that weekly communications are sent to all residents, alongside the daily updates to Lower Halstow Parish Council.
Future resilience
We are looking closely at the future resilience of the pumped main and a project team are assessing the viable options and associated timescales of replacing or refurbishing the line from Lower Halstow to Motney Hill Wastewater Treatment Works. Any work that is undertaken will have a dedicated communications manager to ensure that all aspects of the long term project are updated to the community throughout.
We appreciate your feedback
We welcome any questions or concerns you may have so please feel free to contact:
Yours faithfully
Andrew Morris - Project Manager
Southern Water
On Thursday 6th May residents in Swale will have their say on who represents them at Kent County Council, Kent Police and Crime Commissioner, Swale Borough Council Sheerness Ward by-election, Warden Parish Council by-election and Faversham Town Council by-elections for Abbey Ward, Priory Ward & Watling Ward.
To vote in these important elections, residents must be on the electoral register. With the deadline to register to vote fast approaching, Swale Borough Council is urging people who have not registered at their current address to make sure they are registered in time.
The deadline to register to vote is midnight on Monday 19th April. It takes just five minutes to apply online at: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. This year residents in Swale will be voting in a total of seven different elections and will select:
• Kent County councillors, who represent their local area and residents, and contribute to the development of policies in areas such as transport, social care or housing
• The Police and Crime Commissioner, who oversees your local police force and ensures they are prioritising what matters to you
• Swale Borough Council by-election for Sheerness Ward
• Warden Parish Council by-election
• Faversham Town Council by-elections for Abbey Ward, Priory Ward and Watling Ward.
Ailsa Irvine, Director of Electoral Administration and Guidance at the Electoral Commission said:
“You can’t have your say in these important elections unless you are registered to vote. It’s quick and easy - it takes just five minutes online at: www.gov.uk/registertovote
“If you have recently turned 18 or moved home, it is particularly important that you act to ensure that you are registered to vote.
“If you were registered to vote in the last election and your details have not changed, you don’t need to take any action. If in doubt, you can check with your local authority on: 01795 417 316.”
Voters have a range of options for casting their ballot - in person, by post or by appointing someone they trust to vote in their place, known as a proxy vote. For those who choose to vote in person, polling stations will be safe places to vote on 6th May.
The deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5:00pm on 20th April, and for a proxy vote the deadline is 5:00pm on 27th April.
For information on elections in their area, how to register to vote, or how to apply to vote by post or by proxy, voters can visit: www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voter. This page will continue to be updated ahead of the polls.
Swale Borough Council
Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch Ward
Crime Number: 46/46578/21
Between Sunday the 21st and Monday the 22nd of March, a vehicle was vandalised in Bradshaw Close, Upchurch.
If you have any information that could help investigators please contact Kent Police on telephone number 101 and quote the relevant crime number above.
For more information on crime prevention visit: www.kent.police.uk
Kent Community Messaging
Residents across Medway are being encouraged to continue to regularly book symptom-free coronavirus tests, as national lockdown restrictions are gradually eased.
Medway Council is continuing to offer symptom-free testing for everyone who lives or works in Medway.
With more people anticipated to be out in the community over the coming months as part of the government’s roadmap to recovery plans, it remains just as important that people continue to regularly take a symptom-free coronavirus test to protect them, their families and people around them. One in three people with coronavirus have no symptoms, meaning that someone could be highly infectious without being aware of it.
Medway was the first area in the south-east to launch symptom-free testing in December 2020 and so far, more than 118,000 tests have been carried out in Medway. Of those, 1,297 people tested positive for coronavirus and were immediately told to self-isolate by the NHS Test and Trace programme.
From Thursday, 1st April Medway residents will be able to book a symptom-free test at four sites across Medway, including one new centre:
• Chattenden Community Centre in Hoo
• The Oast in Rainham
• The Deep End in Chatham (limited opening hours only)
• *NEW* MidKent College in Gillingham
The testing centres at Medway Park in Gillingham and Rochester Cathedral will close on Wednesday, 31st March.
New outreach teams will also work with community organisations to offer testing to harder to reach groups and communities who may find it difficult to access testing sites. Medway Council’s Public Health Team will also continue to regularly review local COVID infection rates, and prioritising community groups in areas where coronavirus cases are increasing. The council is also working with the Department of Health and Social Care, to facilitate the collection of symptom-free home test kits from its local sites. More information on who may be eligible to use this innovative service from Tuesday, 6th April, will be available in due course.
Secondary school pupils, college students and teaching staff are also being encouraged to regularly take a coronavirus test in line with government guidance, and schools and colleges have testing kits available to assist with this.
Parents, carers and relatives of schoolchildren (at primary, secondary or college age), as well as residents in childcare and support bubbles, are also encouraged to take symptom-free tests and can collect symptom-free home testing kits from their nearest home test collection centre or order them online. Eligible households are encouraged to take the tests at home twice a week.
Leader of Medway Council, Cllr Alan Jarrett, said:
“Medway’s symptom-free testing centres are continuing to help reduce the spread of coronavirus and drive down the number of cases locally. All Medway residents are able to book a test and it is incredibly important that we all continue to do so to protect ourselves, and our loved ones, from this deadly virus.
“We are all looking forward to getting back to the things we love when it is safe to do so but we must not be complacent. It is vital that we all continue to follow the latest government advice and continue to follow social distancing guidelines.”
James Williams, Medway Council’s Director of Public Health, said:
“Symptom-free testing is an important tool to help reduce the spread of coronavirus across Medway. I would encourage residents to continue to book tests regularly. Medway’s infection rate remains below the national average and it’s vital that we keep it that way. As the government’s roadmap to recovery continues to progress and lockdown measures are eased, we will see more people out in the community. It is incredibly important that we all work together to keep each other safe. We all need to play our part in the fight against coronavirus.”
Book a coronavirus test
No symptoms: If you do not have any symptoms of coronavirus, you can book your test online: medway.gov.uk/symptomfreetesting
Symptoms: If you have coronavirus symptoms, you should access a test through the national symptomatic testing programme: gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or call 119.
Medway Council
Kent County Council has made an order to temporarily prohibit through traffic on The Street, Hartlip from Thursday 15th April 2021 for up to 2 days between the hours of 08:00 and 18:00.
The road will be closed from outside Yew Tree Cottage to outside The Maples, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site.
The alternative route for any through traffic is via The Street, Mount Lane, Place Lane, Dane Lane, Munns Lane and vice versa.
The closure is required for the safety of the public and workforce while equipment transfer works are undertaken by BT Openreach.
For information regarding this closure please contact BT Openreach on: 0800 800150, who will be able to assist with the scope of the works.
Kent County Council 24hr Contact Centre: 03000 418181
For details of roadworks see: https://one.network
Kent County Council - Highways, Transportation & Waste
Have you or a family member had Covid-19?
Are you still experiencing symptoms or has it taken longer than expected to recover?
NHS Kent and Medway Clinical Commissioning Group is working with hospitals, GPs and other professionals providing support and care to people suffering from the long-term health effects of a Covid-19 infection.
We want to hear from patients and families so that we can improve the services we offer.
To tell us about your views and experiences please complete this short survey
We are also holding online patient experience workshops on 8th April at 6:00pm and 28th April at 10:00am. The workshops will be led by Cathy Finnis, Independent Lay Member for Patient and Public Engagement and Dr Neil Banik, Respiratory Lead for Kent and Medway.
Kent County Council has made an order to temporarily prohibit through traffic on The Street, Hartlip from Tuesday 6th April 2021 for up to 4 days.
The road will be closed in the general vicinity of Craig Lea, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site.
The alternative route for any through traffic is via The Street, Mount Lane, Lower Hartlip Road, Hollow Lane and vice versa.
The closure is required for the safety of the public and workforce while works to install a new gas service are undertaken by SGN.
For information regarding this closure please contact SGN on: 0800 111999, who will be able to assist with the scope of the works.
Kent County Council 24hr Contact Centre: 03000 418181
For details of roadworks see: https://one.network
Kent County Council - Highways, Transportation & Waste
Kent County Council has made an order to temporarily prohibit through traffic on School Lane, Lower Halstow from Monday 5th April 2021, with estimated completion by 12th April 2021.
The road will be closed from outside number 44 to outside number 49, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site.
The alternative route for any through traffic is via School Lane, The Street, Vicarage Lane and vice versa.
The closure is required for the safety of the public and workforce while ducting repair works are undertaken by BT Openreach.
For information regarding this closure please contact BT Openreach on: 0800 800150, who will be able to assist with the scope of the works.
Kent County Council 24hr Contact Centre: 03000 418181
For details of roadworks see: https://www.kenttraffic.info
Kent County Council - Highways, Transportation & Waste
Chris and Carol Haines
The Three TunsThe Street, Lower Halstow, Sittingbourne, Kent ME9 7DY
Telephone: 01795 842840
Swale Borough Council is preparing to oversee the elections taking place on May 6th 2021.
The Government delayed some elections scheduled to take place last year due to the pandemic but have confirmed they will take place in May this year.
Swale is responsible for administering elections in the borough and has been working on plans to ensure the elections can take place safely.
The elections taking place in the borough are:
• Kent County Council - there are six electoral divisions for county council elections in the borough, which will return seven county councillors. For more information, visit the Kent County Council website, where you can also view public notices about the election.
• Kent Police and Crime Commissioner - the person responsible for overseeing how crime is tackled across the county. For more information, visit the Kent Police & Crime Commissioner website or call 0808 196 2170.
• Swale Borough Council by-election: Sheerness Ward
• Warden Parish Council by-election
• Faversham Town Council by-elections:
- Abbey Ward
- Priory Ward
- Watling Ward
To vote in elections in your areas, you need to be on the electoral register and Swale wrote to 62,850 homes last month to remind people to check their details were correct.
The deadline for registering to vote is midnight on Monday, 19th April. You do not need to re-apply if you are already on the register - if you're unsure, call the helpline on 01795 417 316.
The recent postcard mailing to households also included advice about safe voting during the pandemic and encouraged anyone concerned to register for a postal or proxy vote.
The deadline to apply to vote by post, is 5:00pm on Tuesday, 20th April, and the deadline to apply for a proxy vote is 5:00pm on Tuesday, 27th April.
Swale Borough Council
Dr Supriya Das & Dr Lakshmi Subbiah
1. If you booked your first jab via your GP surgery, then:
Surgeries will be contacting patients approximately 10 - 11 weeks after their first vaccination with an appointment to receive their second jab, including the location, i.e. at Parkwood Health Centre.
2. If you booked your first jab online, then:
You should have been notified already of the appointment to receive your second jab.
Chair - Surgery Patient Participation Group - Upchurch & Rainham
It will be necessary to close Breach Lane, Upchurch from Tuesday 23rd March 2021 for up to 3 days.The road will be closed opposite Auto Evolution, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site.
The alternative route is via Breach Lane, The Street, Horsham Lane, Otterham Quay Lane, Moor Street and A2.
This is to enable water pipe repairs to be carried out by Southern Water.
For information regarding the closure please contact Southern Water on: 0330 303 0368, who will be able to assist with the scope of the works.
Kent County Council 24hr Contact Centre: 03000 418181
For details of roadworks see: https://one.network
Kent County Council - Highways, Transportation & Waste
Community organisations that support Swale’s most vulnerable residents will receive a share of £55,000 from Swale Borough Council’s winter support scheme.
The council received £108,000 from Kent County Council (KCC) to deliver food boxes to people who had been impacted by the pandemic back in December.
The remaining money will now be distributed to community organisations in Swale to help support families who could be struggling through the Easter holidays.
Cllr Richard Palmer, cabinet member for community, said:
“We’ve distributed £55,000 between the key community organisations we’ve been working with through our winter support scheme.
“Swale Foodbank and Diversity House in Sittingbourne, Faversham Foodbank and West Faversham Community Association, and Family Foodbank and Oasis Academy in Sheerness, as well as our Staying Put service have all received money to help people keep their families warm and fed this Easter.
“The winter support scheme was initially set up to help to deliver food boxes to people who had been hit hard by the pandemic.
“We’ve delivered 815 boxes and supported 1,421 residents so far and will continue to deliver food boxes until 31st March.
“By handing the remaining money directly to the organisations who are on the ground talking to people and understanding the challenges they are facing, we can really help to provide people with what they need most.
“We know that families are under strain and might be worried about how they will feed their families and keep them warm during the Easter school holidays, and we encourage anybody who may be struggling to reach out to their local foodbank or community group for help.
“KCC will also be handing out benefit-related meal vouchers to families who received free school meals.”
Swale Borough Council
Councillor Roger Truelove.
The leader of Swale Borough Council is calling on local people not to be complacent about the number of new coronavirus cases.
Though Swale’s infection rate has come down dramatically it is still slightly above the Kent average and could bounce back if people begin to ignore public health guidelines.
The vaccination programme is encouraging but until everyone has had two vaccines the risk remains. The news that supplies of vaccine for those under 50 will be delayed is further cause for care.
Cllr Roger Truelove, leader of the council, said:
“It took a national lockdown for our figures to come down to this level, and whilst the vaccine rollout is going well, we simply can’t afford to be complacent.
“We all need to carry on following the national directions, and keep ourselves and others safe, if we want to gradually enjoy the relaxations the government has set out in its roadmap.
“We’ve recently seen schools reopen, and we will soon be allowed to meet up outside with others, albeit with restrictions. The effect of these changes won’t be seen for up to a month later, and we don’t want to risk the dates being delayed because we are stretching the rules.
“Our public health colleagues are encouraging everyone to take regular symptom-free tests, twice a week, so we can try to prevent cases spiralling upwards again.
“Households where there are children in school can pick up home testing kits, and local businesses have been invited to carry out workplace testing to keep their workforce, and their families, safe.”
To book a symptom-free test, visit: www.kent.gov.uk/symptomfreetest
If you are experiencing any of the COVID-19 symptoms – high temperature, a new or continuous cough, a loss or change in taste or smell – you should NOT visit a symptom free testing site and you should continue to self-isolate. You can book a symptomatic test by visiting: www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or by calling 119.
If you live in a household, or are in a support or childcare bubble with children attending school that includes primary, secondary or college pupils or staff, you can get twice-weekly tests by:
Swale Borough Council
Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch Ward
Crime Number: 46/43296/21
Between Monday the 15th and Tuesday the 16th of March, intruders damaged several roof tiles at Hartlip Endowed CE Primary School, The Street, Hartlip.
If you have any information that could help investigators please contact Kent Police on telephone number 101 and quote the relevant crime number above.
For more information on crime prevention visit: www.kent.police.uk
Kent Community Messaging
Swale Borough Council will be placing stickers on household waste and recycling bins over the coming weeks to help residents cut down on recycling contamination.
The stickers will be going on all bins across the borough to ask residents to think about what they are putting in each bin to reduce recycling contamination.
The council sees a lot of food waste, used nappies, textiles, garden waste and black bin bags being placed in the blue bin with recycling.
If the levels of these contaminants are too high, the entire load may be rejected and everyone’s recycling on that collection round is lost.
With more people working from home there has understandably been an increase in weights for kerbside collections. This means it is even more important than ever that the right materials are going in the correct bins.
Councillor Julian Saunders, the cabinet member for environment at the council, said:
“We want every resident to think carefully about what they are putting in each of their bins.
“We need residents to be part of the solution and help us ensure we can recycle what’s in our recycling bins, instead of having bin loads rejected from the recycling facilities for too many contaminants.
“The stickers will show what can and can’t go in our recycling and household waste bins, and if everybody makes a small improvement in how they allocate their waste, we can make a positive impact across the borough.
“Every resident can make a difference when it comes to how they dispose of their waste. Whether it’s washing food waste from recyclables before placing them in the blue bin, opting to start home composting or asking for a food caddy for food waste, even small changes will help us recycle and tackle climate change.
“It will also help create a circular economy where more products are re-used and recycled rather than new raw materials being used to create more waste.”
If you are unsure of what bin something should go in, try using our handy Waste Wizard search tool on our website at: https://swale.gov.uk/waste-wizard
Swale Borough Council
It will be necessary to close Yaugher Lane, Hartlip from Friday 19th March 2021 for up to 1 day.
The road will be closed at the junction of Matts Hill Road.
The alternative route is via Matts Hill Lane, Warren Lane, Place Lane and Meresborough Lane.
This is to enable carriageway patching to be carried out by Kent County Council.
Kent County Council 24hr Contact Centre: 03000 418181
For details of roadworks see: www.kenttraffic.info
Kent County Council - Highways, Transportation & Waste
