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Swale Foodbank Collection
Dear Upchurch,
We will be collecting your regular Swale Foodbank donations of care at the bus stop opposite the church again on Wednesday the 7th of December, between 10:30am and 11:30am. This will be our last collection before Christmas.
Please bring your items in carrier bags. Warehouse Coordinator Richard Divers will then deliver your donations to the Swale Foodbank Warehouse, part of the Trussell Trust.
Bless you, all for your kindness ♥️
Christmas Hampers
I have 2 Christmas Hampers that St Mary's and Uplift have put together.
Maybe we could make up a 3rd hamper, if you are able to bring a few Christmassy bits on Wednesday too, I will bring another box and we can turn it into another hamper?
But we still need your regular Foodbank donation this month. I know it's a big ask, but it's going to be so rotten for some people. Together let's spread the light, the love and the joy.
Thank you 😊
A Cuppa and a Chat
While you are there, why not call into the church for a cuppa and a chat in the Lady Chapel.
We will have the kettle on from 10:00am until 12:00pm. There will be mince pies and a warm welcome. Come and have a hot drink and enjoy some good company.
We will be praying for our village from 12:00pm until 12:30pm. Pop in and join us or write a prayer in our prayer book and we will pray for you.
Just call in, and we will be pleased to see you!
Warmer Place at Upchurch Village Hall
We will be flinging open the doors of the village hall for everyone on Friday the 9th of December between 11:00am and 1:00pm.
There will be Christmas carols. The heating will be on. The Kettle will be on. The toaster will be on. There will be hot drinks, snacks and cuppa soups - We just need you to complete the happy scene!
Everything is free thanks to the generosity of the Village Hall Management Committee, Upchurch's Co-op and a grant from Swale Borough Councillor Richard Palmer.
Bring a friend and stay warm without worrying about the cost!
Hosted by St Mary's and Uplift.
Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch Ward
Crime Number: 46/227642/22
Between 22:45 and 23:00 on Thursday the 24th of November, somebody smashed a window of an Audi A1 parked in Horsham Lane, Upchurch.
Crime Number: 46/227718/22
Between 23:00 on Thursday the 24th of November and 11:39 on Friday the 25th of November, somebody damaged a residential property in Forge Lane, 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
Paddington is coming to Rainham Shopping Centre this Christmas on Friday the 2nd of December, to help the Mayor of Medway start off the festive season.
There will be family entertainment from 3:45pm, hosted by KMFM, and the switch-on is planned for 5:00pm.
PLUS, don’t miss the opportunity to meet Paddington beforehand at Rainham Library at 2:00pm. This a free event, but booking to meet Paddington is essential - Please phone 01634 337799.
Upchurch Matters
Everyone is welcome to join Nursery Days for some Christmas fun on Saturday the 17th of December, from 11:00am until 12:30pm.
🎅🏼 Traditional Games🎄 Fun Prizes
🎁 Yummy Treats
🦌 And lots more!
Address:The Old School
The Street
Upchurch
ME9 7AJ
Telephone: 01634 376924
Upchurch Matters
Our free Email News Service is back after a 4 month pause.
So what happened?
Between September 2014 and July 2022, Google's Feedburner subscription service delivered almost 1900 of our Notice Board Page posts to our subscribers' Email inboxes on the same day we posted them.
But as with many online services, things change, and in April 2021, Google notified us, along with 1000's of other users worldwide, that they would be ending their Feedburner service - Great 😞
Feedburner continued to work as expected for a long while after this but soon became erratic before it finally stopped delivering our Emails in July this year.
We began searching for an alternative service, but it is only now we have found one that appears reliable, easy for subscribers to use, and works as we would like.
follow.it
follow.it is a free, simple to use and popular subscription service that notifies our subscribers by Email when we publish a new post to our Notice Board Page.
We recently set up follow.it to work with Upchurch Matters and have been testing it for reliability and getting used to how it works.
Just as Feedburner did before, it will deliver our posts to your Email inbox in a single and convenient daily Email.
Whether you were a previous subscriber or would like to sign up to receive our Emails for the first time, the process is still simple. Once you have subscribed, it is always automatic, and as a subscriber, you can now choose your preferred Email delivery options.
Subscribe to Upchurch Matters via Email
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1.
Look for the box on the right hand side of the Notice Board Page that reads: 'Subscribe to Email News Service' 👉🏼
Enter your Email address and click the 'Subscribe' button.
A new web browser window will open that reads:
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Go to your Email inbox, where you should see a new Email from follow.it.
If you cannot see the Email, please check your Junk/Spam folder.
The Email reads: 'Please activate your subscription to feed "Notice Board | News From Upchurch Matters" by clicking the button below.'
The Email also contains a username and password for use on the follow.it website later.
Click on the big green button in the Email that reads: 'Click here to confirm'. A new web browser window should open, displaying the follow.it website.
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To manage your follow.it subscription, please log in using the username and password you received in the Email at: https://follow.it, where under 'Settings', you can choose your preferred Email delivery options.
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We have chosen '8:00pm' as our delivery time, and there are other settings you can alter too.
And that's it! - You are now subscribed to our free Email News Service 😀
We know from real-life conversations that many regular visitors to Upchurch Matters are not on social media and instead choose to visit our website for trusted local news online.
For those followers and anyone else interested in subscribing, we are pleased to have reinstated this free service.
Please Note: Even if you previously subscribed to Upchurch Matters through Feedburner, you will need to subscribe again - Others already have!
Thank you
Upchurch Matters
Due to the pantomime performance in the Village Hall on Thursday the 1st of December, the Upchurch Parish Council monthly meeting has been rescheduled to 7:30pm on Thursday the 8th of December in the Village Hall.
Nina Henley
Clerk and Proper Officer to Upchurch Parish Council
Tel: 07798 600696
Gladman Developments Limited is challenging Swale Borough Council's refusal in May 2022 to grant permission for outline planning application: 21/501839/OUT for up to 74 dwellings at land off Otterham Quay Lane, Upchurch, with public open space, landscaping, sustainable drainage system and vehicular access point - all matters reserved except for means of access.
The developer subsequently lodged an appeal with the Planning Inspectorate in October 2022 and requested a public inquiry.
In a letter to residents living near the site, dated Thursday the 24th of November 2022 (below), Swale Borough Council has advised that the Inspector's hearing for the appeal will begin at 10:00am on Wednesday the 11th of January 2023 at Swale House. Along with details of how residents can attend, either in person or virtually and give their views regarding the outline planning application.
Click letter to enlarge.
The Swale Borough Council planning decision notice, and Medway Council consultee comment, letters of objection along with the appeal and hearing documents can be viewed at >> https://bit.ly/3wJ9Ahx
The Remembrance Sunday service was led by Revd. Nick Carpenter and took place in the church of St Mary the Virgin on November 13th. The Upchurch uniformed youth organisations paraded from Drakes Hut and formed a guard of honour before the Remembrance. At the service, a very full church remembered all those who made the ultimate sacrifice in WWI and subsequent conflicts for this Nation. Seven wreaths were laid in turn in the Lady Chapel. The wreaths were on behalf of the Church, the Mayor of Swale, Ferques (our twin village in France*), Upchurch Parish Council, Upchurch Scouts, Upchurch Guides and the Upchurch Brownies. The names of all those from Upchurch who made the ultimate sacrifice in WWI and WWII were then read out in the order recorded on the memorial tablets in the Lady Chapel. At 11.00 hours a bugler played the Last Post and the two minutes silence was observed.
At the end of the service, the choir led the congregation out to the middle burial ground. Wooden Remembrance crosses were laid at each of the five War Grave Commission graves by past members of the Armed or Civilian services. After the crosses were laid, all those present stood in silent Remembrance on what was a calm but misty morning. This act concluded with prayers.
It was pleasing to see the village showing poppies on lamp posts, knitted poppies on the church railings and elsewhere. In the cemetery, an arch of poppies had been erected, guarded by two silhouettes of “Tommys”, acknowledging the fallen. My Royal British Legion thanks to those responsible for these displays.
*Upchurch Parish Council sends a wreath to Ferques for laying on Armistice Day when the French remember their war dead.
“WE WILL REMEMBER THEM”
Hon. Alderman Gerry Lewin - Poppy Appeal Organiser
Swale Borough Council has been recognised by the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) as one of 123 districts across the globe that is taking bold leadership on environmental action.
CDP’s A-List is designed to encourage and support districts to ramp up their climate action and ambition and is based on the environmental data they disclose. This year just over one in ten districts (12% of such cities) received an A.
To score an A, districts must publicly disclose through the CDP’s reporting platform, have a renewable energy target for the future, and have a published climate action plan. They must also complete a climate risk and vulnerability assessment and have a climate adaptation plan to demonstrate how they plan to tackle climate hazards.
Cllr Julian Saunders, chair of the environment committee and the council, said:
“We’ve made it a priority to understand the impacts of climate change in Swale and reporting our progress to the carbon disclosure project is just one way we commit to becoming a net zero borough.
“We approach tackling climate change as a whole council, sharing best practice and results across departments and embedding climate change action into our decision-making and procurement contracts.”
Cllr Tim Valentine, vice chair of the environment committee and the council, said:
“We’re delighted to be rated A by the carbon disclosure project.
“The recognition highlights our commitment to science-based targets to tackle global heating, by planting trees, insulating council buildings, and decarbonising our fleet of vehicles to name just a few actions we have taken.”
• Swale is one of 123 districts to receive top score on climate action from Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)
• A-List districts build climate momentum, taking twice as many climate mitigation and adaptation measures as non-A Listers
• Only 12 per cent of districts received an A score in 2022
• Swale is the only authority in Kent to receive an A rating
Swale Borough Council
It will be necessary to close part of Sheerness Road, Lower Halstow from Wednesday 14th December 2022, with estimated completion by 20th December 2022.
Sheerness Road, Lower Halstow will be closed in the general vicinity of Stray Orchard Cottage, to the extent indicated by signs and barriers on site.
The alternative route is Sheerness Road, The Street, Breach Lane, Hartlip Hill, London Road, High Street, Boyces Hill, Keycol Hill, Key Street Roundabout, Sheppey Way, Ferry Road, Old Ferry Road, Raspberry Hill Lane and vice versa.
The closure is required for the safety of the public and workforce while fire hydrant replacement works are undertaken by Southern Water.
For information regarding this closure, please contact Southern Water on: 0330 303 0368, who will be able to assist with the scope of these works.
KCC 24hr Contact Centre: 03000 418181
Kent County Council - Highways, Transportation & Waste
Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch Ward
Crime Number: 46/222362/22
On Friday the 18th of November, somebody smashed a window of a residential property in Church Lane, Newington.
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
Spend this Thursday evening looking at Fingerprints and Murder with Jack Deans, who was a crime scene examiner at New Scotland Yard for 35 years and worked on such cases as the Great Train Robbery, and the Lockerbie and Marchioness disasters.
His talk at Newington History Group's (NHG) monthly meeting is in the Village Hall, Newington, on Thursday, (Nov 24th) and is open to the public (£3) starting at 7:00pm.
NHG actively seeks to unearth, preserve and promote the history and heritage of the village and neighbouring areas. It meets monthly on the fourth Thursday. An annual subscription is available.
Richard Thompstone - Newington History Group
Click the photo montage to enlarge.
The 3-day Art Exhibition at St Mary’s Church, Upchurch, with proceeds towards the Bell Tower Restoration Fund, opened on Friday the 18th of November and runs until 4:00pm on Sunday the 20th.
Local artists & sale of works.
Admission is £2.50 on the door, and children accompanied by an adult are free.
There is some wonderful art on display in the church.
Please come along and support this very worthy cause.
A JustGiving fundraising page has also been published to help towards the restoration of St Mary's Church Bell Tower.
Thank you
Upchurch Matters
Christmas Market
On Saturday the 10th of December
From 11:00am until 4:30pm at Upchurch Village Hall
The Christmas Market is organised by the Village Hall Management Committee and is a fundraising event for the St Mary’s Church Bell Tower Restoration Fund with refreshments provided by Upchurch WI.
Market stalls include:
Teas & Cakes
Crafts
Grand Raffle
Upchurch Players Costume Shop
Usborne Children's Books
Art from Local Artists
And Many More!
Thanks to Upchurch Parish Council, Santa, in his sleigh with giant reindeer and elves, will be visiting the children at the Village Hall from 2:30pm until 4:30pm.
Gerry Lewin
Organiser of the Christmas Market for the Village Hall Management Committee
A summary of data from 3 recent traffic speed surveys of vehicles travelling in both directions along Horsham Lane, Forge Lane, and The Street, Upchurch, is now available.
Traffic speeds were recorded at 15 minute intervals 24 hours per day for 7 days. The 2 measures used when looking at traffic speed are average speed and 85th percentile speed. The latter is the speed at which 85% of vehicles are travelling at or below.
Please click each graphic to enlarge it.
Horsham Lane
TSS carried out a 7 day ATC on Horsham Lane commencing the 14/10/22.
The number of vehicles exceeding the speed limit of 30mph was 1343, which is 5.48% of the total vehicles recorded in both directions, which was 24519.
TSS carried out a 7 day ATC on Forge Lane commencing the 06/10/22.
The number of vehicles exceeding the speed limit of 30mph was 1847, which is 7.25% of the total vehicles recorded in both directions, which was 25482.
TSS carried out a 7 day ATC on The Street commencing the 06/10/22.
The number of vehicles exceeding the speed limit of 60mph was 0, which is 0.00% of the total vehicles recorded in both directions, which was 3501.
The traffic speed surveys were funded by Swale ward councillors Alan Horton and Richard Palmer from Ward Members Grants allocations and are to help inform the current Parish Highways Improvement Plan.
Thank you to Upchurch Parish Council for sharing this information.
Upchurch Matters
Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch WardA brief summary of crime information for the past 2 months.
28 crimes are shown on the map in September 2022 including:
4 Anti-social Behaviour
2 Criminal Damage and Arson
4 Other Theft
3 Public Order
1 Vehicle crime
12 Violence and Sexual Offences
2 Other Crime
38 crimes were shown on the map in August 2022.
Not all crime that occurs is shown on the map.
Please visit: www.police.uk for more information including outcomes for these crimes and contact information for your local policing team.
Upchurch Matters
Jenny Giles - Upchurch River Valley Golf Course Telephone: 01634 360626
Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch WardA brief summary of crime information for the past 2 months.
38 crimes are shown on the map in August 2022 including:
4 Anti-social Behaviour
1 Burglary
3 Criminal Damage and Arson
1 Drugs
1 Other Theft
1 Possession of Weapons
1 Public Order
1 Robbery
3 Vehicle crime
21 Violence and Sexual Offences
1 Other Crime
36 crimes were shown on the map in July 2022.
Not all crime that occurs is shown on the map.
Please visit: www.police.uk for more information including outcomes for these crimes and contact information for your local policing team.
Upchurch Matters
People struggling to feed their families and pay their bills could be eligible for more support this Winter.
Swale Borough Council has received more than £250,000 from Kent County Council’s (KCC) Household Support Fund to help households access food boxes, get vouchers to pay their electric, gas and water bills, and purchase the items needed to keep warm.
The money has been allocated to organisations within the local community who have been on the ground helping people navigate the cost of living crisis.
Swale Foodbank and Children and Families will be delivering emergency food parcels, West Faversham Community Association will be providing meals to the young people visiting their youth hub and Age UK will be delivering hot meals and shopping to pensioners.
The council’s fuel and water home advisor and Citizens Advice Swale will be providing Fuel Bank Foundation fuel vouchers to people with pre-paid meters, and Children and Families will be providing Mastercard vouchers for people with billed utility accounts.
People can also request help with items that will help keep them warm this Winter such as water bottles, blankets, and draft excluders from the council’s fuel and water housing advisor.
Cllr Richard Palmer, chair of the community committee at the council, said:
“We’ve received more than £250,000 from KCC’s household support fund this time around.
“We received money from the first round this Summer and used it to support almost 8,000 households around Swale.
“Unfortunately, we haven’t received as much money as we did in the first round, but the criteria for who we can help has been relaxed this time, so we hope to be able to reach the households that weren’t eligible last time.”
Cllr Elliott Jayes, vice chair of the community committee at the council, said:
“Alongside helping with energy bills, we can also help residents with the cost of hot water bottles, blankets, and draft excluders.
“The funding is available until March, so anyone struggling to feed their family or keep their home warm this Winter can contact us for support.”
Swale Borough Council
Width Restriction & No Parking Restriction:
It will be necessary to temporarily suspend the width restriction order and prohibit waiting on Chestnut Street, Borden for its entire length.
Although the width restriction on Chestnut Street will be suspended, the width restriction on School Lane will remain in place.
Temporary Road Closures - Various Roads, Maidstone & Swale - 1st October 2021 (Maidstone & Swale District)
It will be necessary to close various roads in the Maidstone and Swale districts.
This order takes effect on or after 1st October 2021 for a period of up to 31 months or until works have been completed. Planned dates will be published in advance of the works on: https://one.network and indicated by signage displayed on site 14 days before they start.
These works are subject to weather and other factors which may potentially cause changes at short notice; every effort will be made to keep as close as possible to the planned dates that are notified, and any changes will be publicised.
Each individual restriction will be signed on site and will follow the construction programme as required.
Schedule
Road Closures:
The A249 Sittingbourne Road, Detling, Detling Hill, Detling, Sittingbourne Road, Thurnham, Sittingbourne Road, Stockbury will be closed northbound between the A249 Newnham Court Roundabout M20 J7 and the A249 M2 J5 Roundabout.
The alternative route for motorway traffic is via A249 Sittingbourne Road, Newnham Court Roundabout, M20 J7 to J6 On Slip, M20, M20 J6 Off Slip, Running Horse Roundabout, A229 Chatham Road, Cobtree Roundabout, A229 Chatham Road, Bluebell Hill, Taddington Wood Roundabout, M2 J3 to J4 On Slip, M2, M2 J5 Off Slip.
The A249 Sittingbourne Road, Stockbury & A249 Sittingbourne Road, Thurnham will be closed southbound between the junctions with A249 M2 J5 Roundabout and Rumstead Lane.
The alternative route for motorway traffic is via M2 J5 to J4 On Slip, M2, M2 J3 Off Slip, Taddington Wood Roundabout, Blue Bell Hill, A229 Chatham Road, Cobtree Roundabout, M20 J6 to J7 On Slip, M20, M20 J7 Off Slip.
Maidstone Road, Stockbury will be closed between the junctions with Wormdale Hill and A249 M2 J5 Roundabout.
The alternative route is via Maidstone Road, Chestnut Street, Key Street Roundabout, Key Street Slip Southbound On, A249 Maidstone Road, A249 M2 J5 Roundabout and vice versa.
Oad Street, Stockbury & Bredgar will be closed between the junctions A249 Sittingbourne Road and Woodgate Lane.
The alternative route is via Maidstone Road, Stockbury Roundabout, A249 Sittingbourne Road and vice versa.
Honeycrock Hill, Stockbury will be closed for its entire length.
The alternative route is via A249 Sittingbourne Road, A249 M2 J5 Roundabout, A249 Sittingbourne Road, Church Hill.
Church Hill, Stockbury will be closed for its entire length.
The alternative route is via A249 Sittingbourne Road, A249 M2 J5 Roundabout, A249 Sittingbourne Road, Honeycrock Hill.
50 mph Speed restrictions:
A temporary mandatory 50 mph speed restriction will be imposed on A249 Sittingbourne Road, Stockbury (Northbound and Southbound) & A249 Sittingbourne Road, Thurnham (Northbound and Southbound) between A249 M2 J5 Roundabout & 600m South of Chalky Road.
30 mph Speed restrictions:
A temporary mandatory 30 mph speed restriction will be imposed on the following roads:
• Oad Street, Bredgar & Oad Street, Stockbury between the junctions with A249 Sittingbourne Road and Woodgate Lane.
• Chestnut Street, Borden between the junctions with Key Street Roundabout and Maidstone Road.
• Maidstone Road, Borden & Maidstone Road, Stockbury between the junctions with Chestnut Street and A249 M2 J5 Roundabout.
No Right Turn restrictions:
A restriction on turning right will be imposed on the following roads:
• A249 Sittingbourne Road, Stockbury - restricting traffic from turning right into Honeycrock Hill and Church Hill.
• Oad Street, Stockbury – restricting traffic from turning right onto A249 Sittingbourne Road.
Weight Restrictions & No Parking Restrictions:
It will be necessary to temporarily suspend the weight restriction order and prohibit waiting on Chestnut Street, Borden for its entire length.
The restrictions are required for the safety of the public and workforce while highway improvement works are undertaken by Graham Construction on behalf of Highways England.
For information regarding this order please contact Highways England on: 0300 1235000, who will be able to assist with the scope of these works and any further enquiries.
The Kent County Council Highways Helpline phone number is: 03000 418181
Kent County Council - Highways, Transportation & Waste
Free Entry - Non-Members Welcome
Food Available Until 8:00pm
Jenny Giles - Upchurch River Valley Golf Course
Telephone: 01634 360626
Thank you, big-hearted Upchurch, for your generous donations to Swale Foodbank on Wednesday the 2nd of November.
Because of you, Hartlip, another village in our Six Benefice has decided to do a street collection for the Foodbank. Your generous giving has become famous!
I am fully aware that the costs of everything are crashing through the roof, so please don't challenge yourselves beyond what is possible, but if you could possibly include a few Christmassy bits, I'm going to have a special box for them - I'm hoping we can turn it into a hamper.
God bless you. You really do make my heart tingle. And God looks on with joy as you show your care for others ❤️
Next month I will be gratefully collecting your Swale Foodbank donations for the last time before Christmas at the bus stop opposite the church again on Wednesday the 7th of December, between 10:30am and 11:30am.
Thank you
