Latest POLICE.UK Crime Data for the Area - June 2018

Hartlip, Newington and Upchurch

Here is a brief summary of the crime information for the past 2 months:

	May 2018	June 2018
All crime	48	51
Anti-social behaviour	2	3
Bicycle theft	0	0
Burglary	2	7
Criminal damage and arson	5	2
Drugs	0	0
Other crime	0	2
Other theft	7	3
Possession of weapons	0	0
Public order	1	3
Robbery	1	0
Shoplifting	3	2
Theft from the person	0	0
Vehicle crime	9	8
Violence and sexual offences	18	21

Please visit: www.police.uk for more information including outcomes for these crimes and contact information for your local policing team.

Lower Halstow and Iwade

Here is a brief summary of the crime information for the past 2 months:

	May 2018	June 2018
All crime	34	36
Anti-social behaviour	6	6
Bicycle theft	1	0
Burglary	0	2
Criminal damage and arson	4	2
Drugs	0	0
Other crime	0	0
Other theft	3	6
Possession of weapons	0	0
Public order	0	4
Robbery	0	0
Shoplifting	0	0
Theft from the person	0	0
Vehicle crime	6	2
Violence and sexual offences	14	14

Please visit: www.police.uk for more information including outcomes for these crimes and contact information for your local policing team.

Upchurch Matters

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August News from Upchurch Horticultural Society - From the Potting Shed

Sponsored by Upchurch River Valley Golf Course Ltd

The summer is starting to mature and everything needs watering and a high potash feed to keep your plants flowering and fruiting. At the time of writing there has been virtually no rain for 7 weeks, the waterbutts are empty and there is talk of a hosepipe ban. Unless we end up with stand pipes in the street it’s a matter of running up and down with watering cans and recycling the water from the washing up. If it comes to having to ration water then my priorities will be vegetables, fruit, containers, borders, lawn. The borders and lawn will recover later in the year (although camellias and rhododendrons need a lot of water as next year’s buds are forming now), containers can be sacrificed (if you have perennials remember to take cuttings), but I do like to get the harvest in. Let’s hope that we get rain and things don’t get that bad. Remember to keep deadheading and trimming back to keep the flowers coming and prune summer flowering shrubs and climbing roses as soon as they have finished.

Maintain the battle against pests with a good pesticide and watch out for lily beetle. This is easy to spot as it is bright scarlet and the size of a house fly. Just tap the stems of the plant and they should drop off then despatch them with a well placed boot. However it is the larvae, that cause the damage and not so easy to deal with. They tend to work from underneath the leaves and strip them to skeletal remains. They cover themselves in excrement to deter predators while steadily ruining the whole appearance at the peak time when lilies are coming into bloom. I set about them with a box of Kleenex tissues, wiping the muck off the leaves and crushing the grubs inside.

Keep an eye out for blight on potatoes and tomatoes (which are both the same genus of plant) and cut out any infected parts. Do not compost as the fungus thrives in soil, but bag and throw away. Remove lower leaves to allow air to circulate as fungus likes moist humid conditions. If the blight gets too bad remove the entire plant and get rid of it before everything is ruined. Adopt a similar approach to powdery mildew that will get to your marrows and courgettes. Eventually it becomes uncontrollable, but there is still a good chance of fruits up until September/October.

Pinch out the tops of tomatoes to set the fruit and remove sideshoots to prevent too much fruit. Also take the tops off climbing and runner beans to encourage sideshoots which will produce more fruit. This may sound like contradictory advice but it’s the best way of managing the respective plants. Many crops can be taken now, and salads, carrots and beetroot can be resown for a second crop.

Now is a good time to start collecting seed especially lupins and delphiniums which can be sown straight away for overwintering and planting next year. Also when you get back to your armchair it’s time to think about Autumn planting of spring bulbs.

Also while you are sitting in your armchair enjoy a nice cold beer....in fact enjoy two....and it’s still light.

We are always looking for new members and try to encourage a fun attitude towards friendly competition. So if you want to grow your own fruit, vegetables and flowers or even enter any of the 3 shows we hold each year, then please get in touch, we would be happy to hear from you.

If you are interested in becoming a new member, (all ages are welcome), please contact Rosey on: 01634 377812 (evenings) or Email: rosemary@ringwoodaccounting.co.uk

Sean Barry - Upchurch Horticultural Society

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Upchurch Horticultural Society - Meetings and Events 2018

Sponsored by Upchurch River Valley Golf Course Ltd

Upchurch Horticultural Society Meetings and Events 2018 in conjunction with Stockbury Cottage Gardeners

(UHS events start at 7:30pm, SCG events start at 8:00pm)

Upchurch Horticultural Society

97 Chaffes Lane

September 5^th - Planning September Show

September 15^th - September Show

October 3^rd - Planning Late Show

October 20^th - Late Show

November 7^th - 2019 Schedule Planning

Stockbury Cottage Gardeners

Stockbury Village Hall

November 1^st - Jean Griffin from Radio Kent on "Tales from the Potting Shed"

Sean Barry - Upchurch Horticultural Society

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Consultation Responses Published on the Medway Estuary and Swale Strategy

Overview

The consultation ended on 5th February 2018

The Environment Agency opened a public consultation on 6th November 2017 on the Medway Estuary and Swale Strategy (MEASS). They intend to use the responses to inform their preferred management options and help shape the strategy.

The consultation gave the public the opportunity to discuss the draft preferred options proposed in the strategy report with the Environment Agency. Communities were given the opportunity to view information, look at the final options, ask questions and provide valuable input to the project team.

The Environment Agency developed the Medway Estuary and Swale Strategy (MEASS) to manage the risks from flood and coastal erosion over the next 100 years.

The Strategy will cover the Medway Estuary, Medway Towns to Stoke, Sittingbourne, Conyer, Faversham, and the Isle of Sheppey.

MEASS reviewed the policies that were set out in the 2010 Medway and Swale Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) and the 2010 Isle of Grain and South Foreland Shoreline Management Plan (SMP). These plans conclude that a combination of Hold the Line, and Managed Realignment options should be implemented to help protect the community from coastal flooding and erosion over the next 100 years.

Flooding is a risk currently facing communities and landowners in the low-lying areas around Swale and the Medway Estuary. Due to ageing flood defences, rising sea levels and climate change, this will increase in the next 100 years with approximately 18,000 properties, over 10,000 hectares of agricultural land and key infrastructure at an increased risk of tidal flooding.

The Environment Agency has already carried out a consultation with key stakeholders including local authorities and parish councils, ahead of upcoming landowner and public consultations. 

The project team developed leading options for each section of the strategy area. These have been based on economic, technical, and environmental appraisals.

Benefit Area 4 - Medway Marshes

Benefit Area 4 covers the Medway Marshes from the east of Gillingham through to the Sheppey Crossing. The area is mainly a rural and agricultural area, with localised residential and industrial areas at Upchurch and Lower Halstow. In BA4.2a there is a Southern Water Sewage Works. In BA4.7 (Chetney Marshes) there is a cable terminal at the northern end, and the electricity pylons run through the centre of the Marsh. There are a variety of defences in the Benefit Area including embankments and seawalls. The current minimum SoP of the defences is for a 50% AEP event, and the defences have an average residual life of 10 - 25 years. The main risk in the area is from coastal flooding, but there is a risk of erosion in BA4.6.

What is at risk?

• Overhead electricity cables in BA4.7
• Cable terminal in BA4.7
• Natural England Coastal Path (Saxon Shore Way)
• Agricultural Land
• Sewage works at Motney Hill (BA4.2a)
• Riverside Country Park
• Industrial area at Otterham Quay
• Residential and business properties

Public consultation

The public consultation ended on 5th February 2018 and a summary of the consultation responses has now been published online at the link here ☞ Summary of consultation responses

Useful Links

Medway Estuary and Swale flood and erosion risk management strategy Consultation document - winter 2017 - pdf

Policy paper - Medway Estuary and Swale flood and coastal risk management strategy

Upchurch Matters

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