Medway council - Keeping Medway Clean and Tidy

Litter enforcement agents will soon patrol across Medway to encourage residents and visitors to dispose of their waste responsibly to help keep Medway clean and tidy.

Medway Council is working in partnership with District Enforcement and, from the end of November, officers will visit Medway’s high streets and town centres and engage with residents to remind them to take their litter home with them or to dispose of it responsibly in one of Medway’s 1,454 litter bins.

For the first week, the enforcement agents will issue warnings to residents and visitors but they will have the powers to issue fixed penalty notices to people seen intentionally dropping, throwing or leaving rubbish behind, including dropping cigarette butts as well as to those who fail to clear up after their dogs.

The officers will start in Medway’s town centres before visiting areas across Medway. Residents are also encouraged to report littering and dog fouling to the council online and the enforcement team will visit these areas.

Ruth Du Lieu, Assistant Director of Frontline Services at Medway Council, said:

“We work hard all year round to keep Medway clean and tidy for residents and visitors to enjoy and this is spoilt by the minority of people who litter. Anyone who is witnessed intentionally dropping, throwing or leaving rubbish can be issued a fine for £150, or, if prosecuted, faces a fine up to £2,500. I would like to use this opportunity to encourage people to love Medway, hate litter, and dispose of their rubbish responsibly.”

Dyl Kurpil, Managing Director at District Enforcement Ltd, said:

“District Enforcement is excited to be working in partnership with Medway Council with the sole aim of reducing the amount of littering and dog fouling occurring on the streets within Medway.

We will recruit and train staff locally to ensure that the service is delivered with professionalism and in a way that best reflects the Council’s priorities. All areas of Medway Council will be covered to encourage a positive change of behaviour relating to litter and dog fouling incidents.

Utilising our time-tested model of ‘Engagement, Education and Enforcement’ along with the deployment of enhanced technology, we will actively support Medway Council’s Love Medway – Hate Litter campaign.”

To report litter visit: www.medway.gov.uk/reportlitter

Littering carries a £150 fine (reduced to £90 if paid within 10 days)
Dog Fouling carries a £100 fine (reduced to £70 if paid within 10 days)
Public Space Protection Orders such as dogs needing to be on leads in certain areas, for example, when they are next to a carriageway. This carries a £100 fine (reduced to £70 if paid within 10 days)

Medway council

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78 New Homes Planned for Station Road, Rainham

Click plan to enlarge.

78 new homes are planned for land west of Station Road, Rainham.

McCullcoh Homes have submitted outline planning application: MC/19/2898 | Outline planning application with some matters reserved (landscaping) for the construction of 78 dwellings, together with associated infrastructure, landscape and access works | Land West Of Station Road Rainham Gillingham Medway ME8 7QZ.

The application can be viewed online at: https://publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=Q0ASLPKNM4G00

Comments on the application should be made in writing to Medway Council (remember to include the planning application number).

There are a number of ways you can send your comments.

You can either:

• Submit your comments online at: https://publicaccess1.medway.gov.uk/online-applications/applicationDetails.do?activeTab=summary&keyVal=Q0ASLPKNM4G00

• Send a letter to: Medway Council Planning Service, Gun Wharf, Dock Road, Chatham,
Kent ME4 4TR

• Or Email: planning.representations@medway.gov.uk

Upchurch Matters

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Poolside Bar & Courtyard Presents Matt Fisher as Michael Bublé at Upchurch River Valley Golf Course

From 8:30pm

Free Entry - Non-Members Welcome

Jenny Giles - Upchurch River Valley Golf Course

Telephone: 01634 360626

Website: www.rivervalleygolf.co.uk

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Kent Police - Keep Your Valuables Out of View

Don't wait... until it's too late

STAY SAFE

Call 101 for non-urgent issues

Call 999 in an emergency

If deaf or speech impaired text ‘police’ and your message to 60066

For more information on crime prevention visit: www.kent.police.uk

Kent Community Messaging

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Swale Borough Council - Op Assist November

Waste carriers were targeted last week as part of a day of action to crackdown on fly tipping. Swale Borough Council teamed up with Kent Police’s Rural Task Force to carry out enquiries, arrest people suspected of fly tipping, seize vehicles and collate evidence with a view to prosecuting offenders for waste related crimes. Outcomes of the day were:

3 vehicles seized;
5 vehicles stopped and searched; and
2 Fixed Penalty Notices issued;

Martyn Cassell, head of commissioning, environment and leisure at the council, said:

“We are pleased to be part of this cross-organisation effort to crack down on fly-tipping across the borough.

We urge anybody disposing of household items to use a licenced waste carrier who will dispose of the goods properly, and not criminals who are unlicensed and likely to dump rubbish on the side of the road. Not only is this unsafe, but it makes the borough an eyesore for everybody who lives here.”

More and more of these action days are taking place across the County. A tremendous amount of preparation takes place ahead of these days, including the gathering of vital intelligence to support the Council’s Enforcement team with their duties.

What can you do to dispose of your waste responsibly?

Fly tippers often target households via social media or local advertising, luring customers in with cheap rates to dispose of unwanted furniture, building rubble or garden waste. However, these unlicensed waste carriers often simply dump the waste where ever they can get away with it, including in Kent’s country lanes. Householders or small businesses found to be using criminals to dispose of their waste can and are being issued with fixed penalty notices (FPN) that go up to £400 per offence. Failure to pay such an FPN may result in court action where fines can be significantly larger.

To prevent this, householders should check whether someone is licenced to carry waste by visiting the Environment Agency website below, or alternatively call 03708 506506. It also helps if householders receive a written receipt or transfer note, including contact details, description of waste removed and details of where the waste is being taken to.

Link: https://environment.data.gov.uk/public-register/view/search-waste-carriers-brokers

The 13 Kent councils, along with Kent Police, are working in partnership to Keep Kent Clean. To keep updated with the councils’ efforts to tackle fly tipping and littering, follow #KeepKentClean

Swale Borough Council

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UPDATE: Monday 18th November - Notification of Major Gas Works: A2 - High Street, Newington

Following on from my previous communications, I am writing to provide you with an update regarding our gas works in the A2 High Street, Newington.

Our engineers have inserted the new plastic pipe for phase 2 of our replacement project. Following the completion of our reinstatement, we expect to safely reopen Mill Lane to motorists today, 18th November. Our temporary traffic lights will move along the A2 to the High Street, just west of Callaways Lane to ensure everyone’s safety whilst we carry out a diversion to our gas pipe. We expect these engineering works to last approximately three weeks.

Upon completion of this work, we’ll restore the road surface and safely remove all our equipment from the site. We continue to work closely with Kent County Council to plan future phases in the new year and we will share details with the local community once confirmed.

Please feel free to share this information with your own stakeholders and anyone you think may be impacted by our work.

We would like to thank residents, traders and road users for their continued patience and understanding while we carry out this essential work.

If you have any further questions, please let me know.

Kind regards

Paige Roberts

Stakeholder and Community Manager

SGN Gas

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