Swale Council Response to Kent County Council Decision on Housing Infrastructure Fund Bid

Swale Borough Council is bitterly disappointed in Kent County Council’s decision to press ahead with the £38 million Housing Infrastructure Fund bid for further housing dependant on junction changes to Grovehurst and Key Street.

This decision was not taken in conjunction with Swale Borough Council, and does not have the council’s support.

As was made clear in the bid itself and in reports delivered by the then county cabinet member for transport Mike Whiting, the Housing Infrastructure Bid expects the delivery of “housing that otherwise would not have been built, resulting in additional new homes” and is designed to “accelerate housing delivery”.’ It is also, as mentioned in other documentation, an opening to Garden Village-style proposals.

Cllr Mike Baldock, deputy leader of the council and cabinet member for planning, said:

“Local public opinion is soundly opposed to the Garden Villages approach, and even more housing in the borough, so it’s bitterly disappointing the county council have made this decision.

Despite Kent’s decision, we want to reassure residents that this council will not sign any undertakings to ‘accelerate housing delivery’ and will resist attempts to force through a failed housing model that clearly does not have local support.

This decision makes our struggle against such irresponsible development much harder, but there is a clear intention from certain quarters to push ahead with 1,000s of extra houses in our area regardless of local opinion.

We will continue to work towards a sound Local Plan based on sustainable local developments that address the environmental concerns of local residents. Despite the barriers others put in our way, we will not be bounced into delivering unacceptable housing numbers and more car-reliant dormitory estates.”

Swale Borough Council

Space

Shed Burgled, Motorbike and Chainsaws Stolen - Upchurch

Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch Ward

Crime Number: 46/25477/20

Between 4:55am and 5:00am on Sunday 9th of February, a garden shed in Forge Lane Upchurch, was burgled. An off-road motorbike and 2 chainsaws were stolen.

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

Space

Quarterly Meeting of the Surgery Patient Participation Group - Upchurch & Rainham

Dr Supriya Das & Dr Lakshmi Subbiah

The meeting was held on Thursday 23rd January 2020 at Upchurch with Dr Das in attendance.

The following items were discussed:-

Surgery Programme

Flu Vaccinations 100% took up the opportunity to have the vaccination - an excellent result.

Currently, the following reviews are taking place and you should be contacted to make an appointment over the next 3 months and they are:

Rheumatoid Arthritis and Stroke

These current reviews are not replacing those who have a yearly review when their medicine reviews take place.

However, if you feel you need a more urgent review then please contact the surgery to make an appointment.

2020 Morning Surgery Dates at Upchurch

From 10:00am - 1:00pm as follows:

20th February 

19th March 

30th April 

14th May 

17th June 

23rd July

19th August

17th September

29th October

18th November

17th December

Medway - Rainham Primary Care Network

Dr Das reported that the new Primary Care Networks have started and the Practice now has access to a Mental / Social Care Nurse Practitioner.

Dates For Future PPG Meetings

16th April

20th August

22nd October

21st January 2021

Anyone can attend but please advise the receptionists of your interest in attending as space is limited.

If you have any questions or suggestions on the local practice, please Email:

Jan Bunting - Secretary: janannbunting@outlook.com or 

Ray Kemsley - Chair: raykemsley@btinternet.com

Ray Kemsley

Chair - Surgery Patient Participation Group - Upchurch & Rainham

Space

Still Time to Comment on KCC’s 5-year Plan

Kent residents are being reminded that there is still time to comment on KCC’s proposals for improving the quality of life in the county over the next five years.

A public consultation on the plan put forward by the council was launched on 6th January.

KCC Leader Roger Gough said the consultation, which closes on 17th February, gives everyone living or working in Kent the chance to let the council know which services really matter to them for now, and over the next five years.

He said:

“County council services have a major impact on people’s lives, through schools, roads, social services for vulnerable and elderly people, other support services for children, and what we do in provisions such as libraries and country parks.

“It’s vitally important that residents now have the chance to shape what those services will be like and what kind of county we are going to be living in over the next few years.”

“We must particularly address the challenges that residents see in their daily lives: the increasing demand for local public services from an ageing and changing population; the impact of significant housing growth, and the pressure on our infrastructure.”

KCC’s current ideas are outlined in its draft 5-year plan, which is titled “Your Future, Our Priority”.

Over the last six months, KCC has held a series of focus groups and gathered the views of residents, young people, businesses, voluntary and community sector organisations, KCC staff and partners in Kent’s district and parish councils and across public services.

Based on their suggestions, KCC has set out the following outcomes:

Enterprise and investment - making Kent an ambitious and successful county, with high quality jobs, skilled workers, enterprising businesses and thriving town centres and rural areas.

Securing sustainable infrastructure - as Kent grows, working with partners to put in place the infrastructure that communities need, including roads, school places and utilities.

Connected transport and communities - keeping Kent’s roads and pavements well maintained and safe, keeping traffic flowing and improving public transport so everyone can get around the county.

A cleaner and greener Kent - keeping our streets, towns and parks tidy and clean, protecting the green areas and coasts that make Kent so special and leading the way on tackling the climate emergency.

Stronger and safer Kent communities - continuing to bring communities together so everyone feels involved and supported and working with partners to make sure everyone stays and feels safe.

Opportunities for children and young people - giving children the best start in life, providing effective early help when families need it and making sure every young person gets the education, skills and experiences they need for a successful future.

Quality health, care and support - helping people to live well, working with partners to improve people’s physical and mental health and resilience and providing quality social care when people need it. 

The plan is still in draft and the consultation is open, residents can comment by viewing the relevant documents, which are available at: www.kent.gov.uk/5yearplan

Following the consultation, changes will be incorporated and KCC will produce a “You Said, We Did” document to show how it has used people’s comments to shape the plan.

Kent County Council

Space

Swale Borough Council - Housing Infrastructure Fund

Swale's coalition administration says it is not prepared to be bounced into accepting thousands of extra houses by the promise of government housing funding linked to road improvements.

The new administration has pledged to deliver a new Local Plan that will provide sustainable housing developments, with high quality and environmentally sensitive housing, local jobs, and a focus on living local, working local, and enjoying life locally. We cannot support the imposition of more dormitory estates across the borough that rely on commuting many miles to work and which are out of the price range of most local people.

The administration is seeking to deliver a green Local Plan that will be less reliant on car use, with a focus on public transport and green infrastructure. A housing target that is realistic and proportionate.

Cllr Mike Baldock, deputy leader and cabinet member for planning, said:

“As a coalition, we remain committed to delivering a strong Local Plan that meets all the needs of local people across the borough in an ecologically and sustainable way. That is what people voted for in 2019.

“We hope people will support us in delivering on those promises.”

Recently, the Government has announced that money may be made available for improvements to the Grovehurst Roundabout. This money comes from the Housing Infrastructure Fund and is intrinsically linked with the delivery of ever more housing. We strongly feel however that this is not a basis on which we can agree to support this funding.

Road improvements are necessary but must be part of a package that tackles all the infrastructure failings caused by the existing increase in housing, rather than being the means to deliver even greater housing numbers.

There is nothing in this funding, for example, that tackles the chronic shortage of GPs in our area, and the woefully inadequate health provision. We appreciate that the Government itself is aware that this road-focused approach to infrastructure is inadequate, and we welcome their plans to come forward with a more integrated approach to Housing Infrastructure Funding that will seek to address the other major concerns many Local Authorities have.

This Housing Infrastructure Fund money would require us to run counter to our ambitions. By leaving the Grovehurst Roundabout and the Bobbing Interchange as the only two major road junctions in our Borough with spare capacity going beyond 2031, we would face insurmountable pressures to provide the full 10,000 new houses the Government is demanding. And the failed approach of simply filling up green fields with more dormitory estates reliant on the Strategic Road Network to get into London for the daily commute would continue.

We need investment just to meet existing demand - not to be the catalyst for causing even more demand.

Consequently, although in the final instance this remains a Kent County Council decision, we cannot support this bid as it runs counter to the Coalition’s principles of sustainable local development.

Swale Borough Council

Space

The Former Lord Stanley Inn at Otterham Quay by David Wood

One of six Upchurch drinking houses during the second half of the 19th century and located on the bottom left of Windmill Hill, the well-known village inn existed for about fifty years before becoming a grocery store.

Constructed during the 1860s, the Inn first opened in 1867 as an unlicensed drinking house but its landlord James Kitchingham then obtained a license. This coincided with the opening of the brickfield in the area which brought business, while boatmen who arrived at Otterham Quay also visited the inn. Competition existed with the Anchor & Hope Inn located on the wharf at Otterham Quay and The Three Sisters a short distance along Otterham Quay Lane.

The inn took its name from Thomas Stanley Wakeley of Rainham who worked as a partner in Wakeley Brothers hop and fruit business. He also served as an Evangelical preacher and held services for his Upchurch congregation at Wakeley’s granary also located at Otterham.

The Lord Stanley Inn - inset Thomas Stanley Wakeley.

The Lord Stanley Inn had one large bar downstairs and four bedrooms upstairs with an outside toilet. The brewers Style & Winch provided beer. Popular beers included stout, English porter and pale ale during the second part of the 19th century.

The inn also became the site for official inquests into mysterious deaths. According to the ‘Whitstable Times and Herne Bay Herald’ dated July 19th 1884, an inquest took place into the drowning of a boy named Charles Edward Barnes aged six and the coroner Mr W J Harris gave a verdict of ‘accidently drowned.’

A succession of landlords managed the inn. Firstly, James Kitchingham worked as the proprietor from September 1867. Edward Holman took over in 1891 and managed the inn until 1902. Henry Goldswain succeeded him and became proprietor from May 1902 until July 1907. After this a man named George Squires lived in the building for several years until John Barnes bought it in 1913. Well-known Upchurch builder Bob Barnes from Oak Lane says:

“My grandfather worked in the brickfield and lived at Plantation Cottages near Windmill Hill. He saved enough money to buy the inn. When he bought the building he never ran it as an inn, he converted it into a grocery store.”

John Barnes managed the grocery store as a family business and delivered groceries on his horse and cart to local residents in Upchurch and Lower Halstow. When he died in 1956 his daughter Ethel took over and ran the store until 1972 when the introduction of VAT caused her to finish the business. She delivered groceries to local residents in her old black Austin-7 accompanied by her loyal and trusty black and white sheepdog named Rex. Bob Barnes remembers the dog periodically wandering up to his house in Oak Lane when his parents lived there and then returning to Otterham Quay.

Fire ultimately destroyed the Lord Stanley Inn building in 1980. Ethel Barnes had already moved to Tufton Road in Rainham where she lived well into her nineties. A wood yard and bungalow were then constructed on the site. Nowadays, the bungalow, now known as ‘The Lord Stanley Bungalow,’ continues to exist and the former inn is just a distant memory.

David Wood

About David

David Wood was born, raised and still lives in Upchurch today. He is able to write from personal experience about village life and the changes that have taken place over the years, making ‘Memories of Upchurch’ a very readable and detailed historical study of the village.

David's book is available from David at david3702001@yahoo.co.uk or from us here at Upchurch Matters. Price £12 + postage and packing.