KCC’s Trading Standards Checked Scheme Launched

Kent County Council has launched its Trading Standards Checked scheme for businesses in the home repair and improvement sector.

Trading Standards Checked helps protect Kent residents - especially those who are more vulnerable to doorstep callers - from criminal and rogue traders. It also supports legitimate businesses by giving them trusted accreditation to show consumers that they are legitimate and trustworthy.

Traders applying to be on the scheme are checked thoroughly. KCC has access to information and systems that no other scheme in Kent has, together with highly trained, experienced staff with a range of skills developed in their work supporting KCC Trading Standards.

Mike Hill, KCC’s Cabinet Member for Community and Regulatory Services, said:

“Trading Standards Checked is a trusted accreditation like no other for Kent traders.

It will set businesses apart and give customers peace of mind when dealing with Trading Standards Checked traders. It's also a simple, hassle-free trader scheme that offers value for money and provides businesses with all the support they need to trade with confidence.”

KCC currently has two special offers for traders, which are available until 31st March.

Kent members of Checkatrade are offered free membership for the first year, and non-members of Checkatrade can benefit from an “early-bird” discount of 50%, which means a fee of £249 plus VAT for the year.

More information is available at: www.kent.gov.uk/tschecked

Kent County Council

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Upchurch Surgery - Important Notice

Upchurch Surgery

Tel: 01634 231423

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CANCELLED - Sittingbourne Fire Station - Family Open Day

Save the date

Kent Fire and Rescue Service has announced 15 fire stations will be throwing their doors open to the public this year for more Family Open Day events.

Last year, 13 Open Days were held to welcome in local communities, with family-friendly activity zones, firefighter displays, the Byrnes show, and a brand new activity trail introduced as the main attractions.

This year, visitors can expect even more from the events, with further improved family-friendly activities being held at many of the 15 fire stations around Kent.

Sittingbourne Family Open Day

Families are invited to come along to the FREE Open Day at Sittingbourne Fire Station between 11:00am and 3:00pm on Wednesday the 15th of April to meet firefighters and staff before taking part in an exciting day full of educational activities, fire and road safety experiences as well as public life-saving and fire and road safety advice, through thrilling firefighter displays.

Address:
Sittingbourne Fire Station, 45 St Michaels Road, Sittingbourne, Kent ME10 3DN

Read more on the Kent Fire and Rescue Service website at http://bit.ly/2W67EOe

Upchurch Matters

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Holywell School Knitting and Cross Stitch Club Supplies

We are asking for donations to help run the popular Tuesday Knitting and Cross Stitch after school club.

If you are able to donate any of the following items, please leave them at the school office:- knitting needles, crochet hooks, wool and pompom makers.

Thank you

Kirste Dyson

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Medway Council - Rainham Man Fined £2,500 for Hindering Fly-tipping Investigation

A man from Rainham has been ordered to pay more than £3,000 for failing to cooperate with a fly-tipping investigation.

On 12th August 2019, Medway Council received a report of fly-tipping in Laker Road, Rochester, after a man in a high-vis vest was seen getting out of a van and dumping rubbish into a skip which had been hired by a business. A Medway Council investigation found that Richard Roe, of Wakeley Road, Rainham, was the registered owner of the van.

Roe was sent a notice asking questions about the waste but he failed to respond.

He failed to appear at Medway Magistrates’ Court on Thursday, 5th March and the case was proved in his absence.

Magistrates fined Roe £2,500 and ordered him to pay costs of £350 and a surcharge of £181, totalling £3,031.

Cllr Jane Chitty, Medway Council’s Portfolio Holder covering Enforcement, said:

“We do not tolerate fly-tipping in Medway and we will continue to prosecute fly-tippers as well as people who hinder fly-tipping investigations. We all have a responsibility to dispose of our waste in the correct manner. We are grateful to residents who notify us of these incidents and we would encourage them to continue to do so.”

To report fly-tipping visit: www.medway.gov.uk/flytipping

Medway Council

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Swale Borough Council - Op Assist March

Waste carriers were targeted this 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 this week to carry out enquiries, arrest people suspected of fly tipping, seize vehicles and collate evidence to prosecute offenders for waste related crimes.

Outcomes of the day are:

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

Cllr Tim Valentine, cabinet member for environment at the council, said:

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

During the crackdown we stop all waste carriers to check their paperwork is correct, and to see where the waste has come from and where it will be disposed.

Anybody without the correct paperwork will have their vehicle searched and risks receiving a fixed penalty notice of up to £400 or having their vehicle seized.

We also check with the person who engaged the waste carrier and can issue a fixed penalty notice of up to £400 to anybody suspected of using an unlicensed waste carrier.

We encourage anybody who may need to use the services of a waste carrier to ask for their license before using them.”

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 wherever 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 prosecuted by local authorities in Kent with fixed penalty notices 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.

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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