Statement from Cllr Roger Truelove, Leader of Swale Borough Council

Cllr Roger Truelove.

“It is two months now since the council closed its offices and councillors and staff took their laptops and set up office in their homes.

Since then the work has continued, with normal services maintained and a whole set of new responsibilities carried out at the request of Government.

We have run community support hubs, supported foodbanks, distributed government business grants and found accommodation for rough sleepers and a growing number of homeless people.

We have worked with the Government, the County Council, the NHS and the Police. We have had officers out at weekends monitoring the public response to social distancing.

Like other Councils we have fought to maintain as high a level of waste collection as possible.

We now estimate the extra responsibilities and the loss of normal income will leave with us a shortfall of £4 million on our basic budget. This will be hard but I believe we will manage.

This is the worst of times. The isolation forced on so many, especially frail and vulnerable people is difficult to maintain.

It is hard for all of us to be cut off from family and friends and to be denied those things that we enjoy in life, such as going to a football match, the cinema, to restaurants or meeting friends in a pub.

It is asking much of faith groups not to attend church, mosque or synagogue.

Above all, and dependent on our different temperaments, we share an underlying anxiety, about health, jobs, the economy and of course our children.

We want to see an end but we don’t know when that end will be.

Ironically, there are some ways that this has been the best of times.

We have seen an outburst of decency, of community support, of care for others, of courage and selflessness.

We have seen an improvement in our environment, cleaner air and quiet only broken by the sound of birds.

The advice to take daily exercise has enabled people to discover peaceful walks into our countryside.

We have discovered just how important our frontline workers are.

Let us hope that when we get back to watching football and eating out, that we retain this sense of community and mutual regard.

This is a time for wisdom, not foolishness. We have seen how important our public services are and how important it is to work together.

I am conscious that as a Council we must play our part in building a recovery. There will be a legacy that goes beyond the need for health care. We already see a rise in unemployment.

But we must not be overcome with anxieties.

We will continue with our determined aim of improving our public spaces, our town centres and our coast.

We will work with others to build a stronger local economy.

We will continue work to improve our environment and we will create stronger links between our council and voluntary and charitable groups in the community.

We have worked well remotely. Meetings are held through Skype, within Swale and with others across the county and the country.

It has been very hard for everyone but we will learn lessons and build a strong recovery.”

Cllr Roger Truelove
Leader, Swale Borough Council
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New Online Book Club for Young People

Medway Libraries has partnered with the Medway Youth Service to deliver a new online Book Club for young people ages 8 to 19, and up to 25 with additional needs.

For June they have different titles for each age group, please see below. All of the titles are free to download. There are sessions scheduled for different ages at the times shown below.

If you are interested in joining please Email the relevant librarian shown below:

For ages 8 to 12 Email: emily.maycock@medway.gov.uk

For ages 13 to 16 and 16+ group Email: kate.clifford@medway.gov.uk

Once you have contacted your librarian, they will sign you up to the library and help you to download Microsoft Teams if needed.

And if you or someone you know aren't already members you can sign up online today, it's a quick and simple process giving you access to all of their online materials.

Upchurch Matters

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Swale Borough Council Waste Collections Rise During Government Lockdown

The amount of domestic waste being collected across Swale has increased by almost ten percent compared to last year.

With more people staying at home during the day during lockdown, initial figures show that Swale collected 4,354 tonnes of domestic waste during April this year, compared to 3,976 tonnes in month in April last year.

Within this figure, general waste rose 9.4%, recycling was up 12.4% and food waste rose 77.5%. Garden waste - which was suspended for two weeks in April was down 20.9%.

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

“The increase in the amount of waste collected has been substantial. In practical terms this is seen with fuller bins requiring more journeys to empty the vehicles more frequently. This has a knock-on effect for collections scheduled later in the day.

The increase in recycling is welcomed, and I hope this will continue. Despite there not being a service for two weeks in the month, garden waste tonnages only fell by 20 per cent. That means that 80 percent of the usual garden waste was collected for compost in the other couple of weeks - that’s a phenomenal amount!

In particular we welcome the substantial increase in food waste being recycled. This is a great way to be more environmentally friendly. But we do need to try to reduce the amount of general waste we’re throwing away.

Unfortunately, with the increase in the other waste streams and reduced staff levels, it meant the garden waste service hasn’t been as reliable as we would expect normally. This is why we will be giving subscribers affected by the service suspension in April a free month on top of their current package.

Overall, given the extremely trying circumstances, the service has coped well with the pressures it has faced.

People’s patience has been greatly appreciated, and I’d like to thank everyone for their continued understanding.”

For more information about waste collections visit: www.swale.gov.uk/bins-recycling

Swale Borough Council

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Whoever you are, there is no excuse for Domestic Abuse

In an emergency dial 999 or 101 for non-emergencies. You can also speak to someone online at: www.kent.police.uk

There are other agencies working with Kent Police to support you:

National Domestic Abuse Helpline: 0808 2000 247

Domestic Abuse Support Services in Kent & Medway: www.domesticabuseservices.org.uk

Victim Support: 08 08 16 89 111 www.victimsupport.org.uk

Broken Rainbow: www.brokenrainbow.org.uk

Childline: 0800 1111

Kent Police

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Swale Borough Council - Free Month for Garden Waste Disruption

Garden waste subscribers in Swale who missed collections in April will get a free month added to their 12-month subscription.

Garden waste collections were suspended for two weeks (one collection) at the beginning of April as refuse collections were impacted due to coronavirus (COVID-19).

With more people staying at home and tidying their gardens, demand for the service increased, as did the amount of garden waste people were putting in their bins.

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

“We’re happy to offer this month extension for the thousands of people around the borough who subscribe to the 12-month garden waste collection service and were impacted by the service disruption in April.

We’ve been working hard to maintain essential services during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and people have been incredibly understanding about any missed or delayed collections.

Since lockdown began, the amount of garden waste being collected has gone up as people have been spending more time in their gardens. This is good news for recycling, but it also means more trips to empty the vehicles when they are full, which has a knock-on effect for collections later in the day.

Not only have people been understanding and patient with the service, but they’ve left some wonderful messages of support for the workers who have been keeping the services going during the pandemic.”

For more information about bin collection or to sign up to the garden waste collection service visit: www.swale.gov.uk/brown-bin-garden-waste

Swale Borough Council

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Swale Borough Council - Use Common Sense When Spending Time Outdoors

With the slight easing of lockdown, many of us - who don’t need to self-isolate to stay safe - can now spend more time outdoors, subject to social distancing rules, but please remember to use your common sense.

Individual households can now relax in the park, sunbathe, go for a picnic and go fishing.

We can also spend time with one member of another household, one-on-one, as long as we all use common sense and stick to the strict social distancing guidelines at all times by staying two metres apart.

We can also travel further to enjoy our time outside, with no restrictions on how far we can go to get to the countryside and visit beaches.

This gives us more options for where to go but relies on us making sure we use our common sense.

If you’re planning on heading out, please think about:

• Will you be able to social distance? If it’s somewhere popular, there may be lots of people around making it harder to stay two metres apart.

• Outdoor play and exercise equipment is still closed - don’t try to use it.

• If you’re planning a picnic, make sure you’ve got a bag to clear up your rubbish.

• If you’re visiting the seaside, please be careful around the water.

The advice remains that everybody should continue to avoid public transport other than for essential journeys.

We should only make journeys by cycling, walking or driving in a private vehicle. We should also check in advance of visiting places like National Parks and beaches to make sure they are prepared for visitors.

This advice is strictly limited to spending time with your household or with one other person and is subject to social distancing rules.

It remains the case that you cannot gather with more than one member of another household - for example to play sports. 

You also cannot:

• Go on holiday.

• Visit and stay overnight at a holiday home or second home.

• Visit the homes of friends and family, unless it’s to help a vulnerable person, for medical reasons, or to take a child to another household with whom parental responsibilities are shared.

More stringent enforcement measures for non-compliance with the new rules have also come into effect.

Fines have been increased, and will now start at £100, which will be lowered to £50 if paid within 14 days. This will double on each further repeat offence up to £3,200.

For updates and information about the council's coronavirus response, visit www.swale.gov.uk/coronavirus

Swale Borough Council

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