Extra Capacity on Southeastern Trains from 29th March 2021

Southeastern will begin running longer trains from next week.

With the government roadmap easing of lockdown restrictions and a gradual but steady increase in usage, capacity on Southeastern services will be boosted by adding extra carriages from Monday 29th March. Longer trains will provide additional space at peak and off-peak times in anticipation of more customers returning to the railway over the Spring when lockdown measures will be eased further. The move follows the boost to capacity on Monday 8th March when schoolchildren returned to travelling on the railway network. A national network timetable change in May will see a further significant boost in train services across the country. Summary of changes to train lengths: All off-peak services on the London Charing Cross - Hastings line will be formed of eight carriages. All off-peak services on the London Charing Cross - Tonbridge - Ramsgate line will be formed of eight carriages. All off-peak services on the London Victoria - Medway Towns - Ramsgate line will be formed of eight carriages. All peak time mainline services will be formed of at least eight carriages with many of these formed of twelve carriages. Busier peak time Highspeed services to and from London St Pancras will be formed of twelve carriages.

To check your journey before you travel, visit >> www.southeasternrailway.co.uk/timetable

Upchurch Matters

Upchurch Village Easter Trail

Hi everyone,

All Easter Trail pictures should now be displayed in house windows and at locations in Upchurch.

There are 23 pictures in total depicting Jesus' ministry, death and resurrection.

Children can download and print the map and list to follow Jesus' story around the village.

If you have been given a picture, please make sure you have it clearly on display.

Thank you

Very important

If you need to leave your home for any of the permitted reasons, please stay safe and always stick to the current government rules around exercising and being outdoors, which you can read here >> http://bit.ly/2XYOjhn

Have fun, stay safe, and we hope you enjoy the Trail!

Gill Gay

Update: Southern Water Wastewater Pumped Main - Lower Halstow to Motney Hill

Residents living in Lower Halstow, Upchurch and Lower Rainham will have seen tankers transporting sewerage from the wastewater pumping station at Lower Halstow to the Southern Water treatment works at Motney Hill, Rainham.

The Tankers have been required to transport the sewerage while works are carried out to repair burst sections of sewerage pipework that cross the marsh between Motney Hill, Rainham and Poot Lane, Upchurch.

Thank you to Barry Woodham at Southern Water and Vice Chairman of Lower Halstow Parish Council Martin Szabo for keeping residents updated on the progress of the works.

Below is the latest update received from southern Water:

Dear customer,

We would like to take this opportunity to apologise for the disruption to the community while we work to repair the damaged section of pipework. We’re aware that the continued presence of tankers in Lower Haltow village will affect the community in different ways.

Immediate next steps

The site team have met with Natural England on 24th March as the damaged pipe is located in an area that is classified as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI).

We have reached an agreement with Natural England to install an additional section of overland pipe, approximately 900m in length, which will bypass the damaged section of the pipe. Once this pipe is installed and operational, we can return Lower Halstow Wastewater Pumping Station (WPS) to normal operations and remove the need for tanker activity in the area.

We are currently working with landowners to agree access through their land and Lower Halstow Parish Council will receive a daily update until the work on site has been completed.

Community engagement

Our Stakeholder Manager, Barry Woodham, County Customer Manager, Kelly Robinson and Customer Case Lead, Emma Healing will be working together to ensure that weekly communications are sent to all residents, alongside the daily updates to Lower Halstow Parish Council.

Future resilience

We are looking closely at the future resilience of the pumped main and a project team are assessing the viable options and associated timescales of replacing or refurbishing the line from Lower Halstow to Motney Hill Wastewater Treatment Works. Any work that is undertaken will have a dedicated communications manager to ensure that all aspects of the long term project are updated to the community throughout.

We appreciate your feedback

We welcome any questions or concerns you may have so please feel free to contact:

Barry Woodham at: barry.woodham@southernwater.co.uk or

Emma Healing at: emma.healing@southernwater.co.uk

Yours faithfully

Andrew Morris - Project Manager

Southern Water

Voters Urged to Register in Time to Have Their Say in May Local Elections

On Thursday 6th May residents in Swale will have their say on who represents them at Kent County Council, Kent Police and Crime Commissioner, Swale Borough Council Sheerness Ward by-election, Warden Parish Council by-election and Faversham Town Council by-elections for Abbey Ward, Priory Ward & Watling Ward.

To vote in these important elections, residents must be on the electoral register. With the deadline to register to vote fast approaching, Swale Borough Council is urging people who have not registered at their current address to make sure they are registered in time.

The deadline to register to vote is midnight on Monday 19th April. It takes just five minutes to apply online at: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. This year residents in Swale will be voting in a total of seven different elections and will select:

• Kent County councillors, who represent their local area and residents, and contribute to the development of policies in areas such as transport, social care or housing
• The Police and Crime Commissioner, who oversees your local police force and ensures they are prioritising what matters to you
• Swale Borough Council by-election for Sheerness Ward
• Warden Parish Council by-election
• Faversham Town Council by-elections for Abbey Ward, Priory Ward and Watling Ward.

Ailsa Irvine, Director of Electoral Administration and Guidance at the Electoral Commission said:

“You can’t have your say in these important elections unless you are registered to vote. It’s quick and easy - it takes just five minutes online at: www.gov.uk/registertovote

“If you have recently turned 18 or moved home, it is particularly important that you act to ensure that you are registered to vote.

“If you were registered to vote in the last election and your details have not changed, you don’t need to take any action. If in doubt, you can check with your local authority on: 01795 417 316.”

Voters have a range of options for casting their ballot - in person, by post or by appointing someone they trust to vote in their place, known as a proxy vote. For those who choose to vote in person, polling stations will be safe places to vote on 6th May.

The deadline to apply for a postal vote is 5:00pm on 20th April, and for a proxy vote the deadline is 5:00pm on 27th April.

For information on elections in their area, how to register to vote, or how to apply to vote by post or by proxy, voters can visit: www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voter. This page will continue to be updated ahead of the polls.

Swale Borough Council

Vehicle Vandalised - Upchurch

Hartlip, Newington & Upchurch Ward

Crime Number: 46/46578/21

Between Sunday the 21st and Monday the 22nd of March, a vehicle was vandalised in Bradshaw Close, Upchurch.

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

Medway Council: Update on Symptom-free Testing in Medway

Residents across Medway are being encouraged to continue to regularly book symptom-free coronavirus tests, as national lockdown restrictions are gradually eased.

Medway Council is continuing to offer symptom-free testing for everyone who lives or works in Medway.

With more people anticipated to be out in the community over the coming months as part of the government’s roadmap to recovery plans, it remains just as important that people continue to regularly take a symptom-free coronavirus test to protect them, their families and people around them. One in three people with coronavirus have no symptoms, meaning that someone could be highly infectious without being aware of it.

Medway was the first area in the south-east to launch symptom-free testing in December 2020 and so far, more than 118,000 tests have been carried out in Medway. Of those, 1,297 people tested positive for coronavirus and were immediately told to self-isolate by the NHS Test and Trace programme.

From Thursday, 1st April Medway residents will be able to book a symptom-free test at four sites across Medway, including one new centre:

• Chattenden Community Centre in Hoo
• The Oast in Rainham
• The Deep End in Chatham (limited opening hours only)
• *NEW* MidKent College in Gillingham

The testing centres at Medway Park in Gillingham and Rochester Cathedral will close on Wednesday, 31st March.

New outreach teams will also work with community organisations to offer testing to harder to reach groups and communities who may find it difficult to access testing sites. Medway Council’s Public Health Team will also continue to regularly review local COVID infection rates, and prioritising community groups in areas where coronavirus cases are increasing. The council is also working with the Department of Health and Social Care, to facilitate the collection of symptom-free home test kits from its local sites. More information on who may be eligible to use this innovative service from Tuesday, 6th April, will be available in due course.

Secondary school pupils, college students and teaching staff are also being encouraged to regularly take a coronavirus test in line with government guidance, and schools and colleges have testing kits available to assist with this.

Parents, carers and relatives of schoolchildren (at primary, secondary or college age), as well as residents in childcare and support bubbles, are also encouraged to take symptom-free tests and can collect symptom-free home testing kits from their nearest home test collection centre or order them online. Eligible households are encouraged to take the tests at home twice a week.

Leader of Medway Council, Cllr Alan Jarrett, said:

“Medway’s symptom-free testing centres are continuing to help reduce the spread of coronavirus and drive down the number of cases locally. All Medway residents are able to book a test and it is incredibly important that we all continue to do so to protect ourselves, and our loved ones, from this deadly virus.

“We are all looking forward to getting back to the things we love when it is safe to do so but we must not be complacent. It is vital that we all continue to follow the latest government advice and continue to follow social distancing guidelines.”

James Williams, Medway Council’s Director of Public Health, said:

“Symptom-free testing is an important tool to help reduce the spread of coronavirus across Medway. I would encourage residents to continue to book tests regularly. Medway’s infection rate remains below the national average and it’s vital that we keep it that way. As the government’s roadmap to recovery continues to progress and lockdown measures are eased, we will see more people out in the community. It is incredibly important that we all work together to keep each other safe. We all need to play our part in the fight against coronavirus.”

Book a coronavirus test

No symptoms: If you do not have any symptoms of coronavirus, you can book your test online: medway.gov.uk/symptomfreetesting

Symptoms: If you have coronavirus symptoms, you should access a test through the national symptomatic testing programme: gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or call 119.

Medway Council