Council’s auditor Grant Thornton declare P & R contract was NOT value for money
After fourteen months the auditor of Folkestone & Hythe District Council accounts – Grant Thornton (GT) – has finally stated that the former gas contract [...]
September 2020
Otterpool Park Update: More property purchased
While the covid-19 virus has risen and fallen and risen again, those charged with keeping Otterpool Park Garden Town – where up to 10,000 homes may be built if planning [...]
The Long Read: Is our heritage for ransom?
Updated 03/10/20 @9:48 After a decade of neglect and uncertainty and a 5-year campaign by Friends of the Leas Pavilion (FLP), the Leas Pavilion is finally looking set to be [...]
Message from HQ: Time to Stop Digging?
What would make a good week for Michael Stainer? How about one in which three court cases don’t go against you. Or try this: one in which the moratorium on his [...]
Napier Barracks
The refugees housed at Napier Barracks have caused a lot of concern within our community. The lack of information flowing from the council more likely than not means they no [...]
Folkestone & Hythe District Council the gift which keeps on giving
Data they say, is the new oil. Each month Folkestone & Hythe District Council produce their monthly payment to suppliers data which continues to be a rich seam to drill [...]
Cllr Goddard Recuses Himself & Other Planning Matters
So, Cllr Clive Goddard, Chairman of Folkestone & Hythe Planning Committee recused himself and did not vote on either of the planning applications related to the Royal [...]
F&HDC proposes move to reduce its carbon footprint
What with the media focusing their coverage on Napier Barracks and Boris’s new rules over covid-19, Folkestone & Hythe District Council have quietly slipped out a [...]
Is Cllr Clive Goddard committing a criminal offence?
It is simple, so so simple yet he has failed to comply. A discosable pecuniary interest (DPI) is set out in Chapter 7 of the Localism Act 2011 and in the secondary [...]
The Long Read: The Strange Tale of the Folkestone Leas Lift Company CIC
It is unlikely many readers will have missed the publicity announcing that the Leas Lift booking office has once again opened its doors, albeit as a café. The Folkestone [...]
Are we entering a second wave of coronavirus locally?
Britain, according to the Prime Minister Boris Johnson, is entering a second wave of coronavirus. Scientists have expressed fears the death toll could be as high as in the [...]
Images Emerge of Cllr Clive Goddard Working on RVH Site owned by Leo Griggs.
Updated 18:12 – 18/09/20 Images have emerged of Cllr Clive Goddard – the Chairman of the Planning Committee at Folkestone & Hythe District Council, working on [...]
FHDC pass Local Plan and Central Govt propose 1043 homes per year for our district.
So it’s done. After five years and three public consultations, Folkestone & Hythe District Council passed its Places and Policies Local Plan (Local Plan) at an [...]
More tales of the unexpected from the Royal Victoria Site owned by Leo Griggs
On the 8th Sept, 2020, Cllr Patrica Rolfe (Con) informed the Overview & Scrutiny Committee, that all four directors of Oportunitas Ltd – a company wholly owned by [...]
The lady says no – and she’s not for turning…
Imagine how Amanda Blanc, appointed Aviva’s Chief Executive in July this year, would feel if she woke up to find that her insurer had refused to insure her home, and that [...]
East Kent Councils fail to recoup £1.5 million from P & R
Fear, shame, embarrassment: these brakes no longer apply. Senior officers of Canterbury, Dover, Folkestone & Hythe and Thanet councils have discovered they can bluster [...]
Part 2: KCC Pension Fund is divesting from fossil fuels but still investing in countries who do not uphold LGBT rights
The KCC Pension Fund total investments were valued at £6.6bn on 31 December 2019. Just three months later, on the 31st March 2020, the pension value had shrunk to £5.7 [...]
Council fail to declare they were to buy 37 properties on Royal Victoria Hospital site owned by Leo Griggs
Updated 11.35am 9/09/2020 So it’s just as we said way back on Nov 28th 2018: We also understand from well placed council sources, the Council’s company Oportunitas [...]
Stainer’s Surrender?
Has Michael Stainer given up the ghost? Have those tired old fingertips clinging to the wreckage of the Grand finally lost their grip? Friday’s brief hearing before [...]
KCC “Profiteering” from caring for migrant children under 18
On the 1st April 2019, Kent County Council (KCC) were caring for 254 under 18 unaccompanied asylum-seeking children (UASC). By March 31st 2020, KCC were caring from 450 UASC, [...]
Persistent Evaders of PCNs cost council tens of thousands
Whether you parked on double yellow lines for two minutes while you popped into the shop, or unwittingly left your car on private land, receiving a parking fine is sure to [...]
Kingston Homes want to develop The land on the north side of Station Rd, Hythe, Kent
Kingston Homes have made public a document seeking consultation with the public (As of Aug 2020) for the development of the land on the north side of Station Road, Hythe, [...]