Cllrs need to step up their game understanding council finances.
In the 10 years Folkestone & Hythe District Council have been publishing their spend data, £179m or 48% of the spend has been on premises related expenditure, as the [...]
Dr Susan Priest
Temporary staff costs rise 28% in four years under Dr Susan Priest’s leadership
On the 1st April 2018, Dr Susan Julia Priest (pictured), became the first woman to be the Head of Paid Services (HoPS) of Folkestone & Hythe District Council. She took [...]
£658,771 of contract irregularities on just three contracts
‘Fraud‘ says The local government transparency code 2015 (the Code), ‘can thrive where decisions are not open to scrutiny and details of spending, contracts [...]
Whistleblower claims lack of governance and internal controls at FHDC
This is a guest post “I am a senior council officer at Folkestone & Hythe District Council. I am publicly blowing the whistle to the Shepway Vox Team for reasons [...]
More financial irregularities at Folkestone & Hythe District Council
What is £5,553.96 + £0? The answer according to Folkestone & Hythe District Council is £5,811.96. What is £5,553.96 + £258? The answer is according to Folkestone [...]
Council hiding seven years worth of credit card financial payments.
Seven years Folkestone & Hythe District Council have hidden, and failed to publish financial data for their Government Procurement Cards (read credit card), in clear [...]
More bent council contracts? You decide.
Is it incompetence, fraud, stupidity or something else? How can contracts begin before they are even awarded? The answer of course is they can’t, as this would be a [...]
Who are you?
Updated 10.04.22 @16:20 Faceless and nameless they are. We don’t know what position they held at Folkestone & Hythe District Council, but we do know that in [...]
Folkestone & Hythe District Council paid Russian gas giant on day war begun with Ukraine
The war began on Thursday 24th Feb, 2022. It has been 41 days since Russian forces swept across the border into the Ukraine, causing millions to flee their homes and their [...]
Biggins Wood receives £1.15 Grant funding but questions remain
Dr Susan Priest said the land at Biggins Wood – Cheriton was “contaminated“. Andy Jarrett said the land at Biggins Wood – Cheriton was [...]
Leo Griggs in discussions to sell flats at Sandbanks – New Romney – to Council
On the 15th Dec 2020, planning application 20/0690/FH – Sandbanks, Coast Road, Littlestone, New Romney, went before the planning committee. The applicant was Leo Griggs [...]
Princes Parade: Power Corruption & Lies?
Folkestone & Hythe District Council led by Dr Susan Priest, are in a mess, the Veolia Waste Contract Fiasco, Broken Links preventing inspection of accounts and [...]
Council restricting access rights of all residents to inspect their accounts.
Folkestone & Hythe District Council , like all other councils must open their annual accounts to allow the public to inspect them. Unfortunately, our Council are not [...]
Folkestone & Hythe District Councillors breach data protection law again
We’ll not beat about the bush and come straight to the point. Since the Waste Collection contract fiasco, many of you have contacted us regarding your Cllrs and their [...]
Council’s Corporate Retention Schedule is just blah, blah, blah, blah, blah
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah and none of this blah means anything, or if it does, it contradicts any other blah, blah, blah, blah, blah Folkestone & Hythe District [...]
Dr Susan Priest Chief Exec of FHDC fails to land top KCC job
Dr Susan Priest became Head of Paid Service of Folkestone & Hythe District Council as of April 1st 2018, beating the s151 officer Tim Madden to the job. She later [...]
The local developer being helped along by the public purse
Over the last six years, one developer more than any other has come to epitomise the cosyiness that leads many to think/believe our planning system and committee is fixed in [...]
Folkestone Seafront Development: The Trees Are All Gone
It would seem once again that site activity within the Seafront Development area has raised both eyebrows and concerns. If you didn’t visit the area at the right moment, [...]
How Princes Parade & Otterpool Park can educate us all.
The Clean Air Act 1993 is an amazing piece of legislation. It’s under utilised by those on our Council, who could use it to much greater effect to educate and inform us [...]
Folkestone Seafront Development gets curiouser and curiouser says Alice
Updated 05/02/21 07:10am Here’s a curious thing. The reserved matters planning application for the first building (Plot B) of the Folkestone Seafront Development [...]
Folkestone & Hythe District Council use 107 procurement contract waivers to bypass normal procurement rules to the value of more than £11 million.
The latest estimate of contract procurement fraud in local government was £4.4 billion pounds. Between 2016/17 and 2020/21 the Council have issued one hundred and seven [...]
Otterpool Park Update: Priest Under Pressure
The courts say they must release it. The Information Upper Tier tribunal say they must release it. But still Folkestone & Hythe District Council, led by Dr Susan Priest, [...]
Folkestone & Hythe District Council issue £6.2 million worth of contracts bypassing normal tendering processes
£6.2 million pounds worth of contracts in 2019/20 were issued by Folkestone & Hythe District Council, using waivers and citing urgency and expediency. In total, 49 [...]
Do You Trust This Man?
We recently reported Dr Susan Priest, Chief Exec of Folkestone & Hythe District Council had received a £40,000 pay rise, in 2019/20. A member of the public asked a [...]
Cllr David Wimble interviewed under caution for alleged electoral violations
On Monday the 21st Oct, 2019, Cllr David Wimble (Ind) attended Folkestone Police Station where he was interviewed under caution in respect of allegations of committing [...]