St. Dunstan's Residents' Association

St. Dunstan's and Westgate Towers environmental improvements project

2011-11-24T20:53:00.000Z

The Council has produced a proposal for a series of environmental improvements between Canterbury West and the Westgate Towers which, in combination, could result in a number of impacts.

Whilst some may well prove to be positive if the scheme proceeds, such as pedestrian-only access around/under the Westgate Towers and an enhanced street scene with wider pavements and less clutter, some may be negative. Chief amongst the potential negative impacts already identified by concerned residents include the potential for increased traffic on Station Road West and London Road (as well as other roads such as Orchard Street and Roper Road), the closure of traffic to all but buses and taxis around the side of the Towers towards St. Peter's Place and the replacement of some pedestrian crossings with 'courtesy' crossings.

The Council is proposing a 12 month trial, possibly commencing as soon as March. The traffic management changes that would be required would be introduced via a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) by Kent County Council.

In order to proceed the scheme will be discussed in a series of meetings as follows:

Canterbury Area Members Panel - November 14th (Result: Approved)
Joint Transportation Board - December 6th (Result: TBC)
Overview Committee - December 8th (Result: TBC)
Executive - December 15th (Result: TBC)

The St. Dunstan's Residents' Association has been included in the Council's informal consultation and offered a meeting so that further information can be provided (n.b. the formal consultation would only commence once the trial has started).

To help support residents in finding out more about the proposals the Association has set up a meeting with Richard Moore, the Council's transportation manager, on Fri December 2nd, 10-11:30 upstairs at the Dominican Priory (thanks to Poppy and Donald Beerling for providing the venue at no charge).

If you would like to attend please just turn up - there is no need to book or RSVP. Whilst the Association has helped set up the meeting it will not lead it. Instead the Westgate Councillors will jointly facilitate the meeting with residents from the Westgate and St. Stephens areas.

Any questions for the meeting can be submitted to matmomorris@hotmail.com and a summary of questions will be produced in advance of the meeting (time permitting). Full details of the scheme can be found on the Council's website.

In summary, the St. Dunstan's and Westgate Towers environmental improvements project has seven clear objectives:

To protect and preserve the Westgate Towers
To reduce the impact of traffic and improve air quality in the area
To undertake public realm and environmental improvements
To improve walking and cycling links between St Peter's Street and the Canterbury West Railway Station
To improve access to the Westgate Gardens and Westgate Museum, and connectivity with the Riverside Walk
To improve bus and taxi facilities
To help regenerate the area and to maximise the economic opportunities presented by the high speed rail link to London

If you want your opinion on these objectives, and the changes that will be required to meet them, you should consider writing to the Council and attend the forthcoming meetings if you are able to (n.b. public speakers are allowed at the Council meetings and you should contact the Council in advance if you want to talk).

Writing to the Council to express your views, whether for or against, is one of the best ways to add your voice to the proposals at this stage.

Any comments or questions should be directed to:

Richard Moore - Transportation Manager
Canterbury City Council
Military Road
Canterbury
CT1 1YW
richard.moore@canterbury.gov.uk

New telephone number for non urgent crime

2011-11-14T09:32:00.000Z

The Police have announced a New number for our use to report Non Urgent Crime and to contact your local Police Officers.

The number is 101, this replaces the old Non Emergency number ending with (690 690).

This new number 101 will put you in contact with the Local Police Control Room, in our case Maidstone. You can speak to a Police Officer in the same way as before, you can also be put in touch with your local Police Officer.

Wherever you are in the UK, dialling 101 will put you in touch with that regions control room.

The number 101 is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Each call will never cost more than 15p, even from mobiles.

SDRA Newsletter Autumn 2011

2011-11-04T17:05:00.000Z

Welcome to the Autumn 2011 edition of the SDRA newsletter.

First up is a date for your diaries. We cordially invite you to our autumn social evening on Monday November 21st at 7:30pm at St. Dunstan’s church hall. As with previous years the evening will deliver some interesting talks. This year our guests will be:

Canterbury Archaeological Trust: A talk from Adrian Gollop about the recent digs at the two sites on St. Dunstan’s Street
Architect Tim Ellis: A local architect who will talk about his recent work at the Westgate Towers and at other sites in and around Canterbury. Tim made the headlines a few years ago when he purchased the cottage used in the film Withnail and I
Westgate Councillors Ida Linfield, James Flanagan and Graham Wood: How to engage with the planning/licensing process plus a chance to put your point of view across

Sainsbury’s in St. Dunstan’s: Sainsbury’s has submitted a licensing application for their new store which will occupy the ground floor of the new building under construction on the old Halletts Garage site. The application includes alcohol off-sales and late night refreshment from 6am to 12 midnight. If you have any views on the Sainsbury’s application, either for or against, you need to write to or email the Council by November 10th. For your comments to be valid they must relate to the four Licensing Objectives under the Licensing Act 2003. They are: the prevention of crime and disorder; public safety; the prevention of public nuisance; the prevention of children from harm. This application follows the recent extension of the Londis licence, also on St. Dunstan’s Street, from 8:30 am to 11pm.

Want to get involved? We are always keen to hear from people who want to get involved in helping to run the Association. It is up to you how much time you contribute and there are no formal demands on you (although attendance at a Committee meeting once every six weeks would be appreciated)! You can make the role what you want and we are always open to new ideas and initiatives. Speak to us at the social evening for more details or add a note to the membership form and we will be in touch.

The Blog is yours! To date we have posted almost 100 articles on a wide range of subjects which we hope have been of interest. We would welcome any contributions to the blog, even if you just want to comment on an article. Any budding writers are encouraged to submit articles to matmomorris@hotmail.com.

CHRISTMAS PARTY - HOLD THE DATE: The Association Christmas party will be held on the afternoon of December 11th and will again be hosted by The Hagans (Queens Avenue). All members are welcome. RSVP details will be sent in November.

About the Association: St. Dunstan’s Residents' Association is a campaigning and social organisation serving part of St. Dunstan’s with the intention of creating and maintaining strong neighbourhood bonds and of preserving this attractive area. Benefits of membership include:

The opportunity to have your say on issues that matter to you
A dedicated Committee that meets regularly and monitors a range of issues
Representation of a distinct area with a single voice
A dedicated blog and newsletter
Invitations to social events and opportunities to get involved

Membership numbers currently stands at 94 households, an increase on last year and approximately 1/4 of the households in the Association area. All households are warmly welcomed and we hope that even more residents will join in 2012. Subscription rates remain the same at just £5 per household. To join, or renew, look out for he subscription forms that have been delivered to each household in the SDRA area. If you haven't received a form email matmomorris@hotmail.com with your name and address and we will arrange for a form to be delivered.

Sainsbury's is coming to St. Dunstan's

2011-10-28T12:40:00.000+01:00

After many months of speculation it does now appear that Sainsbury's will open a new store on the former Hallett's Garage site on St. Dunstan's Street.

Whilst we cannot find any details of the store itself a recent licensing application to the Council provides the main clue as to the future use of the site.

This application by Sainsbury's is for a licence from 6 am to midnight every day. Given the footprint of the site we assume it will be a small 'Local' style store rather than a full-blown superstore.

This will be the second Sainsbury's in Canterbury and the seventh overall and follows swiftly behind the new Waitrose store on New Dover Road.

In their literature for developers Sainsbury's describe three main format types for their smaller stores: 'Neighbourhood', 'Fresh Local' and 'Food on the Move'. It is not clear which format will be adopted but given the proximity to Canterbury West and the large student population up the hill it could be a 'Food on the Move' type.

The literature also states that the stores should be able to accept three deliveries per day (newspapers, bakery and fresh deliveries and general deliveries).

The licensing application includes "provision of late night refreshments (indoors & outdoors) 11pm - Midnight". This again suggests a 'food on the move' format, although we cannot be certain about this terminology and what is will actually involve once the store is up and running.

The other element of the application is for "sale or supply of alcohol (off the premises) 6am - Midnight". This is self explanatory and fairly normal for supermakets (n.b. Waitrose is 7am to 11pm).

What this all means for the existing shops and the local economy is hard to tell. These stores usually create (or displace) around 30 jobs which is a good thing considering current unemployment levels. The hint at newspaper deliveries perhaps does not bode well for the two existing newsagents and the inclusion of alcohol off sales may impact on licensed premises.

However, the store could generate footfall to this part of the City and this may be of great benefit to existing businesses. The true impact is very hard to predict and only time will tell.

If you have any views on the Sainsbury’s application, either for or against, you need to write to or email the council by November 10th.

For your comments to be valid they must relate to the four Licensing Objectives under the Licensing Act 2003. They are: the prevention of crime and disorder; public safety; the prevention of public nuisance; the prevention of children from harm. The reference is KE-PR-1039.

Contact details are:

Licensing Team, Canterbury City Council, Military Road, Canterbury, Kent CT1 1YW
licensing@canterbury.gov.uk
01227 478612

The application can be found online here: http://tinyurl.com/63fmele.

Are we content? A date for your diary...

2011-10-24T09:44:00.000+01:00

The arrival of this wonderful vintage poster in my inbox recently seemed liked the perfect opportunity to pose the question: are we content?

SDRA can offer you an opportunity to respond to this question at our next event (and AGM) on Monday November 21st, 7:30pm at St. Dunstan's Church hall.

As with previous years the evening will deliver some interesting talks from local people (details to be confirmed) plus the opportunity to engage with your Councillors. We will provide some wine (and soft drinks) to helps things along.

So...hold the date.

All are welcome and we look forward to seeing you then.

More details will be provided in the forthcoming newsletter as well as on this site.

Curry & Quiz Night - Saturday 22nd Oct

2011-10-18T14:51:00.000+01:00

Call 01227 712 355 to book or email wct@westgatecommunityhall.org.uk

Latest update from the Abbot's Mill Project

2011-10-10T16:10:00.001+01:00

The various projects being undertaken by the people at the Abbot's Mill Project are really beginning to gather momentum. The following is an update from Jo and Terry who are running the programme.

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Energyshare

As you may know, we are applying to the British Gas Energyshare fund for the water-wheel element of the project. We are working with Pico Energy on this. Pico are micro-hydro specialists (http://www.picoenergy.co.uk/) just a reminder to please sign up (if you haven't already) as a supporter for our application to the Energyshare Fund – and please pass on to all your family and friends and ask them to do the same.

http://www.energyshare.com/abbots-mill-project/followers/

We have until this Friday (30th) to submit our application and we still need as many supporters signed up to our group as possible. Also, if you have time, it would be really helpful if you could add a word or two when you sign up explaining why you are supporting our project and how you would like to get involved.

If you have even more time, it would be really great if you could send a letter of support as I can then upload these with our online application. Please let me know if you can do this and I will send you a postal address.

Funding

We still need to apply for more grant-funding to move the project forward. If you are good at writing funding applications please do get in touch as the more of us working on this element of the project the better!

Canterbury 4 Business meeting

We recently met with the Canterbury 4 Business Environment Group last week. This group is soon to merge with the Canterbury City Partnership Environment Group.We had a really positive meeting and would like to thank everyone for their support. We had several offers of support/funding in kind, which is fantastic. People were really enthusiastic about the project and the meeting has given us a big boost. Thanks to everyone involved.We will keep you informed of developments with these exciting partnerships.

Garden

Steve Matthews (from Emergent Research and Consulting) will be working with Dawn Sahathevan (from the Abbot’s Mill Project) to design and develop the organic permaculture garden. Our aim is to involve lots of local people in this and to open it up as a training opportunity in permaculture and stock-free organic gardening.

Steve and Dawn met this week to discuss ideas and we hope that this part of the project will begin in October. They will be looking for volunteers to help with the work so do please contact us if you are interested.

We will be laying a hedge around the site – this will be a mixture of yew, beech and hawthorn. This is an excellent mixture in terms of attracting native wildlife and will also provide an attractive hedge all year round.

Starting to generate electricity from the sun

We are applying to Canterbury City Council to install 60 solar (photo-voltaic) panels on piece of land north of St Peter’s Lane. These would be temporarily stand alone and would eventually be added to the roof of the new building. In the meantime, if we can start generating clean electricity from the site we can gain an income from the Government’s Feed in Tariff which will then enable us to further develop the project.

We are working on the planning application as we speak and we need to have some more surveys done, including a desk-top archaeological survey. We are speaking with Canterbury Archaeological Trust about this.

Information Board

Our next plan is to add an information board to the north site so that people can see what the project is all about and what we plan to do, and why. Peter Scutt from Whitefriars has kindly offered the services of their PR team to help us with developing some excellent promotional and publicity material. A huge thanks to Peter.

Thank you to Moorespace Architects

A big thank you to Moorespace (our architects) who have already put a lot of work into the project and continue to support and advise us in many ways.

And finally...A big thank you again to all of you who have signed up as supporters and offered your help to the project. We will be in touch with you about how you could be involved.

If you haven’t yet signed up, please do contact us. We really want the whole project to involve, and be run by, the local community so we are looking forward to hearing from you.

All the best, Jo and Terry On behalf of The Abbot’s Mill Project

Jo Kidd
Director
The Abbot's Mill Project Community Interest Company
Tel: 07912 087599

Latest update from Westgate Hall Community Trust

2011-10-10T16:10:00.000+01:00

Hello Everyone!

Much has been happening behind the scenes since the council’s thrilling vote in our favour at the end of July.

But before going into details, let’s start with our forthcoming events… and a plea!

8th of October, 10am to 12: We will be taking part in the citywide Big Clean, the aim being to prepare Canterbury for the influx of visitors coming to enjoy the Festival. In our case, as opening night is on Friday 14th October at the Westgate Hall, we’d like to have the flowerbeds showing the best of Autumn colours. So do join us for weeding and planting from 10.00 – 12.00 on the 8th. Please bring spare plants if you have any.

22nd October, 7pm: Curry & Quiz: In collaboration with the Canterbury Curry Club to raise funds to secure and refurbish the Westgate Hall. Tickets are £10 and include quiz entry and food. Bring your own drinks. You can book tables of 6, 8 or singles by emailing wct@westgatecommunityhall.org.uk or calling Chris on 01227 712355

And the plea: the Trust has entered the Natwest CommunityForce competition, we are hoping to win £6,000, which would be invaluable as we complete the process of securing tenancy of the Hall and undertake the refurbishment. We need lots of people to vote for our project in order to win, so please, vote for the Trust and spread the word as widely as you can! http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/5891 Voting ends the 23rd of October. We have had 19 votes so far, hopefully we can get a quite a lot more, with your help.

And what’s happened since decision day last July:

To fill you in. The week after the vote, we were in the Council negotiating the Heads of Terms of our 99-year lease. The Council voted to accept these on 15th September. Now lawyers on all sides, the Trust, Curzon and the cinemas are working on the detailed leases and sub-leases.

The Trust is completing the process of changing entity: from a community group we are about to become a company limited by guarantee. The process should be completed within the next weeks, after which we will be applying for charitable status. We will update you on progress, and look forward to seeing you at our Trust meeting at the Westgate Hall, we’ll confirm the date soon.

Our architects are finalizing the refurbishment plans and we are working with the planning department in the Council. We are also coordinating with user groups to ensure the Hall will be accessible to all.

Unfortunately — and we fully understand how incredibly frustrating this is for all concerned — we can’t yet give a timeline regarding temporary closure of the Hall to allow building work to take place. We will inform you immediately this is clear — we are working on getting this out as rapidly as possible.

Finally, Saturday, 27th November: We are looking forward to launching the Christmas season with our Grand Christmas Fayre! Please let us know if you would like to involved by volunteering, having a stall, performing...

Kindest regards,

Adelina (on behalf of the Westgate Community Trust executive team)

Save Chaucer Fields - QUIZ NIGHT

2011-10-10T16:01:00.002+01:00

New local bread making course starts November 5th

2011-10-03T14:44:00.001+01:00

Making Bread at home: Four sessions for only £5 (to cover materials) - maximum four people only

Making good bread at home does not need the sophisticated equipment of a bakery. This practical course introduces simple techniques to produce many different types of bread by hand in an enjoyable informal atmosphere using the simple facilities of the home.

It covers some theory of the process and participants will emerge with a working knowledge of everything from equipment, ingredients and processes to washing up techniques, having baked and, hopefully enjoyed, their own bread along the way.

The course will involve work at home after each 2 hour session as the making of bread is a lengthy process! Participants should be warned that stairs are involved to reach our kitchen and that the process is quite energetic.

Venue: 38 London Road, Canterbury CT2 8LN.

Contact: Jonathan Butchers (01227 479300) or jonathan.butchers@gmail.com if you want to participate.

Dates: Saturdays 5th – 26th November, 2011, 1030 – 1230, plus your own time afterwards! Just bring a 9” mixing bowl and the fiver. Recipes will be provided.

BIG news about the BIG Clean in October

2011-09-27T12:48:00.000+01:00

The Canterbury City Partnership is currently organising the second Big Clean of the year, this time on October 8th.

Some of you will remember the Big Clean that the SDRA organised for the St. Dunstan's area in June (to coincide with Big Clean #1). This was very successful and there was a noticeable difference, albeit for a few days! We received a lot of positive feedback from this event and litter/tidiness is clearly something that many of us care about.

But we have a PROBLEM!

Many of the SDRA committee members are not available on the 8th due to other commitments. I for one will be at a wedding. This means that SDRA will not be taking a lead on the second Big Clean in the St. Dunstan's area.

If anyone would like to get involved and work with Philippe Esclasse (City Centre Manager) to organise something for our patch we would love to hear from you (email matmomorris@hotmail.com). We already have equipment ready (e,g, litter pickers, brushes, weeding tools, etc.) and we guarantee that you will gain enormous satisfaction from sprucing up the area.

The reality is that without a volunteer to lead on organising an event for the SDRA patch it is unlikely that the wider Big Clean activity will reach us. Not a major issue admittedly, but it would be good if we could show willing.

Please feel free to get in touch and we will do everything possible to support you in the run-up to the 8th.

For more information the press release from the City Centre Partnership follows.

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Following the success of the Big Clean in Canterbury city centre in June, Canterbury City Partnership is organising a second spruce up in October.

We are inviting community groups and voluntary organisations to take part on Saturday, 8 October, while Wednesday, 12 October will be the turn of the business community.

The last Big Clean was a huge success due to the hard work of all the many groups involved. Businesses, voluntary organisations and community groups from across the city centre came together to clear rubbish, scrub subways, wash paintwork and remove graffiti.

We hope that even more people will take part this time and spare an hour or so to make the city look its best before the start of the Canterbury Festival.

For more information, please contact Philippe Esclasse, City Centre Manager, on 01227 787921, email philippe.esclasse@canterbury.gov.uk.

Anyone for Tennis?

2011-09-07T16:20:00.001+01:00

Someone playing tennis yesterday

How is your serve and volley...in need of improvement?

If so then you will be pleased to hear that the tennis courts on the Victoria recreation ground are now FREE (yes FREE) on Sunday mornings between 9am and 2pm.

Of course there are only a limited number of courts but we suspect that now Autumn is upon us demand might not be too high and so you might stand a good chance of getting a court.

You will need to book via the Body and Mind sports centre on 01227 766 352.

If you need a partner then why not send us a message and we will aim to do some sporty match-making! Please indicate your level of competency using the following classification system:

McEnroe - You cannot be serious (i.e. beginner)

Laver - I'd Laver a game of tennis (i.e. improver)

Evert - An ace Everty time (i.e. advanced)

Community activities - UPDATE

2011-08-30T14:39:00.000+01:00

Given the comprehensive website the Save Chaucer Fields campaign has gained considerable momentum in recent weeks and it is encouraging to see the high level of support they have achieved.

The recent success of the Westgate Community Trust and Westgate Towers again highlights the role that active community groups and local entrepreneurs can play in our society, both on the campaigning and social fronts.

In recent weeks St. Dunstans' has seen two large redevelopment projects commence at the former Halletts Garage and tyre depot sites, both of which are on St. Dunstans' Street.

Whilst these developments generated a lot of debate neither were deemed too controversial by residents and both have finally got underway after several years of preparation.

On one hand it feels like St. Dunstans' is on the brink of a new era, perhaps the most commercial in its long history? And on the other...St. Dunstans's, at least in parts, retains some of that villagey feel that we all enjoy.

If you are aware of any issues or opportunities for our community we'd love to hear from you. The SDRA AGM is also looming and we will announce details shortly. We hope to only spend a few minutes on the formalities and allocate the majority of the evening to invited speakers, food and wine! More details will be sent shortly.

Latest Newsletter from Save Chaucer Fields Campaign

2011-07-28T17:26:00.000+01:00

The latest newsletter from the Save Chaucer Fields Campaign follows. Please note that this Campaign is not being organised by SDRA and all enquiries should be directed to the SCF organisers.

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This newsletter is being sent to you to bring you up to date with the campaign against the proposal by the University of Kent to build on the southern slopes (the so-called ‘Chaucer Fields’).

The University has asked for consideration of its application by the Council’s Development Management Committee to be deferred, so that it can strengthen the business case for the proposals. This shows that our objections have had an effect. The University has recognised that its business case as it stands is not good enough.

The application will probably not come back to the Development Management Committee until September at the earliest. This will give us time to prepare further objections.

This is what we have achieved already, with your help:

We held public information events at St Dunstan’s church hall and St Stephen’s church hall.
We submitted a petition with 1024 signatures objecting to the proposals.
425 individual letters were sent, objecting to the development, and 309 objecting to the hedgerow removal.
‘Save Chaucer Fields’ posters have been displayed throughout the locality.
We have achieved extensive sympathetic coverage in the local press.
We have submitted an application for Chaucer Fields to be officially recognised as having ‘Village Green’ status.
We wrote and submitted a 100-page document, setting out the objections to the application at length and in detail in nine chapters. (You can read it on-line at http://savechaucerfields.com/useful-documents.html )
We sent copies of the Objections Document to all members of the Council’s Development Management Committee.
We sent letters to all members of the newly-elected Canterbury City Council, summarising the main grounds of our objections.

These actions have had a real impact. There is no doubt that the University has been taken aback by the scale and seriousness of the opposition.

Our objections are clearly reflected in the Planning Officer’s 59-page advice to the Development Management Committee. She quoted or summarised much of what we have said in letters and in the Objections Document, and she recognised what we have argued is the key issue. The University’s case for having to build on this particular site rests on its claim that all the components of the proposal – a hotel, a conference centre, and student accommodation – have to be included in a single comprehensive scheme. The case for having to combine all these elements has simply not been demonstrated.

We need your help to keep up the pressure.

Members of the SCF Committee will be using the summer for more fact-finding – looking further at the flaws in the University’s business case; taking advice from local hotels about the impact on them if the University is allowed to build the hotel and conference centre; and getting further detailed advice on the environmental impact.

We anticipate that when the application is resubmitted, there will be a further opportunity to comment on it, and we hope to send out suggestions to you for what to say in new letters of objection. In the meantime we want to do all we can to keep the issue in the public eye. We are producing new publicity materials – new posters, car stickers, and postcards. Do please make use of these wherever you can. Here’s how you can get them:

Go to our website: Save Chaucer Fields
Email: mike.blissett@talk21.com

We also need to continue with fund-raising to support the campaign. Many thanks to those supporters who have already contributed generously. Further donations would be greatly appreciated. Please send donations to:

Kevin Stampe, 18 Durnford Close, Canterbury, CT2 7RY , telephone 01227 656784, email kmstampe@hotmail.co.uk, cheques payable to SCFFF.

An extract from the Case officer’s Report:-

“Given the harm to the landscape and amenity that would result should the development proceed on the application site, Members should be satisfied that they accept :- the reasons put forward by the University for co-locating the two elements of the proposal together; and the reasons for discounting other sites within the campus, before considering the Chaucer Fields site. It is considered by Officers that the submissions at present do not adequately demonstrate the business case or any overriding reason as to why the hotel needs to be located adjacent to the new student accommodation”.

This campaign, with your help, intends to:-

SAVE CHAUCER FIELDS

Curzon Cinema - free taster event at the Westgate Hall

2011-07-18T09:33:00.000+01:00

As you probably know, decision day is approaching very fast, on the 27th of July, at 5pm at the Guildhall, the Council Executive will decide whether it accepts the Westgate Community Trust proposal to turn the Westgate Hall into a Community centre and a 3-screen digital Curzon Cinema.

And, with this in mind, on the 23rd of July (Saturday), Curzon Cinemas are going to transform the Westgate Hall into a cinema for the day, showcasing what they can offer to Canterbury if the proposal is accepted.

We are delighted to invite you all to this free event, featuring a mix of films for all ages, and including the world premiere of a documentary about the Trust! We have enclosed the programme here, please feel free to send it to everyone you know would be interested. We hope you can join us, and if you would like to volunteer on the day (in slots of two hours, from 9am to 10pm) please let us know.

10.00 Eleanor's Secret [U] Dubbed into English. 76 mins followed by an animation workshop for children

Natanaël, seven, still doesn't know how to read. His beloved aunt has bequeathed her book collection to him and unable to read the books he is very disappointed. However, unbeknownst to Natanaël, his aunt’s library is a magical collection of originals containing all the heroes, such as Captain Hook and Alice, found in children's literature.

12.00 “Just when you thought you were safe...”, Peter Cook, in collaboration with the Marlowe Youth Theatre, will present 'Becoming', a selection of witty, scary funny and poignant films around theme of Becoming;

12. 45 Azur And Asmar: The Princes’ Quest (U) Animated Dubbed into English and Arabic. 99mins

From the acclaimed French animation director Michel Ocelot this magical film tells the tale of two very different boys, raised like brothers, and reunited as rivals on their quest to free the mythical Djinn fairy.

3.00 Westgate 2.0 by Justinian Dispenza, a US film student who has spent a year studying film at the University of Kent, has volunteered his passion and skill and produced a documentary of the Trust; and, drawing on the resources of Christ Church University and the Historic Society of Canterbury, there will be historic films of Canterbury.

4.00 Pina 2D [U] Independent German, English & French with English subtitles 103 mins.

Pina Bausch is a legendary dancer and choreographer. Her unique creations transformed the language of dance, offering a visual experience like no other.
6.30 Reception (courtesy of Curzon Cinemas)

7.30 The King's Speech [12A]

Fascinating, moving and often humorous The King’s Speech charts the personal relationship that developed between England’s reluctant King George VI, plagued by a nervous stammer, and his irreverent Australian speech therapist.

Thank you all for your support so far!

Adelina Comas-Herrera
on behalf of the Westgate Community Trust executive

Southern Water FOG Event - 22 July

2011-07-13T10:11:00.000+01:00

This could be an excellent opportunity for London Road residents to lobby Southern Water on the FOG problems that have been experienced in recent years. A rep from SDRA will hopefully attend, but do pop down if you have been affected by this problem.

If you want to attend the meting you will need to respond to: Mark Walker (mark.walker@springboard-marketing.co.uk or 01732 375409). A "3D image of a fat-blocked sewer" is surely something not to be missed!

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FOG Awareness Event, Whitefriars Shopping Centre, Canterbury - 22 July 2011.

As you may be aware, Southern Water is running a campaign to raise awareness about the problems caused when fat, oil and grease (FOG) is disposed of down the sink.

When these substances enter the public sewerage system they can cause blockages, which can result in flooding and pollution to the environment. We want to raise public awareness about this problem and provide people with advice about how to dispose of the fat, oil and grease they use in their home in a safe and environmentally friendly way.

On Friday 22 July 2011, we are holding an event in Whitefriars Shopping Centre where a 3D image of a fat-blocked sewer will be created on the pavement at the Whitefriars’s Marlowe Arcade to highlight the problem and we will be giving out information and fat traps to the general public.

As someone who is heavily involved with improving the environment in Canterbury for residents and businesses, I would like to invite you to join us to raise awareness of this problem and support our promotional campaign.

At 10.30am, we will be arranging a short briefing at the Centre’s Management Suite located at number 14 Gravel Walk, Canterbury on the FOG Campaign and the work we have carried out to reduce the risk of flooding in the city, followed by a photo shoot at the Marlowe Arcade also located at the Whitefriars Shopping Centre. We promise not to take up too much of your time.

If you would like to attend please RSVP to Mark Walker mark.walker@springboard-marketing.co.uk or 01732 375409.

If you are unable to attend please feel free to pass this invitation to anybody within your organisation whom you feel would also be interested in attending.

Yours sincerely

Darren Bentham
Director of Universal Metering
Southern Water

Looking for funding for a community project?

2011-07-02T08:11:00.000+01:00

Kent County Council has a useful range of grants that can be used to support community-based projects. The funding this financial year (i.e. to end of March 2012) is around £140,000 per District.

If you have a good idea for a project this could help provide valuable seed funding. It could also act as match funding if your idea involves multiple funders.

There are three funding options:

Member Community Grant
Local Schemes Grant
Small Community Capital Projects

For 2011/12 there is around £1.7 million available in grants across the county to inject into locally based projects that achieve lasting community benefit.

Funding is divided up between the 12 districts and local county councillors will decide how they wish to recommend projects for funding. For example in some areas they will ask the local community to vote for projects at ‘You decide’ community events.

So if your organisation is looking for funding, we recommend that you contact your local County Councillor first to discuss your project with them and gain their support.

The type of activities supported by local member grants varies enormously and can range from marketing and training costs, community safety schemes, sports and education related projects to larger refurbishment projects in community halls.

For more information on how to apply please contact your local Community Engagement Manager.

http://www.kent.gov.uk/your_council/have_your_say/community_engagement/local_member_grants.aspx

Photo: The Little People Project: http://little-people.blogspot.com/

Save Chaucer Fields - QUIZ NIGHT

2011-06-30T16:01:00.000+01:00

Latest update from Westgate Community Trust

2011-06-26T15:19:00.000+01:00

The latest update from the Westgate Community Trust team follows.

///

Dear All,

Saturday, 25th June, will be the first nationwide Civic Day, an initiative launched by Civic Voice, the national charity for the civic movement in England. Its mission is to make places more attractive, enjoyable and distinctive, and to promote civic pride. Civic Day will celebrate this.

Canterbury is participating in the shape of the Big Clean. The Westgate Community Trust, together with 13 other city groups and organisations, will take charge of cleaning a designated area of the city, in our case, the area around the Westgate Hall and the Pound Lane parking lot.

We would love to have you join us between 11.00 and 1.00. There will be a photo call at 12.00 outside the Westgate Hall. It would be good to have as many of you with us as possible to show your support for Canterbury as well as the campaign to save the Hall.

The city can provide litter pickers, gloves, CCC orange rubbish sacks, buckets, scrubbing brushes etc., however it would be good, if you plan to help with clearing the weeds and pruning the bushes in the garden area at the back of the Hall, to bring your own tools.

We look forward to spending a couple of fun hours together.

And here’s some additional news:

On Friday, Adelina and I sent the Trust’s business case on how it proposes to save the Hall to the Council. The plan represents the dedication and commitment of the community since March 2010! Without community feedback and engagement it would have been impossible. Huge thanks to you all! We will know whether we have been successful on 28th July when the Council will make its decision.

However, before then, there is another date to mark in your calendars: Saturday, 23rdJuly at the Westgate Hall.

Curzon Cinemas and the Trust are organizing a day when Curzon will introduce Canterbury to what it has to offer, from cinema to community. We will let you know the shape of the day as planning progresses.

In the meantime, thanks again for the support!

Hoping you can be with us on Saturday,

Kind regards,

Imogen and Adelina
Vice Chair Chair
Westgate Community Trust
Canterbury

* Garage Sale *

2011-06-23T16:19:00.000+01:00

Canterbury West Regeneration Zone - Draft Design Guide published

2011-06-10T17:27:00.002+01:00

Canterbury City Council has recently released a draft development brief which describes the Canterbury West Regeneration Zone and the development sites associated with it.

Released in March this year the document provides additional guidance for the future development of the area and forms part of the Local Plan.

In addition to an interesting site analysis, which describes all of the potential development locations, the brief highlights the following objectives which new developments should address:

Regenerates of the Station Road West ‘zone’ with quality mixed use commercially based developments that enhance the street scene
Enables an urban renaissance in this part of the city
The creation of an integrated transport hub at Canterbury West Station
Reduction of traffic movements in St Dunstan’s Street and traffic management at the Westgate Towers
Public realm improvements throughout the zone Improvement and enhancement of pedestrian and cycling routes
Improve and rationalise parking facilities Sustainable development and use of renewable energy technology
Provision of high quality landscaping and outdoor open space.

Some interesting points emerge from this document which may be of interest to our community:

City Council car park – site allocated for employment use (Class B 1 activities) together with retention of public car parking in the Local Plan
Network Rail land (behind Goods Shed) - Site allocated for residential use in the Local Plan
City Council owned vacant land (behind Goods Shed) – allocated for residential in the Local Plan
Car rental site – land owned by Network Rail. Site allocated for residential development in the Local Plan
Graham Building Supplies – warehouse and parking. Allocated for residential development in the Local Plan (at which time pedestrian access to the station could be added)
Lenleys furniture store. Allocated for residential development in the Local Plan (but not in the foreseeable future)

Chapter four of the document also provides an interesting historical and archaeological summary of the area which helps put the developement sites into context. The full document can be found here:

http://www.canterbury.gov.uk/assets/localplan/Station%20Road%20West%20final.pdf

Les Miserable London Road sewers

2011-06-06T16:53:00.000+01:00

Figure 1: A sewer in action yesterday

Sewers are usually out of sight and out of mind. But just imagine what it is like to have your flat or basement contaminated by raw sewage. Not a pleasant thought!

But did you know that properties in London Road have been flooded twice in the last ten years? And even though affected parties have been compensated by Southern Water the question remains as to whether the root cause of the problem can ever be fixed?

The problem has been caused by a build-up of fats and other materials in the sewer. That can happen anywhere, but modern main sewers have non-return valves on the feeder pipes to prevent reflux.

Could these not be fitted to our sewers? It would be a simple and inexpensive solution compared to the cost of an event such as was experienced by residents one Sunday night last December.

The London Road sewer is Victorian, maybe one of the first in the area as the road was the main artery into the city from London. We all know that Victorian sewers were generally well built, of sound brickwork, and so have withstood the test of time, but is this one still adequate for the purpose?

In the late Victorian period, the development of London Road finished at the turning into St Dunstan’s Terrace. After that there were farms and orchards and a school on the corner. Since then, there has been continuous development up the street, in the orchards and, after the war, the new housing in Somner Close and Bishops Way. So can this sewer now cope?

So far, contamination has been experienced only in what was once called “Victoria Terrace”, the imposing block on the south side of the Road, just down from the church. These basements are probably the deepest in the road, but many other properties have basements and, due to modern living, are converted to usable rooms. These are also in danger of such contamination and the compensation bill for Southern Water will be considerably higher if these also get flooded.

So the question is does Southern Water intend to implement a permanent fix to this problem, or simply continue to offer compensation when flooding occurs?

Westgate Community Trust: Big Lunch June 5th

2011-06-02T13:09:00.000+01:00

Calling all volunteers...we need you for the BIG CLEAN

2011-05-20T09:57:00.000+01:00

June 25th marks the second Canterbury BIG CLEAN and this year the SDRA will lead a team of volunteers to undertake a series of minor improvements that should, in combination, make a difference to the quality of our immediate environment.

The Big Clean is a volunteer led initiative that was originally set up by the Canterbury City Partnership and which encourages everyone with a property in the city centre to give the area around their building a bit of a spruce up.

As this is our first Big Clean we have focused activities onto a few streets to ensure that we can achieve what we set out to do. In future years we can look to expand the activities depending on the amount of support we can muster.

To make this work, however, we need VOLUNTEERS! If you can spare a few hours in the morning of Saturday June 25th we'd love to hear from you. We will provide all of the equipment you will need and even a bacon buttie and a hot drink to get things underway.

All you need to do is let us know if you can volunteer. Please email matmomorris@hotmail.com and we will be in touch with the details.

To kick things off we carried out a quick street scene 'audit' at the end of April and recorded a list of improvements that we would like to tackle. We realise that not all of these are achievable on our own and therefore we have already been in touch with the Council to seek their support.

The results of the audit are below. If you feel we have missed anything please let us know. As you will see the number of streets involved is relatively small, but there are a number of activities required and given a small band of volunteers we should be able to tackle most of them.

St. Dunstan’s Terrace

Weeds
Street signs need minor cleaning to refresh
Graffiti on several lamp posts – can this be cleaned. What about re-painting (Serco)?
General litter pick

Orchard St.

Graffiti on several lamp posts – can this be cleaned. What about re-painting (Serco)?
Letterbox needs graffiti removing and re-painting (Royal Mail)?
Natwest car park – needs a good sweep and general tidy (by Natwest)?
Tomlin Hse – bins need to be returned to bin store. Bin store needs major clean up (lots of rubbish to be taken to city dump)
Pot hole on corner Orchard St./Church St. (only repaired last year) – this was logged with KHServices (19/04/2011 – ref 26886).
Pavement condition on west side of Orchard St. poor (50m section to junction with New St.)
General litter pick

New St.

Refurbish old street name sign (need black and white paint). Refurbish - NOT to be replaced.
Lamp posts – general clean and tidy
General litter pick

St Dunstan’s St.

Air quality monitor outside church graffiti to be removed
Telephone box graffiti to be removed (BT)?
BT box on other side of street badly graffitti’d (as is white wall behind)
Remove redundant signage at roundabout
General litter pick

Church St.

General litter pick

We would love to get at least 2-3 volunteers for each of the streets mentioned above. Please do mention this to neighbours...many hands make light work!

*** STOP PRESS: London Road street lights to be re-instated

2011-05-18T13:48:00.000+01:00

We are pleased to report that Kent County Council will be replacing three of the missing street lights on the Whitstable Road end of London Road on June 4th.

SDRA and the Westgate councillors have been campaigning on behalf of local residents for some time on this issue and it appears that our combined efforts have paid off.

KCC has already postponed earlier attempts to carry out the works. Rest assured that if nothing happens on June 4th we will keep on pushing.

Thanks go to all involved in this project so far...once again we have proved that local pressure can make a difference.

The picture below shows what the old lights looked like before they were removed due to poor condition at the bases (i.e. they had rusted through and were deemed unsafe).

Lighting up the Marlowe Theatre tower: What's your view?

2011-05-10T13:53:00.000+01:00

Those of you familiar with the Canterbury skyline will know that the new Marlow Theatre adds a modern twist to Canterbury's impressive vista.

As the build nears completion the architects have turned their attention to lighting and an application has been lodged for external illumination. The proposal includes a mix of 24 low energy LED strips and 8 metal halide flood lights. An artists impression of the result (provided by the applicant) is shown below.

If you have any views on this proposal (either for or against) the relevant details are below. All comments should be sent to the Council (either to the Military Road address or using development.control@canterbury.gov.uk).

Application number: CA//11/00743

Application type: FULL APPLICATION
Registration Date: 27 / 04 / 2011
Comments welcome by: 06 / 06 / 2011
Location: Marlowe Theatre, 1 The Friars, Canterbury
Ward: WESTGATE
Proposal: Installation of external light fittings to illuminate the fly tower of the Marlowe Theatre.
Case Officer: Karen Evans
Case Officer Tel: 01227 862170
Agent: Keith Williams Architects
Applicant: Canterbury City Council

New Event: St. Dunstan's Through The Ages - May 21st

2011-05-05T18:15:00.000+01:00

Calling all volunteers! Willow Working at Hambrook Marshes

2011-05-03T17:34:00.000+01:00

When: Saturday 7th May , 11-2pm
Where: Hambrook Marshes
What: Maintenance work on the willow beds and compost bins and using basket weaving techniques to make some garden plant structures. Refreshments will be provided.

Contact us details below if you need more information.

Kent Enterprise Trust (KET)
c.martin@enterprisetrust.org
http://www.enterprisetrust.org/
01227 844 500

Westgate Community Trust Update

2011-05-03T17:30:00.000+01:00

Latest update from the Westage Hall Trust follows.

///

Dear all,

As you may know, the decision about the future of the Westgate Hall will be taken in July. Now is the time to give a final push to the campaign to save this historic building so we can provide the centre of Canterbury with its own Village Hall and everyone, from babies to the very old can take an active part in life in their community.

The Trust membership keeps growing every week (click here to download a membership form), which is a great way to prove the support we have, and fundraising, particularly thanks to the recent Salsa Party and Masked Ball, is right on track, all we need is a final push to achieve our goal of a £10,000 "take over" and community activities fund. We have now raised over 8,100, but of course we do spend quite a bit on hiring the Hall for each event.

Work on the business plan is progressing well too, particular on the funding side, we will give you details when things have firmed up, but so far we can say that the Trust is working with various partners to ensure that we can offer a sustainable, inclusive and exciting future for the Hall and the centre of Canterbury.

The next meeting, open to everyone, is on the 12th of May, 8pm at the Westgate Hall (West room), I hope as many of you as possible can come, as there is plenty to discuss and plan.

We would like to invite you to join us for the following events. Come to enjoy, or volunteer if you can, and please help spread the word:

15th of May: Family Day at the Westgate Hall, organised by us and the local NCT, a fun day for families and an opportunity for the Trust to consult with parents and providers of children's activities about how they would like to use the Hall if and when we run it. There will be facepainting, balloon modelling, bouncy castle... 50p per family. We need volunteers (to sell tickets, get surveys filled, make teas and coffees...) and also are still looking for children's entertainment (music, storytelling, games...) and can accommodate a few stall holders. Let us know if you can help!

14th and 15th of May: Stall at the Climate Fair (in the high street). Stall to raise awareness (and hopefully recruit more members and raise some funds by selling Save Westgate Hall shopping bags).

19th of May: Westgate Hall Wine Challenge, Learn to tell the difference between Sauvignon Banc and Pinot Grigio, between tannins and acids the Westgate Hall Wine Challenge. Master of Wine Clive Barlow will lead you through the tasting process and host a wine quize to test your team's tasting skills with six wines from around the world. The prize for the winning team will be a selection of wines! A light supper will be provided by Patrick's Kitchen from The Goods Shed. Tickets are £20, you can book single tickets or in teams of six.

5th of June: The Westgate Hall Big Lunch: A great opportunity to celebrate that Canterbury, as well as a shopping and tourist destination has a great community of people. The Hall (and Westgate Hall road, hopefully, subject to permission), will become a great inside and outside eating place. We will decorate it, set up tables and enjoy a day of food, music and entertainment. Would you like to be involved in organising/decorating/entertaining/playing?

18th of June: Busk to Save the Westgate Hall: Ray Fielder is kindly helping organise a day of Busking to Save Westgate Hall in the high street, we are looking for musicians who would like to come and perform during the day to help us raise funds and awareness for the campaign. Please email us if you would like to perform.

25th of June: The Big Clean/Civic Day: Last October to tamed the Hall's gardens, now we will give them some more TLC as part of the city-wide effort to make Canterbury a place we can all be proud of.

Kind regards to you all,

Adelina Comas-Herrera
on behalf of the Westgate Community Trust (Canterbury) executive group.

Additional ATM proposed for St. Dunstan's Street

2011-04-24T09:19:00.000+01:00

Royal Bank of Scotland has put in application to add a second ATM (cash point) at the Natwest Bank on St. Dunstan's Street. The details of the application are below. If you have any comments on this application (for or against) please write to the Council quoting the reference number.

Application Number CA//11/00634/LB

Listed Building GRADE 2
Conservation Area CANTERBURY CITY No.1 AMENDED
Proposal Installation of additional ATM.
Location 51 St Dunstan's Street, Canterbury, CT2 8BS
Officer Tracy Perry Rutt (Wed/Fri)
Ward WESTGATE
Agent Currie & Brown Widnell
Applicant The Royal Bank of Scotland

Record Store Day at Canterbury Rock

2011-04-18T14:15:00.000+01:00

To help celebrate Record Store Day (http://www.recordstoreday.com/Home) I visited Canterbury Rock on Whitstable Road to meet up with proprietor Jim Hampshire for a chat, a sausage roll (courtesy of Patrick at the Goods Shed) and a nice cup of tea.

Founded in 1979, at the height of the independent music scene, the shop has been selling new and second-hand vinyl for over three decades. Jim started his business in Whitstable before moving to Canterbury to be closer to the burgeoning student population and the live music venues in the City.

In its early history Jim specialised in buying wholesale from London-based records labels such as Rough Trade and Stiff and then selling this stock from the shop or at gigs. He recalls selling 7" punk singles at an early gig by the then relatively unheard of Ramones which also featured Talking Heads and the Boomtown Rats (who hadn't event released a record at the time). Jim's greatest memory of the occasion was a private Ramones performance that he enjoyed whilst setting up his record stall.

Today Jim specialises in second hand vinyl and CDs and has a wide range of styles to suit most tastes. Canterbury Rock also sells second-hand and vintage hi-fi and there is usually an interesting mix of audio paraphernalia to look at.

Since the demise of Richards Records, the indoor market and the hi-fi exchange, Canterbury Rock is the last surviving (non-HMV) music specialist in Canterbury.

And according to Jim, business is steady. He is finding that young people are becoming increasingly interested in vinyl, probably those young enough not to have experience it properly first time around. At the same time the shop is regularly re-stocked by people de-cluttering their homes and making space for modern gadgets.

Jim is also finding that people are becoming increasingly interested in his story. On the day I visited a film maker had been in touch enquiring about making a documentary, and a Venezuelan was en route to show him an article that he had written about him. I'm also certain that I heard Canterbury Rock mentioned on BBC 6music the other evening!

So, what do you ask a man who has immersed himself in the music business for over 30 years?

Jim's favouritete band are The Who and his most memorable gig was Neil Young, Hammersmith in approximately 1973/74!

If you like music, and still have a record player and/or CD player then do make the effort to pop in to Canterbury Rock. Even if you don't have the equipment the shop is a wonderful example of a specialist collectors records shop and is a fascinating insight into what was once a far more common sight.

And let me know if you can discover a band that Jim hasn't seen in concert (Justin Bieber excluded)!

pictures M Morris

Open Conference: Sustainable Development and the Natural World

2011-04-11T10:42:00.000+01:00

Evening Bat Walk at Hambrook Marshes: Saturday 16th April, 7.30-9.30pm

2011-04-08T09:23:00.001+01:00

The Kent Enterprise Trust at Hambrook Marshes will use their new bat detector to investigate whether any bats are catching insects on the marsh.

Saturday 16^th April, 7.30-9.30pm

There are limited spaces so if you would like to come along please contact Alex Bowsher.

Alex Bowsher
Project Officer for Hambrook Marshes
Kent Enterprise Trust (KET)
http://www.enterprisetrust.org/
Tel 01227 844 479/500

St Dunstans history revealed at redevelopment site

2011-03-22T17:56:00.000Z

The former Hallets Garage site on the corner of St Dunstans Street and Station Road West is yielding a rich history.

Canterbury Archaeology Trust are digging the site in advance of redevelopment which will see the arrival of student flats with retail units underneath. More details can be found at the links below.

It is not yet known which businesses will occupy the retail space. There are some rumours that one of the main supermarket brands will take the site, although this is largely unsubstantiated at present.

Meanwhile the other development site on the other side of the railway tracks will soon be filled with a Churchill retirement development, again with (limited) space for retail underneath.

If anyone has any additional information please let us know.

http://www.kentonline.co.uk/kentonline/news/2011/march/21/roman_graves_uncovered.aspx

http://www.thisiskent.co.uk/where/whitstable/Digging-history-builders-come/article-3332661-detail/article.html

Westgate Community Trust celebrates first birthday

2011-03-04T14:01:00.000Z

Latest update from the Westgate Hall Community Trust.

///

On 4th March, the Westgate Community Trust will celebrate its first birthday! And we’re looking forward to our second year of working to save our unique Westgate Hall for use by all of us who live in Canterbury, the District and beyond. It was built by public subscription at the beginning of the last century for use by Canterbury residents, and we intend to remain true to the Hall’s civic origins.

This 1st year of the Trust seems a good time to thank everyone who has supported the work of the Trust and helped us reach this point: all the Trust sponsors and professional advisors (http://www.westgatecommunityhall.org.uk/sponsors.shtml), all the hard working volunteers, the councillors who have given us the opportunity to prove that we can run the Hall sustainably, the council officials who are guiding us through this process, the journalists who have understood what we are trying to achieve, the more than 700 people who answered the survey to tell us that they would like to save the Hall and how they would like to use it, and everyone who has participated in our events, encouraged us and contributed in any way.

We have various events planned in the next few weeks and months and we would be delighted if you were able to join us:

5th March: Gardening and cake to celebrate the Trust’s first birthday, from 10 to 12 in and around the Westgate Hall (look out for people with purple t-shirts!). Everyone is welcome. Feel free to bring any spare plants and cakes.

19th March: Salsa Party fundraiser for the campaign to save the Hall, from 8.15pm, with classes at 4 levels, starting at absolute beginner level. Mario/Maria Dance competition, with prize; freestyle dancing; bar; parking; DJ's (Leon, Matt, Bob on rotation); raffle. Entry: £10. Payable on the door or in advance from Steve on 07825 300580; email: steve.wells7@BTinternet.

2nd April: Masked Ball, a fundraising evening of merriment organised with West Track Studios, including live music, hot Moorish buffet, professional ballroom dancers, charity auction. Dress code: Evening dress, black tie and mask. Tickets: £40 per person (£35 for Trust members); buy single tickets or tables for 6 or 10 persons. To book please contact: Terry on 07968 810638 or email: wct@westgatecommunityhall.org.uk.

5th June: THE BIG LUNCH: Last year’s was fantastic and this year we can make it even better! Come and eat with your friends and neighbours, share your home grown food or buy from the stalls. There will be entertainment for people of all ages. Everyone is welcome! Let us know if you would like to be actively involved (performing, volunteering, having a stall...).

There is more information about these events on our website at: http://www.westgatecommunityhall.org.uk/special.shtml.

Offers of helps, donations (including raffle and auction prizes), and best of all, new members (http://www.westgatecommunityhall.org.uk/join.shtml) are always welcome!

Thank you again for all your support in the first year of the Trust.

Adelina Comas Herrera
Chair
The Westgate Community Trust (Canterbury)

Lib Dem surgery: Update from London Road

2011-02-20T11:31:00.000Z

Some news from our London Road correspondent. If anyone would like to add anything then please feel free to comment.

///

I have just attended the Lib Dem surgery on two issues:

Discussed with Cllr. Martin Vye the replacement of the two sawn off lampposts in London Road which are overdue being replaced.
The (poor) condition of the London Road sewer.

SDRA supported Bob Booth, our local Neighbourhood Watch coordinator, in getting the two lampposts replaced. These were chopped down due to excessive corrosion at the base and apparently are over 40 years old.

Fair enough, but they haven't been replaced yet! They were promised on 8th Jan, weather permitting, but nothing yet has happened. Martin is going to take this up with the Highways Agency.

I also spoke to Martin about the main sewer in London Road. This had a "reflux incident" into the basements of Victoria Terrace in December (2010) and is not the first time that this has happened. Martin advised that it was a joint Highways/Southern Water issue and he would take it up on our behalf. Apparently, non-return valves would solve the problem in these Victorian sewers. This has recently been done in Bridge, so a precedent has been set.

On the subject of sewers, St Dunstan's is going to have major sewer work done later this year over two weekends, presumably as a result of the "leaking Natwest Bank" last year.

The Shame of St. Dunstan's: Part 2

2011-02-07T14:34:00.000Z

The second article in this (short) series focuses on the empty property owned by Network Rail next to the level crossing on St. Dunstan's Street.

This building has been empty for so long that the author cannot actually remember what it used to contain (please feel free to enlighten me if you do). Despite its perilous situation next to main rail line to Ashford and London, this interesting period building forms part of the inherent charm of this area of Canterbury. It is grade II listed and is brick construction under timber framed and pitched roof with Kentish peg tiles.

Canterbury has a number of period buildings in a poor condition and this example is part of a portfolio that are considered to be 'at risk' by the Council's conservation department. Whilst several have been renovated in the last few years there are still several that are in a perilous state.

Given the historical nature of St. Dunstan's Street (see http://stdunstansresidentsassociation.blogspot.com/2008/06/read-peter-bergs-history-of-st-dunstans.html) it is a great shame that this building has languished for so long.

The good news is that works appear to have started on this building only today, and a local construction company has been appointed by Network Rail to renovate it.

Whilst details are sketchy at this point a quick chat with the site manager indicates that a new roof will be put on and the building returned to a usable status within a few months.

The property is being marketed for a range of retail uses. It is not known whether a tenant has been found or if Network Rail are simply responding to pressure from the Council to renovate the building and return it to use. With the developments already taking place in St. Dunstan's Street the commercial viability of this building has undoubtedly been enhanced.

Time will tell whether we will be facing yet another take away outlet, convenience store or licensed premise. Watch this space...

UKC proposes to create new student village on Chaucer Fields

2011-02-05T15:43:00.011Z

SDRA has recently been contacted by the Save Chaucer Fields Campaign, a group of local residents who are currently engaging with UKC regarding the proposed development of a new student village on what is currently a green field site.

Background information from one of the group's organisers follows. For more details please visit their website. Please note that this is not an SDRA campaign and we are presenting the information here for information and comment only.

///

In case you didn't know, the University of Kent is proposing to build accommodation for 800 students, a conference centre and a 150 room four star hotel on a lovely part of the UKC campus known as Chaucer fields. You may know it better as the southern slopes, the fields that run up to the University from the edge of Canterbury.

These fields, although owned by the University, are used by the community and students alike as a place of leisure. It has great views of the city and more importantly acts as a buffer zone between the city and the University.

The University now wishes to destroy this beautiful piece of land. There are other alternative sites on campus to carry out such a scheme but obviously not with iconic views of the city.

If this scheme is allowed to go forward, it will set a precedent to develop the rest of the southern slopes in years to come. These slopes must be protected and remain as a 'buffer zone' as was promised by the University when the site was sold to them 50 years ago. The University is absolutely right to address the need of further 'on campus' student accommodation, but we feel that this needs to be in the right location.

For those that care about saving these fields for present and future generations of residents and students, a protest march is being organised in the next 4-6 weeks. If you wish to only participate in the march, or help organise it, please register your interest by emailing sebastian@saveourcity.org.uk.

Our campaign website can be found at http://www.savechaucerfields.com/.

UKC's consultation on the proposals can be found at http://www.uok-consultation.co.uk/index.html.

Finally, the pictures below show the damage already caused to Chaucer fields by the preliminary site investigations.

The Shame of St. Dunstan's: Part 1

2011-02-02T13:50:00.009Z

Lets face, St. Dunstan's is looking a bit shabby. Whilst the recent bad weather has done nothing for the (already) poor state of our pavements and roads, it is also fair to say that there is a wide range of relatively minor aesthetic problems that could easily be solved.

The aim of this, and subsequent articles, is to highlight problems and to alert those who may be able to help solve them.

We also hope to encourage local residents to contribute articles of their own to enable them to bring attention to issues that others may not be aware of.

First up is the bus stop on St. Dunstan's Street close to the dry cleaners and Curtain Call.

Last Autumn those involved in the Big Clean tackled this decrepit bus shelter and gave it a good scrub. This helped a lot, although since then one of the screens has been lost and it is again looking very sad indeed.

Given that this is a highly prominent site and in clear view of many visitors who venture up to St. Dunstan's, the current bus does little to enhance the visual appeal of the area or provide decent shelter to waiting bus users.

This stop is heavily used, particularly by students on their way back up to the campus at UKC, and city workers on their way home after work. I have often walked past this stop of a cold, wet and blustery evening and felt sorry for the hardy bus users who struggle to shelter here.

So what is the solution? Clearly Stagecoach, the operators of the bus service, were very clear that it is the Council's responsibility to maintain, repair and upgrade bus shelters (that do not carry advertising).

Of course, all Council's are under enormous pressure at the moment to save money and Canterbury City Council is no exception.

But given the scale of investment in the Marlowe Theatre and Beaney Institute, and not forgetting the proposed £20,000 contribution to the Open Golf Championship in Sandwich next July (http://tinyurl.com/4r9df22), I for one am confident that the good folk at the Council can find a solution to this relatively straightforward project!

We have contacted the Council (01227 862 000) and requested some assistance. If you are inclined to do so, calls from other local residents may help to raise this up the agenda.

If you would like to contribute something for this series of posts please email matmomorris@hotmail.com.

Latest Crime Maps show 'above average crime' in CT2

2011-02-01T15:53:00.003Z

The latest crime maps have just been released and they reveal an interesting, if albeit not unexpected, result for Canterbury.

The image above highlights the relatively low level of crime outside the city centre. However, a quick search on the CT2 postcode, which includes St. Dunstan's, indicates that crime is above average. This would suggest that crime in the city centre is the 'prime suspect' for CT2s above average rating.

News reports on this subject have highlighted similar problems in other parts of the country. In Preston, for example, a relatively peaceful city centre residential street has been highlighted as the most crime ridden location in the entire country (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-12334253).

The reality is that the postcode for the city centre also includes this residential street, where crime is low, but crime in the commercial area has been allocated to this postcode without differentiating between commercial and non-commercial areas. This would suggest that a finer level of geography is required to reveal more reliable patterns. As you would expect local residents are none too happy with the attention this has generated.

So, should we be worried?

Well, we would always advise vigilance and the reporting of crime, however insignificant, but in general St. Dunstan's is a comparatively low crime area. Indeed, searching at the street level reveals very few incidents in our immediate area (i.e. St. Dunstan's Street, London Road, Orchard Street, New Street, Queens Avenue, etc.).

The website can be found at http://www.police.uk/.

How do I contact the Police?

For non urgent support you should call 01622 690 690. You can no longer call the Canterbury Police station directly, although the operators at the 01622 number can still put your call through or local assistance. Use this number if:

a crime happened in the last 20 minutes
to report: any crime where violence was used or threatened, stolen vehicles, fraud, burglary, bogus callers, fire (where someones life was put at risk), to report any other non-emergency crime.

You should only call 999 if:

a crime is happening now
people are injured
people are being threatened or are in danger
someone suspected of committing a crime is nearby

Living through the Reformation at St Dunstan's

2011-01-30T18:43:00.003Z

Please find following details of a study day being organised by the Kent Archaeological Society that will take place at St. Dunstan's Church Hall on Saturday April 9th.

For more details please visit http://www.kentarchaeology.org.uk/diaryEvents.htm

Former tyre depot site: Chuchill press release

2011-01-30T12:06:00.004Z

Site preparation is now underway on the former tyre depot site on St. Dunstan's Street/Roper Road. More details can be found at:

http://www.churchillretirement.co.uk/company-information/news/52/planning-permission-granted-for-a-new-scheme-in-canterbury/

SDRA Blog: email alerts and submission of articles

2011-01-27T13:37:00.005Z

If you would like to receive our latest posts via email please send us your email address and you will be added to the list.

matmomorris@hotmail.com

You can also use the above address to submit your own articles for publishing on the SDRA blog. We are happy to receive pieces on any subject that is relevant to our local area and you are free to include your own thoughts and opinions (n.b. all pieces submitted will be moderated and we reserve the right not to publish items that might cause offence).

If you want to get something off your chest, alert residents to an issue, start a campaign or simply sell your old lawnmower we'd love to hear from you.

If you need any help then please don't hesitate to get in touch.

Last orders at local pub

2011-01-25T13:18:00.004Z

The Black Horse pub in Orchard Street was closed for the last time yesterday evening when a security company secured the building with steel shutters. The closure of the pub is an almost inevitable outcome considering how trade has dwindled in the recent months and the high turnover in landlords over the last 10 years.

Many of you will recall the phoenix like revival in trade that occurred towards the end of 2007 when the 24 hour licensing experiment was brought in. For a while the pub flourished and the addition of the Indian Brasserie brought an unusual twist to the traditional pub fayre.

This continued under the stewardship of Shah, who redecorated the pub, removed the televisions and endless football, and began to attract and more diverse range of clientele.

However, the inevitable change in management and return of the TVs led to a narrowing of its appeal and loss of many of the local people who had begun to frequent the Black Horse again.

Many people who have lived in the area for a long time remember the Black Horse as being at the centre of the community and being well run by the family that lived above the pub. These recollections hark back to the days when pubs were sensitively managed for local people and were truly a local asset that people were rightly proud of.

However, the 1990s saw the emergence of the large pub companies and the Black Horse first fell under the wing of Pubmaster and subsequently Punch Taverns, the largest pubco in the UK.

In recent years the pub trade has declined and Punch Taverns, with around 7-8,000 pubs in its portfolio, was under immense pressure to cut costs after its share price declined dramatically.

The Black Horse was among the first 600 or so pubs that were put up for sale. This initial lot of properties were deemed to be the worst performing and considered unsustainable as businesses. Punch's woes are such they are now considering selling the bulk of their property portfolio to concentrate on food led businesses and to pay off around £3bn of debt. Enterprise Inns, owners of the Unicorn in St. Dunstan's Street are under similar pressures to Punch, although it must be said that The Unicorn must be one of their better performing business (and is certainly the favourite pub amongst local residents).

Our sources indicate that the Black Horse has almost sold three time over the last six months but it has taken until now for the property to finally sell. According to Punch the building has been sold to a private individual who wants to develop two residential buildings.

It is not known how long the security shutters will be in place but presumably works will commence relatively soon.

So, the end of the road for the Black Horse and yet another statistic in the decline of the traditional pub trade.

We would love to hear from anyone who has any memories of the Black Horse in its heyday, in particular any old photographs that can be shared.

Natwest respond to local concerns

2011-01-23T09:47:00.004Z

Late last year you may have noticed that the Natwest Bank branch on the corner of Orchard Street and St. Dunstan's Street had sprung a leak!

For at least six months the pavement outside the bank was regularly washed by water emanating from a small pipe underneath the cash point.

Many of you spotted this problem and were concerned about the consequences as the mercury continued to fall.

Whilst we were not alone in enquiring about this problem the SDRA also applied some pressure.

It transpires that the water was being pumped from the basement of the Natwest building which had been flooding. Natwest claimed that this was being caused by the water table. In fact the problem was actually a leak in the water main oppostite the Natwest building in St. Dunstan's Street (which was eventually fixed in December).

SDRA also requested that graffiti on the back wall of the Natwest car park should be painted over. Again, Natwest responded and the redecoration was completed last week.

I know that the Committee members were eagerly supported by local residents with this mini-campaign, and once again it had been demonstrated that a bit of pressure can yield good results.

Whilst I'm sure it won't take long for the gleaming white wall to be targeted again at least we can be reassured that Natwest does listed to its neighbours.

Jan 2001 update from Westgate Hall Community Trust

2011-01-22T13:24:00.003Z

Dear Westgate Hall supporters,

We hope you have had a good start to the year!

2010 was certainly a busy year for the Westgate Community Trust, in less than a year we have got up and running, established a good relationship with the council (which, as you probably know, has resulted in a proposal to keep the Hall open until September 2011, specifically to give the Trust more time), organised some very successful community events, and consulted widely about the future uses of the Hall. We now know that the council's is likely to decide whether they accept our proposal and hand the Hall over to the Trust after the election, probably in June. This gives us some very useful time to give the campaign a big push, and prove both to the council and ourselves that we can run the Hall successfully and sustainably and that we have the support of the community.

So how can you help? There are lots of things to do, from helping the Trust raise enough funds to be able take the Hall over, to help organising events, work on the business plan and other necessary paperwork, helping with the Trust’s membership and supporters database…

Please think if you can help at all and, if you haven’t got much time, a very good way to help is to become a member of the Trust (form attached). The Trust currently has just over 30 members, which seems a very small number, compared to the support we know there is for the campaign to save the Hall. Please join if you haven’t done so yet, we need to be able to demonstrate that the Trust's plans are well supported by the community and, of course, any membership fees are extremely important contributions to the Trust’s “takeover” fund.

We are next meeting on the 8th of February at 8pm at the Hall, please come if you can! Below are a few more dates for your diaries, and a few events that we thought you may enjoy.

Dates for your diaries:

8th February: General Trust meeting open to all the members and supporters, at 8pm at the Westgate Hall (conference room upstairs, but we can move downstairs if the stairs were a problem for anyone attending, please let us know)

5th March: Westgate Hall Garden’s tidy up (and, subject to confirmation, stall at the Antique’s Fair)... and maybe some cake to celebrate the Trust's first birthday! We will email details soon.

19th March: Salsa party! Fundraiser for the Trust organised by Salsa Asi (many thanks!)

2nd April: Masked Ball, a very exciting joint fundraiser with Westrack Studios and Skillnet… (details coming soon!)

23rd-25th April: Fairy Festival: they have offered us a stall to promote our campaign, that we are hoping to accept subject to volunteer’s availability.

14th-15th May: Canterbury Climate Fair: we could potentially have a stall there, subject to volunteer’s availability. http://www.canterburyclimatefair.org/

5th of June: The Westgate Hall Big Lunch!

Other events you may be interested in: for Valentines' weekend there are two fantastic offers at the Hall, by Trust sponsors: a Beverley Big Band dance on the 12th of February (contact Chris Cayley: christinecayley@tiscali.co.uk) and a Valentine's curry night on the 13th (http://www.canterburycurryclub.co.uk/index.php/curry-night).

And the Canterbury Society has kindly invited the Trust to:

TUESDAY 8 FEBRUARY: THE STUDENTS IN THE COMMUNITY

Velia Coffey is Strategic Director at the City Council, with responsibility for some of the Council’s strategic external partnerships and for the delivery of some of the main plans. Until recently she was Director of Community Services and she currently chairs the Student Community Working Group.

The title of her talk will be: Living Together, Working Together - Students in the Community’. It will take place at 7.30 on Tuesday 8 February at the Dominican Priory in St Peter’s Lane. This event will focus particularly on the relations between the students and residents, between the universities and the city. There will be plenty of time for discussion and refreshments will be served. There will be a charge of £3.00 for anyone who is not a member of the Canterbury Society.

Everyone is welcome, so do come along. Further information about the Canterbury Society is available at: www.canterburysociety.org.uk

Kind regards,

Adelina

Chair

Westgate Community Trust

2011...the year for the Big Society?

2011-01-22T13:01:00.005Z

Whilst I am tempted to wish you all a Happy New Year (which I do by the way), I feel that we are probably more preoccupied by Andy Coulson, Tony Blair's latest appearance at the Iraq enquiry and the impending rise in mortgage rates compared to vague memories of too much food, too much wine and attempting to keep the house warm over Christmas.

2011 should be an interesting year. The public sector is under ever inreasing pressure to cuts costs and spend less, whilst the garffitti artists, potholes and broken pavements maintain their presence in our daily lives. I'm sure that once someone explains Big Society to us all properly a revolution will take place, albeit probably very very slowly.

So what's new?

Churchill are very busy on the former tyre depot site opposite The Unicorn developing a new retirement home complex and works are well underway at the former Halletts garage site. It seems clear that St. Dunstans Street is going to see a lot of action this year.

And of course we mustn't forget that we have local elections this year (June I think) and I'm sure our letterboxes will be rattling with campaign literature on a regular basis.

As ever your Residents' Association will be busy campaigning on local issues and also organising a few social events. Membership levels continue to hover around the 90 household mark...we would love to round this up to 100 this year so if you haven't joined please do get in touch.

Also, if you want to join the Committee, write something for the blog or get involved insome other way we'd love to hear from you.

Best wishes for 2011.

Matt

Westgate Hall - Christmas Drinks

2010-12-08T17:55:00.002Z

Latest update from the Westgate Hall Trust.

///

Our Grand Christmas Fayre at the Westgate Hall on Sunday afternoon was a true community event with all ages and families enjoying great music, delicious food and beautiful crafts! Photos and a write up will be available for viewing on our website shortly, and the Kentish Gazette will be publishing a report this week.

With our festivities over, we are already plunged into producing our second business plan for the Council. With this in mind, instead of a formal Trust meeting on Thursday, we would would very much like to take the opportunity of sharing a Christmas drink with you at the Dolphin as of 8.00 PM on Thursday, 9th December. We will have Trust Christmas cards and Save Westgate Hall bags with us for collection and sale.

Our sincerest thanks to all who have shown interest and provided support to the Trust this year in its efforts to save the Westgate Hall for use as a community centre, and for proving on Sunday, that this objective is so worthwhile.

DO WE WANT EXTRA HEAVY GOODS VEHICLES THROUGH ST DUNSTAN’S?

2010-11-29T13:10:00.002Z

Several years ago Kent Highway Services agreed to a ban on HGV traffic through Rough Common village. This ban is now shortly to come into force and details have only just become publicly available for the first time in the last few weeks.

The implications of this change are important for the St. Dunstan’s area as HGVs (vehicles greater that 7.5t) that travel towards Canterbury on the A290 via Blean will have to travel in to Canterbury to join the A2, for example, rather that travelling via Rough Common. This has obvious implications for residents in Whitstable Road, London Road and St. Dunstan’s Street (amongst others).

To help support wide ranging concern about this change Peter, Matt and I attended the Joint Transport Board meeting in the Guildhall to support a petition by the Whitstable Road Resident’s Association (WRRA) for a similar ban on HGVs up Whitstable Road.

There were eloquent representations for local people both from WRRA speakers and our own Matt, as well as from James Flanagan, our Ward Councillor, who supported the WRRA motion to study this impact of the Rough Common ban in more details to help mitigate unwanted side effects. We also proposed widening the proposed ban to London Road and St. Dunstan’s Street.

It was pointed out very clearly by Matt and James that a much more appropriate route for through traffic would be via the Thanet Way and Brenley Corner, which although longer, is just as quick. It was accepted by all that for those HGVs that have deliveries within the city, they must be given access.

The outcome of the evening was that the original proposal to study the impacts of the ban was voted through. Even if the ban is successful in Whitstable Road only, this will have a beneficial effect in London Road and St Dunstan’s.

This is yet another example of how your residents association is getting involved in campaigning on the residents’ behalf. It was also an occasion for the committee of SDRA to meet their opposite numbers on the Whitstable Road RA. After the meeting we retired to the Unicorn for a “bonding” session and a post-mortem on the evening.

Jonathan Butchers
Treasurer

Volunteer Day on the 4th December 2010

2010-11-29T11:40:00.002Z

You are invited to come and join in with a volunteer session on Saturday 4th December at Hambrook Marshes. The activities will focus on investigating the food chain of snipe including pond dipping.

Snipe are a wading bird whose numbers are declining throughout Britain. Snipe are present on Hambrook Marshes and the area are is currently being managed to help increase their numbers.

The session will be led by Alex Bowsher and some Hambrook Rangers.

We will start at 11am and should finish about 2pm. Please meet at the Railway Embankment.

St Dunstan’s Street in Canterbury, turn into Linden Grove into Toddlers Cove car park and follow the direction signs along the river. Or from Thanington turn into Tonford Lane; at the bottom go over the bridge and turn right into Hambrook Marshes then follow the direction signs along the river.

Remember to wear working boots, suitable clothes, water proofs and bring a drink.

RSVP please as refreshments will be provided.

Future dates for your diary: (First and Third Saturday of each month)

18th December 2010 Bird Box construction and erection around the Marsh.
15th January 2011 Construction of Oxford kissing gate.
5th February 2011 Scrub clearance for benefit of common lizard.

Chrissi Martin
Kent Enterprise Trust (KET)
c.martin@enterprisetrust.org
www.enterprisetrust.org
Tel 01227 844 500
Charity Registration in England Number 290211

Student Accommodation Expansion at UKC

2010-11-24T16:48:00.002Z

We have received received a letter from the University of Kent regarding the expansion of on-campus student accommodation. The letter invites residents to an open exhibition. For more details...read on.

///

The University of Kent has a thriving population of students. Owing to the University’s continuing popularity and more students wanting to live away from home, the current University’s on-campus student accommodation cannot satisfy the demand. Although the University does not envisage significant expansion in student numbers over the next few years, students have found it increasingly necessary to seek private accommodation within the local community. Consequently, the University is now planning to invest in new student accommodation on its campus at Canterbury.

The University has identified an opportunity to develop approximately 800 student rooms, alongside a 150-room hotel and conference centre, on part of the campus adjacent to Canterbury Innovation Centre. This will help address the current shortage of student rooms and focus accommodation on the campus and away from the local neighbourhood.

The hotel and conference centre will provide support for the local knowledge economy and promote links between local academia and business with its proximity to the Innovation Park and the University campus, as well as increase the availability of high-quality hotel accommodation to serve the regions tourist industry.

Local Dialogue is undertaking pre-application public consultation on the proposals on behalf of the University and we are keen to involve you in this process. We would like to offer you the opportunity to meet to discuss the proposals, ask any questions you may have and give your feedback on matters such as transportation, landscape and amenities.

We will be holding two public exhibitions.

The first will be held on Saturday 4 December between 10 am and 2pm at St. Mary Bredin Church Centre, 59 Nunnery Fields, Canterbury, CT1 3JN.

A further exhibition, primarily for University students and staff, will be held in the foyer of Woolf College, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7BQ on Thursday 2 December between 3pm and 7pm. We hope you are able to attend one of these events.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact Jessica Stewart on 020 7357 6606 or by email at jessica.stewart@localdialogue.com.

Yours sincerely

Keith Mander
Professor Keith Mander
Deputy Vice-Chancellor
The Registry, University of Kent, Canterbury, CT2 7NZ

Update from Westgate Community Trust

2010-11-18T16:07:00.000Z

First of all, dates for your diaries:

23rd of December: Christmas fair planning meeting, at 8pm at the Dolphin Inn (17 Saint Radigunds Street).

4th of December: Gardening/decorating at the Hall, from around 10am. If you can't see anyone gardening outside, come inside to our information stall at the Antiques' fair (most of us like to wait till there are a few more people before getting started!). We will also be selling our Christmas Cards and shopping bags at the information stall!

5th of December: Grand Christmas Fair! Hannah is organising the volunteers (please try and spare a bit of time if you can!), she'll be emailing requesting volunteers later this week. We have lots of stalls, the council will be providing craft activities, and I understand Ray now has a full programme of music! Please help us advertise the Fair by distributing the poster enclosed (with thanks to Jo Sticthbury), telling everyone you know, using facebook (http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=159220897437516) and Twitter or any other means.

9th of December: Westgate Community Trust meeting, 8pm at the conference room (upstairs) at the Westgate Hall.

I am very pleased to report that we are continuing to make very good progress with the business plan, and we have now submitted a grant application to Viridor for 90% of the costs of renovating the roof of the main Hall, as well as the restoration of the dance floor. Due to the "chicken and egg" situation (we cannot really bid for funds until we have tenure over the building, and the council would like us to have the funds before giving us tenure), we are not strictly eligible for this Viridor grant, but we have pleaded for a grant conditional on getting the building. We can only try! I would like to thank everyone who has worked so hard in making this bid happen. If you want to find out a bit more have a read:

www.westgatecommunityhall.org.uk/news.shtml

We had a very constructive meeting with the council yesterday to discuss the condition of the building and we are delighted that our architect and surveyor were spot on in identifying the priorities and the plan of action they proposed seemed to be entirely in accordance with the council's building specialists views. We now have a clear idea of how the renovation works can be phased and have robust costings for "phase 1" of the works. This is all feeding into the business plan and our fundraising strategy.

Membership: We now have 24 "official" members, which is still quite a low number compared to the number of supporters and volunteers! Please do join! It is a clear cut way in which we can show how much support there is for the campaign to save the Hall, but we also need to establish how many of us form the Trust, who we are and who is entitled to vote. The form is enclosed and we will also bring copies of it to all the Trust events.

Fundraising: The SAVE WESTGATE HALL shopping bags will arrive next week, we have 210 of them and they will be selling at £5, and we will also be taking delivery of Westgate Hall Christmas cards designed by Liz Findlay. They will be sold at 50p each or £4 for a packet of 10.

The Christmas Fair is our next big fundraising opportunity. We are very pleased to have had lots of requests for stalls and, if everyone turns up, they will cover the cost of hiring the Hall for the day. Stallholders will also be contributing raffle prizes. As well as our bags and cards the Trust will be selling hot spiced apple juice (the closest we can get to mulled wine for now), and tea and coffee. Any other ideas to help raise funds at the Fair will be very welcome.

Some very exciting events are being prepared for the new year (curry night, Hullabaloo, a salsa night, theTrust's birthday, the next Big Lunch...), we will discuss these when we meet on the 9th of December.

Kind regards,

Adelina Comas-Herrera
Chair
Westgate Community Trust
www.westgatecommunityhall.org.uk

Hambrook Marshes - Volunteer Day Sat 20th Nov

2010-11-16T09:52:00.002Z

You are invited to join the Hambrook Marshes team on Saturday 20th November. We will be pond dipping, investigation the food chain of snipe and erecting fences.

The session will be led by Alex Bowsher and some Hambrook Rangers.

We will start at 11am and should finish about 2pm. Please meet at the Railway Embankment.

Directions:

St Dunstan’s Street in Canterbury, turn into Linden Grove into Toddlers Cove car park and follow the direction signs along the river. Or from Thanington turn into Tonford Lane; at the bottom go over the bridge and turn right into Hambrook Marshes then follow the direction signs along the river.

Remember to wear working boots, suitable clothes, water proofs and bring a drink.

RSVP please as refreshments will be provided.

Future dates for your diary: (First and Third Saturday of each month)

4th December 2010 Nature watch and survey

Chrissi Martin
KET Projects Coordinator

Kent Enterprise Trust (KET)
c.martin@enterprisetrust.org
www.enterprisetrust.org/
Direct Dial 01227 844 476

Quality Streets

2010-11-03T18:23:00.002Z

For many of us the street outside our front door has become a place of speeding traffic, rat-running, noise and pollution. It’s a place for others to travel through rather than for communities to claim as their own.

That’s why we want local councillors to invest more of their local transport budgets to create quality streets. The first step is 20mph speed limits across whole villages, towns and cities. The second is residents being involved in designing their streets for living, playing, and getting out and about more. The result is better quality lives, quality chat and play, and safer more attractive places outside our front doors.

Quality Streets is a campaign to say we want our streets back, and the first step is to slow traffic. Let your local councillor know that you want quality streets. Sign up using to the Quality Streets inititative at:

www.quality-streets.org.uk.

Update from the Save Westgate Hall team

2010-11-03T13:33:00.002Z

The latest update from the Westgate Community Trust follows. If you would like to become a member or volunteer then please contact Adelina at wct@westgatecommunityhall.org.uk.

See www.westgatecommunityhall.org.uk/news.shtml for more details.

///

Dear Westgate Hall supporters,

As you know, October has been a very busy month and we have made a lot of progress in our campaign to save the Hall. And of course there is still a lot more to be done, but we are very encouraged to see that more and more people are getting actively involved.

A couple of dates for your diaries! First of all we are gardening at the Hall this Saturday (from 10 to about 1), as you can see from the pictures (http://www.flickr.com/photos/54865001@N02/5083606978/in/pool-savethewestgatehall), hard work during the Big Clean paid off and now instead of wilderness we have gardens. We will be meeting the first Saturday of every month to look after the new Westgate Hall Gardens. Please come if you can and bring tools, coffee, cake, and any plants you can spare!

We will also have a stall at the Antiques fair the first Saturday of every month so we can talk to people about our campaign and hopefully find more people who would like to join us.

The next date is a Trust meeting on Monday the 8th, at 8pm at the Parrot (1-9 Church Lane St Radigunds Canterbury Kent CT1 2AG), upstairs in the restaurant (the restaurant is closed on Monday and they let us meet there for free, we just have to buy drinks). The focus of the meeting will be the Grand Christmas Fayre that we are planning for the 5th of December. Please come and bring lots of ideas about stalls, people who would like to perform, activities for children and grown ups, ways in which we can raise funds...

We will now be submitting our business plan update to the Council at the end of the month, which will enable us to prepare a more up-to-date funding strategy, as well as having a much better understanding of the condition of the building, the works required and the costs involved. If anyone else would like to join the business plan team let us know!

And finally, if you haven't done so yet, please become a member of the Trust! I enclose the membership form, please do fill it in, even if you are already an active volunteer, we need to be able to count properly (and report to the Council) how many members we really have, know who has a right to vote when we take important decisions about the Trust and (hopefully) the Hall's future, and the membership contributions are crucial to help us build our funds.

As for fundraising, we have raised £2,856.48 so far, and we need to raise quite a bit more to reach our goal of at least £25,000 by June 2011. We are always looking for ways to raise more funds, do let us know if you can help... and remember that every penny counts!

With very best wishes,

Adelina
Chair
Westgate Community Trust
Canterbury
wct@westgatecommunityhall.org.uk

Hambrook Marshes Volunteer Day

2010-11-01T15:34:00.001Z

You are invited to come and join in with preparing seed beds and sowing wild meadow seeds on Saturday 6th November 2010. The session will be led by Alex Bowsher our new project officer and Adam Roberts. We will start at 11am and should finish about 2pm.

Please meet at the Railway Embankment:

St Dunstan’s Street in Canterbury, turn into Linden Grove into Toddlers Cove car park and follow the direction signs along the river. Or from Thanington turn into Tonford Lane; at the bottom go over the bridge and turn right into Hambrook Marshes then follow the direction signs along the river. Remember to wear working boots, suitable clothes, water proofs and bring a drink.

RSVP please as refreshments will be provided.

Future dates for your diary: (First and Third Saturday of each month)

20th November 2010 Reed and yellow iris planting

4th December 2010 Nature watch and survey

Chrissi Martin
Kent Enterprise Trust (KET)
c.martin@enterprisetrust.org
Direct Dial 01227 844 476

Opportunity to discuss neighbourhood impact of students

2010-10-29T10:36:00.002+01:00

Meeting at Canterbury City Council Offices, Military Road - Tuesday 2nd Nov at 5pm

David Harte of Canterbury City Council's Community Safety Unit (CSU) has invited Neighbourhood Watch members to attend the above special meeting to discuss the neighbourhood impact of students living in or moving through Neighbourhood Watch scheme areas.

This important opportunity to discuss what many regard as a very emotive issue reflects the importance given at City Council level and runs alongside equally important work being undertaken to support the needs of what must still be acknowledged overall to be a highly vulnerable group of young people.

If you are able to attend please email david.harte@canterbury.gov.uk.

There is free visitor parking on site.

An Autumn Feast at The Goods Shed

2010-10-18T13:33:00.002+01:00

ST DUNSTAN’S RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION - NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2010

2010-10-08T17:04:00.003+01:00

Welcome to this newsletter of the St Dunstan’s Residents’ Association. The Association has been around for a number of years and its aim is to try to maintain the quality of life for the residents in our area, as well as arranging social events for members.

During 2009/10 we held several events for Association members. The highlights of the year were the annual Christmas party in December and the annual summer party & barbecue held in July.

As well as the social events, the Association also acts to put pressure on the Council on a number of matters, e.g. planning & development issues, traffic concerns etc. The Committee is keen to maintain dialogue with the Council (and in particular our Ward Councillors) on your behalf, with the aim of ensuring that our neighbourhood is a friendly and desirable place to live. More details will be given in the next newsletter in November, to be delivered to members only.

Membership numbers currently stand at a healthy total of 87 households and the Committee hopes that even more local residents will join us as members of the Association this year. All households are warmly welcomed to the Association. Subscription rates stay the same as last year, at £5 per household.

Benefits of membership include:

• Invitations to a variety of social events
• Learning more about the area (past and present)
• A quarterly newsletter keeping you informed of local issues
• The opportunity to have your say about issues that matter to you

Social events for members in 2010/11 are likely to include:

• a Christmas party (details in next newsletter to be distributed to members)
• a quiz night
• a local history walk
• a garden party & barbecue next summer

The Association covers the following streets: Orchard Street, St Dunstan’s Terrace, New Street, Cross Street, Church Street, Ryde Street, Somner Close, St Dunstan’s Close, Mead Way, Queens Avenue (between Orchard Street and Crown Gardens), London Road (between St Dunstan’s Terrace and St Dunstan’s Street), and St Dunstan’s Street (between London Road and Orchard Street).

We would also like to encourage any member to join the Association’s Committee as some ‘new blood’ is needed. If you are interested then please do come along to the AGM (see below) and put your name forward – thank you.

AGM / Social Evening

Want to find out more about the Association? Then why not attend the annual general meeting on:

Monday 8th November, from 7.30pm onwards, at the St Dunstan’s Church Hall

All are welcome, whether or not you are an existing member. The AGM element of the evening will be kept brief – the majority of the evening is dedicated to a social evening where you can enjoy a drink with fellow residents. We also hope to have at least one of our ward councillors present to take questions from you. Hope to see you there!

Membership

If you would like to become a member please email us at matmomorris@googlemail.com and we will send an application form.

Westgate Hall - Latest

2010-10-06T12:28:00.001+01:00

The Trust is delighted to invite you to join us for some very exciting events this Autumn, please come if you can and let us know if you could help in any way! The next three months will be key in our efforts to save the Hall and now is when you can all help make a real difference!

9th of October, 9am to about 2.30: The Westgate Hall Big Clean, we are delighted to join in the Big Clean, a great initiative by the Canterbury City Partnership. We will be gardening around the Westgate Hall, turning patches of weeds into beautiful flower beds. Please come if you can, bring your own garden tools and gloves, and any spare plants (offers of tea and refreshments are very welcome too!). We are very grateful to Meadow Grange Nursery who have donated about £50 worth of plants. It will be a great opportunity to show that this is a building that we as a community care about.

19th of October: 8pm at Espression Cafe (29/30 Palace street). Special Westgate Community Trust meeting, in which we will be revising our constitution as we prepare to become a charitable Trust. We will also approve our membership forms. And, as usual, we will be discussing the Trust's next steps, in particular the revision of the business plan, fundraising and all the forthcoming events. Everyone is welcome!

21st of October: Autumn Feast at the Goods Shed: The Goods Shed Restaurant, Clive Barlow (Master of Wine) and Canterbury Cheesemakers are preparing us an Autumn feast, featuring the very best of local foods and wines to raise funds to support the Westgate Community Trust as it works to save the Westgate Hall and transform it into a vibrant community centre. Clive will present five local wines, paired with delicious Autumn fare from the Restaurant, five courses cooked using local ingredients, and cheeses from Canterbury Cheesemakers, presented by Tom. Come if you can, it is very good value for a Goods Shed banquet!

Date and time: 21st October, 19.30

Location: The Goods Shed, Station Road West, Canterbury CT2 8AN

To book tickets (£30, including wine) please email: wct@westgatecommmunityhall.org.uk, or phone 07912626433, ideally before the 15th of October.

23rd of October: Halloween Dance, 7.30 for 8.00 to 11pm at the Westgate Hall... dancing to the spooky Beverley Big Band: A frightful evening of Ballroom, Latin, Jive and Old Time dancing! Come as a witch or a warlock, a mummy or the undead. Prizes for the best costumes. Book your tickets (£9) from Christine on 01227 712355, bring your own food. Licensed Bar. Raffle for the Westgate Hall Community Trust.

5th of December: Grand Christmas Fayre, 12 to 5pm. we have booked the Hall for a Grand Christmas Fayre where you can get beautiful locally made Christmas presents, enjoy music, eat wonderful local food... Father Christmas has promised to come and meet the children and we're hoping there will be a great deal going on! Send us a message if you would like to be involved by having a stall, performing, helping organise, stewarding on the day...

See you all soon!

Adelina Comas-Herrera
Chair
Westgate Community Trust (Canterbury)
wct@westgatecommunityhall.org.uk

Hambrook Marshes - Guided Walk

2010-09-02T12:45:00.002+01:00

You are invited to come and join in a Guided walk along The Stour Valley and then returning through Hambrook Marshes.

The session will be led by Laurence Ward and assisted by Graham Earl and Adam Roberts.

On Saturday 4th September 2010

We will leave at 11am sharp and should finish about 2.30pm

Meet at the Railway Embankment.

The Walk will start at 11am and will last about 3 hours 15 minutes and the distance covered will be 5 miles.

For those less able there will be an alternative walk provided if there is enough interest.

Directions:

St Dunstan’s Street in Canterbury, turn into Linden Grove into

Toddlers Cove car park and follow the direction signs along the river.

Or from Thanington turn into Tonford Lane; at the bottom go over the bridge

and turn right into Hambrook Marshes then follow the direction signs along the river.

We would really like to see you there.

Remember to wear working boots, suitable clothes, water proofs and bring a drink.

RSVP please as refreshments will be provided at the end of the walk:

Sam Vesey - S.Vesey@enterprisingopps.org.uk

Westgate Hall Campaign

2010-07-09T15:28:00.004+01:00

We have been contacted by the Westgate Community Trust which has been set up with the aim of saving the Westgate Hall from proposed demolition, something you may have read about in the local news recently.

The Trust has presented the council with an offer to run the Hall as a community centre, as there is currently no such facility in the centre of Canterbury. If you are interested in finding out more please visit the website at:

www.westgatecommunityhall.org.uk/index.shtml

In particular you might want to look at the survey on the website which the Trust are using to gather views about the future uses of the Hall.

The Trust has already established a successful partnership with the St Peter's Residents Association (as the Hall is in their patch) and many residents in this area have already completed the survey.

Finally, a date for you diaries. The Westgate Hall Big Lunch will take place on the 18th of July from 12 to 6. There will be a picnic outside (you can bring your own food, or buy some from the stalls). There will be displays about the Trust's plans (so far) for the Hall, live music, entertainment, art and craft stalls, a panto... all for free.

ST DUNSTAN’S RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION - NEWSLETTER MAY 2010

2010-06-23T11:44:00.002+01:00

This newsletter has been distributed only to current members of the Association.

Very pleasingly we can report that membership numbers are once again very healthy, as at the time of print we currently have 87 households who are members.

Summer BBQ Garden Party

This year’s summer BBQ & garden party will be held at the same location as last year. This year it will be held on Saturday 24th July, from 3.30pm to 6.30pm. Please put the date in your diaries. As ever, plenty of BBQ food (local burgers & sausages from Hedgers) & drink will be available. Let’s hope the rain stays away this year!

Full details will be distributed nearer the time – watch this space!

Local Issues

The Committee will attempt to keep you informed of local issues that may affect you. The Association maintains dialogue with the city council, and more specifically our ward councillors (who, incidentally, are very keen to hear from us & are always actively involved with our local area), on issues that may affect our neighbourhood. This could be issues surrounding planning applications, the state of pavements, parking & traffic concerns, vandalism & graffiti, etc. In addition, the Association has asked to be represented on the Council’s community panel regarding the Westgate Gardens and Toddlers Cove proposed improvements – a lottery heritage fund bid is expected for this in the summer.

Whilst it has been a relatively quiet period in terms of planning applications in our area (though there are several large projects near our area, such as: the Tower House expansion in Westgate Gardens; the Halletts Garage redevelopment; the ex-tyre depot in St Dunstan’s Street redevelopment; Canterbury West station proposals – see below for more details on our Blog), the Committee is in dialogue with other local residents’ associations, with a view of forming a joined-up approach to many issues that overlap several areas.

Anti-Social Behaviour

Some members have expressed concern over recent incidents of anti-social behaviour late at night, and who they should contact in such cases. The city council has an out-of-hours telephone number to be used in such incidents – the Council’s website states:
A call out service for dealing with burglar alarms, vehicle alarms and noisy parties that are disturbing the neighbourhood operates at weekends - telephone 01227 781 879.

SDRA Blog

If you are reading this now you will already know that we now have a website (or more accurately, a blog) that you can look at for up-to-date news on our local area. Some topics on here at the moment are:

Pavement parking ban ; Westgate Towers museum ;‘Red Dean of Canterbury’ archive ; Canterbury West station works ; Halletts Garage re-development ; Hambrook Marshes – volunteer days ; Neighbourhood Watch update.

For reference the blog address is: http://stdunstansresidentsassociation.blogspot.com/

Please use it – we welcome contributions, as the success (or not) of it will depend on members not only using it, but also contributing to it.

Latest Neighbourhood Watch update

2010-05-27T12:42:00.004+01:00

The Spring edition of the Neighbourhodd Watch newsletter (Watching Brief) can be downloaded here:

http://www.ucanpreventcrime.co.uk/NHW/WB/WB1004LO.pdf

If anyone is interested in getting involved in our local Watch then please email matmomorris@hotmail.com

Pavement Parking Ban

2010-04-12T14:40:00.002+01:00

Local residents may have spotted consultation notices for a proposed ban on pavement parking in St. Dunstan's Street.

The proposal, if accepted, means that any vehicle parked on the pavement in St Dunstan's Street would be liable to receive a penalty charge notice.

A map of the proposal can be found at the following address:

http://www.canterbury.gov.uk/assets/transport/prr2009/maps/canterbury/116x.pdf

We have noticed that the proposal currently excludes the junction with Orchard St., which experiences chronic pavement parking problems as a result of the ATM, bank and newsagents.

The Residents Association has been in touch with our Ward Councillor and suggested that the proposal be amended to included the Orchard St. junction.

This suggestion was received well and our Councillor will take this up with the Council on our behalf.

Meanwhile, the consultation is still open and now is a good time to make a representation should you feel inclined to do so.

Here are the instructions:

If you wish to formally comment on any of these proposals, please contact the City Council in writing, or by email, so that we receive your observations before 12 noon on Monday 26 April 2010.

The address for written correspondence is:

Richard Jenkins
Transportation Manager
Canterbury City Council
Military Road
Canterbury
CT1 1YW

All objections that are received during the consultation period will be reported to the Joint Transportation Board and the City Council’s Executive (provisionally on 29 June and 1 July respectively) before a decision is made about whether to go ahead and implement the proposed changes.

Should you wish to address the Joint Transportation Board meeting then you should contact the Chief Executive’s Department not later than 12:30pm on the day before the meeting.

Salvation for Westgate Towers Museum?

2010-04-06T16:15:00.004+01:00

According to the article below the closure of the Westgate Towers has created a new opportunity that involves the old Kent Music School building which is adjacent.

http://www.yourcanterbury.co.uk/kent-news/Businessman_s-plan-to-keep-West-Gate-open--newsinkent34391.aspx?news=local

At face value this seems like a great idea that would hopefully lead to the continuing use (by the general public) of two large and underused buildings located in a very prominent part of the City.

We will keep our eyes open for any planning notices that appear (assuming they are required).

Archive reveals life of the 'Red Dean of Canterbury'

2010-03-22T15:13:00.002Z

During last years Summer party, which was organised by your Residents Association, I met two Members who told me about the Red Dean of Canterbury, a somewhat controversial figure who used to live in New Street.

I thought this was the last I would hear on this subject until I looked at Today's Independent Newspaper which reports that the Dean's archive is currently being researched by academics at UKC.

I wonder if there are any other notable ex-residents that I am unaware of...?

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/this-britain/archive-reveals-life-of-the-red-dean-of-canterbury-1924649.html

Canterbury West station works

2010-03-19T16:38:00.003Z

If, like me, you find yourself at a loose end on a Friday afternoon after a confusing week at work, I suspect you might spend a few moments browsing the web for news stories with local relevance.

This afternoon I find myself at the gates of Rail-News.com (please don't ask how) who are reporting that the improvements at Canterbury West are underway.

The lack of action when I passed through the station this morning suggests that the press release has been leaked prematurely...perhaps by an over-eager press officer determined to get out a good news story before the station in blighted by scaffolding for the next six months!

See http://rail-news.com/2010/03/18/work-starts-on-canterbury-west-station/ for more details.

Halletts Garage Redevelopment

2010-03-10T13:13:00.002Z

Canterbury Council has confirmed that the Halletts Garage site does have planning permission for redevelopment (as well as permission for demolition).

The relevant application can be found here:

http://www2.canterbury.gov.uk/planning/acolnetcgi.cgi?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPNAME=Root.PgeResultDetail&TheSystemkey=50057

Unfortunately the actual plans are not yet available on the Council's website and are only available upon request at the Council offices. We are hoping that the documents will be put on the website, but anyone keen readers will have to make the trip to Military Road in the meantime.

One of our blog readers has pointed out that the Canterbury Archaeological Trust will be investigating the site before reconstruction begins. According to our source, remains of a Jewish cemetery, demolished to make way for the railway, has already been re-discovered.

We are not sure whether The Trust plans to allow the public to view the proceedings or present the findings in some way...does anyone know?

What is clear is that after many years of dereliction, failed planning applications and much speculation, both the Halletts and old tyre depot sites are both on the brink of being redeveloped. It waits to be seen how the developers cope with the local traffic, especially if both projects kick-in at the same time!

Halletts Garage - Demolition Begins

2010-03-02T14:06:00.004Z

Local residents will undoubtedly have spotted the start of the demolition of the former Halletts Garage site on the corner of Station Road West/St. Dunstans's St.

It appears that the back of the site is being cleared first, presumably to give the tenants at the front time to pack up and find other premises!

Whilst it is clear that the developers have permission to demolish (see application # CAC/07/00011), permission to build has not yet been granted.

Several applications have been submitted over the last few years, but all have been rejected (usually because the 'mass' of the buildings proposed has been too large).

So, what is going to be built on this site?

Well, your eagle-eyed residents association has just spotted a new planning application (see http://tiny.cc/DBGpu - this links to the application Council's planning website). This was lodged on Jan 26th.

Whilst the documents showing the actual plans are not yet available the clock is presumably already ticking in terms of comments from the public (although the 'comments by' date is currently blank).

If you are interested in what is being planned for this site we recommend that you keep an eye on the Council's website (and this one too) to find out exactly what has been proposed.

In the meantime, to whet your appetite here is a link to some drawings of the scheme that was REFUSED in 2007 - http://tiny.cc/VXRWy (n.b. this links to a large pdf file and may take a few seconds to open).

Hambrook Marshes - Volunteer Day!

2010-03-02T13:48:00.003Z

You are invited to come and join in with a ditch clearing and scrub clearance session at Hambrook Marshes. The session will be led by our Project Officer for Hambrook Marshes, Graham Earl.

On Saturday 6th March 2010

11am – 2pm

Meet at the railway embankment.

St Dunstan’s Street in Canterbury, turn into Linden Grove into Toddlers Cove car park and follow the direction signs along the river.

Or from Thanington turn into Tonford Lane; at the bottom go over the bridge and turn right into Hambrook Marshes then follow the direction signs along the river.

We would really like to see you there. Remember to wear working boots or wellies and working clothes And we will provide the rest. RSVP please as refreshments will be provided.

Chrissi Martin
Kent Enterprise Trust (KET)
c.martin@enterprisetrust.org
http://www.enterprisetrust.org/
Direct Dial 01227 844 476

Future dates for your diary:

First and Third Saturday of each month
20th March: Sheep fence erecting
3rd April: Wood Crafts
17th April: Bench Construction

Neighbourhood Watch Update - Thefts from motor vehicles on the increase

2010-02-22T11:26:00.002Z

Message from Colin Chaston - Chairman Canterbury & District NHW Association

There has been an increase in thefts from motor vehicles accross the Thanet and Canterbury policing area. Police confirm that the problem seems to be mostly in residential areas.

Neighbours should be advised to remove ALL VALUABLES FROM THEIR VEHICLES WHEN PARKED, especially at night.

Hambrook Marshes - scrub clearance with bonfire

2010-01-25T16:35:00.002Z

You are invited to come and join in with another “scrub clearance with bonfire” session at Hambrook Marshes on Saturday 30th January 2010 11am – 2pm. Meet at the railway embankment.

Directions: St Dunstan’s Street in Canterbury, turn into Linden Grove into Toddlers Cove car park and follow the direction signs along the river. Or from Thanington turn into Tonford Lane; at the bottom go over the bridge and turn right into Hambrook Marshes then follow the direction signs along the river.

Remember to wear working boots or wellies and working clothes.

RSVP please as refreshments will be provided.

Future dates for your diary:

Planting Willow: February 6th and 20th

Fence Removal: March 6th and 20th

Please note there is a “Friends of Hambrook” Meeting on Tuesday 26th January at Thanington Community Centre 7.30pm – 9.00pm.

Chrissi Martin - Admin Coordinator - Kent Enterprise Trust (KET)
c.martin@enterprisetrust.org
http://www.enterprisetrust.org/
01227 844 476

Volunteers needed

2010-01-14T16:17:00.003Z

Have you ever yearned to get your hands dirty and get some fresh air and exercise at the same time...and all for a good cause?

Your prayers have been answered.

The good people at Kent Enterprise Trust are hoping to attract more volunteers to assist with their various projects at Hambrook Marshes (located just past the rail bring along Whitehall Road). The activities include pruning, clearing scrub and planting and are guaranteed to get the blood pumping (in a good way of course).

If you are keen then give them a call on 01227 844476. The Hambrook page of their website is here: www.enterprisetrust.org/index.php?page=hambrook.

Click on the image below for an overview of the Hambrook project:

Newspoint licence application extension - LATEST

2009-12-30T15:12:00.002Z

The Council's licensing sub committee met on December 14th (2009) to consider the application for made by Newspoint to extend their licensing hours.

Whilst it appears that the Committee took into account the views of those residents who had made written representations (qty 4), including the issues raised about split packs/single cans being sold, an additional one hour extension was granted.

The minutes show that a detailed discussion took place about the location and use of the chiller cabinet used to store alcohol as well as other related issues concerning the sale of alcohol.

In summary, the following was decided:

Allow the sale of alcohol off the premises Monday to Sunday from 10.00 to 21.00 hours subject to the following conditions:

1. Cider, lager or beer not to sold in single cans or bottles or broken multi-packs.
2. The licensed area to be cordoned off outside the permitted hours for the sale of alcohol.
3. All alcohol to be placed either in a single chiller located away from the door or behind the counter.
4. No food items or soft drinks to be stored or displayed in the alcohol chiller.
5. CCTV recordings to be retained for 28 days and to be available for inspection by Kent Police and the Council’s Licensing officers.
6. A detailed plan showing the revised licensed area, currently used as a store room to the rear of the shop, to be submitted within 14 days, and
7. Conditions 3 to 8 from the original Licence (which are reproduced below) to be retained -
Other conditions of the existing Premises Licence
7.3 Discounted bottles of cider to not be sold.
7.4 If a person known to the applicant to be habitually drunk or causing anti social behaviour, they would not be served.
7.5 The applicant should use his reasonable endeavours to disperse groups who are drinking or loitering in the immediate vicinity of the premises.
7.6 Litter to be cleared from outside the shop at the close of business each day.
7.7 Alcohol sold from the premises to be placed in bespoke coloured carrier bags.
7.8 The applicant to follow the Challenge 25 scheme.

There is no change to the opening hours of the premises Monday to Sunday 06.00 to 23.00 hours.

The full minutes for the hearing can be found at:

http://www2.canterbury.gov.uk/committee/mgAi.aspx?ID=13531

New Planning Application for the Old Tyre Depot

2009-09-25T10:00:00.002+01:00

The local developer Rogate has submitted planning application for the old tyre depot site on the corner of Roper Road and St Dunstan's Street (opposite the Unicorn for those of you who navigate using public houses)!

The application is for '31 residential units and one commercial unit with associated parking' which consists of:

6 x 3-bed houses
3 x 2-bed houses
20 x 2-bed apartments
2 x 1-bed apartments
ground floor commercial space

According to our eyes the proposed elevations adhere much more closely to the Council's design brief compared to the last (rejected) application which was for a supermarket with flats above.

Whilst the proposals may not be to everyone's taste, the overall look and feel of the development appears to be quite acceptable.

The application itself we think falls into the St Stephens Ward, but we thought we'd post it here as it is so close to the SDRA 'patch'.

Any comments, either for or against, need to be sent to Canterbury Council by October 9th.

The application and plans can be found at:

http://www2.canterbury.gov.uk/planning/acolnetcgi.cgi?ACTION=UNWRAP&RIPNAME=Root.PgeResultDetail&TheSystemkey=74379

Graffiti epidemic

2009-06-10T17:07:00.003+01:00

The Great Canterbury Graffiti Epidemic might not be receiving as much publicity as swine flu but it is certainly getting up the noses of local people.

If you spot fresh graffiti our advice is to quickly report it by calling the SERCO Graffiti Busters hotline on 0800 031 9091. Alternatively you could contact the Council directly.

These numbers may also be useful:

Graffiti on post boxes: 08457 740 740
BT phone boxes: 0800 661 610
Bus shelters: 0800 031 9091
Railway bridges and land: 08457 114 141 (Network Rail)

The Association is also continuing to encourage local businesses to tackle graffiti when it appears on their premises. The idea is that the sooner it is removed the less likely it is to attract competing 'artists'.

Finally, thanks to those residents who tackle the problem by removing graffiti themselves. Someone was recently spotted in New Street removing a series of tags from the garages.

Successful outcome for local residents at alcohol licence hearing

2009-03-24T11:05:00.003Z

Local residents (including members of the Residents Association) have recently engaged with the Council's Licensing Committee regarding the alcohol licence application for News Point, the newsagent on the corner of Orchard Street and St. Dunstan's Street.

The outcome of the re-scheduled meeting on March 20th is summarised as follows:

Licence to sell alcohol is granted from 10 am to 8 pm.
The following conditions apply:
Alcohol to be displayed behind the counter and in lockable cabinet, situated away from the door.
The alcohol on sale should be 'high quality' and exclude the sale of single cans or bottles of beer, cheap cider or discounted bottles.
The Licensees to be responsible for controlling drinking and nuisance in the immediate vicinity of the shop.
The licensees will provide identifiable bags (possibly different colour from other local businesses) as part of a council strategy to identify the origin of alcohol purchase.
Following the refit of the shop, the licensees may apply for an extension of the licence.

Our roving reporter said "the committee took seriously the problem of anti-social behaviour, and were at pains to point out the special case of the St Dunstan's area (i.e. it being a largely residential area)". Our reporter added "the residents who attended were also careful to point out that residents appreciate the convenience offered by the shop and that in general the business is welcomed by the community".

In summary the Association feels that this is a good outcome for the community as a whole. The original application for 11pm closing has been avoided and several other useful 'conditions' will be applied. Most importantly good relations have been maintained with the owners of the business throughout the process.

Finally, the involvement of residents in this process has been crucial and our roving reporter indicated that the letters submitted, formal engagement with the applicant and attendance at the hearings made a tangible difference to the outcome. Clearly our collective 'voice' can be heard in these situations.

The full details of the hearing will be published shortly and will appear on this site.

Top tips to prevent a burglary

2009-03-24T10:54:00.003Z

We have received the following communication from Neighbourhood Watch (NHW) which may be of interest (n.b. this information has simply been pasted here - it has not been edited).

Please note that the vast majority of NHW alerts we receive relate to car crime, particularly the theft of valuable items left on display inside vehicles. The other most common subject relates to bogus callers (i.e. tradesmen, door to door sales, etc.).

If you are affected by crime (including low level crime such as vandalism and graffiti) it is still worth reporting this to the police. Unless a crime is in progress please use the local number and not 999.

Police in East Kent are reminding residents to be vigilant and take steps to protect their property from burglars.

The advice is issued as the warmer weather approaches, as this is when the area will historically experience a rise in opportunistic burglaries from insecure houses.

Detective Inspector Tony Pledger, is keen to let criminals in East Kent know that local residents will not be a soft touch this spring, he said: 'We are working hard to arrest and charge those who think it is acceptable to steal from houses and we want local people to support our efforts by thinking about the security of their home.

'Though we support the use of house alarms and security lighting, home security needn't be expensive. Simple actions such as locking away ladders and garden tools so that a burglar does not use them to gain access to your home may prevent you from being targeted.

'Other steps include keeping your keys away from windows and doors. This will prevent a thief from smashing the window so they can steal the keys to your car or garage. Remember thieves are wise to keys hidden under stones, garden gnomes and welcome mats. Do not leave your house keys in places like these, if you can get into your property without your keys, so could a burglar.

'Finally don't be complacent when you are at home, if you are gardening make sure your house in secure and no one can get in whilst you are distracted. Also when you retire for the night check you have locked your front door and windows. By remaining vigilant we can reduce burglary and make the area even safer.'

Crime prevention top tips:

Always lock all your doors and windows. Remember - any space big enough for a human head is big enough for someone to climb through.
Never leave keys in hiding places such as under flower-pots or on top of door-frames. Burglars know where to look.
Where possible fit an alarm and security lighting.
If you are going away on holiday or for any length of time, use timers on your lights. Also, cancel your milk for the duration of your absence and ask a friend or neighbour to collect your post so it doesn't build up on your doormat.
Never leave property in a porch you tend to leave insecure, even if the door is usually shut.
Don't leave expensive items on windowsills where they could be seen from the street.
Property mark your valuables. You can use a UV pen or etching tool to mark property with your house number and postcode. This will make it easy to identify and will act as a huge deterrent to thieves.

For more information about how to protect your property contact your neighbourhood officer.

To find out who walks the beat in your street, visit http://www.blogger.com/www.kent.police.uk and enter your postcode.

Alternatively call 01622 690690.

Tree Planting at Hambrook Marshes: volunteers sought

2009-01-21T20:25:00.001Z

New alcohol licence application

2009-01-05T12:01:00.003Z

News Point, the shop on the corner of St Dunstan's Street and Orchard Street, has lodged an application for an alcohol licence (see details below). This is a new licence for the shop and not a change to an existing licence.

This is an interesting development for the area. We already have several pubs in the vicinity but this will be the nearest newsagent style 'off licence' (the others are the Nicolas wine shop and the newsagent at the end of St Peter's Street (next door to the Kebab house). The nearest of these (Nicolas), closes at 9pm every day.

A key point to remember is that once a licence is granted the holder of the licence can apply to vary the licence. The application as it stands asks for 6 am to 11 pm. Presumably the proprietors could apply for an even later licence in the future is they so desired.

As always it is up to local residents to lodge their opinion on licence applications, both for and against. If you object you MUST write to the Council by Jan 16th. You may want to suggest alternative opening hours, or indeed other licence conditions, at the same time.

Note that the deadline for your letter is Jan 16th (and NOT Jan 28th as is currently shown on the Council website).

Making objections

All objections must be made in writing by post, E-Mail or fax. They should be sent to:

Post: Licensing Team, Canterbury City Council, Military Road, Canterbury, Kent CT1 1YW
E-mail: licensing@canterbury.gov.uk
Fax: 01227 478612

Guidance on how to object can be found at http://www.canterbury.gov.uk/buildpage.php?id=2649.

How to make your objection valid

Your representation needs to relate to the four Licensing Objectives under the Licensing Act 2003 to be relevant. These four Licensing Objectives are the only criteria that can be considered in deciding whether or not an applicant is granted a Premises Licence. Any representations you make must clearly relate to them. They are:

1. the prevention of crime and disorder
2. public safety
3. the prevention of public nuisance
4. the prevention of children from harm

Type of application

Ref: KE/PR/871
New Grant of premises (S17)
Name of premises: News Point
Address: 48 St Dunstan's Street Canterbury CT2 8BY
Last objection date: 16/01/2009
Regulated activities applied for:(what does the licence allow the premises to do):
Sale or supply of Alcohol - Off the Premises - Mon-Fri - 6am - 11pm

Why the National tyre depot was demolished

2008-11-12T19:56:00.002Z

The old National tyre depot disappeared very suddenly the other week after languishing in a sorry state of repair for many years. Not only was it looking very tatty, but the site was both a dumping ground and Canterbury's cheapest car park!

I think many people expressed surprise to see such a dramatic change in such a short space of time. According to my source (Dave the barman from the Unicorn ph) the site is owned by Aldi and was demolished so as to avoid the payment of business rates (or something along those lines).

This appears to be quite logical, particularly at a time when we are all watching the pennies.

So does this mean planing application for a new building has been granted? Well, according to Ludek Majer of Canterbury City Council, who was kind enough to address us at the AGM in October, the answer is no. An application by Aldi was refused last year and since then no new appplications have been received (by Aldi or otherwise).

So it seems that Aldi own a prime site in Canterbury but they can't develop it. Considering the existing traffic problems in this area it is a surprise they even considered buying it in the first place! A supermarket on this site does not seem to be a workable idea to everyone I have heard who expressed an opinion on it. In fact, 9 out of 10 residents, who expressed an opinion, said they didn't like it (purrr)!

Anyway, this is the latest I have heard - anyone else got any updates?

New improved view of Canterbury Catherdral

2008-11-12T19:34:00.005Z

Anyone who has walked into the town centre from St. Dunstan's recently would undoubtedly have noticed the vastly improved view of the Cathedral that has been created after the old National tyre depot was demolished. Is it just me or has this dramatically enhanced the 'street scape'?

We know that the Council established a design brief for this site during 2005 and this is being used to inform planning applications (and subsequent negotiations) from prospective developers. This brief states:

"...Buildings should be two to three storeys in height. Two storeyed development is considered most suitable for Roper Road with a maximum of three storeys for the development fronting St Dunstan’s Street. Imaginative or innovative design solutions may allow some increase in heights within the site, providing always that the massing of buildings can be kept to traditional proportions. The buildings should have a domestic rather than a commercial scale."

The full document can be found at http://www.canterbury.gov.uk/assets/localplan/nationaltyredepotfinal.pdf.

Clearly, if an application is accepted then the recently enhanced view of the Cathedral from this part of Canterbury will be 'lost' for another few decades.

So...is it worth letting the Council know that they could consider revising the design brief to help preserve this view? Presumably of we gained enough support for this we should be able to lobby the Council quite effectively. A petition plus lots of personal letters?

What do you think? Please indicate your view on this using the voting buttons on the right and we'll review the level of support in a few weeks.

2008-09-29T13:10:00.003+01:00

NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2008

Welcome to this newsletter of the St Dunstan’s Residents’ Association. The Association has been around for a number of years and its aim is to try to maintain the quality of life for the residents in our area, as well as arranging social events.

We had a busy 2007/08 with a number of very well attended events organised for Association members. These events included a local history walk, a Christmas party featuring plenty of festive food and drink, a garden ‘safari’ featuring several local gardens, as well as the annual summer garden party & barbecue.

Many thanks to all who showed their gardens on the Garden Safari and to all who braved the weather to come and see them! Fortunately the sun came out for the barbecue and a great party seemed to be had by all. Thanks all for coming and also to Paddie who hosted the party in her lovely garden and to Shah from the Black Horse for cooking the food.

In addition, the Association also acts to put pressure on the Council on a number of matters, e.g. planning & development issues, traffic concerns etc. The Committee is keen to maintain dialogue with the Council on your behalf, with the aim of ensuring that our neighbourhood is a friendly and desirable place to live. More details will be given in the next newsletter, to be delivered to members only.

Membership numbers were up last year (84 households) and the Committee hopes that even more local residents will join us as members of the Association this year. All households are warmly welcomed to the Association. Subscription rates stay the same as last year, at £5 per household.

Benefits of membership include:

Invitations to a wide variety of social events
Learning more about the area (past and present)
A quarterly newsletter keeping you informed of local issues
The opportunity to have your say about issues that matter to you

Social events for members in 2008/09 are likely to include:

a Christmas party (most likely to be the afternoon of 14th December)
a quiz night
a ‘Canterbury Tale’ evening (in January) - featuring the film, as well as a local wartime talk
a garden party & barbecue next summer

The Association covers the following streets:

Orchard Street
St Dunstan’s Terrace
New Street
Cross Street
Church Street
Ryde Street
Somner Close
St Dunstan’s Close
Mead Way
Queens Avenue (between Orchard Street and Crown Gardens)
London Road (between St Dunstan’s Terrace and St Dunstan’s Street)
St Dunstan’s Street (between London Road and Orchard Street).

We would also like to encourage any member to join the Association’s Committee as some ‘new blood’ is needed. If you are interested then please do come along to the AGM (see below) and put your name forward – thank you.

AGM / Social Evening

Want to find out more about the Association? Or want to join the Committee? Then why not attend the annual general meeting on Thursday 9th October, from 7.30pm onwards, at the St Dunstan’s Church Hall. All are welcome, whether or not you are an existing member.

Joining us will be Ludek Majer from Canterbury City Council. Ludek heads the Planning department at the Council and he will talk about local planning policy and recent updates to planning legislation. He will also aim to update us on the large redevelopment sites on St. Dunstan's Street (i.e. the old tyre depot and Hallets Garage).

The AGM element of the evening will be kept brief – the majority of the evening will be dedicated to Ludek's talk and socialising with fellow residents. Hope to see you there!

If you would like to become a member, or re-new your membership for 2009, please complete the form that has been circulated to all houses in the streets listed above in the last few days.

If you are not a member and have not received a renewal form then please contact us via email and we will provide a form.

Peter Berg's history of St Dunstan's

2008-06-16T22:02:00.002+01:00

St Dunstan’s Church to the West Gate Towers

St Dunstan’s Street has been the grand entrance to Canterbury for well over a thousand years. Kings and queens have passed this way: Henry II going to do penance at the shrine of St Thomas in 1174; the young Queen Victoria en route for Walmer Castle in 1842 - and probably representatives of every generation of the royal family in between. Until the Reformation countless pilgrims must have come down this street, too, familiar to us from Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales. And, of course, ordinary people on their way to Canterbury’s markets or the ports of Sandwich and Dover beyond. Also, older readers will remember that until the 1960s the A2 went straight through here to the city: fortunately, there wasn’t so much traffic then!

But why St Dunstan’s? Well, the area takes its name from the man who became Archbishop of Canterbury in 960, to whom the church at the top of the street at the junction with London Road is dedicated. A church has stood on this site since the 11th century, though what you can see today is mostly much later.

Like the pilgrims, our goal is the splendid gateway in the distance that we call today the West Gate Towers, but there is much to see on the way.

Across the street from the church is the rather overblown residence of the Victorian brewer Frederick Flint, built on the site of the Roper family house. Margaret, the daughter of Sir Thomas More, married a Roper son, and after her father was beheaded in 1535 she is said to have kept his head with her for the rest of her life. Margaret is buried in the vault beneath the Roper chapel at St Dunstan’s, and in a niche nearby is a head from the same period… All that remains now of the Roper house is the fine Tudor brick gateway.

Many houses with medieval origins lurk behind later facades. A fine example is St Dunstan’s House, opposite the gateway, which has an 18th century façade - with a dated inscription - hiding a much earlier hall house with fragments of high quality wall paintings dating back at least 500 years.

A much more recent feature is the railway crossing, constructed here in 1846 when the South-Eastern Railway came to Canterbury West Station. Until the 1960s the gates were manually operated and the delays legendary, though things don’t seem to be much better with the present automatic gates.

Beyond the crossing, on the south-west side of the street, we come to a row of houses unmatched anywhere in England: what Pevsner describes as ‘a splendid array of high half-timbered 17th century houses, thirteen gables in all’. One of them is said to have inspired Charles Dickens to place the home of Agnes Wickfield in ‘Great Expectations’ here.

Closer to the city gateway we come to an extraordinary concentration of old inns and pubs, of which the oldest is the Falstaff, with the date 1403 on the façade. These catered for pilgrims on their way from London to the shrine of St Thomas, especially those who arrived after the city gates had closed for the night.

And so to the West Gate itself, completed in 1380, courtesy of Archbishop Simon of Sudbury, in response to an invasion threat by the French. In spite of his generosity to Canterbury, the archbishop was a very unpopular Chancellor of England (he’d introduced a poll tax – will they never learn?) and was beheaded on Tower Hill in the Peasants’ Revolt in 1381. The city, by the way, continues to show its gratitude to the archbishop by placing a bunch of flowers on his tomb every year on Christmas Day.

The gateway was one of seven dotted around the city walls in the Middle Ages and it is the only one that survives. All the others were demolished to cater for increased traffic at the end of the 18th century, but the West Gate was so well built that taking it down was regarded as too difficult. Just as well, as it is now regarded as one of the finest medieval gateways in the country. It must have seemed an impregnable defensive structure in its time, with two battlemented round towers, linked by a narrow portcullis archway, incorporating gunloops and murder holes down which stones and hot liquids could be thrown onto attackers. Quite enough to deter any Frenchman!

Peter Berg
September 2006

Latest Neighbourhood Watch newsletter - April/May 2008

2008-06-16T21:58:00.001+01:00

Tax Refund email scam: Kent Trading Standards are warning users of E-Mail to be very wary of an E-Mail purporting to be from the Inland Revenue offering a Tax Refund. Please be wary of such E-Mails. Do not click on links and do not give away personal data. If you are suspicious of any E-Mail report it to the business that the email purports to originate from and your internet service provider. Please be wary of other styles of phishing email particularly if it claims to be from a Bank, Building Society, Paypal or Ebay.

Kent Police launches weapons surrender: Kent Police is launching a weapons surrender as part of the first of this year's seasonal campaigns, Safer Spring. Anyone can hand in any type of weapon, from bladed instruments to firearms, real or imitation, to police. Weapons can be handed in at local police stations but in addition, Neighbourhood officers can be contacted to arrange a visit to people’s homes to take the weapons from them safely. The scheme will run from 25 March until 20 April, and follows a similar initiative by the Metropolitan Police Service launched in January of this year.

Identity theft: Sifting through your household waste to obtain a bank/credit card statement or other personal information is one common method used by criminals to get hold of your details. Other methods include making contact with you by post, phone or e-mail and pretending to be from a legitimate organisation. This information may then be used to support criminal activity, which could involve fraud, deception, or obtaining benefits and services in your name. If you become a victim of identity theft, it could be hard for you to obtain financial services in the future. The following tips will help you protect your identity and prevent criminals from committing fraud in your name:

At home: Always check bank statements, and check receipts against your statements carefully. If you find an unfamiliar transaction, contact your card issuer or bank immediately. Dispose of financial statements, card receipts and other personal documents with care. Rip up or shred any such documents before binning them. NEVER give any personal information over the phone or to a caller at your door unless the caller is known to you, and they have a legitimate reason for wanting to know. This includes PINs, and the security code on the back of your cards (on the signature strip). Keep all important documents in a safe and secure place.

Out and About: Don’t write your PIN or passwords down. Always check an ATM for any suspicious attachments before use. If in doubt, don’t use it, but report it to the branch and police immediately. Never let your card out of your sight when making a purchase. Ensure no-one else can see or hear any personal information when making a transaction.

Online: Don’t use the same password for more than one account and never use banking passwords for any other websites. Using different passwords increases security and makes it less likely that someone could access any other accounts. Keep your passwords safe and never record or store them in a manner which leaves them open to theft, such as in your purse or wallet. If you receive a suspicious e-mail purporting to be from a bona fide institution, which requests personal details, ignore it. Finally, ensure your computer is properly protected against unauthorised access.

Useful Numbers:

Canterbury Police 01227 762 055
Canterbury City Council 01227 862 000
FREE fire safety checks 0800 923 7000
FREE energy saving advice 0800 358 6669
Fly-tipping / graffiti 0800 031 9091
Crimestoppers 0800 555 11
Victim Support 01304 211 161
Age Concern 01227 462 368
RSPCA Cruelty Advice Line 0870 555 5999
Trading Standards Helpline 08457 585 497
Kent County Council 01622 671 411
Serco 0800 031 9091
Student Advice Centre (UKC) 01227 824 824
NHS Direct 0845 4647
Floodline 0845 988 1188
You should dial 999 ONLY when: life is threatened, people are injured, crime is in progress, offenders are nearby.

Latest SDRA Members newsletter - May 2008

2008-06-16T21:53:00.001+01:00

Membership Numbers
The Association currently has 83 households as members.

Social Events

a ‘Quiz Night’ is to be held either in June or July – date to be confirmed. Watch this space!
on Saturday 21st June, at 7.00pm, Jonathan Butchers has kindly agreed to hold a ‘Wartime Canterbury’ walk. This will undoubtedly be a very interesting walk around the city. It will be about 2 miles in distance and take approximately 2 hours. All are welcome. If you wish to come along, please meet at 7.00pm outside the main entrance to Canterbury West station.
on Saturday 2nd August we hope to have our annual summer barbecue party (venue to be confirmed). We also hope to hold the ever-popular ‘garden safari’ on the same day, i.e. before the barbecue. For this to happen we will need about 6 or 7 households to volunteer to open their garden on that day. If you would be interested in opening your garden for this event – open only to members – then we would be very grateful. Please drop a note through to Matt at 31 Orchard Street, or call 379204, by the 15th June. Thank you.
sometime in the autumn, we plan to hold a ‘Canterbury Tales’ evening – details to follow in due course.

Planning/Local Environment Issues
Some members have commented that several trees – in public spaces - have recently been cut down by the Council, with no apparent sign that they will be replaced. The Association will be writing to the Council to ask what their policy is regarding the removal of existing trees and the planting of new trees. If you have any views that you would like to be taken into account please could you drop a note through to Mary Berg (5 Orchard Street) by the 15th June. Thank you.

Neighbourhood Watch
Just a reminder that Neighbourhood Watch newsletters are displayed at the newsagents at the end of Orchard Street and in the window of the Black Horse pub. We are always keen to find new locations for the newsletter so if you want to display one in your own window or know of a good location (e.g. community notice boards) please call Matt on 379204.

The Black Horse
Remember that Shah offers discounts on food to all members of the Association. To claim the discount either take this newsletter with you or show the discount card that some of you will already have (NB. Shah is planning to extend the discount card in the next few weeks so look out for it on your doormats). Please remember that the Black Horse has an attractive rear garden that Shah can make available for gatherings during the daytime and early evening. The food is still excellent and the welcome still warm!

Free insulation for the over 70s
Did you know that the government – subject to a survey - provides free insulation (loft and cavity walls) for people aged 70 or over? Around 33% of the heat lost in an un-insulated house is through the walls. You could save around £90 on energy bills each year by insulating wall cavities. It also creates an even temperature in your home (which is a nice thought with the warm weather on its way). Similar savings can be made with loft insulation. If you don't have loft or cavity insulation you can either contact your utility company for assistance or call the Kent Energy Centre on 0800 358 6669 (who can make a referral on your behalf). Other energy efficiency related subsidies, grants, discounts (e.g. for new boilers) and advice is available from the Kent Energy Centre, particularly for those on qualifying benefits (e.g. pension credit, council tax benefit, disability living allowance).

Also, £600 is now available to any Canterbury resident towards the cost of installing a range of renewable technologies, including: Solar electricity; Solar hot water; Wind turbines; Hydropower; Biomass; Ground source heat pumps. Phone the Kent Energy Centre on 0800 358 6669 for more information on this grant and to receive a free quotation.

Welcome to the SDRA blog

2008-06-16T21:52:00.001+01:00

Who are we?

St. Dunstan’s Resident’s Association is a campaigning and social organisation serving the limited area of St. Dunstan’s, Canterbury, Kent with the intention of creating and maintaining strong neighbourhood bonds and of preserving this attractive area.

This website is dedicated to disseminating information to the St. Dunstan’s community and we hope that you enjoy it’s content.

Where are we?

Our area nestles in the few streets that lie behind the historic church of St Dunstan and Holy Cross, bounded by St. Dunstan’s Street to the east, London Road to the north and St Dunstan’s Terrace and Orchard Street to the west and south.

The whole area is designated as a conservation area by Canterbury City Council, being mostly Georgian in character, having been built in the early 19th century on old fruit and hop orchards to house various army personnel based in the barracks on Tyler Hill.

In earlier times, this land to the north west of the city and to the east of the Roman Watling Street was used as a burial ground, for which there has been much archaeological excavation in recent years as new developments have been undertaken.

Nowadays, the streets are mostly residential with a few commercial enterprises, including four pubs, a couple of restaurants and local newsagents etc. Recently, we have lost our post office in the recent cuts which will be sadly missed.

St. Dunstan's Residents' Association

St. Dunstan's and Westgate Towers environmental improvements project

New telephone number for non urgent crime

SDRA Newsletter Autumn 2011

Sainsbury's is coming to St. Dunstan's

Are we content? A date for your diary...

Curry & Quiz Night - Saturday 22nd Oct

Latest update from the Abbot's Mill Project

Latest update from Westgate Hall Community Trust

Save Chaucer Fields - QUIZ NIGHT

New local bread making course starts November 5th

BIG news about the BIG Clean in October

Anyone for Tennis?

Community activities - UPDATE

Latest Newsletter from Save Chaucer Fields Campaign

Curzon Cinema - free taster event at the Westgate Hall

Southern Water FOG Event - 22 July

Looking for funding for a community project?

Save Chaucer Fields - QUIZ NIGHT

Latest update from Westgate Community Trust

*** Garage Sale ***

Canterbury West Regeneration Zone - Draft Design Guide published

Les Miserable London Road sewers

Westgate Community Trust: Big Lunch June 5th

Calling all volunteers...we need you for the BIG CLEAN

*** STOP PRESS: London Road street lights to be re-instated

Lighting up the Marlowe Theatre tower: What's your view?

New Event: St. Dunstan's Through The Ages - May 21st

Calling all volunteers! Willow Working at Hambrook Marshes

Westgate Community Trust Update

Additional ATM proposed for St. Dunstan's Street

Record Store Day at Canterbury Rock

Open Conference: Sustainable Development and the Natural World

Evening Bat Walk at Hambrook Marshes: Saturday 16th April, 7.30-9.30pm

St Dunstans history revealed at redevelopment site

Westgate Community Trust celebrates first birthday

Lib Dem surgery: Update from London Road

The Shame of St. Dunstan's: Part 2

UKC proposes to create new student village on Chaucer Fields

The Shame of St. Dunstan's: Part 1

Latest Crime Maps show 'above average crime' in CT2

Living through the Reformation at St Dunstan's

Former tyre depot site: Chuchill press release

SDRA Blog: email alerts and submission of articles

Last orders at local pub

Natwest respond to local concerns

Jan 2001 update from Westgate Hall Community Trust

2011...the year for the Big Society?

Westgate Hall - Christmas Drinks

DO WE WANT EXTRA HEAVY GOODS VEHICLES THROUGH ST DUNSTAN’S?

Volunteer Day on the 4th December 2010

Student Accommodation Expansion at UKC

Update from Westgate Community Trust

Hambrook Marshes - Volunteer Day Sat 20th Nov

Quality Streets

Update from the Save Westgate Hall team

Hambrook Marshes Volunteer Day

Opportunity to discuss neighbourhood impact of students

An Autumn Feast at The Goods Shed

ST DUNSTAN’S RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION - NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2010

Westgate Hall - Latest

Hambrook Marshes - Guided Walk

Westgate Hall Campaign

ST DUNSTAN’S RESIDENTS’ ASSOCIATION - NEWSLETTER MAY 2010

Latest Neighbourhood Watch update

Pavement Parking Ban

Salvation for Westgate Towers Museum?

Archive reveals life of the 'Red Dean of Canterbury'

Canterbury West station works

Halletts Garage Redevelopment

Halletts Garage - Demolition Begins

Hambrook Marshes - Volunteer Day!

Neighbourhood Watch Update - Thefts from motor vehicles on the increase

Hambrook Marshes - scrub clearance with bonfire

Volunteers needed

Newspoint licence application extension - LATEST

New Planning Application for the Old Tyre Depot

Graffiti epidemic

Successful outcome for local residents at alcohol licence hearing

Top tips to prevent a burglary

* Garage Sale *