Tour de France is Coming to Medway

The Tour de France is coming to Medway in July, so I thought I would post a map of the route that is going to be taken.

The purple on the map is the route that the riders will be taking.

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The event takes place on Sunday 8th July 2007 starting in London, travelling down through the Medway Towns and finishing the stage in Canterbury.

While travelling through Medway the race will pass through Rochester, Chatham, Strood and Gillingham.

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Obviously there will be disruption with several roads being closed during the race so Medway Council have dedicated several pages on their website about parking etc.

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Click on this site for details.

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posted by matt bright.

Surgery Coming to Princes Park

For the last couple of weeks Pat and I have been working on introducing a surgery to the residents of Princes Park.
The venue is yet to be confirmed but the surgery will be held on the 1st Saturday of every month between 10-11am, the 1st surgery being 7th July.
The details of the venue will be posted shortly.
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posted by matt bright.

Our Committees within the Council

Now the dust has settled after the election we have now been placed into our committees within the Council.

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I am a member of;

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Regeneration and Development Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Development Control Committee

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Pat is a member of;

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Children's Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee

Bus Fares for school children task group

Member of Community Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee

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posted by matt bright

To All Sport Fans

I spotted this article on the Council web and I was sure there would be someone in Princes Park who could benefit.

Sports cash available for your school or club
What could you do with up to £650? More importantly, what could your school or sportsclub do with that money?
Sport Medway 2006 is Medway Council’s sports development grant scheme open to all schools and voluntary sports clubs. Grants of up to £650 to run a sporting opportunity that encourages participation and healthy living are up for grabs.
Successful bids should promote school and club links and encourage young people’s continued participation in sport and healthy lifestyles.
Examples include taster sessions, coaching sessions, fun days and coach/volunteer education courses. Projects must show partnership working between schools and local clubs. The grant can pay for equipment, medals, kit, facility or coach fees. You can now apply for cash for the second round of Sport Medway 2006 taking place between 21 October and 5 November.
Sport Medway 2005 saw Medway Council distribute nearly £14,000 between Medway’s sports clubs and schools. To find out more phone 338766 or email sarah.risby@medway.gov.uk
posted by Pat

Meeting With Debbie

I was very lucky on Tuesday to meet a young lady, Debbie Rumble, who is a youth development worker. I met up with her at the SureStart centre in Magpie Hall Road. I hate to admit it but I did not know that this centre was there. It is a really attractive building with a café that is really inviting. It has an open and sunny appearance. All the food is home made. If you like what you have eaten you can get a recipe to try it at home. It seems the perfect drop in for parents and their young children. But I was there to meet up with Debbie so was very good and just had a cup of tea.

Debbie explained to me some of the work she does with the youth in the area. One of the areas she works is Princes Park, so some of our young people will already know of her. She spends some of her time in the evenings just walking around the area talking to the young people she sees. It is to get a dialogue going and to find out what they are interested in and what they would like to do. This rather simplifies her work but I think anyone who works with the young will know one of the hardest things to do is to gain their confidence and get them to talk. Growing up is never easy and youngsters will not always open up to their parents, therefore this is where people like Debbie can help. Sometimes it is so much easier to talk to a stranger.

I am really looking forward to learning more about her work in the coming months.

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posted by Pat

Pledge to Grammar Headteachers from Conservative Councillors

I was reading the Conservative Councillors Website and was encouraged to see this posted story in favour of keeping our Grammar Schools. I am personally pleased to see the schools being backed by the council.

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Here is the full story below from the blogsite;

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Conservative Councillors in Medway have pledged their support for Grammar Schools, following a successful meeting with the Headteachers of the main Grammar Schools of Medway.
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The meeting took place on Monday the 21st of May at 4pm at the Library of Rochester Math School. Math School Headmaster Keith Joseph hosted the meeting which was attended by Conservative Council Leader Rodney Chambers, Council Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services Cllr Les Wicks, and Medway Cabinet Member and Adviser to the Chairman of the Conservative Party, Cllr Rehman Chishti.
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The pledge of support comes as a result of the successful re-election of the Conservatives as the administration of Medway Council - increasing their majority from five to eleven. One of the main election pledges of the Conservatives in Medway was to support the popular local Grammar Schools. The Conservatives are the only serious party in Medway to openly do so.
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Council Leader Cllr Rodney Chambers commented,
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“I think that it was a very productive meeting for all. We have made it very clear that Medway Council will always back Grammar Schools so long as it is run by Conservative Councillors. As Conservative Councillors, we stood at the last election upon our record as an honest and hardworking council that will deliver upon our promises. At this recent election we promised to keep the grammar schools in Medway - and this is exactly what we shall do whilst we are in office for the next four years.”
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Cllr Les Wicks, Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services commented,
“Medway’s Grammar Schools provide an excellent education for our children and thoroughly deserve our support. I am very pleased that we held this meeting as it reassured all parties present that Grammar Schools are here to stay. Whilst continuing our support for Grammar Schools, we are determined that standards and offer of specialist education is improved in all of our schools. We look forward to working with parents, pupils, teachers, and governors to achieve this.”

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posted by matt bright.

Chathams Regeneration Sites

Chathams broad ambitions for development has been divided into three regeneration areas, and these are the master plans that have been produced;

1) Chatham Waterfront

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2) The Brook

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3) Station Gateway

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Chatham Waterfront........................

Chatham Waterfront will stretch from Globe Lane, to the Command House pub right round to the Sun Pier. The idea behind the plan is the create a striking waterfront right at the heart of the City of Medway. The mix in this area will include residential, business and community uses.

Proposals have been put forward for a hotel, conference centre, major theatre and even a waterside park.

The Brook...........................................

The plan for The Brook is to widen the road and the path for a more improved residential zone that will span between The Brook and the Great Lines. This will also include a lively boulevard with new shops, leisure facilities and new homes.

Station Gateway................................

The whole of this plan is centred around Chatham railway Station. The main master plan is looking to create a new business quarter with a much more improved and vaster arrival point for passengers travelling by bus and rail to Chatham. This will be a gateway into the new Chatham with improved links into Chatham centre.

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The proposed new bus facilities include a bus interchange at Chatham railway station with an additional high tech bus station on Sir John Hawkins Way which includes the Sir John Hawkins car park.

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The long term plans for regeneration of Chatham will mean a bigger and busier Chatham.

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posted by matt bright.

Useful Phone Numbers for Medway Council

Here is a list of useful phone numbers designated for certain departments within Medway Council for residents of Princes Park.

Education - 01634 306000
School Admissions - 01634 331110
Adult and Community Learning - 01634 338400
Children's Information Learning - 01634 335566
Council Tax - 01634 332222
Housing Issues - 01634 333500
Housing Benefit - 01634 333752
Leisure Customer Services - 01634 332320
Social Services - 01634 334466

Also;

Main Switchboard - 01634 306000
Customer Services - 01634 333333

posted by matt bright.

This Weeks New Planning Application

This is the latest planning application within the Princes Park ward.

There is only the one this week.

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Wittersham Close

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posted by matt bright.

New Planning Applications

These are the most recent planning applications being considered within the Princes Park Ward.

Scotby Avenue

Hampshire Close

Resolution Close

These applications have been taken off of the Medway Council website.

posted by matt bright.

Medway Re-Generation

Pat and I attended a re-generation seminar last night which concluded in a tour of the key sites within Medway.
There are many re-developments within Medway at present, some more known then others, but the vision of the Council and the key designers/developers in the various projects holds a very exciting future for the Medway Towns.
The River Medway is key in a lot of the developments which include Rochester, Strood, and the Temple waterfronts. There are also plans for Strood Town Centre, Gillingham and of course the big challenge (and Medway Councils biggest project) Chatham Town Centre incorporating the river front.
Residents will have their chance to have a future say in how they think Chatham should look and operate.
Why not pay them a visit, staffed sessions at the Pentagon Shopping Centre are to be held every Wednesday (12 noon to 6pm) and every Saturday (10am to 4pm) between 23 May and 30 June.
Click on this link to see how Chatham is to be re-developed and what proposals there are to date.

posted by matt bright.

Conservative Majority

Conservatives; 33 seats

Labour; 13 seats

Liberal Democrats; 8 seats

Independent; 1 seat

The Conservatives increased their seats from 31 to 33 from the last local elections (2003) while Labour lost some of their seats including one in River Ward (Chatham Fly-over is in this ward)!! This, amongst a very dirty and negative campaign held by the opposition parties based on lies, tactical voting in certain wards (Princes Park included) and the so-called non-political group C.R.A.G. based in Chatham.I'm glad to see the residents of Medway see beyond all their negativity and voted for a party who only think about positive issues and are striving to make Medway a more prosperous place to live.

posted by matt bright.

Your Local Conservative Team

Here is a picture of your local Conservative Team who represent Princes Park, Lordswood and Walderslade.

Left to right; David Wildey (Lordswood), Alan Jarrett (Lordswood), Pat, Myself and David Brake (Walderslade).

Unfortunately one person was missing from the photo (Kath Doody) who only just missed out after working extremely hard and nearly making it a double win in Walderslade.

All three wards have been working closely for nearly two years and the team work has paid off. It helps to work as a small team due to all three wards inter-linking with each other, some local problems often cover more then just Princes Park and merge into other wards.

We will all continually work close together to help improve the local area as a whole.

This picture was taken about 2-30am on election night after the results were announced. We were all looking a little weary after completing nearly 21 hours of solid work on election day.

But, it was all worth it in the end!

posted by matt bright.

Medway Police

Pat and I were at a Councillors seminar last night where we met Chief Inspector Peter Wedlake of Medway Police station.

We discussed the anti-social behaviour in Princes Park involving mini-motorbikes into great detail.

Peter told us of his plans in the next couple of weeks (obviously I cannot disclose them) about what measures were to be taken.

I was also told of a Community Police Officer and a Special Constable who's main focus is on Princes Park and hopefully we will be meeting them in due course.

Details of our meeting will follow.

posted by matt bright.

The Winning Margins!

It has now been a week since the elections and I thought it was about time I posted the final results from election day.

The results were as follows;

1) Matt Bright 1068 elected

2) Pat Gulvin 1029 elected

3) Stuart Bourne (Labour) 975

4) Joy Wharton (Labour) 832

5) Mike Russell (English Democrats) 252

6) Philip Monday (Medway Independents) 176

7) Jay Lee (BNP) 153

8) Graeme Pike (Medway Independents) 144

You can view all the other results and the majorities from the Medway Council website by clicking here.

Thank you to everyone who voted Conservative, we overcame a lot of negative politics from the opposition parties including the organisation C.R.A.G. based in Chatham telling people (on large banners) not to vote Conservative.

We will begin to work on improving the Princes Park area immediately and look forward to the next 4 years.

This blogsite will stay updated regularly and we will post anything that is relevant to Princes Park.

Me and Pat would like to thank everyone who helped us on the day with delivering, telling, knocking on doors and back at the committee room. It was a very professional (and successful) day and we are very grateful.

Also, a very special thanks to our campaign manager Andrew.

posted by matt bright.

Conservatives win in Princes Park

We would like to give a big thank you to all our supporters in Princes Park. With your help we have increased the conservative majority, and sent a clear message to the Blair-Brown Labour Government that the people are not happy with their performance.

Our aim for the next four years is to serve the residents of Princes Park to the best of our abilities, regardless of whether you as individuals voted for us or not.

We want to hear all your views and opinions, so we can make the best decisions for the future, both in Princes Park and the wider Medway Towns area. So please feel free to post feedback on the blog or e-mail Matt or me at home.

Posted by Pat

Princes Park Local Elections - Thursday 3rd May

Tomorrow you will have the opportunity to decide who will run Medway Council and who will represent you in Princes Park for the next 4 years.

There is a clear choice:

A Conservative Council delivering quality services and the lowest council tax in Kent, pledging to keep Grammar Schools, introducing half price bus fares to children, maintaining the 'above the National average' on recycling, committed to re-generating Chatham town and leading the campaign to 'Save Capstone Valley'.

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A return to the bad old days of a Labour/Lib Dem/Independent Coalition with higher local taxes, inefficient services and internal squabbling.

Since 2003 Conservative Medway has striven to improve services whilst maintaining the lowest possible taxes. Our achievements have been recognised by the Independent Government Inspectors who have awarded Medway a three-star rating (from a maximum of four) for service, efficiency and value for money.

We have also fulfilled our election promise to keep your council tax as low as possible. Medway residents now pay £150 less council tax than the average in Kent.

This progress will be threatened if we lose control of the Council tomorrow by losing Princes Park.

Control of Medway Council is on a knife-edge. All it will take is for a handful of traditional Conservative supporters to stay at home, or vote for one of the minority parties, and Labour will gain control of Princes Park via the back door and maybe gain control of the Council. Princes Park was won 4 years ago by only a handful of votes so every vote IS VITAL.

Don't forget, in Princes Park you will be electing 2 councillors and therefore you have TWO VOTES. Please use both of your votes to support your local Conservative team.

Remember, please vote;

2 BRIGHT Matt X

3 GULVIN Pat X

PLEASE REMEMBER TO VOTE CONSERVATIVE TWICE

posted by matt bright.