Working with the PCSOs

I had a very interesting and rewarding evening on Wednesday. I joined the local PCSOs, Jessica Read and Nicola Simmons, at Morrisons. We were doing a survey of the problems residents feel we have in the neighbourhood. It was a surprise to find that most had little or no problems. What was most rewarding was that they all said that they liked living here. One young man said he had moved from a Kent village and had been really nervous of moving here. But he has been a resident now for a couple of years and is really happy.

The problems that did come out were what I think you would all imagine. Litter, and nuisance motorbikes. The graffiti problem is not quite so bad. It has not gone away, in fact I have been out lately cleaning it off. The really large areas are still being reported and the graffiti busting team at the council are doing a good job. Even though there are improvements in the area the only way to keep improving is for us to know what problems people are having. So please let the police or Matt and I know. We cannot work miracles but we can try and help.

Our two PCSOs are really nice and very hard working girls. So when you see them please say hello. Most local children know them as they pop into the schools and introduce themselves. They have helped raise money for Sure Start at Kingfisher School, so you see they are very much part of our community.
If you need to contact the PCSOs there is a link on the blog.
posted by Pat

November 2009 Surgery

It is the Princes Park surgery tomorrow (7th November).

Cllr Pat Gulvin will be your host and she will be available between 10-11am.

The surgery is in the usual venue: Christ the King Church, Dove Close.

No appointment is necessary, if you have a local issue you need to discuss, just turn up!.

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posted by matt bright.

Brendon Avenue Re-surfacing

Letters have been sent to local residents of Brendon Avenue informing them that the road is due to be re-surfaced.

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The details are as follows;

• Work will commence on Friday 13th November.
• Works are programmed to be completed within 2 working days.
• The road will be closed between 9-30am to 3-30pm.
• On street parking will be restricted during the working hours.

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posted by matt bright

Planning Applications

Here are the latest planning applications for the Princes Park Area.

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Hopewell Drive

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Highgrove Road

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Princes Avenue

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Brendon Avenue

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Broadlands Drive

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posted by matt bright

Housing Advice Drop In

Housing Advice Drop in at the Sunlight Centre, Richmond Road, Gillingham.

Are you privately renting or a home owner?

The team from Private Sector Housing are coming to The Sunlight Centre, Richmond Road, Gillingham for two days to help answer any question and offer advice.

On 24th and 26th November 2009 - 9am - 4pm

Council staff will be available to give advice and information on the following subjects:

Financial assistance for housing repairs for home owners

Advice and assistance for tenants of privately rented accommodation

Energy Efficiency in the home

If you are unable to attend but would still like some advice please contact Private Sector Housing Team on 01634 333066 (Maggie White)
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posted by Pat

Ridge Meadow School

Ridge Meadow school has been proposed to be closed, the decision will be made by the Cabinet on Thursday 17th September.

The reason for this proposal is the surplus spaces (and future predicted surplus spaces) within the school and therefore (the argument) is the school is un-viable.

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A consultation period was introduced and the results of that consultation have now been produced to Councillors. During that time Cllr Pat Gulvin and I had a meeting with the head teacher and the school governors and was treated to a guided tour of the school and the facilities.

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Also, residents in the local area signed a petition card (above) asking for this school and 2 others to remain open.

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Now that the consultation period is over, reviewing the evidence, peoples opposition and looking at the schools facilities and the potential facilities we (Cllr Matt Bright & Cllr Pat Gulvin along with Luton & Wayfield Cllr Tashi Bhutia) believe Ridge Meadow should not close and should remain open. There are other alternatives within the Wayfield area to deal with the surplus spaces and closing Ridge Meadow should not be one of them.

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Due to the strength of our opposition we sent letters out (above) to all of the residents that had taken the time to sign the petition card.

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We are not Cabinet members, so we do not get to vote on this issue, but we have and will continue to urge Cabinet members to keep Ridge Meadow school open.

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posted by matt bright.

New Planning Application

Here is the latest planning application involving a property in Princes Park.

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Hopewell Drive

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posted by matt bright.

Our Battle

Our Battle Against the Motorbikes
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These are the latest barriers to be installed (along Highgrove Road) to prevent the unruly motorbike. On all three sites there remained 2 barriers that were previously installed before we were elected. However, only having 2 barriers did little or nothing to stop motorbikes going through at speed. So we have added a third barrier to all 3 sites to try and prevent the problem.

We will probably never stop the motorbike completely because they can simply de-mount the bike and walk it through but it will harm their enjoyment and hopefully they will go elsewhere.

The barriers have to be a certain width apart from each other to allow push bikes, push chairs and disabled access.
If you know of any other part of Princes Park that could benefit from such an installation please contact us.

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posted by matt bright.

September 2009 Surgery

Thank you to the 2 residents who expressed a local concern when they visited the surgery last Saturday.

Both local issues are currently being dealt with and should be completed in the next couple of days.

If you are a resident of Princes Park and you have a local issue you can visit the surgery or get in contact by email of phone to either Cllr Pat Gulvin or myself.

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posted by matt bright,

Luton & Wayfield Results

Here are the final results of the Luton & Wayfield by-election last Thursday;

Conservatives - 1042 (Tashi Bhutia elected)
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Labour - 1038
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Lib Dems - 223
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UKIP - 200
BNP - 186
Independent - 87
Greens - 51
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The turn out was 29.78%.
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posted by matt bright.

The Hero of the Day

Matt and I with many Conservatives were out in force yesterday. We were doing the final work to get Tashi Bhutia as our new councillor for Luton and Wayfield. We had a nail biting finish. We had three re-counts and Tashi won by 4 votes.

This was a fantastic win for the Conservatives as Luton and Wayfield was one of the five safest seats in Kent. There was a swing of over 11%.

We would like to welcome Tashi to the council and I know that Luton and Wayfield will have a very hard working councillor.

posted by Pat

New Surface for Popular Footpath

New Footpath From Heron Way to Kingfisher School Via Kingfisher Road

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A few months ago myself and Cllr Pat Gulvin were meeting with residents in Ryde Close and we were discussing local issues that affected them and what could be improved.

One main concern kept being repeated, and that was the state of the footpath that runs from Heron Way down to Kingfisher Road through the Heron Banks.

This was officially a footpath but didn't have a decent surface, the surface was in fact chalk and mud which had been created by all the pedestrian traffic over the years.
This clearly was not acceptable as this path was used by many parents taking their young children to school (some with push chairs) from the Ryde Close area down to Kingfisher School.

After speaking with residents, the first thing we done was to contact the Highways Department within the council and try to get a resolution.

Due to the path already being designated an official footpath this made it easier to secure the necessary funding and the job started in July.
I'm sure this will be a welcome addition to the residents who take this route when the schools re-open in September.

Another job completed by your local Conservative Councillors, we listened to residents concerns and two months later the job has been completed!

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posted by matt bright.

New Barrier

Here is the latest addition in our war against the motorbikes in Princes Park. It may look like an ordinary boring barrier but for the residents of Scarlett Close and the surrounding areas it has hopefully added to the misery of the local motorbike culture using the footpaths and alleyways to cut through at their will.

Residents were having problems with youths using the path from Scarlett Close onto the path adjoining North Dane Way.

Although there were already two barriers installed it didn't actually stop the speeding bikes, hopefully this third edition will stop the problem.

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posted by matt bright.

New Planning Application

Here is the latest planning application for the Princes Park ward..
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Chaffinch Close
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posted by matt bright.

Save Capstone Valley Campaign - Update

A few weeks ago cards were sent to our residents in Princes Park and surrounding areas asking people if they opposed the development of Capstone Valley. If they did oppose the destruction of one of the best green spaces in the area then they could sign the card provided and send it into the office.

The response was overwhelming, as you can see from the photos we managed to fill up a wheelbarrow full of replies.

This is yet another clear message to the developers we want the area to remain UNTOUCHED!!

I am glad to see other political parties are agreeing with our views but it was and has been your local Conservatives who have led the campaign from the beginning to keep the greedy planners at bay.

Join us in our fight to save Capstone Valley once and for all.

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posted by matt bright.

New Planning Applications

Here are the latest planning applications within the Princes Park ward.

Swallow Rise (Maundene School)

Chaffinch Close
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posted by matt bright.

August 2009 Surgery

It's surgery time again in Princes Park on Saturday 1st August 2009.

The surgery will be held at the Christ the King church in Dove Close (opposite Morrisons).

Cllr Pat Gulvin will be there between 10-11am to help with any local issues.

No appointment is necessary.
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posted by matt bright.

Save Capstone Valley......AGAIN!!

Yes, they are after Capstone Valley AGAIN.

Thanks to planning laws and rules imposed by the Labour Government, Medway Council is obliged by law to put development proposals to concrete over Capstone Valley out to 'public consultation' If they refuse to do so the developers have the right to apply for planning permission and even commence building work.

If you support our campaign to save Capstone Valley please sign and return the postcard that is on its way to all in Princes Park. It is a freepost address but if you place a stamp on the card it will save us the cost of the postage. There is room for two signatures on the card. If you would like additional cards to collect more signatures , please email your name and address to tracey@traceycrouch.co.uk and we will send you a further supply.

If you wish to help deliver the cards to your street please get in touch. We need help to save Capstone Valley. Please ring me on 01634 670853, or email Tracey.

posted by Pat

New Footpath

New Footpath From Lordswood Lane To Emily Road

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During the last election campaign we had several residents from the Lordswood Lane area ask if we could have the bridleway from Lordswood Lane to Emily Road re-surfaced due to the poor state of the pathway.

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We said we would take the issue on as a priority to improve the walking conditions for the many pedestrians who use that path. This area had been ear-marked to be updated for over 20 years but we are pleased to say the project has now been completed.

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It all started 2 years ago when we tried to get some anti-motorbike barriers installed to stop the menace, however we were informed due to the path being designated a 'bridleway' barriers could not be installed because of horse access.

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Due to a horse not using this bridleway for 30 years we got the Council to apply through the courts to have the definition changed from 'bridleway' to footpath'. This took longer then we thought, hence why it has taken 2 years to get the project completed.

After the courts changed the status to a 'footpath' the finance was secured to have the entire length re-surfaced with 4 sets of barriers installed at either end, with 2 in the middle.

The path construction took over 3 weeks to complete and after taking a final look last week we were very pleased with the outcome.

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Another example of how Cllrs Matt Bright and Pat Gulvin are working to try and improve Princes Park.

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posted by matt bright

June Surgery 2009

The Princes Park monthly surgery will be on Saturday 6th June 2009.

If you have a local issue that you would like to discuss with your local Councillors then feel free to pay us a visit, no appointment is necessary.

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The surgery will be at;

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Christ the King Church

Dove Close,

Princes Park

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Between 10-11am.

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posted by matt bright.

New Planning Application

Here is the latest planning application for a property in Princes Park
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Highgrove Road
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posted by matt bright.

Recession Guide

Conservatives launch recession guide on new website

Help is on hand for residents wanting to know what Medway Council can do for them to beat the recession.

Medway’s Conservative Group have created an easy access guide to the Council’s services which can be found on their brand new website at www.medwayconservativegroup.co.uk/recession.php

The Beat the Recession page includes information for residents looking for help and advice on benefits and council tax and using the council’s value for money services.

The Conservative Group have also launched their top tips to save money, which are:

Join your local library where you can take out books, access the internet and rent low cost DVDs and CDs
Sign up for the half price bus pass for under 16s, which is soon to be expanded to under 18s. Over 60s who have free bus passes can travel for free under Medway’s extended service from 9am in the morning
Visit Medway’s value for money leisure centres
Attend one of the number of free events held throughout Medway including the Dickens and Fuse Festivals
Grow your own fruit and vegetables, perhaps using one of Medway’s popular allotments
Enjoy a walk around one of Medway’s countryside parks such as Riverside or Capstone Park
Save money though making your home more energy efficient. Householders in receipt of benefits can get help under the Coldbusters scheme.
The new Conservative Group website, which can be found at http://www.medwayconservativegroup.co.uk/, gives residents access to the latest news and views from their local Conservative councillors.

Deputy Leader Cllr Alan Jarrett said:

“We are taking the recession very seriously and there are several ways residents can save cash by accessing the Council’s value for money services. Medway Council also provides help and advice to those that need it. Our Beat the Recession guide on our new website http://www.medwayconservativegroup.co.uk/, is an excellent starting point for anyone who wants to know what their Conservative Medway Council can do for them.”

Kent Police in Princes Park

Along with the Safer Communities Officer from Medway Council there are currently 2 PCSO's and 1 PC who also patrol and look after the needs of Princes Park.

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Click here for more information.

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This page directs you to the officers on the Princes Park page on the Kent Police website. There are phone numbers and email addresses if you wish to get in contact.

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posted by matt bright.

Spitfire Close

This area of Spitfire Close in Princes Park a few months ago was an unused piece of grassland. Due to there being no where for the local children to play we have undergone some several steps to make the area more user friendly.

1) At the end of last year large boulders were removed from the area to open up the green for children to play on.

2) In association with local residents a large community clear up was organised to clear the green and the woods to the rear.

3) A football goal was installed for the children to use but was sensitively placed so not to upset the neighbouring residents with stray footballs. This came after months of negotiating with Council officers to get the goal installed after satisfying all Health & Safety aspects.

4) By using ward funds we have managed to purchase a bench and a bin so hopefully the green will not be littered.

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This is a job well done by myself and Cllr Pat Gulvin after months of dialogue. If when reading this you feel their are other parts of Princes Park that could benefit from having similar street furniture please get in touch with us.

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posted by matt bright.

May Surgery 2009

The next Princes Park surgery is due and will be held this Saturday (2nd May) at the usual venue.

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Christ the King Church

Dove Close,

Princes Park.

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Between 10-11am.

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Your Councillor in attendance with be Cllr Pat Gulvin who will be able to assist with any local issues, no appointment is necessary.

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posted by matt bright.

PACT Meeting

A PACT meeting will be held on the 7th May 2009 from 7:30pm to 9:oopm at Kingfisher School Kingfisher Drive.

Have you got a concern what is happening in Princes Park,your neighbourhood?

Come along and let us know what you think priorities for your area should be.

Organisations attending include:

Medway Council

Local Councillors

Princes Park PACT panel

Local Schools

Kent Police

This is not for private and personal problems. This is for priorities for the neighbourhood. If you have a personal problem come along to the surgeries. They are held the first Saturday of the month at Christ the King church (near Morrison's) from 10:00am to 11am. A councillor and a member of the neighbourhood police team will be there. You can also contact as at the numbers listed below.

For further information please contact

PC Dave Saunders on 01634 792347 or Princes.Park@kent.pnn.police.uk

Cllr Pat Gulvin on 01634 670853 or pat.gulvin@medway.gov.uk

Look forward to seeing or hearing from you.

posted by Pat

Litter

Brian,Safety Community officer, and I went out yesterday doing a few hours of litter picking. There is no photo this time as we did lots of small areas instead of one big area. We still managed to fill five large sacks of rubbish. Most of the areas did not need to be in the state they were. I am sorry to say we seem to have grown into and very dirty nation. What I do not understand is people look after their homes beautifully but leave litter in their gardens. I know they may not have dropped it but if everyone just picked up the rubbish in front of their own house we would live in a much nicer environment.

I know we have many residents in Princes Park who do their very best and I salute them. But can someone tell me how to get through to those who think it is perfectly alright to just drop litter where ever they think. Driving along Herons Way I saw a family walking along. It was dad who just chucked a crisp packet onto the verge. I just wonder how the children are going to grow up. It is not a very good role model. On another day I noticed in Illustrious and pile of cigarette ends. A mum while waiting to pick her child up from Maudene school had just emptied her ashtray. Very nice I don't think. How would she like us to dump stuff outside her house. So PLEASE help even if it is in a small way by taking your litter home

As I wrote before if there is anyone out there who would like to help please get in contact.

posted by Pat

April Surgery 2009

The Princes Park surgery will be held again this Saturday. It will be held in the usual place at the Christ the King church in Dove Close.

I will be there between 10-11am to answer any local issues, no appointment is necessary.

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posted by matt bright.

Kingfisher School 2

This is myself, Cllr Pat Gulvin and Alison Brightman who is a member of staff for Kingfisher School. It was Alison who originally contacted me asking for a little help in some funding for the allotment idea for the school. Pat and I were only too glad to help with a contribution from ward funds of just over £900 in total in two installments. This combined with the voluntary help (as described in an earlier story) has ended up with a very good result for the school.

This just adds to other very worthwhile projects that the school produce throughout the year making it a real asset to Princes Park and the wider community.

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posted by matt bright.

Kingfisher

These two lovely letters were given to Matt and I at Kingfisher School at the opening of the allotment. It was such a a really nice thought. As I said before the children made us feel so welcome. This is the really best side of being a local councillor.

posted by Pat

Kingfisher Allotment

Matt and I were invited along to Kingfisher school yesterday. It was for the official opening of the schools allotment. As with every occasion we were made very welcome. There is always such a lovely atmosphere there. The children sang a song for us. I am a great big softy and I find young voices so very moving.

Matt and I made a contribution to the project from our ward funds. They have been very careful with money and used recycled materials where possible. Some of the paving and bricks came from where the school had been altered when the Sure Start was introduced. The allotment is great thing for the children. They can watch the plants grow and eat the produce at the end. This will introduce them to fresh fruit and vegetable fresh from the ground. You have to admit the sweetest runner beans you can have are ones eaten straight from the plant still warm from the sun. I wish the children all success with their project and am looking forward to going along later in the year to see how they are getting on.

posted by Pat

LITTER

Brian Mooney (Safety Community Officer) and I went litter picking this morning. We can see the difference, but there is still more to do. Brian and I have arranged to meet up once every three weeks to do this. What I am asking is for people to come and help. If we can do five large bags just imagine how much we could do with a little bit of help. So if you can spare a little time please get in contact. We will even let you choose where we go.

If you cannot make the date we have arranged I am willing to go out with a group on another day. So PLEASE help me to get Princes Park up to the standard we would like.

Posted by Pat