Last week I met with David Statham the Managing Director of Southeastern trains to discuss the disruption to services caused by the closure of the Folkestone to Dover line. This line will be out of action for many months until work is completed to rebuild the seawall and viaduct carrying the railway. The consequences of […]
Events in Calais over the last ten days have given us further cause for concern. Firstly, we have seen the threat of the return of major industrial action at the Port. Ferry workers set fire to tyres in protest at the failure of DFDS, as they see it, to honour commitments they have made regarding […]
On Friday last week I was delighted to be able to help present a large number of football kits, donated by the charity Kit Aid, to support the Folkestone based organisation, Green Kordofan. Green Kordofan was started in 2011 by Raga Gibreel, and champions sport for development to support the people of South Kordofan, who […]
Tennis is now the latest sport in the spotlight, following allegations in an investigation by the BBC and BuzzFeed, of a match-fixing and gambling scandal involving a core group of 16 players, all of whom have ranked in the top 50 in the world. Some of these players are currently competing in the Australian Open […]
Over the last week I have been in contact with many people across the District regarding the proposed lorry parking scheme for the M20 motorway near to Stanford. Given the massive disturbance caused by Operation Stack last summer, there are many people who say we should get on and build the lorry park straightaway, whilst […]
The damage done to the Folkestone to Dover railway line, caused by the erosion of the sea wall along the coastal stretch of the track, would appear to be far worse than was originally thought. It is important that the maintenance is carried out as swiftly as possible, working as they have to within the […]
This Christmas the news has been full of terrible images of flooding in the north of England, and our sympathies go to everyone who has been driven out of their homes. We should also thank the emergency services who have worked so hard over the last week to help them. We are fortunate in Kent […]
At Christmas, as we gather around the crib for the nativity service we are asked, like the shepherds and wise men over 2,000 years ago, to follow the bright star to Bethlehem. Yet, throughout 2015, the eyes of the world appear to have been fixed just over 100 miles further east, to Syria and the […]
The consultation on the long term solution for Operation Stack has now begun and will close on 25th January 2016. You can find out more about the detailed plans here: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/operation-stack-consultation-on-new-lorry-area-launches-today . It is important that everyone has there say. Thanks to the £250million funding that we have secured from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, […]
We have seen massive steps forward in education in our area over the last ten years. There are more opportunities now for young people to reach their full potential through education than ever before. The Folkestone School for Girls and the Harvey Grammar, continue to get excellent results, but we have also seen fantastic strides […]