We have endured the largest amount of rainfall in living memory, and the pressure that this places on our flood defences has continued. Last Friday I organised a meeting with the Environment Agency and the Romney Marsh Area Internal Drainage Board to discuss the local response to the floods and to see what else could […]
We are currently experiencing the highest level of rainfall in east Kent since 1910, and the evidence of it is there for all to see. Whilst we have not experienced the terrible flooding seen in Somerset and the West Country, there are flood warnings in place for the Nailbourne and Little Stour between Lyminge and […]
The Folkestone sisters Margaret and Flora Jeffrey were awarded OBEs at the end of the First World War, with grateful thanks for their work in supporting the millions of service personnel that passed through the town’s harbour, between 1914 and 1919. They ran a simple cafe on the harbour arm dispensing free cups of tea […]
Towards the end of 2013, there were many voices warning of a great tide of immigration from Romania and Bulgaria that was about to wash against our shores. They told us that millions were about to arrive. These voices, as had been the case at other times in our history, sought to make people fearful […]
Lydd Airport returns to the news this week as the anti airport campaigners, including the RSPB take their case to the high court to try and overturn the planning application, that was granted to allow the limited expansion of the runway and facilities available to passengers. I have supported the controlled expansion of the airport, […]
The Gurkha Satyagraha campaign has been fighting for the rights of ex-servicemen and their families for many years. I supported the campaign to give ex-Gurkhas the right to settle in the UK. I believe that service in our armed forces demonstrates a strong commitment to the values of our country, and if you are prepared […]
In the top forty places in the world to visit in 2014, Folkestone is one of only four places in England to make the list; coming in at number 38, between Moscow and Canberra, Australia. That’s according to the travel pages of The Guardian, and it follows last year’s recommendation by The Times newspaper that […]
Happy New Year for 2014. I hope you have had an enjoyable break over Christmas and are looking forward to the year ahead. Despite the very mixed weather we had a wonderful sunny winter day on Boxing Day, which was perfect for the numerous sporting events taking place across the district. As in previous years, […]
Students from Pent Valley Technology College in Folkestone, were part of the historic visit last Thursday by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, and the Irish Prime Minister, Enda Kenny, to the First World War military cemetery at Tyne Cot, near Passchendaele in Belgium. This was the first occasion that the Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom and […]
This week, the village of Densole was the first in the county to benefit from the ‘Making Kent Quicker’ project, which is delivering new fibre optic, high speed broadband to communities that have up until now had a slow internet service. 416 properties that previously had a poor connection will now be able to place […]