Mayor's Page/Blog

News from the Mayor – June 2024

Hello and welcome to the summer we’ve been looking for sunshine and showers it almost upholds that old English saying in like a Lion and out like a Lamb.

But what a great month May was we’ve had bank holidays at each end of it and so much going on in-between. We had an election day that seemed to have been very unfruitful, the Mayor of London was the same Mayor of London and the Police and Crime commissioner for Kent is the same PCC as we had before.

Our first bank holiday heralded in one of Sandwich’s great events Sandwich Salutes the 40’s and it seemed better than ever, there was so much going on the Quayside was awash with residents and visitors, there was lots of music, dancing and it seemed we could all enjoy ourselves again after a very long wet  winter and Spring.

And then a bit like the elections we had Sandwich Mayor Making on 9^th May and we got the same Mayor again, me. It really is a great pleasure and honour to be Mayor for a second year, the first year was overshadowed by rebuilding the Council and finding five new staff including a Town Clerk and host of Council Officers and caretakers. But I’m all set now, as I said, very honestly, at my swearing in I am the luckiest Mayor ever having the best Town Clerk, best Mayoress, best Deputy Mayor and a treasure trove of great councillors who all contribute great ideas, innovation and are all committed to making this town great. The Guildhall staff are a brilliant team and everyone works together in harmony to make the best council we’ve ever had. Then Sunday19^th May saw our council’s Civic Sunday where the church and council come together to bless and support these two great pillars of the town, it’s always a pleasure to process through the town and maintain the old traditions that make this town unique and really rather special.

We’ve also got our King Street back open after many weeks of being blocked off, it seemed such a disaster when it happened but Sandwich does what it always does and copes, gets on with things as if it’s just normal. It has given many the idea of revisiting the thought of permanent closure or even partial closure, two of the town councillors did a post Scaffold closure questionnaire so it will be good to see who thought the closure was good or bad and what we should do about it?

And one of my earliest worries happened on Saturday 11^th May when the Guildhall courtyard was invaded by a Pro Palestinian demonstration and march, Kent Police gave advanced warning, myself and Town Clerk prepared local businesses but when it happened it was more like a very colourful display of music and opinions it wasn’t what “Sandwich usually does” but in true democratic style we allowed others to state their views and go their own way, isn’t our town incredible.

So the important thing I needed to tell you was on 21^st May we hosted the Confederation of the Cinque Ports, that’s all the Mayors, Deputies and Town Clerks from the Cinque Ports all came to humble Sandwich to hold their meeting and pass on the Speakership of the Cinque Ports to Me and the town. We are now the top Cinque Port and rightly so. But the important part happens on the first Saturday in October when we will have a massive procession of the Cinque Ports finest men and women around the town to show the world who we are. I just can’t wait it will be great, even if it is raining I will still be so proud of our town and its heritage.

So what about June and what is coming up? Well we have the 80^th celebration of D-Day celebrations on Thursday 6^th June and the Town Clerk and Guildhall staff have made some great arrangements including proclamation from the Town Crier, a full blown exhibition of D-Day memorabilia and exhibits in our own museum, then down to the Quay at 6pm for music, speeches and a commemoration event which will be topped off with the lighting of the Beacon at 9:15pm, something that will occur around the whole of the UK, we must not forget those who fought for our liberty.

Then on the weekend of 8^th and 9^th of June, Sandwich goes French for the weekend with Le Weekend, always a great favourite with music, dancing, French food, drink and entertainment and of course the ever bigger Le Tour on the Sunday, it’s always a showstopper and will bring some great Tricolour to our town.

I am personally working to try and spruce up the train station, it is the first place our visitors arrive at and I am hoping to form a band of volunteers to plant new plants and make the station a better brighter place, not just a place to get off but to admire and say, that’s my home town and be proud. It is hoped that the Council will have appointed an Assets Officer who will take on promoting the Guildhall, Cinema, and  the markets, to assess, review and support all our current STC owned assets, because from June we will be trialling Saturday markets on the Guildhall forecourt to bring more retail experiences to the town. It’s going to have different stalls to the Thursday market bringing in new experiences to attract both residents and visitors to the tow, to compliment not complete with existing shops.

The council has its new committees set up and it is hoped to stop the reviewing of policies and procedures, now the Council is back on course we will all be working on how to solve old problems such as traffic and parking with a Traffic forum or traffic consultation to really get to the bottom of what measures can be put in place to ease the every worsening traffic woes in our lovely town, if it needs some radical thinking and major changes then this is the council to look into and put those changes in place. We are not scared to look at things completely different from before. The council has accomplished so much in it is first year rebuilding the camaraderie of the council and to now work together to get new ideas and improvements in place.

There are a lot of opportunities to have your say with many consultations from both KCC and DDC coming up which are asking how we the citizens of the District and County want our money spent. These consultations will be published on the Town Council website. Sandwich and the Town Council will always consult with you before it undertakes any big projects or changes.  Like this magazine we are all one big community and we all need to work together to make our home town a better place.

I am really looking forward to the summer in Sandwich and hope to keep the town shining bright in my second year.

Best regards Cllr Paul Carter, Your Mayor and Speaker of the Cinque Ports.

Spring is here at last, and the Town Council has been busy getting its green areas ready for you to enjoy.

In the council annual cycle of events, March is when the Council’s, STC, DDC, KCC and authorities have all set their budgets and after consultation bring them into being for the new financial year in early April. This gives all councils the ability to set a plan of works ahead and Sandwich is in the same move to its new year.  Full details of STC’s commitments will be explained at the Annual Town Meeting.

One area STC wants to move forward with and has consulted with DDC Officers over is the plans to review and upgrade the children’s play areas especially the Bulwarks for which there is some legacy funding available. This is an area of action that is massively overdue and has been stalled for too many years but now we have a good support from DDC to take this forward and I hope to have more updates on our progress next month.

STC held a Community and Policing Safety event at the Guildhall towards the end of February to enable the public to raise their concerns and issues about policing and enforcement in our town.

Our new HR Committee has had its first meeting and appointed a female chair to guide us and STC’s first training budgets have been agreed and staff training, and development has been booked, a very long overdue concern from the past years gone by. It also reviewed our Town Clerk’s first six months supporting the council, these are all the positive building blocks for a strong council are now in place. And as stated our new Information and Admin Officer has joined us to maintain greater liaison and support with members of the public, with visitors to the town and to support town’s events and the organisers make good use of the new Guildhall Forecourt.

And another new committee Monks Wall Nature Reserve (MWNR) has also met in the new Guildhall HUB. A really experienced Chairman has been appointed and the planned works for the 2024/25 season are under the expert care of the MWNR  warden Ken Chapman. Diversely different to Gazen Salts, STC is hoping to promote and publish the use of MWNR as an area of wildlife, flora, forna and to encourage its use by schools, walking groups and visitors who want a enjoy a bit of peace and quiet whilst appreciating nature. It is a great town asset that is currently under utilised but STC has great plans for it.

And to continue the Green theme, Cllrs Wiles and Csuka have been leading on the clean-up and clearance of the Town’s walls recruiting other STC councillors and members of the public to tidy Ropewalk, Millwall and the Butts in time for the spring walkers to enjoy these great areas of beauty.

On top of all this it is hoped to get the hedge planting completed in Cow Leas Meadow this month with the Tree Warden and the Sandwich Conservation and Environmental Group have been working on the Donkey paddock at the end of the Ropewalk to make an area of natural vegetation and native tree planting. Sandwich really will be a special place to enjoy.

This all builds on the Great British Spring Clean events on 16th and 28th March, lets love our community by all helping to make it a better place.

An extraordinary STC meeting was held in February to review and decide what STC’s stance is on the Traffic Plans for the Guildhall Forecourt including the bus stand and it was decided that STC did not agree with the safety audits undertaken and is not prepared to accept the current dangerous situation with the bus stand on the corner of the Guildhall, the Town Clerk will be asking the authorities responsible to meet to discuss and put forward a solution that is acceptable.

The Mayor and Deputy Mayor have been supporting Civic events promoting the town at Christchurch University, at Canterbury Cathedral, Channel remembrance services in Dover, Belgium Veterans at the Guildhall and the District Scouts Festival in St Mary’s church, all good causes that reflect on the Town Council’s continued involvement and support of community groups.

And despite some poor press STC is meeting with and working with the Town’s event organisers to make full use of the Guildhall Forecourt and do its utmost to make sure that all of the Town’s events are fully supported and go ahead for a summer of great days out, sunshine and fun.

I would like to wish all Sandwich residents and visitors to our lovely town a very happy and enjoyable Easter celebration and hope that the Town’s green areas are of good use in the warmer months ahead, please appreciate these green areas and leave them as you’d wish to find them.

Keeping Sandwich Shining

Cllr Paul Carter, Mayor of Sandwich.