Saint Mary Hoo Parish Council

*Public Consultation on Draft Innovation Park Medway* Masterplan**	Medway Council and Tonbridge & Malling Borough Council are seeking comments on the content of the draft Innovation Park Medway masterplan, which will provide a vision and guidance for consideration of future development proposals at the wider Rochester Airport site. The draft Innovation Park Medway masterplan takes forward these key sites identified for employment use in both Councils’ current and emerging Local Plans and highlights refreshed aspirations with accompanying design principles. The masterplan therefore articulates ambitions of both authorities’ Local Plans and sets out how this can be delivered. The core ambition is to strengthen the performance of the local economy, to create jobs in order to secure growth and prosperity, and to realise the potential of the area whilst ensuring the long term operating future of Rochester Airport. The masterplan itself is not a planning application but it is expected that future development will follow the guidance in the masterplan. Comments on the draft masterplan are sought from members of the Public as well other groups and organisations. The consultation period runs from Monday 17 September until midday on Monday 29 October 2018. Click here to go directly to the consultation.
Southern Water - Annual Report and Survey	Southern Water recently published their Annual Report which provides information about their performance during 2017-18. You can find the full report and a summary version here. Our annual report forms part of a wide range of information we provide to customers and stakeholders to report back on our performance, inform local decision-making and enable others to hold us to account. Key Southern Water highlights from 2017-18 include: -- moved up the water industry rankings for customer satisfaction, recording our best-ever score. There is still more to do to deliver the exceptional levels of service customers expect -- helped more than 32,500 customers in vulnerable circumstances to avoid debt or manage their bill payments better -- The quality of water put into supply exceeded the targets set by the Drinking Water Inspectorate -- leakage teams collectively found and fixed more than 24,000 leaks in the water supply network this year -- continued to drive down the number of sewer blockages and flooding and pollution incidents experienced by customers -- All 83 of the designated bathing waters in the Southern Water met or exceeded the required European water quality standard this year, with 53, two more than last year, rated as being 'Excellent' -- During 2017-18, Southern Water staff spent 4676 hours (equivalent to 623 days) as volunteers for a range of charities and good causes. We also raised almost £147,700 in fundraising for good causes. Southern Water are currently finalising the Business Plan for 2020-25, ready for submission to Ofwat in September 2018. Thank you to everyone who has made a contribution to this process, your views have played a vital role in helping to shape the plan. We will send you a further update when the plan is submitted and published on our website. Southern Water want you to help improve the information they provide. They have created a short survey to help them understand ways in which they can improve. Please do complete the survey.
North Kent Marshes	The North Kent Marshes Internal Drainage Board was formed in 2016 and is administered by Medway Council. It covers areas in and around the Hoo Peninsula, including Allhallows, St Mary's Hoo, Cooling, Cliffe as well as areas within Gravesend including Shorne Marshes, Filborough Marshes and Westcourt Marshes. Internal Drainage Boards (IDB's) are public bodies that manage water levels in some areas where it is considered there is a special need for drainage. Read more information on the Board's webpage.
Free Home Insulation Offer	Action with Communities in Rural Kent, a long established charity has teamed up with British Gas to offer eligible residents in the local area free insulation. This offer is worth up to £1,000 and includes the cost of materials and labour. Over 5 million homes in the UK have inadequate cavity wall insulation and over 7 million have little or no loft insulation! If yours is among them, you could be missing out on hundreds of pounds worth of savings on your energy bills every year. So why not take advantage? Insulation really is the best solution to start saving money on your energy bills. The whole process is simple, all you have to do is give British Gas a call and if you are eligible, they will book in a survey at a time convenient to you. Their survey is completely free and is just to make sure that your home can benefit from any additional insulation. They will then arrange a time to undertake the work, which will be completed in half a day with little fuss or mess. There is no catch, you don't have to take out a contract, take up any British Gas products or services or even be a British Gas customer to take advantage! To be eligible you either have to live in a specific area or be in receipt of age related, disability or unemployment benefits. British gas will check your eligibility when you phone them; calls are free from a BT landline. So what are you waiting for? Give them a call right now on 0800 980 9037.
Poem and request for information	A visitor to All Hallows marshes in May 2013, watched a local farmer toiling hard attending his cattle. She wrote a poem describing their encounter and would appreciate any help that anyone can give her in identifying and contacting this gentleman.
Police & Crime Commissioner - August 2018 Newsletter	Matthew Scott, Police and Crime Commissioner for the county of Kent has published a Newsletter.
Non-Emergency Number for Kent Police	101 is the new national non-emergency number to contact Police in your area. Residents in the Kent policing area should call 101 to contact their local officer, make an enquiry and to report non-urgent crimes. Examples when to use 101 are: if your car has been stolen, if property has been damaged, if you suspect drug use or dealing, to report a minor traffic collision, to give information about a crime or criminals in your local area. Each call will never cost more than 15p. Callers will be put through to Force Control Room in Kent and not a national call centre. As always, dial 999 in an emergency when life is in danger or a crime is in progress. Safeguard Your Property Kent Police launched a crime prevention campaign. Helpful advice is contained within their leaflet. Download it here . (2853kb, opens in a new browser window) These web sites may also be useful: www.securedbydesign.com, www.thecrimepreventionwebsite.com Community Police - The Kent Police officers that cover the Peninsular and St Mary Hoo are: Inspector Craig West; Sergeant Steve Holpin; Sergeant Briony Woolley and PCSO Christopher Price. Contact them by telephoning 101 or visit the Medway Police Station, Purser Way, Gillingham Kent ME7 1NE.
National Counter-Terrorism Advice -- First Aid Treatment	You may be aware that the ACT for Youth film and lesson plan, launched in 2017, included basic first aid techniques, written by St John Ambulance, which could be used to treat casualties whilst hiding during a terrorist attack. This collaboration with SJA (St John Ambulance) has now been extended to include guidance for the wider adult public and has been published on the NaCTSO website. The SJA guidance is now the official CT Policing stance on the provision of first aid, following a terrorist attack, and any enquiries you might receive should be dealt with by signposting to the SJA material. How to administer CPR to a casualty has been deliberately omitted from the SJA guidance for the expert medical reasons outlined below and in the context of a terror attack: • It could potentially be very hazardous to the helper to attempt CPR in the case of a chemical incident. Professional help should be sought as soon as possible. • CPR in the event of an explosion or blast is very unlikely to be effective because of why the heart stopped. Providing blood is the most effective treatment for traumatic cardiac arrest of this kind. Professional help will be on the way, and securing the personal safety of survivors and potential helpers is the key priority. • CPR following a stabbing or a shooting has a fractionally higher possibility of success, but professional intervention is required as soon as possible, and a positive outcome is unlikely unless blood, or some interventional means of controlling the bleeding, followed by rapid evacuation, can be provided. The guidance stresses that following a terrorist attack first aid should only be administered when safe to do so, but this does not represent a change in CT Policing core advice for anyone caught up in a gun or knife terror attack, which remains to - Run, Hide, Tell. It is acknowledged that the CitizenAid app also provides authoritative guidance, and although it can be referenced as part of a discussion or presentation it will not be formally endorsed by National CT Policing on any slides or other corporate literature. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/first-aid-advice-during-a-terrorist-incident NaCTSO National Counter Terrorism Policing HQ New Scotland Yard, London, SW1A 2JL If you see something suspicious, call the anti-terrorism hotline 0800 789321.
Village Voices Magazine	The Village Voices community magazine is for St Mary Hoo and other Hoo peninsular villages. It contains news, events, Parish Council information and adverts. (Please note St Mary Hoo PC is not linked to nor responsible for the magazine.) To submit an item or an advert for the Village Voices magazine, please contact: Telephone: 01634 255 694 Email: office@villagevoicespublishing.co.uk Website: www.VillageVoicesPublishing.co.uk
Local Bus Services	Updated timetables are published online at www.medway.gov.uk/buses, and www.arrivabus.co.uk/medway or Traveline can be contacted on 0871 200 2233.
Medway Mobility Bus Service	Medway Mobility is a weekly bus service specifically designed for people in the Medway area who are frail and elderly; or have a disability. Medway Mobility's weekly bus service is operated by ASD Coaches on behalf of Medway Council. How does it work? The Medway Mobility takes you from as close as possible to your front door to the centres of Chatham, Rochester, Strood or Gillingham. It also serves Medway Maritime Hospital and Hempstead Valley. Medway Mobility operates from a different area each day of the week. It collects you between 9.30 and 10am and returns between 12.30 and 1.30pm. The driver will give you any help you need to get on or off the bus. It has been designed for easy access and is wheelchair-friendly. All you need to do is register with the council. When you have received your pass, call the Medway Mobility dial-a-bus service and book your journey at least a day in advance. When does it cover my area? Monday Grain, Stoke, Allhallows, St Mary Hoo, High Halstow, Hoo and Chattenden, Twydall, Gillingham and Brompton. Tuesday Cliffe, Cliffe Woods, Cooling, Wainscott, Lodge Hill, Upnor, Parkwood and Rainham. Who can use it? Anyone living in Medway who has difficulty using ordinary buses may apply. The quickest and easiest way to apply for disability mobility is to visit Medway Council's webpage and fill in the online form. It is essential that you provide details of the disability to provide eligibility for this service. For more information contact Medway Council by telephone: 01634 306000 or by email: info@medway.gov.uk
The Villager Rural Bus Service	The Villager community transport scheme has two fully accessible minibuses with seating for up to sixteen passengers, including space for up to three wheelchairs. It runs regular excursions to a range of destinations and offers low cost minibus hire for local community and voluntary groups. For more information and bookings: 01634 336336 (9.30am to 1pm Mon-Fri) or by Email to the following address: rural.projects@medway.gov.uk.
Parish Nature Reserve - Five Year Management Plan	The purpose of the plan is to provide guidance for the management of the site. Of primary importance is to maintain the arboreal interest of the site, whilst also improving the site’s biodiversity through increasing the variety of available habitats. The plan aims to provide initial conservation area site information and an evaluation of the important biological and human factors affecting the site, with potential objectives for the future management of the site aimed at increasing its wildlife importance. View the report. Needs a PDF reader and opens in a new page.
Newlands Farm Road Nature Reserve entrance path before and after
Parish Nature Reserve and Pond - Wildlife Survey Report	Kent Wildlife Trust was contracted by St Mary Hoo Parish Council to undertake a wildlife survey of a Nature Reserve Conservation Area, located off Newlands Road (TQ798 756) and the Village Pond, located off Hall Road (TQ804766). The aims of the survey for each area were to: -- Identify the main habitats present; -- Provide a comprehensive list of plants found within each area; -- Identify incidental species seen during the site visits such as birds, mammals, reptiles and amphibians, and insects such as butterflies, bees and hoverflies. View the report. Needs a PDF reader and opens in a new page.
St Mary Hoo Walks	A interesting local walk took place on 31st July 2013. Read Christoph Bull's report here about this very successful walk. Christoph Bull, Local Historian and until retirement, the Gravesham Library Manager, has written below a report about another walk in June 2009, organised by the Kent Wildlife Trust. "After the success of the Winter Warmer Walk on 31st December 2008, I was contacted by St Mary Hoo Parish Council and the Kent Wildlife Trust who wanted a repeat of this and I agreed to do it. The route is identical to the walks done on 17 September 2006 and 31 December 2008 –footpaths RS 341, RS22, RS4, RS19, RS55, RS17, RS14 from St Mary Hoo village via the marshes and Coomb Farm/Moat Farm back. Former explosive storehouses near St Mary Hoo. As usual the footpath RS14 was overgrown and clearly this is a poorly used route – all the more reason for it to be walked and recorded. I inspected RS14 on 9th May 2009 and found it badly over grown – a danger increased as the path is pitted with rabbit holes. I contacted Medway Council Footpaths Officer and again it was quickly and efficiently cleared within a few days. The walk itself was on a glorious sunny day when the Kent Wildlife Trust sent two people to join the other walkers – a total of 25. Medway Council paid for a buffet afterwards at the Fenn Bell Inn in St Mary Hoo where we all ate and the Kent Wildlife Trust gave out questionnaires to those present about community views on open spaces. It was a very good example of partnership working and a good time was had by all."