Patients at the Cedars Surgery in Walmer are being invited to play an important role in how it is run and the services it provides. The GPs' practice on The Strand is planning to set up a novel Patient Reference Group to provide a voice for all patients registered at the Cedars. Although those patients who volunteer to serve on the group will need to agree exactly how it will operate, it is expected it will meet every four months with, ideally, at least six patients present. Probable tasks for the new group will include supporting initiatives to consult patients on current and future services, spotting gaps in services and suggesting solutions, considering any trends in complaints and coming up with ways to resolve them. Minutes will be taken at each of the group's meetings and presented to the practice's GP partners at their formal meetings.

SIXTH "PICNIC" A SUCCESS - DESPITE DULL WEATHER

Blustery winds and cloudy skies could not keep the crowds away from Walmer Parish Council’s sixth annual Picnic on the Green on Saturday, 21 August. An exciting new addition to the afternoon’s activities was local band City Lightz who attracted a younger crowd, followed by The Kingsdown Band who delighted as usual. It was not long before people were on their feet, informally led by Landmark Centre-based group Dance Dedication Deal. Representatives of local community groups as diverse as Linwood Youth Club, The Cleary Club and Diabetes UK chatted to people in the marquees, giving advice and information on the wide range of services and opportunities available in Walmer and Deal.

SHOLDEN RESIDENTS IN FIGHT TO HALT HOMES PLANS

Plans by two development companies to build 500 homes on farmland at Sholden have provoked condemnation from residents and local MP Charlie Elphicke. Following exhibitions of their proposals by Ward Homes and Hillreed Homes, Mr Elphicke is reported to have said he shared residents' concerns at increased traffic and risk of flooding. Also opposed to the plans are the Sholden Parish Council and a Sholden Action Group. Parish council chairman Derek Wanstall deplored the loss of grade-one agricultural land and the prospect of more traffic on the already overloaded London Road. He regarded the impact on the quality of life for many existing residents as unacceptable and he echoed the MP's concerns at flooding which already occurred locally. Action Group supporters questioned the need for 500 new homes in Deal when the area suffered from a shortage of employment opportunities. There's more on the parish council website at: www.sholdenpc.kentparishes.gov.uk/    (August 26, 2010)

GO AHEAD FOR NEW TENNIS CENTRE

LAST-MINUTE RESCUE FOR DEAL'S FOLK WEEKEND

Fears that Deal's Maritime Folk Festival wouldn't be happening this year have been averted. The regular organisers are understood to have faced a number of problems and, according to the official folk festival website, had decided they "will be taking a break" for this year. However a number of local bands, the Astor Theatre and several of the town’s pubs have joined forces and the popular local folk festival is on between Thursday, 16 to Sunday, 19 September.

So far, 50 performers are coming together in 60 sessions at ten venues. Included are a "Day of Dance" hosted by Offcumduns when seven Morris and traditional dance groups will perform in the town centre on Saturday followed by a Ceilidh dance in the evening. Also on the Saturday is a "Songs of the Sea" concert with traditional singers Chris Roach, Kerry and Mandy and Paul Sirman at the Royal Hotel. The Astor Theatre has a whole day of folk-based activity on the Saturday including workshops from percussion to sea shanties; film-making; an all-day Smugglers Session in the Balcony room and a Smugglers Presents in the evening with Senegalese soul singer Nura Kane supported by local group Cocos Lovers - a world music "first" for Deal.

EXHIBITION RECORDS MARINES BOMBING

MEETING TO CONSIDER "TRANSITION TOWN" FUTURE FOR DEAL

Local green group Deal With It has organised a one-day workshop on Saturday, 4 September to consider how Deal could become a "transition town". Hundreds of towns and communities - including Canterbury, Whitstable, Faversham, Tunbridge Wells and Sevenoaks – have signed up to the "transition" aims for meeting the challenges of climate change and reducing dependency on oil. To be held in the Rippledown Environmental Centre on Dover Road at Ringwould, the event will explain what a carbon free and sustainable Deal would look like and what needs to happen to achieve this. Sessions will cover the "transition town" concept, options for community energy generation and greener approaches to local food, local transport and dealing with waste and recycling. Deal With It supporters, local community organisations and individuals are all welcome to attend the workshop which is from 10am to 4pm. Tea, coffee and cold drinks will be available and participants need to bring their own lunch. For more details and to book a place, contact Rosemary Rechter by phone 01304 381849 or . There's also more on the Deal With It website.     (August 23, 2010)

ASTOR REVEALS ITS COMING ATTRACTIONS

Deal's Astor Theatre has unveiled its programme for the months up to Christmas. Included are a wide selection of musical events with rock, folk and some top line groups like Dr Feelgood and The Blockheads. There's also a monthly cinema club, tea dances, comedy nights and a murder-mystery evening. For more details on events and facilities at the refurbished theatre in Stanhope Road go to www.theastor.org/.     (August 18, 2010)

MEETING TO IMPROVE SERVICES FOR DOMESTIC ABUSE VICTIMS

Family support charity Cordomus is inviting people interested in improving local services for victims of domestic abuse to attend a conference at The Ark, Dover on Friday, 17 September from 10am to 3pm. Main aim of the meeting is to explore what is available and what needs to be done to provide comprehensive support for victims of domestic abuse. Among the issues delegates will consider are: what support do women need to reintegrate socially and economically after a crisis?; which support services exist and where are the gaps?; and how can statutory agencies and third sector providers work in partnership to fill any gaps in services? The conference is funded by an ESF Community Grant and free of charge to delegates. For more information, see www.cordomus.info/ and to reserve a place .

Cordomus was founded last year by Deal-based solicitor Donna Payne as a development of her free scheme to assist and represent the victims of domestic abuse. It has a Board of Trustees comprising local people with a wide range of relevant skills and experience. Cordomus' help to families in crisis whether pre- or post- separation is currently available in the area covered by Dover District Council. The ultimate aim is to have a centre offering all services at one location.     (August 18, 2010)

RUGBY VOLUNTEERS COULD SOLVE SPORTS FIELD PROBLEMS

Problems over security and cleaning at the Drill Field multi-user games area off Walmer's Canada Road could be solved in the near future. Parish councillors have been on the receiving end of numerous complaints from members of the public concerned about unauthorised out-of-hours use, disturbance and litter. A company hired to lock and unlock the access gates and clean the sports field had, councillors felt, proved unsatisfactory. Council chairman Cllr Pat Heath said he had informally suggested to members of the main users, the Deal and Betteshanger Rugby Club, that they might be able to find some volunteers willing to lock and unlock the site each day in return for an annual gratuity from Walmer Parish Council. He understood that members of the rugby club were keen on the idea and were due to put the proposal to their directors at a coming meeting.     (August 12, 2010)

MOPED MENACE

Speaking to Walmer parish councillors at their July meeting, Kent County Councillor Julie Rook said there had been various complaints about very loud mopeds racing around local streets. She suggested that councillors could help by taking and reporting registration details of any offenders they witnessed. Local Police Community Support Officer Lisa White also highlighted the problem. In her monthly report to the parish council she explained that the police had also received complaints about noisy and speeding mopeds around the town. The nuisance had also occured, after dark, in Marke Wood recreation ground off the Dover Road although, so far, no damage to the grounds appeared to have been caused.       (August 12, 2010)

CASTLE SCHOOL GOES FOR ACADEMY STATUS

Castle Community College in Mill Road, Deal is set to become an academy in September. Earlier plans to amalgamate the Castle school with Walmer Science College in new premises on the Castle site were among the casualties in a wave of spending cuts announced by the government. As a result Castle College decided to take up an invitation to apply for academy status.

Principal Christine Chapman has said that the new academy means future of the school site is more secure and none of it can be sold off by the county council. She anticipated that the academy would receive more money which would come direct from central government and not through the local education authority. There could also be more flexibility in setting school timetables and the curriculum - something that she felt would also benefit students.     (August 11, 2010)

PUBLIC'S VIEWS SOUGHT ON COUNCIL CHANGES

How Dover District Council will be run after May 2011 is due to be decided at the end of this year and the public is being invited to make its views known beforehand. Currently, Dover's 45 elected councillors select a Leader who appoints a Cabinet of up to nine other members each year. They are then responsible for recommending an overall budget and policies to the full council and, if agreed, seeing these are implemented. There is also an elected Chairman who presides over full council meetings and has a traditional ceremonial role.

Under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, local authorities have to review these decision-making arrangements. It means Dover District Council needs to consider two alternative options for how executive decision-making by councillors should operate from next May. The two options are Option A for a Leader and Cabinet or Option B for a directly elected Mayor and Cabinet.

Option A is similar to the current arrangements where councillors elect one of them as the Leader. However, under the new law, the Leader would serve for a period of four years instead of just one. Again, as at present, the Leader would request the council to appoint up to nine councillors to form a Cabinet. He would appoint a Deputy Leader to serve a four-year term. Other councillors would continue to scrutinise the decisions of the Leader and Cabinet and undertake in-depth reviews into topics of local concern.

Option B for a directly elected Mayor and Cabinet means that voters in Dover would directly elect the Mayor at the same time as they elect the other councillors, to serve for a period of four years. The Mayor would then choose a Cabinet of not more than nine councillors. The remaining elected councillors would continue to have a role on the council's Overview and Scrutiny Committees and to hold the directly elected Mayor and Cabinet to account. The Mayor would appoint a Deputy Mayor who would also serve a four-year term. The Council would have to decide whether to continue to have a traditional, civic and ceremonial Chairman or have the directly elected Mayor carry out these functions. There is no provision for the removal of a directly elected Mayor during the four-year term of office.

MINER'S MEMORIAL "COMES HOME" TO FOWLMEAD

The Waiting Miner, a statue reflecting the commitment and sacrifices of Kent's former local colliery workers, has been resited from Dover seafront to the entrance of Fowlmead Country Park. The move follows a four-year campaign by local people for the memorial to be located close to the actual site of the coalfields. The statue was originally commissioned by the Central Electricity Board as a "thank you" to local miners for supplying fuel for the old Richborough power station. When the power station closed, the statue was re-located outside National Coal Board offices in Dover. After these offices also closed, a small group of enthusiasts prompted a growing demand for the statue to be moved to a more fitting permanent home. A site was agreed beside the A258 Deal to Sandwich road immediately outside the entrance to the new Fowlmead leisure area, created on former coalfield workings. With the statue now in place, a final phase of the project is to create a memorial plinth recording the names of all fatalities that occured in the area's coalfields.      (August 6, 2010)

HAVE A SAY ON CASH AID FOR VOLUNTEERS

The public is being invited to help decide how cash grants to local voluntary groups and worthy causes are allocated. It's all part of a move by Dover District Neighbourhood Forums to pilot "participatory budgeting" which involves local people in deciding how £61,400 in this year's Small Community Capital Projects fund is awarded. Available for community projects by all types of groups across the district, grants of up to £2,500 are on offer.

Organisations that want more details and an application pack need to see: www.dover.gov.uk/community/neighbourhood_forums/funding_information.aspx. Typical projects last year included new equipment, small building works, replacement railings, display boards and fencing. All grants need to show benefit to the community. The closing date for applications is Friday, 27 August.

Eligible applicants will then be invited to a "You Decide" event to make a short three-minute presentation on their project. For the Walmer, Deal and Sandwich area, this will be at Walmer Science College, Salisbury Road, Walmer on Saturday, 2 October. Local residents and groups can attend and will be invited to vote electronically on how they score each project. These votes will then be the primary deciding factor when councillors finalise the awards.      (August 6, 2010)

The specialist water and sanitation charity WaterAid is asking people to put on their walking shoes on Saturday, 11 September and join in a fundraising event, CoastAlong for WaterAid, on coastal paths around the UK. The event aims to have groups of walkers on 187 sections of coastline, including the Kent coast from Faversham round to Folkestone and Hythe which, of course, includes Deal and Walmer. The individual sections are between four and 15 miles in length so there should be something to suit all ages and abilities.

CoastAlong Steering Committee member Sue Past, says that a total of 12 teams have already registered on the Kent section. She explained:"This is the fourth time that WaterAid has held this event but the first year that it has been nationwide, so this amount of interest in our own area is very encouraging. There are still opportunities for local people and visitors to get involved in the event in Kent. "