As part of a host of changes in motion to try to address issues being caused to Radnor Cliff and Radnor Cliff Crescent residents by the access to the Lower Leas Coastal Park, it has been agreed to consult those residents on a change to the on-street parking rules in that area.
With the parking charges in the Lower Sandgate Road West Car park being increased to try to push users to the cheaper and less disruptive Coastal Park car park at the Folkestone end of the park (accessed via Marine Parade) some park users have been parking in Radnor Cliff to avoid the charges, adding to the horrendous weekend congestion in that area. The CPZ changes would remove free visitors parking in Radnor Cliff and Radnor Cliff Crescent to combat that problem.
There were 997 at 22 May. On 25th May,the most recent data available, the Office for National Statistics reported 255 deaths in care homes in Kent for which Covid-19 is listed on the death certificate. That is over a quarter of all Kent deaths.
A new report shows how care home residents and staff remain particularly exposed due to persistent problems, including getting tests and protective clothing (PPE).
In the last few days, a couple of parking based questions have been posed to me, and I've had to go away and ask an expert (in this case, Fred Miller of FHDC - thanks Fred) for a full answer. In both cases, the answers come from national legisation or guidelines, rather than local rules. I thought them worth sharing:
I've been pushing Council Officers and the Leader for radical action, and I was promised an update today. I'm really pleased to say I've had that response from Head of Paid service Susan Priest tonight, and it really is a big step forward, with a massive increase in bin capacity, the banning of BBQs, closing of the Coastal Park Car Park (accessed from Radnor Cliff) overnight and a number of other measures.
Susan says
"I'm pleased to confirm that this evening the Council have agreed the following measures:
* Six additional bins - each with a 1110 litre * capacity - will be installed tomorrow in the Coastal Park;
- Barbecuing will be banned in the Coastal Park with immediate effect. We will let the public know through changed signage at the Coastal Park and through our usual communications channels including the media, website and social media. BBQ pods will be removed;
- We will refresh the double yellow lines along Radnor Cliff Road;
- We will install a lockable barrier on the Coastal Park car park and close this overnight from 8pm - 8am. We are finding that many groups are staying in the Coastal Park until 11pm so we hope that this will discourage them from staying late into the evening;
- We are considering changing the maximum stay in the Coastal Park from all day (potentially to a maximum of 4 hours) to discourage people from all-day stays. This will be subject to us consulting / securing various permissions etc.;
- Additional signage is being prepared. We are exploring the use of large electronic signage located at various points in the district / access points to the park areas;
- We have put an alert on our webpage for the Coastal Park warning people that the park is experiencing high levels of visitors and as such they might find social distancing impossible;
- We are also increasing the amount of enforcement and advisory officers to give a higher visual presence, while redeploying staff to park keeper roles to ensure we have more resources to maintain the park at this incredibly busy time. We will be issuing on the spot £100 fines for people that breach our PSPO; and
-We will continue to work with the Police to ensure that there is a joint enforcement presence in the park.
"We hope that these measures, which will be implemented swiftly, will improve the situation and we will continue to monitor the situation."There should be a letter in the next few days explaining these changes delivered to all doors in the most affected areas (specially Radnor Cliff area).
We need to have a discussion with Radnor Cliff residents about the parking restrictions in their road: if we get overnight car park closures and reduced hours then that will help solve one issue, but no-one wants to see more visitor cars pushed into Radnor Cliff, day or night. We need to look at how that can be avoided. I've already asked for more detail on that, but its clear what we currently have does not work in the summer.
There is going to have to be some tuning of some of these changes to get them right I'm sure, and we'll have to see some really concerted Social Media, signage and more to immediately see a drop in numbers driving from elsewhere. However, I think these are big moves, being offered in good faith, and should make a real difference. I've been pushing hard for changes, and I'm really pleased to have had a positive response.
* that's 6 pretty big bins - bigger than any others currently in the Park!
Folkestone & Hythe District Council will be launching their COVID Discretionary Business Grant Scheme at 9am Monday 1 June 2020.
This scheme draws on the Government's 5% top-up allocation to the Council for the original Small Business Grant (SBG) and Retail, Hospitality & Leisure Grant (RHLG) schemes for a discretionary scheme to support small and microbusinesses that did not benefit from the earlier funding.
Traditional season tickets are unlikely to be attractive for many rail commuters in the future. The rail operators need to provide more flexible ticket options.
During the lockdown working from home has become a new routine for many people. Home working has had some positive benefits both for staff and for employers. Now, as the lockdown is gradually lifted, it is clear that many of these workers are unlikely to revert to 5 day-a-week commuting. Instead, many staff are expected to adopt more flexible arrangements, going into work just occasionally.
The latest update from HMRC Business Help and Support is as follows:
"I'm writing to let you know that the coronavirus Statutory Sick Pay Rebate Scheme is now live on GOV.UK.
If you're an employer with fewer than 250 employees, you can now claim for coronavirus-related Statutory Sick Pay (SSP). If you have a tax agent, they can also make claims on your behalf.
