Most of the highlighted political news stories in the press come out of national, county or district council decisions. However there is another level, a primary level of government that is less often in the news but is just as fundamental to the way we are organised in our communities.…
Ben Fitter-Harding, Conservative Councillor Local Plan to 2040 – What are our Options? Local Plans are how Councils control development. Without them, everywhere is up for grabs and infill is much more likely, often resulting in sprawl that doesn’t deliver the roads, schools and doctors surgeries that are needed to…
In many people’s minds the phrase ‘mental illness ‘means a psychosis from which a very small minority of the population suffers. In reality, though, it covers a wide range of mental and emotional conditions that seriously affect a person’s ability to lead a satisfying and happy life. It is calculated…
Some weeks ago the leader of Canterbury Council issued his bold vision for making Canterbury more attractive by boosting its historical and cultural assets. Few would have any issue with this, but rather how it is to be done. First, he claimed Canterbury was in some way deprived and may…
Skating through my social media pages this week, I came across a contributor slating today’s super rich for not emulating their public-spirited Victorian antecedents. Instead of frittering their fortunes on yachts and Caribbean islands, the writer suggested, they might choose to fund museums and galleries. Presumably the writer had in…
by Beverley Paton, Chair of the ‘Green and Biodiversity’ Working Group and Deputy Chair of the Canterbury Society There are initiatives in the city that are making Canterbury a greener and more enjoyable place to live. Through partnership between volunteers, the city council and various charitable organizations including the Canterbury Society,…
About time too. On Thursday 27 May Canterbury City Council announced an ambitious – and expensive – plan to transform the city into a world-class tourist destination. In April, I lamented the shabby and half-hearted manner in which we present our very special city, and therefore warmly welcome the ‘Canterbury’s…
What do the local election results in Canterbury mean? With a 17 per cent shift to Labour in the county votes in the city centre, they buck the main trend in England — of seven per cent gains by the Conservatives. Local Conservatives would prefer to see them as a…
At last there is a glimmer of light at the end of the COVID tunnel. The NHS—after a year of heroic effort to combat the pandemic –now will be looking to what has to be done to meet the needs of the future. Here, in East Kent, there is no…
Last Tuesday I became a tourist. I didn’t pack bags and fly off in defiance of Covid regulations, but paid a visit to my own city, Canterbury, as a putative outsider. I wanted to find out what the place looked and felt like to someone arriving for the first time.…
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