Questions from Councillors to 13 June Shepway District Council Meeting

The Liberal Democrats on Shepway District Council have presented a wide ranging set of questions to Wednesday evenings full Council meeting. The subjects cover issues from recycling, public liability insurance, the state of the Leas bandstand, Veterans Day, freedom bus passes and the future of the Folkestone Post Office.

• Question from Councillor Lynne Beaumont to the District Secretary responsible for the Environment

Last week that the Government gave its full backing to fortnightly collections of landfill waste, re-stating its belief that this will lead to higher recycling rates. However, the Government also clearly stated that the actual decision between fortnightly or weekly collections is to be made by individual local councils.

In view of these Government announcements does the district secretary responsible for the environment have any future plans to change the fortnightly collection of landfill waste to a weekly collection?

• Question from Cllr Tom McNeice to the District Secretary responsible for the community.

Following on from the public question asked by Mr Roger West, can I ask that the matter of public liability insurance,( which has obviously caused an enormous amount of distress, and disappointment for the residents of Shepway), that the district secretary requests an investigation into this matter, and reports back to the next full council meeting in July with its findings?

• Question from Councillor Tim Prater to the District Secretary for Environment

Over the last two years, I have been informed that this council has been told that the recycling scheme will be extended to include the collection of recyclables from flats across Shepway. Many councillors may not be aware that Shepway does not collect recyclable goods from any residential flats in the area.

After assurances given over a long period of time, can the new district secretary inform this council, briefly, when this scheme is going to be extended to include all residential dwellings?

• Question from Councillor Peter Gane

Can I please have an explanation as to why this year's Veterans Day has had to be cancelled at such short notice, due to yet another risk assessment being asked for at too short a time frame to be possible before the event?

Is this a sign of things to come with public events having to be cancelled due to Shepways over zealous bureaucracy?

• Question from Councillor Lynne Beaumont

Given the dreadful state of repair of the newly renovated bandstand on the Leas, can the district secretary give an absolute assurance that these repairs will be carried out, before the end of June of this year, when the contract with the renovating company expires, and that these repairs will be carried out at the contractors expense, and not at the expense of the council tax payers of Shepway?

• Question from Councillor Sue Ashworth

I am sure we are all delighted at the introduction of the pilot scheme for the Freedom passes for young people in Canterbury, Tonbridge Wells, and Tonbridge.

These passes give young people the freedom to travel around the area for £50 per year. All travelling for young people on Romney Marsh is expensive, purely because of distance, and this area would have benefited greatly from this pilot scheme, rather than the far more affluent areas chosen.

Will the District Secretary responsible for community, lobby KCC to include the Romney Marsh in this pilot scheme with the utmost urgency?

• Question from Councillor Peter Carroll

The vast majority of Shepway residents appear to be totally against the proposed move of post office services from the Crown Post Office in Folkestone to WHSmiths. Understandably, local people have an expectation that the Council will play a leading role in the campaign to stop this unpopular move.

In light of the above, can the Leader of the Council please confirm the date of the letter (and any other representations) sent to the Post Office opposing this decision?