It is fantastic to be coming back home to Folkestone. I'm frantically house hunting and meeting up with old family friends. As with any homecoming, it makes you think about the changes in the area - some good, some less so.
It's always fun to find yourself in the Martello column in the Folkestone Herald. A piece this week reads:
Councillor Paul Dawkins, who represents Walmer on Dover District Council, has today resigned from the Conservative Party and joined the Liberal Democrats.
The owners of Cheriton Parc House in Cheriton Parc by the M20 are searching for new tenants for the landmark building overlooking the M20 and Eurotunnel Channel Tunnel terminal. The building was built in 1993 and has acted as a call centre and administrative offices for Eurotunnel over the past 13 years.
Tom McNeice, one of Shepway Lib Dems' star campaigners retires today after 42 years working in Trading Standards.
Over 500 retired Gurkha soldiers will march from Parliament Square to hand deliver a letter to the Prime Minister at Downing Street at 11.30am on Thursday 14th December 2006. The Gurkhas will protest about the Government's failure to properly honour the right for retired Gurkhas to become citizens of the UK on retirement and to protest about the appallingly low pensions paid to retired Gurkhas. Hundreds of retired Gurkhas who should have the right to citizenship are having their applications unfairly held up by the Home Office.
Two of Park ward's Shepway District Lib Dem Councillors will not be standing again when the local elections are held next May.
Lib Dems at Shepway Council have called for a percentage of all new housing that is built in our area to have microgeneration included in its plans. Microgeneration is a scheme whereby householders can install small energy creating devices on their property, like solar panels or a small wind turbine on the roof.
Liberal Democrats on Folkestone Town Council have proposed additional spending for cleaner streets for Folkestone AND a Zero percent rise in Council Tax for next year. The proposal, which would have seen Council cash reserves rise more slowly in 2007-2008, was voted down by Councillors of all other groups.
The M20 between junctions 11 and 12 was still closed for Operation Stack on Thursday morning. Operation Stack was put in place on Tuesday in response to ferry crossings from Dover to Calais being blockaded by a strike at Calais, and at its peak yesterday the M20 was closed back as far as junction 8 towards Maidstone.
The cost of a Southeastern "saver return" train fare from Folkestone Central, Folkestone West and Sandling to London will rise from £29.80 to over £31 in 2007, according to figures released today. A "cheap day" return will rise to over £16 for the same journey.
Shepway Councillor Lynne Beaumont has warned that Folkestone, Sandgate and Hythe residents may soon have to get used to the noise of Boeing 737s flying over Folkestone. Plans to expand the runway at Lydd Airport aim to allow these large planes to operate out of Lydd.
