Kent Police may be amalgamated with the Surrey and Sussex forces in a series of proposals put forward by the home secretary Charles Clarke. The restructuring proposals, which could see the number of police forces in England and Wales reduced from 43 to 12, were announced by Mr Clarke on Thursday as part of an ongoing review.
News that the skateboard park at Folkestone Sports Centre may be closed over the winter in response to complaints from local residents about noise has been balanced by the re-opening in the last few weeks of the Hythe skate park. Lib Dem controlled Hythe Town Council secured the re-opening of the park after receiving planning permission to reopen the site after an extended closure.
Plans for a lorry park for up to 1,500 trucks are being unveiled by Dover Harbour Board today. The Board said it would end Operation Stack, where lorries wait on the M20 when port operations are delayed. No site has yet been named, but it is thought the lorry park, set to cost between £20m and £30m, may be between Farthingloe and Aycliff.
Speaking on the Nick Ferrari LBC Breakfast show this morning, the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone gave his backing to Local Income Tax as a replacement for Council Tax. Shepway Liberal Democrats have been campaigning for the replacement of Council Tax with Local Income Tax (based on ability to pay), and welcomed the Mayors support.
New figures on the take up of Pension Credit show that 1,753 pensioners in Folkestone & Hythe constituency are missing out on money that is rightfully theirs.
Kent Ambulance Service is pleading with people to stop sending out a terrifying hoax email about the dangers of hypodermic needles being planted in cinema seats. The email has reached epidemic proportions, and because it it had been forwarded in good faith but mistakenly by a member of Kent Ambulance Service it appears genuine.
As ballot papers go out to Conservative party members nationally in the increasingly bitter contest to replace Michael Howard as leader, the Shepway Liberal Democrats "Meeting the Challenge" Policy Forum will be taking place at 82A Sandgate High Street from 7pm on 11th November. All members are welcome to the meeting, which is part of a nationwide consultation on two key questions: "What challenges will the UK and British politics face over the next 5-10 years?" and "What should the Liberal Democrats be doing about them?".
In an edition of Shepway News published in May last year we ran an article which stated that "the last Conservative budget in Shepway led to a £700,000 black hole in Council finances". We did not intend to suggest that this was a deliberate act on the part of the Conservative Cabinet or Mr Tearle, only that it was an unforeseen consequence.
Cross-Channel ferry operator Hoverspeed is to end its service from Dover to Calais, resulting in the loss of "many" jobs, it confirmed on Friday.
Shepway Lib Dems have backed the local "Herald" newspapers recycling survey, and are encouraging local residents to to take. They have also launched their own petition calling for Shepway's Conservative Council leaders to listen to local residents' concerns about the new recycling scheme and make the necessary changes to address these problems.
Shepway Council is amongst the 14 worst performing councils in the south East on achieving energy efficiency improvements in line with government targets, according to a recent report. Out of 67 Local Authorities in the South East, Shepway are the 52nd worst performers. Nearby local authorities Dover, Ashford, Thanet and Canterbury all performed better.
A new survey has shown that millions of UK internet users are putting themselves at risk from attack by internet criminals because they are either unaware of the threat or don't know how they can protect themselves.
