The next magazine is going to print in late October . Contributions to info@gofolkestone.org.uk. I , RW, have stepped down as chair of Go Folkestone , mainly because of family commitments and illnesses , but also because I am a genuine Conservative , and I felt that doesn’t seem appropriate for the Go Folkestone chair at the present time. The new chair is David Noble , who is unpolitical and not in any party , and the co-opted vice chairs are Tony Hill , the mastermind of bringing the Pier Stone back , and Tony Quarrington, the well known walking guide , with Nicky Tolson the ever efficient membership secretary , Celeste Foreman the new treasurer , and a good committee to be firmed up at our November AGM . We meet every 2nd Wednesday evening at 6.30 for 6.45pm at the excellent Wards Hotel , which is still open , despite a delayed sale to Earlscliffe School. Next meeting on 11th September .
Please contact info@gofolkestone.org.uk or write to Nicola at 21 Clifton Crescent , to join Go Folkestone for £15 per annum , supporting our projects , taking a full part in monthly meetings and receiving the magazine by direct email , post or hand before the general broadcasting .
Immediate Go Folkestone needs include :
- the monthly LITTER PICK which is FRIDAY 30TH AUGUST AT THE LEAS ARCH AND TOP OF ROAD OF REMEMBRANCE . Please congregate there at 2pm and we will send you , generally in walking pairs , to our regular areas , with the proper Folkestone and Hythe Council litter pickers and clever bags . OR go with our car driver to any black spot you have identified.
- more volunteers for our Town Centre Recycling Collection which will probably start on Saturday 21st September from 10.00am to 2pm, maybe with two hour shifts, in the street market , probably at the Guildhall Street end . Before then why not go to the Hythe Saturday morning collection at 101 Hythe High Street to see how it works , and check our lovely coloured flyer? Why not BOGOF at the Friday litter pick tomorrow where Alison , Mick or Richard can link you to the group !!!
- A final call for good , colour , current local pictures of Folkestone , Sandgate, and beauty spots within 5 miles for our 2025 Aspects of Folkestone Calendar , which does financially support Go Folkestone . Send HORIZONTAL pictures NOW to info@gofolkestone.org.uk or djn@noblepics.co.uk . Not for profit . You have the copyright and we do print 400 , give you 3 , and forward enquiries on the great pics direct to you. The Harbour is a great subject……. but we also love Sandgate Sea Festival , Folkestone Warren , Cheriton Downs, photographs from ships , Triennial sculptures and any AUTUMN/WINTER PICS!
We are concerned about the fate of :
- the Grace Hill Library
- Folkestone Sports’ Centre,
- the bus station.
- Swimmers against sewage
- and the Saga Office site in Sandgate …………… There will be more matured discussion in the magazine and we are happy for any well argued articles on these subjects to go to the magazine via info@gofolkestone.org.uk on the items above . Other topical and cultural items , well-written memories and stories from schools and others are invited.
A consultation on Folkestone Library is available in paper copy from all local libraries e.g. Cheriton , Wood Avenue , Sandgate and the temporary Folkestone one at 5 Grace Hill . Also answer online at kent.gov.uk / folkestonelibrary .
CONSULTATION CLOSES 11 SEPTEMBER 2024 . Following our July meeting GO FOLKESTONE will put in a brief response supporting the option to ‘ Sell on long lease and then lease back part of the building ’ provided it covers a range of good business , community and artistic uses and preserves the ground floor as a library . The main hope, as set out in the last two magazine issues is that Creative Folkestone , the charity which has transformed The Old High Street and parts of Tontine Street will infuse the building with viable creative businesses , and an art gallery or similar . Kent County Council , the undoubted owner of the library , prefers moving the library to other buildings and selling Grace Hill . The leading other sites are Kent Adult Education at The Cube at the top of Tontine Street , and Folca/Debenhams in Sandgate Road . The latter would be a better position than either Grace Hill or , even more so , The Cube . It would therefore strengthen both the high street and the library . But most locals within Go Folkestone seem to want the Grade II Grace Hill building modernised , cleaned up and made the centrepiece of a creative centre . Plus of course the minor detail that Folkestone and Hythe District Council which owns the Debenhams building prefers its own plans to convert Folca/ Debenhams to new public facing council offices to replace the 1970ish ageing Civic Centre with perhaps a local surgery as an additional magnet. One assumes the national government might be involved since Kent County Council is some tens of millions of pounds in deficit ( see July magazine) .
Some Go Folkestone members also suggest an INDOOR MARKET OR FOOD COURT on the most attractive part of Folca around the elegant Bobbie’s staircase . Perhaps the required offices could surround that Bouverie Arcade ??? Given the growth in online shopping the emphasis should possibly be on having more dwellings in the secondary commercial areas of Folkestone such as the farthest west end of Sandgate Road, and in Tontine Street or Church Street and concentrating the shops in order to improve the quality of Sandgate Road , which currently includes a new Turkish grocer, Wolf-Wear , several vacancies and a fair few charity shops.
BUS STATION :
Go Folkestone will continue to lobby to the MP, Tony Vaughan and others , against the complete closure of the bus station , and instead support simple modernisation and landscaping . Write to your councillor . But the Better Future Scheme is still on course, following proper consultation , to replace it in Autumn/Winter 2024 with a series of now more windproof bus shelters strung out along the main road plus a small park in Bouverie Square with some Triennial artwork. At least the surprisingly popular 1950’s bus station building is being saved. But some people do wonder if this is a long winded way of getting a private development, such as flats or a hotel , into Bouverie Square in a few years . The District Council seem genuinely behind the present scheme . But others have played with the idea of building where the park will be.
The local district council continues to pursue derelict building owners quite effectively. More on that in the next news and in the magazine.
That will have to be all for now , but please come to our litter pick at 2pm tomorrow Friday 30th , and , if you wish , sign up to be at least a potential volunteer for the Go Folkestone Town Centre Recycling Scheme. Remember it’s just 2 hours on a Saturday and you can fit it in with other things you can do in Town !!!!
RW