News

Ralph's cunning plan....

The proposals for a residential home on the employment land near Terlingham Village moved a step closer last week when representatives from the planners made a presentation to the parish council meeting on Wednesday.

Although it is only at a preliminary stage, there does appear to be considerable support from villagers, and the parish council too, seem to be "receptive" to the idea of a care home, I hear.

The land has so far failed to attract the businesses hoped for and the siting of a residential home, if planning were to be approved could make factory units even less attractive, especially if noise and pollution were to be a consideration. 

But who is going to complain? A home for our local elderly residents and the creation of over 100 jobs looks like a sure-fire winner to me.

Something I feel is less than a winner is the business plan for the Community Centre which was released last week. 

The plan appears to be dependent on grants to save it from financial meltdown and the report goes as far as to say funding for year 1 (which includes considerable grant monies) is crucial for the long term sustainability of the centre.

The plan unfortunately fails to address the lack of suitable space in the centre. For those of you who have never ventured in, there is a large hall, small hall, heritage room, committee room and foyer. 

Ralph could be being a tad naive but here is my cunning plan.

Install mobile partitioning in the small hall and instantly increase the letting space. Very few local groups want a room as big as the small hall, and on cost alone, few groups would  need to hire the large hall. 

But what do you do with the large hall? 

I suggest it is used primarily for sports facilities which could include five-a-side football, basketball or volleyball. The examples are team games which could generate a reasonable income.

With a cloud hanging over the future Folkestone Sports centre, an innovative management team could market the increased space and open up the centre to smaller local groups, increasing the number of community events and meetings without the locals being squeezed out by the more lucrative commercial letting mentioned in the business plan.

I have always been under the impression the Community Centre was built for the community, and not for business lettings. The villagers must come first, after all it was the village's money which built it.

It could turn out to be a Baldrick cunning plan but something needs to be done or the village could lose its £2m edifice. 

The business plan can be found on the parish council website.
.........Click here to view it now

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