News

MAN SHOT AT LOCAL ARMY RANGE

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) is conducting a full investigation after an incident where an Army safety supervisor was shot at a firing range between Lydd and Hythe.

The officer from the Royal Scots Regiment had gone to the range with a Minimi machine gun for target practice before being posted to Iraq, The Sun reported.

But he stumbled as he was carrying the loaded weapon and accidentally fired it.

The bullet hit the supervisor in the calf, passing through his leg.

The MoD confirmed a range supervisor received a minor injury in an incident o­n Thursday (1 December).

The injured man is reported as having now returned to work.

URGENT TALKS OVER TUNNEL SAFETY 

Dover District Council Leader Cllr Paul Watkins is calling for an urgent meeting with the Government Transport boss over safety issues at the Shakespeare tunnels

Shakespeare tunnel

High speed rail link operator Govia, has said it is committed to running services to Dover if the safety concerns at Shakespeare Tunnels can be overcome.

Cllr Watkins said: 'We remain concerned that safety issues at Shakespeare tunnels are still at this stage unresolved. We are now calling for urgent talks with the Secretary of State for Transport to discuss how these matters can be resolved. We are very happy that Kent will benefit from High Speed Train services, but are disappointed at the continuing uncertainty regarding possible connections to Dover.

'The confirmation that Govia is committed to run services to Dover if safety issues are resolved is great news, coming on the back of the planning application for the White Cliffs Business Park. This has the potential to provide tremendous opportunities for the district. It is important that Dover is connected to enable us to compete on a level playing field to achieve the full regeneration and community benefits.

'The Council is working hard with our partners in the community to regenerate the area, and initiatives like Dover Pride are working to secure economic growth. This news will help to give these initiatives a real boost and put the district on track for the future.'

COUNCIL ACT OVER MEADOW HOUSING PLAN 

More than seventy five residents squeezed into Swingfield Parish Council meeting on Tuesday (29 November) to hear the debate over  plans for 98 new homes on Black Horse Meadow in Densole.

Cllr Colin Tearle chaired the planning application section of the meeting and less than impressed councillors who were unanimously against the development have sent their views to Shepway District Council.

These included:

• The plans are contrary to the current local plan
• The land is 'an area of outstanding natural beauty'
• Increase in traffic
• Access to the proposed development is on a dangerous bend
• Sewage disposal problems
• Local fears of creeping urbanisation
• Lack of infrastructure

Residents have reported that the individual building plots on Black Horse Meadow are on sale on the internet (click here) .

To try to stop the sale of individual plots as advertised on the website, Swingfield Parish Council have requested that Shepway District Council use their powers to issue a Section 4 directive. This would remove permitted development rights to the field.

Many villagers had long hoped that the land would have been used as a childrens play area  and recreation ground but the Densole Playing Field Association failed to buy the land when it came up for auction in July 2000.

It was sold for £38,000.

FOLKESTONE HIGH-SPEED RAIL LINK OPERATOR NAMED

The Government has announced that transport company Govia has won the contract to run a new Kent rail franchise which includes routes which have been run in the public sector by South Eastern Trains and the new commuter high speed link from Folkestone to London.

The company promises to invest £76m in passenger and staff facilities, and build two new depots in Ashford and Ramsgate - but fares will increase.

From 2009, Govia will run high-speed commuter trains on a section of the franchise which will use the Channel Tunnel rail link. 

The new franchise will be for eight years, with the final two years dependent on service performance. 

The franchise area covers routes already operated by South Eastern Trains where the previous franchise holder, Connex, was sacked by the Strategic Rail Authority in 2003.

CASH FOR KEEP FIT PROJECT

Lyminge Bowls Club has just been awarded a £3,000 grant from Kent County Council to help the club replace the watering system which is on its last legs.

County Councillor Susan Carey presents the cheque

The Club is a hidden gem, tucked unobtrusively away near the village hall. 

The green is rated as “excellentâ€? and often hosts major events at both County and national level. 

The new watering system will not only keep the green in tip top condition but will be far more environmentally friendly by making better use of water. 

Bowls is one of the few keep fit activities for older folks and most of the Lyminge Bowls Club members are 50+ but the club also boasts four under 18s and is making active efforts to encourage more young people to take part as bowls is an excellent cross generational sport.

PARISH COUNCIL CHAIRMAN STEPS DOWN

Swingfield Parish Council Chairman Roger Curd took fellow councillors by surprise when he announced he was stepping down at their meeting on Tuesday (29 November).

Vice Chairman Colin Tearle has taken over the role until a new Chairman is elected at their next meeting in January 2006. 

Roger Curd admitted he had been thinking of resigning for some time.

He said: "I have been Chairman for five years and thoroughly enjoyed the job. However, I have been mulling over my future since May.

"The demands of my consultancy to Folkestone charities has mushroomed and I have less spare time.

"I always like to give 100% but there came a time when I couldn't give the Parish Council the time it deserved."

Mr. Curd will continue to sit as a Swingfield parish councillor.

JOB CUTS UNLIKELY SAY P&O BUYERS

The P&O ports and ferries group, recognised by the British as their sea-sickness-inducing passageway to exotic locales such as Calais, Bilbao, Rotterdam and Zeebrugge has agreed to be bought by Dubai Ports World in a takeover deal worth £3.3 billion. 

French supermarkets - a favourite for booze cruisers

Last month, P&O announced it had been approached by a potential bidder. "We did not solicit the bid but we received an attractive proposition," admitted P&O chairman Sir John Parker on Tuesday, "Putting P&O and DP World together will create one of the top three leading ports groups in the world." 

P&O started in 1840 after the Peninsular Steam Navigation Company won a British Admiralty contract to carry the mail overseas in 1837. 

There are now three divisions, ferries, ports and logistics, although most U.K. landlubbers know it solely as a means of doing a "booze cruise" - loading up a hired van with cheap beer and wine from French supermarkets for the festive season. 

It has been restructuring over the past two years to try to counter a drop in ferry passengers, partly thanks the phenomenal growth of low-cost airlines like Ryannair and stiff competition from other ferry operators and Eurotunnel.

DPW is a new kid on the block. Created a month ago by the Dubai government, the company says it plans to keep P&O's headquarters in London and Chief Executive Robert Woods would continue to head the business. 

There are unlikely to be any job cuts as P&O will be run as a separate business, DP World says, as there is very little overlap between the operations of the two companies.

MAN RESCUED IN CHANNEL FERRY DRAMA

A man has been recovered from the English Channel after falling overboard from the P&O Pride of Dover ferry.

Pride of Dover

A major rescue operation was mounted this afternoon (26 November) after a man fell overboard from the cross channel ferry.

He was recovered from the sea after being in the water for about 30 minutes.

The man was taken aboard the SeaFrance ferry Rodin and airlifted to the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate.

Dover lifeboat and an RAF helicopter from Wattisham took part in the rescue.

Helicopter crewman Sgt Lee Clark winched down to the ferry to collect the casualty. He was treated onboard the aircraft by a doctor from Colchester General Hospital while being airlifted to the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother hospital, in Margate, where he is now in a stable condition.

Captain Olly Tadbury, who led the helicopter rescue, said doctors confirmed the victim was just 15 minutes from death before he was rescued.

“It's always tricky with these because the water is cold and people do not have long in the water,� he said.

“He was very, very cold. He was still hypothermic in hospital. It took six minutes to get us airborne after the call, which is very quick. We needed to respond urgently.�

A spokeswoman for P&O is reported as saying that he crew would have known what happened straight away and would have been preparing to stop but because of the number of other ships in the area it was likely that other ferries would have seen it.

The QEQM hospital in Margate said the man, thought to be in his 30's, was in a stable condition and able to speak to police.

A Kent Police spokesman later said that he was now safe and well and had no injuries.

FOLKESTONE MAY LOSE OUT TO VENICE

Seascape, Folkestone fetched £7.3m in 1984

A painting of Folkestone from the sea could soon lose its most expensive tag when a picture of Venice by J M W Turner which went on display yesterday, is sold at auction.

Experts at Christie's are confident that the Venetian view, painted in 1840, will exceed the existing £7.3 million record for Turner, paid for Seascape Folkestone from the collection of the late Lord Clark of Saltwood, back in 1984.

Giudecca, La Donna della Salute and San Giorgio, which is expected to fetch more than £9 million, will remain on show at the  London headquarters of the auction house in Mayfair until 15 December.

SHEPWAY FARM DRIVES AHEAD WITH BIODIESEL CROP

Oilseed rape to produce biodiesel

Biodiesel made on UK farms will be powering many more vehicles within the next 18 months writes Farmers Weekly, and a Shepway farm is leading the way.

Local farmer Andrew Martin who recently received a £20,000 grant to explore the possibility believes the latest energy price rises make on-farm production of the "green" fuel increasingly viable.

Mr Martin calculated that at the 204 acre Romney Marsh Farms growing oilseed rape it could produce as much as 250,000 litres (55,000 gallons) of biodiesel.

Most European engine manufacturers accept biodiesel as a fuel provided it meets the EU's quality standard but some others, notably Japanese makers, may not stand by their warranties if biodiesel is used.