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Key Updates from Ramsgate Town Council

Home / About Ramsgate / News / Key Updates from Ramsgate Town Council

01 January 2022

Radford House Committee
  • The newly appointed Town Clerk has now spoken with the Architectural Heritage Fund and the Council’s architect, and is working hard to catch up and map out the next stages of work to be undertaken. In order to ensure the greatest chance of securing a grant for the project to restore Radford House and turn it into a community centre.

  • An update for the community volunteers who are interested in being part of the Radford House Working Group will soon be arranged; if anyone with relevant skills is interested in being part of the Group they should contact town.clerk@ramsgatetc.org.uk.

  • A number of activities are currently underway to ensure the Council’s due diligence in relation to The Custom House and Radford House; including new health & safety paperwork, condition surveys and hire agreements. To safeguard these properties and make sure management of the properties is of the highest standard.

Finance and General Purposes Committee
  • The Council has moved to a green energy supplier for all the council’s properties.

  • All Council and Committee meetings are now broadcast via YouTube and recorded in full for future reference.

  • The Council resolved to spend £2,000 on a traffic regulation order, in order to take forward the 20mph zone for Nethercourt Estate. The Council had previously committed £1,700 for the implementation of this proposal. A public consultation with the residents showed 75% of residents support this change. Many of those that were opposed to a 20mph zone were concerned that there would be additional traffic calming measures required; this will not be the case. The Council resolved to start a highways improvement budget (£10,000 - £15,000) that will be put aside each year for funding other similar works in the future, that Kent County Council is not prepared to fund.

  • Residents are urged not to contact staff on their personal accounts (private phone lines, social media accounts) asking for work to be undertaken. These requests must come via the office so that workloads can be managed, and the appropriate authorities can be asked to undertake this work in the first instance.

Planning and Infrastructure Committee
  • The Committee resolved to support in principle the aims of Kent Film Foundation in making a bid to take over the Granville Theatre from Thanet District Council. This resolution does not preclude the Council supporting other bids as well.

  • Southern Water have failed to respond to the town council’s previous correspondence requesting information about the quality of Thanet’s drinking water, a concern raised following the continued releases of waste water into the sea at Margate. The Chair and Town Clerk are going to chase Southern Water on this matter.

Council Meeting
  • There is a new standard agenda item for updates from the County and District Councillors and updates were welcomed from County Councillors Constantine and Shonk along with various district councillors.

  • The Council’s accounts for 2020/2021 have been signed off by the internal auditor (appointed by the Audit Commission), who confirmed that everything was “in accordance with the proper practices and no matters had come to their attention giving cause for concern that relevant legislation and regulatory requirements had not been met”. Copies of these accounts are available on the Council’s website for inspection.

  • The remit of the Ramsgate Fund has been opened up to encourage more applicants, funding is available for projects up to £3,500. And an application from Ramsgate Bowling Club was approved for the purchase of 64 new chairs.

  • £10,000 was approved to ensure the continued operation of the Citizen’s Advice Bureau (CAB) in Ramsgate. The Council thoroughly supports the activities of the CAB and an application in the new year for further funding (for the 2022/2023 year) is invited.

  • An audit of the Council’s policies and procedures is underway and as a starting point new Standing Orders and Financial Regulations were approved.

  • The Council approved its Strategic Objectives and Actionable Steps for Oct 2021 – May 2023. The activities of the Council are undertaken with the following intentions:
    • Provide facilities and services that support a well-connected town and promote health and well being.
    • Provide a strong community voice and work in collaboration with our partners.
    • Promote Ramsgate as a cultural community and visitor destination.
    • Use the Town Council’s influence to affect the decisions of public and private sector bodies for the benefit of Ramsgate.
    • Ensure good governance and promote the Council’s activities.

  • To find out what the town council does to achieve each of these objectives please see the new document on our website; this is a rolling document that will be updated as the year progresses.

  • The Council agreed a draft of suggestions for how the Welcome Back Fund should be spend in Ramsgate; this has now been relayed to Thanet District Council (TDC) (who are administering these funds).

  • In the new year the Council will host a Volunteer Recruitment Day for local residents who are interested in finding out about the different volunteering opportunities in the town (details of which will be included in January’s CommunityAd magazine and on our website).

  • The Council is going to work on some new information boards for the seafront that explain why feeding the seagulls is bad for their health.

  • The Council is going to audit all the work that the town’s technicians undertake on behalf of Thanet District Council, to ensure that TDC is aware of all the work that’s undertaken on their behalf.
Written by:
Miss Laura Fidler,
Town Clerk & RFO


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