Minutes:
During the debate on this item, Mrs J A Rook declared an interest as her family company has retail premises in a number of towns across Kent.
Thanet – 26 July
1. Members made the following comments on what they had seen and heard at the visit to Thanet:-
a) the visit had been positive, upbeat, very worthwhile, and was very well organised. Thanet were congratulated on what they were doing;
b) Thanet was intriguing and challenging, in terms of regeneration, and its reputation as an area of deprivation had served it well;
c) this was the last chance for the District and County Councils to work together to achieve outcomes;
d) it was hoped that the Turner Centre would deliver all that was planned, and draw tourists from Europe as well as from the UK;
e) Manston Parkway is a key priority and would need a fast track rail link to London within the hour to ignite the whole of East Kent;
f) it is important to recognise where mistakes had been made – eg Westwood Cross – and it would be useful to see how shopping areas will be addressed once economic confidence is regained;
g) Members debated the relative merits and problems of free and charged parking:
i) Kent’s towns do not have enough and it is never free. If shoppers cannot park for free in one shopping area, they will go to another. Provision of free parking is big issue when addressing the regeneration of town centres, and should be a community commitment;
ii) it is unrealistic to expect to provide free parking, and parking revenue would contribute valuable income to a town centre. Charges could be relatively small yet cover the maintenance costs of providing it;
h) Thanet had received much regeneration funding over the years, yet still it is an area of multi-deprivation; and
i) in some town centres in Kent, shoppers could park outside shops for free, while other towns had pedestrianised high streets. This might explain why some High Streets were doing well and keeping their independent traders and others were not.
2. The Deputy Cabinet Member, Mr J A Kite, was asked what he would be doing to help Thanet in the short term. Mr Kite replied that there were two threads - strategic and specific. A key strategic challenge would be to get the Local Enterprise Partnership right. Specifics would include issues like supporting the towns and communities behind the seafronts rather than being beguiled by the seafronts themselves, and to treat all areas equally.
3. In discussion, Members started to identify key themes for their future discussion of priorities:
Shepway – 1 September
4. Members made the following comments on what they had seen and heard at the visit to Shepway:-
a) the visit had been interesting but Members had been surprised at what they had been shown, spending much time at the racecourse but very little at seafronts or town centres;
b) the presence of the De Haan Trust locally was a big asset to Shepway, and they were making the most of it, but combining a major benefactor with other work can be a challenge;
c) Shepway is behind on developing its Local Development Framework, but the LDF would help resolve issues like b) above;
d) much money has been spent on the creative quarter in Folkestone, but Members were unimpressed by the result and worried that it was not reaching its potential;
e) the racecourse was in the early stages of development but offered a way ahead, and had more potential than the creative quarter;
f) regeneration in the region had been bitty, and cohesion was not evident;
g) Members discussed at some length the relative merits of Lydd and Manston airports, highlighting the following points:-
i) Lydd has the benefit of private investment, while Manston would need KCC support;
ii) Lydd has a good rail link yet is dwarfed in importance by Manston;
iii) we shouldn’t be encouraging increased air travel so should not develop or promote either airport!
iv) each has a different role – Manston offers a link to Essex, which fits with the LEP bid, while Lydd is just a local hub;
v) Lydd is close to HS1 but has a dangerous road link which would need upgrading;
vi) having an airport close to a nuclear power station could bring a potential terrorist problem;
vii) both are too far from London to serve it;
viii) neither has a local population to support its facilities;
ix) Manston had its heyday in the 1960s, with trips to the continent. It now needed to find a new role; and
x) each could serve a different market, so would not be in competition.
5. The Chairman commented that the POSC was a useful forum for identifying cross-directory themes, such as work by the De Haan trust on community projects.