Today's Weather for Cliftonville

Monday 28 May 2007

Big Event Road Closures

Thanet District Council has announced the following road closures around Cliftonville and Palm Bay for 16th and 17th June, the weekend of Margate's Big Event.

(Closures will be in effect between 6am and 10pm on the Saturday and between 6am and 6pm on the Sunday)

  • Length of streets at Palm Bay
  • Palm Bay Ave from the junction with Palm Bay Gardens to the junction with The Ridings.
  • Palm Bay Gardens at the junction with Palm Bay Avenue.
  • Northumberland Ave from the junction with Lonsdale Ave to the junction with Palm Bay Ave.
  • Leicester Ave from the junction with Lonsdale Ave to the junction with Palm Bay Ave.
  • Gloucester Ave from the junction with Lonsdale Ave to the junction with Palm Bay Ave.
  • Clarence Ave. from the junction with Lonsdale Ave to the junction with Palm Bay Ave.
  • The Ridings at the junction with Palm Bay Ave.
  • Princess Margaret Ave from the junction with Springfield Road to the junction with Palm Bay Ave and The Ridings.
Residents of the areas affected by these closures will be issued with passes allowing them to move their vehicles through the closed roads during the event.

Friday 18 May 2007

Taken for a ride?

It could well be that I was taken for a ride last night. I don't know.

At around 10.00pm I remembered I needed to fill up my tank, so I drove around to the petrol station opposite Tesco in Northdown Road, less than a minute from home.

Having filled up and paid paid up I went back to my car and opened the door, but before I could get in I heard a voice .

"'Scuse me, mate".

Now, call me middle aged and stuffy, but normally I hate that kind of assumed familiarity from a stranger. It was cordial enough, though, so I did at least turn to listen. Approaching me was a tall lad of perhaps 17, dressed in jeans, trainers and hoody. I waited for the expected request for a light or for a cigarette. Directions, perhaps. But no:

"Goin' anywhere near Palm Bay?" he asked.

"Not really," I replied (truthfully).

"A gang of lads from Ramsgate is threatening to beat me up," he continued, "and I could do with a lift home".

At that point my conscience flickered briefly into life. But then, just as quickly, it fizzled out.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm only going round the corner, and I really need to get home quickly," I said, avoiding eye contact. Well, it was half true.

I got into my car and started the engine, drove ten metres and then stopped abruptly. Why had I just refused to help a fellow human being? Only last year I myself was forced, on at least two occasions, to ask strangers for a jump start late at night. Surely a refusal went against everything that had been instilled into me since a child. Had sunday school counted for nothing?

Well, the only two reasons I could think of were firstly that I really couldn't be bothered to put myself out sufficiently to give up five minutes of my precious free time, and secondly I thought there was a fair chance that this alleged threat of violence from our Ramsgate friends was mere fabrication. My suspicion was that this lad had most likely squandered all his money on booze and hadn't any left to pay for a bus or a taxi. Let him walk.

But then how was I going to feel when I opened next week's local paper to read of a brutal attack on a Palm Bay youth as he walked home at night through Cliftonville? Could I risk that?

No, of course I couldn't.

I wound my window down and called to him across the forecourt.

"Ok, jump in," I shouted.

"Thanks, mate," he said, running over to the car. ""I respect that."

Respect? Yes, well.

Yes, there was indeed a faint smell of booze about him. But he was quietish. And not impolite. And when we reached the Co-Op in Palm Bay barely two minutes later he jumped out with a brief and mumbled word of thanks, then disappeared off into the night.

Well, that was harmless, I thought. And didn't I feel better for it? Well yes, I did!

In less than five minutes I was back home with a full tank of petrol and, I admit, just the hint of a self-righteous glow.

It was only the reaction of my teenage sons to this this story that brought it home to me just what a monumental and naive risk I'd taken. My initial instinct to refuse help had been based on laziness and not wishing to be exploited as a soft touch. The safety element wasn't a consideration.

What a fool I'd been. Those local headlines might, in fact, have read very differently. "Hijack at filling station". "Good Samaritan knifed at the wheel".

What instant considerations, balancing risks and morals, each of us can be forced to make in this day and age.

Had I been a woman, of course, I don't think giving a lift to a strange male at night would have even crossed my mind. But I'm not. I'm a middle aged man.

What if the request for help had come from a girl in distress? Would my gut reaction to refuse have been so strong? I don't think it would. But then what kind of allegations might I have been laying myself open to by inviting her into my car?

How on earth is anyone to know? Oh, for a return to simpler and more trusting times.

Tuesday 8 May 2007

Cliftonville renewal projects

Two major projects by Thanet District Council’s Renewal Area team to improve the appearance of the area have been completed in Cliftonville West.

Work by the Council’s Environmental Action Programme to illuminate St. Paul’s Church in Northdown Road was originally suggested by local people and ward members and has been funded with £20,000 from the Renewal Area. Spotlights and energy efficient floodlights have been installed to highlight the features of the building and provide additional lighting in a previously dark area that had been prone to incidents of anti-social behaviour.

Sixteen hanging basket trees have also been installed by the Environment Action Programme’s Rapid Response Team along Northdown Road and will be filled with flowers from late May or early June. The basket trees have been funded by the Renewal Area team and the flowers have been funded by Safer Stronger Communities Fund, after the original idea was put forward by the Cliftonville Partnership.

Renewal Manager Carla Wenham said: “Both these projects were suggested to us by the local community as ways of improving the appearance of the area. The work of the Renewal Area team is very much led by local people. We’re here to deliver improvements in Cliftonville West, but we need to ensure that those improvements are exactly what residents want. That’s why our team spends so much time meeting with local people and discussing their vision for the area, so that we can then deliver it. These two schemes are another excellent example of that process.”

Sunday 6 May 2007

"East is East and West is West and ne'er the twain shall meet"

Results of Thursday's local council election meant only one thing for residents of Cliftonville : "No change".

The major parties maintained their respective strangleholds, with 2003's councillors being returned for another four years.

Successful candidates in Cliftonville East were:

Sandy Ezekiel (Conservative) 1225 votes

Brian Sullivan (Conservative) 1240 votes


Martin Wise (Conservative) 1381 votes


Turnout 41.9%


and in Cliftonville West:

Clive Hart (Labour) 657 votes

Doug Clark (Labour)
599 votes

Linda Aldred (Labour)
581 votes

Turnout 27.5%

CLICK HERE FOR THANET DISTRICT COUNCIL ELECTION RESULTS IN FULL




Councillors' contact details can be found by clicking their links at at the left of this page.

















Friday 4 May 2007

Safer Stronger Communities Fund

Around 150 local people turned out to find out more about the Safer Stronger Communities Fund and what it’s achieved in its first year.

Set up to improve public spaces and the quality of life for local people living in the two wards of Cliftonville West and Margate Central, and the green space of Dane Park, the SSCF was awarded a total of £3.7 million over four years from central government. In the first year of operation, the team have funded 20 projects to help make the area safer, cleaner and greener and encourage the community to work together.

Representatives from some of the projects, which were funded by the SSCF, were amongst those at the Open Day, held at the Margate Media Centre last week (Thursday 26 April). One of the newly funded police bicycles for “Project Bike Cop” was on display and the police and fire service were on hand to give advice and talk to residents about safety issues. Amongst the other organisations attending who received funding were St. Paul's Community Trust, Cliftonville Primary School, with information also on hand about planned Green Flag improvements to Dane Park. The SSCF stand gave additional information on what the programme is all about and how people can apply for funding for this year.

Paul Trumble, Chair of the SSCF Board, said: “We were delighted with the turnout at the Open Day, which allowed local people to see where the money from the SSCF is being spent in their community. Residents could also find out about how to apply for funding in the future and we look forward to receiving more applications over the next few months.”

Maggie Woods from St Paul's Community Trust said of the event: "It’s good to see talk about regeneration resulting in positive outcomes and the degree of local ownership was impressive. I think the SSCF team should be really proud of what they have achieved in such a short space of time".

Community groups such as Gordon Road Area Street Scheme and the Dalby Square Project had displays to show what they have achieved. Both of these groups have recently been awarded SSCF funding to extend the good work that they do, building community spirit in their areas. Staff from Thanet District Council were giving information on Housing Renewal Grants, waste and recycling, sporting opportunities, benefits and about Margate’s Big Events, with representatives from the Thanet Coast Project also on hand.

Information was also provided by the Thanet Community Development Trust, Thanet Volunteer Bureau, Kent Victim Support, Focus to Work and the Local Strategic Partnership. Presentations were given by the SSCF Neighbourhood Champions on the community development work that they plan to do in the coming year, Sustainability Actions on the mapping exercise they have completed of the community and voluntary sector, and the SSCF team on the Residents' Survey, which looks at the priorities of local people, and they feedback on how the SSCF money is being used to address them.

To find out how an individual can apply for up to £1000 project funding from the SSCF (closing date 31 October 2007) click here (opens PDF document).