Parish Council News Update – Christmas & New Year

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As always Santa, his reindeers, and festive helpers were warmly welcomed to our wonderful Village Hall the first weekend in December by our residents.  Your support was incredible, raising over £1,000 through ticket sales and donations for our village charities St Margaret’s Nursery, The Memory Café and St Margaret’s Scouts.

The evening featured our beautiful village choir plus the chance to explore a HM Coastguard unit from nearby Langdon Cliffs. A delicious spread, donated by local businesses The Coastguard, FirstLight, and The Village Shop washed down by Mulled Wine and Cider homemade by one of our own councillors Nikki.

Of course, none of this would be possible without our amazing volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes each year. From Team Christmas Trees and Team Street Lights, Team Santa’s Helpers to Team On the Night, countless people contribute both front of house and behind the scenes to bring everything together. They give their time, energy, donate raffle prizes and often their own resources to work alongside the Parish Council, creating what we hope you agree is a wonderful Christmas atmosphere — not just for one evening, but throughout the entire festive season. A full note of thanks to all involved and photographs from the evening are available on the parish council website.

A big thank you to everyone who came along and made this event so special. We wanted to take this opportunity to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Christmas Tree Recycling

The Parish Council will again be offering a Christmas tree recycling service. Please leave your tree by the toilet block in the Reach Road car park between 2 and 8 January 2026.
DDC will also collect real trees from garden waste subscribers on their usual collection day between 5 and 30 January 2026.

Community Grant Applications – February Meeting

The Parish Council eagerly anticipates a yearly responsibility: reviewing Grant Applications from our vibrant local organisations. To be part of this opportunity, application forms can be found on our website, search for “Grants under Section 137” which will take you to our policies page where you can find the form. You can also reach out to Orla, our parish clerk (contact details provided at the end of this article), to obtain the form. Please ensure your submission reaches us by the end of January for thorough consideration. We’re excited to hear about your initiatives and support our community’s growth together!

Parish Council Vacancy

The Parish Council would love to hear from anyone who feels passionate about supporting our village and helping shape its future. If you’re interested in getting involved or would simply like to learn more about what the role involves, please get in touch with the Parish Clerk or any of the Parish Councillors or come along to one of our Parish Council meetings to see what we do.

Stagecoach

The Parish Council recently met with Stagecoach.  They are looking at options to increase the service in the afternoons, some evenings and Sundays and Bank Holiday.  We will share more as we know more.  It does take time and any proposed changes will likely start at Easter.  This will be a trial, so we will need to use it!

Footpath Claims C493 and C494 – Update

The Parish Council would like to update residents on the outcome of the claims relating to footpaths C493 and C494, which run across the field between Droveway Gardens and Sea Street.

Kent County Council’s Public Rights of Way (PROW) team has completed its review of the evidence and witness statements submitted. Following their investigation—and the application of the required legal tests—they have concluded that a public right of way is not reasonably alleged to subsist on either of the claimed routes.

Their recommendation was therefore not to make an Order to modify the Definitive Map and Statement to add public footpaths between Droveway Gardens and Sea Street.

For those who wish to read the full reports, copies of the decision statements for C493 and C494 are available on the parish council website.  You can search using the claim numbers referenced here to find the decision notices.

We would like to thank everyone who provided evidence in support of the claims. If you require further information, please contact the Parish Council.

Dates for your Diary:

Parish Council Meetings, Channel Room, Village Hall – Public participation starts at 6:45 pm for 15 minutes, followed by the meeting proper at 7 pm. The public are welcome to stay and listen to the whole meeting. January 12th 2026, February 9th and March 9th 2026.

Christmas Tree Recycling, January 2nd to 8th by the toilet block in the Reach Road car park.

Community Grant Applications, January 30th 2026 by email to the Parish Clerk or by hardcopy in the Village Hall post box.

Community Engagement Events: Thursday January 15th, King George V Pavilion, Saturday February 14th and Saturday March 7th venues to be confirmed please look on Village Notice Boards, Facebook and Website nearer the time.

Reporting Issues – Help Us Help You!

We often receive emails asking us to report things like potholes, overgrown hedges, or broken streetlights. While we’re always happy to help point you in the right direction, many issues need to be reported directly by residents to be dealt with efficiently. Our ‘Report a Problem’ page on the Parish Council website has all the links you need. You can find it under the ‘Contact’ menu, and we keep it updated regularly. If you’re ever unsure, do still get in touch – we’ll do our best to guide you.