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Ramsgate Society Hustings 18th April 2019

• elections
• hustings

On 18th April The Society held a Hustings at RTYC in connection with the upcoming local elections due to take on 2nd May.

The event was well attended with over 60 local residents and 8 prospective candidates including Labour, Conservative, UKIP, The Green Party, and Thanet Independents in addition to 3 Independent candidates. Each candidate was allowed 3 minutes to set out the main points in their manifesto and this was followed by an informative and sometimes lively debate about what local residents felt should be done to make Ramsgate a better place to live, work and visit.

The question and answer session ran well over time indicating the many concerns residents have about what needs to be done. Over a dozen issues were raised from the floor but if I had to summarise the discussion I would say that there were 2 big issues. The first is that the cutbacks in central government grant to local authorities, which have been going on since 2010, have cut to the bone and are now threatening the viability of basic local authority services. The overall view was that these should be halted as soon as possible and adequate funding be made available for local authorities to provide the necessary services that local residents have a right to expect.

80 people join our April litter pick

• Big Clean up event

On Sunday 14th April the Ramsgate Society organised what is likely to be the largest litter pick of the year. Around 80  people assembled outside The Clock House in Ramsgate Royal Harbour and spread out from the Eastcliff Chine to the Westcliff Chine  covering the whole of the sea front. A chine is a deep narrow ravine and Ramsgate has two chines one at the eastern end and another at the western end of the sea front.

 Litter is a perennial problem in Ramsgate with its many visitors and thousands of tourists each year. The Ramsgate Society undertake a major clean up in the Spring and Autumn and this event was part of the Keep Britain Tidy Big Spring Clean. Over the last month a number of community groups have been clearing litter in different parts of the town culminating in a big push on 14th April with the Ramsgate Society Chine to Chine Spring Clean. These litter picks are great family events with young and not so young taking part and help to bring together people who really care about the place they live. Many thanks to everyone who took part.