As we reach the end of 2024, it feels like a good time to reflect on my time so far as Mayor of Broadstairs & St Peter’s and the work we’ve been doing as a Town Council.
Although, of course, I was especially pleased to be elected as the first Green Party Mayor of Broadstairs & St Peter’s last May, the role isn’t a party political one and, as Mayor, I’ve been focussed on working closely with all the other Town councillors and council staff to make sure we’re delivering the real changes we agreed when we put together our action plan to make the town a cleaner, safer and kinder place to live.
Two important areas we’ve been prioritising this year are road safety and youth engagement.
Road Safety
There continue to be far too many accidents on our roads and in August we organised a drop-in information session which focussed on traffic issues in the town and was attended by Town Council officers & councillors and KCC Councillors as well as Kent Police and representatives from other organisations with an interest in traffic and safety. About 200 residents of the town came along and we were able to gather important information about hot spots around the town.
We have now set up a Traffic Working Party with an objective of improving road safety through achievable and sustainable projects. The first of these projects seeks to implement a 20mph scheme in 5 of the hot spot areas identified with the second being a similar scheme in Broadstairs Road outside Charles Dickens and Dane Court schools. We hope to have a positive update on these projects in the new year.
Youth
I’ve been fortunate to be able to visit several of the schools around the town, and the rest of Thanet, in my time so far as Mayor. As well as recently attending the Charles Dickens School Awards evening, where I was pleased to be asked to hand out many of the prizes, I’ve also had the opportunity to visit Cross Keys Learning school and see the great work they do helping youngsters who’ve had difficulties within mainstream education.
This year, council officers, working closely with the council’s school liaison officer Cllr Joanne Bright, organised the first Broadstairs & St Peter’s Youth Forum. The forum was attended by student representatives from 4 schools in the town and was a great opportunity for us to listen to and take forward their ideas. We will be organising another youth forum in the new year and hope to engage students from more of our schools.
As Mayor, I’m fortunate to be invited to many events around Thanet (over 60 so far) and meet many of the people and community groups who do so much for our area, often with little recognition.
Among the many highlights for me has been getting to know everyone involved with Inspiration Creative, the Broadstairs based, inclusive arts and drama group, who have enabled us, for the first time, to have our Remembrance Service signed for those who are hearing impaired. They also joined us to lead the communal carol singing at the end of the Christmas Market.
Another highlight was being able to attend the opening of 1st St Peter’s Sea Scouts new “Jerry (Skip) Tracey Boat Park” near Viking Bay in the Summer. It’s taken them a few years to get the permissions needed and it was great to see their hard work finally bear fruit.
It was great that another Scout group, the 14th Broadstairs Scouts and Cubs, were able to join us for the town’s D-Day 80th Anniversary commemorations to read out the proclamation
of remembrance before we lit the Beacon on the beach. I hope they, and other youth groups, will be able to join us in May when we commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
Another group I’m really pleased to be able to support is the wonderful Tasty Planters. Funds provided out of my mayoral allowance this year has enabled them to purchase a gazebo and tables so they can get out into the wider community more often to publicise the benefits of home growing.
This year I’ve also been raising money for my nominated charity 21 Together, a charity that supports children and young people with Down’s syndrome, their families and those that work with them. This year they launched the ‘Communicate Together’ project which has enabled a new centre to be set up in Thanet. Our next fundraising event will be a concert featuring Harmony Bo and Connor Beerling from the Pie Factory, DJ Mark and headlined by Charlie Don’t Surf on Saturday January 25th at the Sarah Thorne Theatre. All proceeds raised will be split between the Pie Factory and 21 Together.
Links below for tickets: £10 (standard) – https://buy.stripe.com/eVa7wg2nl3ZtaR2aEN
£5 (low waged) – https://buy.stripe.com/eVag2MbXV53xcZa00b
Thank you to everyone who works to make Broadstairs & St Peter’s, and the other towns and villages across Thanet, the wonderful place it is to live.
