Sweeps, door knocking and a huge thank you!

Sweeps Festival Rochester

I hope everyone had a great long, long weekend. We had a brilliant time at the Sweeps Festival when Rochester High Street becomes the lively and exciting place to be! I always think that tourists will go away from this weekend with such brilliant memories. Imagine the atmosphere if we could bring this kind of entertainment to the farmers market that runs one Sunday a month off Corporation Street.

Thanks to all the friends, supporters and neighbours who have put posters in their windows or cars. I have a pdf file of the poster that I can email if anyone else is willing to put one up. Email me on hehirsarah@yahoo.co.uk or alternatively, I will have more printed by tomorrow. Thanks for all the postcard posting - I am particularly aware that Rochester and Borstal have a very energetic band of young people who are not going to be apathetic voters! And lastly, thanks for coming out and voting whether you have already posted a postal vote or are voting in person on Thursday.

We have had a really positive weekend of door knocking. There is such passion, talent and ideas in the people we have spoken to whether it is for the environment, the arts or services for the young and the elderly. I hope I get the chance to work on your behalf as councillor to harness this energy to make the whole of Rochester West a community to be proud of.

09.10 service from Borstal

Arriva have introduced a 09.10 service from Borstal in response to our protests at the service cuts. It should start from Monday 9th May. As this new service will start from Borstal and not Maidstone, it should mean there is room for pushchairs and for people who get on in Borstal and Rochester to sit down. I will continue to appeal for more services if you let me know which ones are missed most.

New timetables on 155 Bus Stops promised to me by Tuesday 19th April.

Many of you will now be aware that there have been cuts and changes to bus services. These have most impact on young families, people without cars and the disabled and elderly members of society.

Update:

Sunday April 10th: Cuts and changes to Arriva Routes in Medway including 155 bus service.

Thursday April 14th: Mass confusion continues as almost no one is aware of changes. I wait for 13.33 for over half an hour with the girls and other Borstal residents unaware that it has been cut.

Borstal residents start to contact me about cuts and lack of information.

Friday April 15th: Ring Rochester Visitor Centre and speak to the manager. He has no idea about the changes and cuts and is still handing out old timetables.

Saturday April 16th: I go into the Council Contact Point in Rochester Library. No information. The woman at the counter prints a new timetable for me and says she can do his for anyone who needs one. At my request she also puts up a sign to alert people to the change in service. Rochester Visitor Centre still displaying and handing out old timetables.

Monday April 18th: At 9.00 this morning I rang Arriva and asked why there was no information. The man responsible for timetable information explained that due to funding cuts from central Conservative and Lib Dem Government, Arriva had cut his hours and cut costs. They were struggling to get new timetables out but he promised me they would have timetables on 155 route by tomorrow. Within an hour, timetables were being changes at Star Hill.

I then rang Phil Filmer, Conservative portfolio holder for Transport on Medway Council. As he is not a bus user he appeared not to have become aware of the problem until a few days ago. On my suggestion, he also agreed to look into the possibility of the Council providing funding to replace lost services. If I am elected on May 5th, I will make following this up one of my priorities. We have no post office, bank, library and very few shops in Borstal and we need a good, reliable, reasonably priced service. I am willing to fight for it.

To make a complaint, phone Arriva on 0844 8004411 and press 2 on the options. The more complaints they receive, the more impact they will have. Your complaint should be passed to the manager of the planning team and you should be given a reference number like 11/14772 When I rang, the woman was very pleasant and apologetic which was nice!

Sarah Hehir: working for a clean and healthy environment

Thank you for the quick co-operation of the Community Team and to the local resident who noticed that the lack of provision for dog walking on the High Street was causing a problem and alerted me to it. 

On  Monday I spoke to the Community Officer and suggested that the grassed area between Blue Boar car park and the High Street (opposite the chemist and Post Office) would be a good area for a dog bin. He was very helpful and contacted Waste Services who immediately agreed this location. The officer also promised to put up temporary dog fouling signs. These are now already in place between Dot cafe and Star Hill. More will be put up next Thursday.

Our dog, Charlie, seems to have already doubled in size!

Good points

• he likes to fetch and drop a ball
• he is touchingly loyal
• he is clearing out our over stuffed shoe rack.

Bad points

• he looks sad when he is not getting our undivided attention and we feel guilty
• poo ( designated bins and bags from Contact Points do make this more bearable!)

Happy St. Patrick's Day



The 'look' of the Irish!

It's always exciting when the parcel arrives from the girls Grandparents in Limerick full of St. Patrick's Day goodies. If you fancy celebrating, the White Horse on Borstal Street has a fiddle player tonight. There is also a St. Patrick's day dinner at Elizabeth's of  Eastgate tonight.  The Eagle Tavern on the High Street has a free gig on from 8pm. Let me know if there are any other exciting Rochester or Borstal events on tonight! I am also interested in any plans for St. George's Day. . .



Labour delivers!

Thanks to everyone who has helped to get the first newsletter out. We haven't made it to all the houses in Rochester West yet, so email me on hehirsarah@yahoo.co.uk if you would like a newsletter and I will get one to you. I will also have postal voting forms available soon.

An extra big thank you and congratulations to my friend who gave birth at home to a healthy baby boy after delivering Labour Newsletters to Ailsa Mews.

Anyone else who fancies giving this method of encouraging labour a try before the May 5th election, feel free to get in touch.

Hello Charlie

Our dog, Charlie

I have resisted getting a dog for a long time even though my husband tells great stories about his loyal childhood dog and  my three girls want to throw balls for every dog they meet in the park. They have begged and pleaded but I have always been very practical: we already have three children and two cats in a small two bedroom terrace; dogs need feeding and walking and there is always the grim matter of poo.

Then last month I finally gave in and I have to admit I am a convert. Charlie is lively and loyal. He likes the cats and the girls and  I love walking him. Along with the fresh air, exercise and companionship comes the responsibility for cleaning up after him. That's why this section from an email I received seemed particularly relevant:

'I am a resident close to Rochester High Street, although litter is sparse due to the great work of the street cleaners, since before Christmas there has been a significant increase in dog excrement along the footways of the High Street from The Crown to Capons butchers.

I note there are no disposal bins or signage re dog fouling.'

Borstal has a reasonable amount of dog bins but the lack of any on the High Street seems an odd omission that will hopefully be easily sorted as keeping the streets clean is vital for health, community pride and tourism. Medway Contact Points (one at Rochester Library) give out free doggy bags. I have contacted the council and it might help if others do too. To report problem areas that need attention phone the hotline on 01634 336699! You can also email on customer.first@medway.gov.uk