Gavin Atkin's weblog for the sort of people who like looking inside boat sheds. It's about old boats, traditional boats, boat building, restoration, the sea and the North Kent Coast
Medway, Swale and the Kent coast
This is what all the fuss is about – this is Faversham Creek, and this is the area they want to turn over to housing and other marine-unfriendly businesses such as restaurants. As I’m sure many will immediately see, there’s already quite enough housing.
The white building in the photo above, for example, is Baltic House. People are now suggesting it should be a wine bar, with flats above for the bar staff. The application’s here, if you would like to read it and consider making an objection – a key concern is that an approval for an application that includes staff sleeping on the first floor will set a precedent that will open the way to more applications for further housing developments.
Just a short while ago, this quay was a mass of double-moored sailing barges, but this is how it’s been for a couple of years now.
The New Britannic, by the way, is a Dunkirk Little Ship that lives locally – her owner told me she’d just been on a trip up the Thames on Dunkirk business – hence the bunting.
But here’s the appeal. The folks at the Faversham Creek Trust want to hear from people in other countries who would like to express their support for efforts to prevent the Creek being strangled by the wrong kind of development. If you think you can help – an email would be great – please visit the Trust website and write to their contact email address.
While you’re there, take a moment to read some of the Trust’s excellent weblog explaining its members’ points of view about the Creek, and the organisation’s work training boatbuilders and so on.
Thanks!
Standard Quay at Faversham – sadly, there are still very few larger boats compared with a few years ago
Tempers in Faversham are clearly at boiling point.
Under council rules this week the chairman of the Faversham Creek Trust was asked to temporarily leave a public meeting held at the Guildhall to discuss a document recommending more residential development along the banks of the Creek. Read about it here.
The reason given was that as chair of the Trust he was deemed to have a vested interest – the FCT would like to see the historic, centuries-old Ordnance Quay near the centre of the town used for maritime purposes such as moorings for sailing barges and other traditional craft, and for boatbuilding generally.
It’s a point of view – but this is hardly an interest that could be compared with the financial interests of a property developer, for example. It could be argued that almost anyone who lives in the place and many of us who do not could be deemed to have an ‘interest’ of that kind.
In another strange twist, it seems the meeting only allowed 15 minutes of questions at the beginning of the meeting – before any new information had been presented.
There is little question that there are strong passions on both sides of the planning argument at Faversham, with one faction arguing that the town needs new housing along the banks of Faversham Creek and the other arguing that the Creek has enormous potential as an amenity, as a historic site with enormous interest for visitors, and as a source of employment. There’s also little question that the latter view has strong support in the town and must be given the consideration it is due.
In such circumstances, isn’t it crucially important that the planning and consultation process should be above reproach? If not, the wrong decisions will be made, the arguments and anger will rumble on for decades and Faversham itself will gain a reputation that no-one wants to have.
PS – What sort of people want to be able to contribute more to planning process around the Creek, and to the debate about its future? See this short and reasonable paper from the Brents Community Association. I should explain that the Brents is an area just out of sight in my photo – it’s a little further up the Creek and on the right.
PPS – There’s an opportunity to make your objections known to the council tomorrow evening at 7pm. Work prevents me from getting there, but the details are at the Faversham Creek Trust website.
