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To advertise: 01227 753181

«:1

 

'_,I3-'liI_ary_and Barry Whitning vv"i/mpeter Hobbs _ _ I " P02023533".

 

'11   d'g'  1: 1  
VILLAGERS glathered at:oB—rio'ge: '4 High -Street, was among those
recr3g'a.tion ground on Saturday __ who attended. _ _ _ _ T
to -plant.-flowers and an oak tree, '_ ._ she said: ..wé_a1.sp h_ad_-égénerai

h as we“ as have 3 general htidv*UP-no j t-i€J\'.inGfUP of the recreation

 Tho day was organised by parish ground and "planted flowers."
.“°‘<"'."°“""-"7 5”“-‘ H°=d‘3°5 am '-the ' .. "The "recreation ground will-

.__.ook was plantog for the Queen's lpiayhost to Blridge--5. jdbilgee - I
D'a._"‘°“d ‘J”b"°°-- celebration-s where there will be ‘
Barbara Beinde1}wh'o.lives in the a village picnic on June 3. _


www“ l entonliI1eIcfo.uk

CH|LDRENsfrom ‘Bridge and
Patrixbourne primary school
have buried a time capsule

at the site of the village's
affordable housing scheme.

The ceremony took place in
Brickfield Close whereeight new
homes owned by t_he’Southern
Housing Group have recently
been completed. »

From left. parish council
chairman John Hill, Southern
Housingeregional director _
Guy Collar and school council

‘members Hyu, Daniel and

Lily bury the time capsule
Picture: Paul Dennis PD2028745
Buy this picture from kentonline.co.uk

Chi1dren’s1;imo capsule
as housing scheme

To adyertise.' 01227 768181

Among the contents were two
photo albums from the school, a
CD of the.school choir, a parish
council -newsletter, a copy of

the church newsletter: a mobile
phone, details of the Queen's
Jubilee and Olympics and a copy
of this paper. .
Parish council chairman John
Hill said: “We wanted to provide

a picture of Bridge and what was
going on in the country in 2012
which is a pretty special year."

 

www.l(entonline.co.uk

 


IU uu vl:r LIJC. UILLI I UUIUI

ML low “E ,m,E5s,om_s Ill cums: or THE nus IlEA|.1'II BIIDGET

   


 

by Ed Targett r

etargett@thekmgraup.co.uk

A GROUP of doctors is gearing
up to take over a £263 million
NHS budget for the Canterbury
area.

The Canterbury and Coastal
Clinical Commissioning Group
(C4G) will be responsible for
allocating money, resources
and services across Canterbury,
Whitstable, Herne Bay, Favor-
sham, Ash and Sandwich — an
area with a registered practice
population of 209,764.

It will take over commission-
ing responsibility from the NHS
Eastern and Coastal Kent Pri-
mary Care Trust under changes
enacted after the contested
Health and Social Care Act 2012
was made law earlier this year-.

The controversial bill moved
funding powers to GPs and was
opposed outright by the Brit-
ish Medical Association and the
Royal College of Nursing. The

government claimed it would
empower health professionals
and reduce bureaucracy.

In an exclusive interview with
the Gazette, C4G’s chairman Dr
Mark Jones said the group would
“involve patients more” and
denied there was “any intention
whatsoever of sweeping cuts”.

    
   

The father-of-two, who has been
a GP in the Canterbury area for
25 years, said: “We are realising

that we are goingl*to-haveateswork;/-~

in a different way. There is the
expectation that we will achieve
more, on a smaller budget.
“There is always a danger that
others will start talking about
cuts and we’ll be talking about

providing the best service for *

patients with the funding that
is available.

“So the way we would hope to
do that properly is by engaging
with patients and telling them

 

I The budget: £262,933,929
I The patients: 209,764

I The practices: 23

I The board:9

what is possible and that will be
one of the core differences of Clin-
ical Commissioning Groups com-
pared to Primary Care Trusts.”

Dr Jones claimed the group —
which comprises 23 practices —
was well-equipped to take over
responsibilities. ,

He said: “The current group of
GPs started before the current
NHS reforms. There was some-
thing called ‘practice based com-
missioning’ (PBC) beforehand,
which was theinvolvement of

GPs and nurses in commission-
ing.

“We had a local PBC group
working within the Primary
Care Trust which was, by and
large, the current C4G group. If
you go back further, Canterbury
and Coastal GPs have a history
of working together, coming
together as a consortium for out-
of-hours services, so we have a
long background of working
together. ‘

“There is no underestimating
the significance of the change.
At times there is no doubt it can
feel daunting, but the picture is
much more positive than has
been painted.

“Really for me there remain all
of the issues of running a health
service — they would have been
there whether it was a PCT or a
CCG — but there is the opportu-
nity now for clinical engagement;
the CCG is its member practices,
and it is also bringing in patients
as partners.

“We have a very active proc-
ess and plan, we have Friends
of C4G, we have a patient refer-
ence group, we have a lay mem-
ber representing patients.

“The patient group includes

representation from — all the .

practices, it includes members
from voluntary and commu-
nity groups, the student union,
friends of all of the hospitals, Age
UK, the pensioner’s forum.”

Private providers
may be used more

THE Department for Health
hopes the transformation of the
NHS programme will deliver £20
billion of efficiency savings by
2014/15.

Anne Belworthy, chairman of
Canterbury District Pensioners
Forum, said: “This huge saving
is makingour local GPs look at .

saving money and consider using

private companies that may
from the outset be cheaper to
run a particular service than our
local NHS hospital or community
services.

"Already local MRI and
diagnostic services are being put
out to tender.

“You may not know that you are

- using a private provider because

they work in your local hospital
or GP practice.

‘‘It is very convenient for people
to pop along to local surgeries
for cataract or minor surgery,
but this is usually carried out by

a private contractor, or go along _

on a Sunday for a scan but if in
the futurethe investment for
these services goes into private

Anne Belworthy. chairman
of the Canterbury District
Pensioners Forum

companies, accountable to
shareholders. who's to say what
they will charge?

“For as the money bypasses the
NHS, people will not be trained
by it to provide an alternative
service to theprivate one - as
time goes on many services will
become contracted out from the
NHS to private providers."

  


F"eJ‘~r:'s.K“-We  
Pupils part   
of twinning    
celebration  

CHILDEN joined civic dignitaries
from both sides of the Channel at
Canterbury’s Guildhall on Friday
to Witness the official signing of
the twinning agreement between
Bridge and the French town of St__
A.ndre—lez—Lille.

During the ceremony members

of the choir from Bridge and
Patrixbourne CE Primary School
sang to the guests, including _
Canterbury’s Lord Mayor Cllr Ian .
Thomas, the French delegation and
Canterbury MP Julian Brazier. '

It was in 2009' that the schoo1’s
head, Ren Chinnadurai, and

Louise Tasou, chairman of Bridge
Twinning Association, first began
talks with St Andre which led to the
 '

Mrs Tasou thanked members of '
her committee, Brigitte Ward, Rene

; Renault and Alan Atkinson, for all

their help and ecouragement.

Guests were welcomed to the .
Guildhall by John Hill, chairman
of Bridge Parish Council, who said

-The Mayor of St Andre, Olivier

To advertise: 01227 768181

.www.kento11line.oo.uk _ ' _ T  .

 

The signing of agreements during the twinning ceremony between Bridge and St Andre ‘held in The
Guildhall on Friday morning '  " ' '  ' Picture: Chris Davey PDi990199

_agreement contributes modestly,
but surely,to encouraging a spirit of
curiosity and tolerance which are
inherent to the cultural exchanges
we are about to embark on.

were not synibolical or theoretical
. partnerships but made a huge

contribution to the social and

cultural life of _a community

He added: “This twinning

he looked forward to the contacts ,
and exchanges that would be made
through the twirm1'ng.f _ '

Henno, said twinning agreements


.17. :\.9.Os:?_;.

Newsdesk:O1227475985 S A www.kentonl

A 4x4 is the latest vehicle to overshoot the A2 "slip road at BekesbourneLane, Bridqe

 

, ', - from the A2 would also make it’
bV, Adam Wm 'a.m5 clearer to people they are leaving
 aw/(JIams@thekmgroup.co.uk a dual Can,-lagewas/_. _ , _,

FOR the fourth time in six weeks
a car has overshot the slip road
on the A2 at Bridge.

Villagers and campaigners have
renewed calls for improved safety
measures after a 4x4 crashed on
Bekesbourne Road at the week-
elld; ‘ ' '

Former Bridge parish council I

lor Mark Esdale has been lob-
bying. Kent Highways Services
for changes to the road layout
after this paper carried pictures
in the last two weeks of similar
accidents. C

Mr Esdale, from High Street,

\.—Bridge,wants‘ three things to

happen. ~
He said: ,i.‘Bla’ck and white

checker boards need to replace _A

if ’ y signs which were knocked down

in accidents either side of the slip"

road, at the end of N ovemb er.
“These are used frequently

 
   

Mark Esdale say_s drastic
changes are needed to the

, road layout
“There’s an optical illusion

when V you first approach the
signs and you think they’re
passing above you. But, all of_ a
sudden they’re on you if you’re
driving too fast. C r

“Rumble strips i would be
another positive measure, but

highways officers say the length
of therroad is too short.

“Evenjust a couple of strips at H

’ they’re driving‘ along the A2.

a why you see so manypoverslhoot

d“Another’ sign on the apex of
the two roads to show it splits

“All these accidents happen at
night and a lot of people We. spo-
ken to say the problem happens
when their sat—naV still thinks .

“People don’t- immediately 3:
think to slow down and tl1at’s

1
ing the road.” ‘
Mr Esdale says the issue has
been long-running and his pre- —
vious attempts to get highways .
officers from Canterbury City -
Council, Kent County Council
and the Highways Agency to
the site to accept responsibility

have been fruitless.
He has also made inquiries

E

\under’ the Freedom of Infor-

mation Act as to why the miss-
ing road signs have not been
replaced. K

Kent Highways Services had
not -commentedas we went to

.where there’s a T-junction on to the top end would reinforce the i press. i I
_ p_ a busy road atthe end. 7_ _ need to slow down. I See letters on page 10


- another crash at black spot

LAST year saw thenumber of Vehicles
failing to stop at the give-Way junction

at the end of the slip road off of the A2 T
at Bridge and careering across the road,
crashing through the road signs and into
the Woods opposite reach double figures
(The Car Could Have Rolled Down The
Bank Onto The A2, Kentish Gazette,
January 5): T - t

- be a matter of time before there is ‘a

. Mr Griggs, Aerodrome Road, Bekesboume

Fortunately no one has been seriously

SO CLOSE: Another car crashed at the to
‘to stop in time at the T-junction

p "of the A2 Bridge slip road after failing

T 11. t .205 Z T
The editor welcomes letters on anytopical subject, but reserves the right to edit them. Letters must include your name and an
Send tetteis to—The Editor, Gazette House, 5-8 Boorman Way, Estuary View Business Park, Whitstabte, Kent CT5 3SEfax 01227

injured or killed. Less_than 24 hours into ' 5 I

2012, yet another Vehicle did the same.

With the number of these accidents .
escalating over the years it can only

9-51

;—..4L.i

serious accident involving innocent
traffic crossing in either direction along
Bekesbourne Road/Bifronsfiill.

Action must surely be taken immediately
to make sure that there will not be a

r'v-uh»

devastating outcome involving this ~ T r I 7‘
junction. , e T ' ' 1
- Stuart Kollhofii Dering Close, Bridge, '

. Canterbury

I WITH regard to the accidents at the 
slip road,/Br1lige' T-junction. '
It isn’t rocket science to Work out that,
despite the number of signs leading up to
this notorious junction, there is clearly still
a problem. '

I have always maintained itvvould
probably be better to put some high- T
visibility cones or something similar on
the far side of the junction. Perhaps that
would stop vehicles in their tracks.

I LET’S get things clear. There is no such '
thing as a dangerous road or junction. T

That is just an age—o1d excuse for people
driving beyond their, ability,

This junction is clearly signed and the big

p_ tree in front of you should give you a clue

that one has to turn right or left at the to]

, of the slip road. _ .
l\_Tot‘1ongago there were complaints

that there were too many signs, causing
confusion. n

Well,_ slow down a little, as it only takes a
few seconds to read and digest them.
Perhaps the answer is anybody that
overshoots should lock the car up and
throw the keys away, making the roads
safer for all concerned.

Another article dealt with an accident
on the M2, a straight section of dual
carriageway,-_so this will now be classed a

'- T a dangerous road‘?

The modern car is so easy to drive, for
want of a better term, that the concept oi
speed is lost and onlybecomes apparent ,
when things go Wrong. '

Tln most cases it is a lack of, concentratior
by a driver sitting in a comfortable little
cocoon thinking about all things other
than the road ahead. , - . T

Pl Hogben, Perry Lane, VT/mgham "


with DJ Peter J avom
Christmas
itlz DJ Mark Boyd
ission char ‘es

I
Normal adm

C
e
D
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.1
8
.t
a
5

Party Night w


  

        
   

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£10 until 10pm, £12 until 11pm, £15 after 11pm

T Open from 8pm1to‘2am ; :

Smaé idress essential. A

   

LUB B3R%|DG11CANTERBURY CT451LF
  %%vwv;,%r§5d§%ma@segw.1.35% “ 1 

a what's On November 23, 2012

A


. CONSIDERING CITY IIEVEI.0PNEN'l' FOR NEXT 20 YEARS

C ‘Weneed 
 communities

  not housing
estates’  

Alex Perklns

 

by Alexiclaridqe

aclaridge@thekmgroup.co.uk

THOUSANDS of homes are
being proposed for land around
Canterbury, a planning docu-

/ ment reveals.

Land in an area called the south
east quadrant is being suggested
to take 3,500 homes while other
rural areas are being mooted as
sites for up to 150 homes.

Developers proposed the loca-
tions as part of the city coun-
cil’s process for drawing up the
Local Plan — the planning strat-
egy for the district for the next
20 years.

Alex Perkins, the leader of the
Lib Dem group on the council.
believes people should be con-
scious ol' the plans helm: put For»
ward. ll(!H:ll(li “I'm l1()l;()|)|)()Hl!(l

  

KE Y: */lfltlrtlab/e
“ma: ofmarketawd affordable ‘ ‘ _
Mllesidenlial, emplaymehtanq co ‘ E unity uses

to the fact that we need to build
houses or to expand but I think
people need to be aware that this
is the plan for the next 20 years.
“The council wants to mas-
sively expand Canterbury to
the south east to basically l'i1l
in the area between the city and
Bridge. .

“People may be blissfully una- .

ware that this lovely rural area
is going to change.

“'l‘heso are all just |.)r0n0sals at»
the moment but I think what is
reel‘ly lmperlunt is that we (lnn’t
lust llllllll housing esl;ul.es we
lmllrl ('.()llllllllllll.l(!H.

Housing cle'loprrli1ti,opticlns‘      
around Canterbu

“Communities have parks, a
school, .a social centre and so
on. It is something we are bad at
doing in this country.” '

The plans have been suggested
by developers for Canterbury
City Council’s Strategic Housing
Land Availability Assessment.

Developed

The aim of the assessment is
to identify sites which could be
developed but not all of those put
forward will be realised.

Planners will assess each site
ap;ainst a numlier ol‘ lhctors
incllullnp: the <:ouncl|’s overall

.//lm / 
_I  I .

W .

   
 

strategy for the district, environ:
mental concerns and infrastruc-
ture issues. Certain sites in the
countryside have already been
discounted as contrary to plan-
ning national planning policy.
A number of smaller sites are
no more than areas of garages,
while some areas’ have been put
forward as ripe for development
but without any more details
about what could be built on
them. ' i *
I Log on to http://tinyurl.com/
Gtahqaq for a full list of
proposed sltes across the
Canterbury Clty Councll dlstrlct

 

 

Claims are
overstated v

CITY council leader John
Gilbey has accused Cllr Perkins
of exaggerating the threat to
the countryside. ~

He said: ‘,‘I think he is making

a mountainout of a molehill
and his claims of urban sprawl
between South Canterbury

and Bridge are overstated. To
say this number of homes are
being planned is just wrong.
“The fact is that as an
authority we have an obligation
to identify land for new

' housing development.

“But there are many stages to
go through over the next six
to eight months to finalise the
recommendations and some
areas will inevitably be quickly _
eliminated by officers on
technical grounds.

“We have a working group,
which. I chai r, and numerous
council committee to consider
proposals.”