Ashford Applause – sixth champion announced!
Ashford Applause is more than half way through its ten week campaign, and we are delighted to have showcased so many fabulous Ashford Community Champions. We have seen selfless volunteers support our community in a variety of inspirational ways, from making and delivering food parcels to sewing scrubs for the NHS. There’s even a local entertainer creating magic themed YouTube videos for youngsters to keep them entertained during lockdown.
Ashford Applause is Ashford Borough Council’s and Loveashford’s campaign which shows our community champions how valued they are by shining a spotlight on special people who make a positive difference to our lives when we need it most.
We are pleased to announce our sixth Ashford Applause champion as Chloe Falder.
Chloe founded and coordinated PPE Team Tenterden; a group of volunteers who have made more than 15,000 items of PPE since the start of lockdown. These items have been sent to frontline workers at the William Harvey Hospital, as well as care homes, GP surgeries, community support groups and the Ashford Police. Some of the items have even been received as far afield as Scotland and the West Country.
Alison Miles nominated Chloe for the award. She said: “Chloe is very modest about her work and always praises the whole team for this astonishing achievement. If it wasn’t for her drive, tireless determination, organisation and enormous heart, this would not have become the phenomenon that it is today.”
If that wasn’t enough, Chloe has continued to deliver online lessons in her role as a science teacher at Homewood School & Sixth Form Centre, plus home schooling her four children.
There is still plenty of time left to nominate your local community champion for an Ashford Applause to give them the recognition they deserve.
The nominations are open to all individuals, whether it be a dedicated key worker on the frontline, a selfless volunteer delivering food parcels or an outstanding neighbour collecting shopping, prescriptions or cooking meals for others in their area.
Start the nomination process by visiting www.ashford.gov.uk/ashfordapplause . For top tips on how to submit a great application for your community champion, visit Loveashford’s Instagram feed www.instagram.com/loveashford.
Directors appointed to Otterpool Park board
Five new directors are to join the board overseeing the development of a garden town for the Folkestone & Hythe district.
Three independent directors, Dinah Roake, Luke Quilter and SallyAnne Logan have been appointed together with Folkestone & Hythe district councillors Jenny Hollingsbee and Rebecca Shoob.
The announcement of the new appointments was made today following interviews for the Otterpool Park non-executive roles on Monday (29 June 2020).
The directors will be members of the board of the Otterpool Park Limited Liability Partnership (LLP). The partnership was approved by Cabinet in May and will lead on the delivery of the project as master developer, ensuring that it can be run efficiently whilst not distracting the council away from its other responsibilities.
Existing board members are the council’s Director of Development John Bunnett and Strategic Development Officer Andy Jarrett.
Leader of the Council David Monk said: “I am delighted with the appointments. The three non-executives will bring a huge wealth of expertise to their roles as independent directors of our tremendously exciting project.
“Together they have skills in planning, development and marketing and I am confident that the all members of the board will bring their breadth of experience to ensuring the successful delivery of a world-class garden town.”
Otterpool Park is a proposed development of up to 10,000 homes, 9,000 jobs, extensive green space and other amenities required for a vibrant and sustainable community.
A planning application was submitted last year and – if approved – the scheme would come to fruition over the next 30 years.
Stour Centre to close ahead of major refurbishment
The Stour Centre Leisure Centre in Ashford is set to remain closed, ahead of a major refurbishment and works programme, which will significantly improve the leisure offer of the centre from mid next year.
The council in partnership with Freedom Leisure, who will take over the running of the centre in September, will be investing £6.5m for the Stour Centre, transforming tired features and providing new spaces to boost participation and improve the health and wellbeing of residents.
The changes include an extended gym with new equipment, a new soft play and clip and climb and dedicated café area, improved reception and access to the existing seating area, new leisure pool features targeted at younger children and major redecoration throughout including the dry and wet changing areas.
Cllr Matthew Forest, portfolio holder for Culture, Tourism and Leisure at Ashford Borough Council, said: “As the borough continues to grow, we feel passionately that our leisure offer must evolve to meet demand and expectation and ensure Ashford remains active.
“The complete closure of the Stour Centre enables substantial works to be finished much, much sooner, rather than a drawn out programme of disruption for contractors and more importantly the public. It takes advantage of what is an uncertain and potentially restrictive use of the facilities for groups, members and customers, given the continued pressure of managing COVID-19. We will be contacting regular user groups to support them find alternative facilities where possible.
“Sadly the closure does mean redundancies for Ashford Leisure Trust (ALT) staff, which is very unfortunate. However, some staff will be redeployed to provide fitness sessions at Julie Rose Stadium, which will be expanding its activities and gym facilities on offer to help lessen the impact.”
Subject to Full Council approval on Thursday 16 July the centre will close for around a year, with the anticipated reopening date being around mid-2021.
Without closing the centre the works were expected to take around 9 months longer, with disruption throughout this period until March 2022.
Last year ABC and Ashford Leisure Trust (ALT) started the search for a new leisure operator to transform the way leisure facilities are provided in the area and to meet the needs of Ashford’s growing population.
Freedom Leisure will take over from ALT, the day-to-day running of the Stour Centre, Julie Rose Stadium, Conningbrook Lakes and Spearpoint Recreation Ground pavilion, football pitches and tennis courts from 1 September.
As part of the new arrangements ALT will step back from the future management and will now focus its time on fulfilling its charitable objectives of improving the health and wellbeing of the residents of Ashford, with a particular focus on those who are in disadvantaged groups or with health challenges.
Freedom Leisure is a not-for-profit leisure trust which manages leisure and cultural facilities on behalf of partners across the UK.
Freedom Leisure Managing Director Ivan Horsfall Turner said: “We are exciting to be working in partnership with Ashford Borough Council on this fantastic £6.5 million project to transform the Stour Centre. Getting started early will accelerate the reopening of the centre to provide a vastly improved leisure facility.”
