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- North Deal is at the end of the rainbow
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- A playground for all generations in the back lanes of North Deal
Friends of North Deal (FoND) was set up nearly forty years ago.
As an association it is strictly non-political and non-sectarian and, geographically, it is concerned with the area between the sea and the railway line and between Deal Castle and the footpath bordering the golf course. We are focused on promoting the interests of North Deal in all ways and particularly in matters of town planning and improvement of the public amenity. We are doers rather than talkers.
What we’ve done
Over the years, FoND has run Beach Sweeps, acted as an umbrella group to fund a Playscheme, and collected information on anti-social behaviour. More recently, we have cleaned and refurbished all the benches along the promenade from the Royal to Sandown Castle Gardens and taken part in Deal’s Tree Survey. At all times we have brought our members’ concerns to the notice of our councillors and Town Hall.
While much of the work that used to be done by FoND, from beach cleans to local news, is now done by other organisations and other means (beach cleans by environmental organisations, local news by Facebook groups) we continue to raise funds for local groups and work on projects to maintain and enhance our neighbourhood.
A resilient future
After lockdown we set about finding a new normality. FoND has been fortunate to find a protective roof at the Golf Road Community Centre, where we are able to run a web presence and have an official centre for everything from meetings to email correspondence. This makes it possible for volunteers to separate out their community presence from their private life. It also offers North Deal a much broader base for joined-up and effective action. FoND continues to be a vital link in local democracy.
The membership fee is ridiculously low – the cost of a pint of beer or a large coffee. For that, you get to modernise a tradition of democratic empowerment and maintain an established route to democracy at its most grass-roots level. Even better, you get to improve your neighbourhood.
Join in!
The way to help is easy: join now, come along to the annual meeting and choose your project.
Contact the Steering Group at: [email protected]