With a General Election confirmed for Thursday 4 July 2024, you need to be registered to vote in order to have your say. If you were registered for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections in May, you do not need to register again unless you’ve changed address recently. If you do need to register, you must do so before midnight on 18 June 2024 for your registration to be valid for the election. You can register online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote 

If you cannot make it to your polling station, you can apply for a postal vote before 5pm Wednesday 19 June 2024 at www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote. If a postal vote is not suitable and you cannot get to your polling station, you can apply for a one-off proxy vote by 5pm on Wednesday 26 June at www.gov.uk/apply-proxy-vote

All polling station voters will need photographic ID in order to vote. For the full list of acceptable ID, please visit our website. If you do not have one of the accepted forms of photographic ID, you can apply for free Voter ID before 5pm on Wednesday 26 June at the GOV.UK website.

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This summer is set to be packed full of exciting events for all the family, with a host of music, food, culture, heritage and plenty of fun happening on your doorstep!

Thanks to the district’s brilliant event organisers and venues, you’ll be spoilt for choice across Dover, Deal and Sandwich and surrounding areas. This includes the return of live music in Dover Market Square on Saturdays this summer.  And don't forget, the dinos are due back in Pencester Gardens on Wednesday 7 August!   

For all the latest news, see the What's On listings on the White Cliffs Country pages.

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Community groups supporting local people with the cost of living are being encouraged to apply to DDC's Cost of Living Community Impact Fund - the closing date for applications is Monday, 1 July.

The grant scheme will provide £104,700 to registered charities, Community Interest Companies and local groups to help with their work in the district's communities.

Funds will be allocated over two rounds, winter and summer, during 2024/25, and groups can apply for a grant of between £100 and £2,500.

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DDC, working with the Dover Roman Painted House Trust, is looking forward to opening the historic Roman Painted House to the public and seeing the attraction play a key role in the regeneration of Dover for the future.

DDC is moving forward with immediate remedial works necessary to re-open the monument and building.

We are also developing plans to transform the site and surrounding area, progressing applications for major grant funding for this key site.

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DDC has welcomed news that a new grant from Historic England is set to provide a key boost to help conserve and regenerate Dover's nationally significant Western Heights.

One of the most important and impressive fortifications in Britain, the Western Heights are a series of forts linked by miles of ditches on the western hilltop above Dover.

Historic England has awarded a grant to DDC for a three-year project to support conservation and regeneration work at Dover's Western Heights and improve how this amazing asset connects with the town and waterfront.

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A whole range of exciting regeneration projects continues to come together for the future of the district.

This includes the major Dover Beacon project (pictured).  Archaeological works are well underway at the Bench Street site, which is set to become home to The Bench building, including a new further education digital/creative campus, business centre and creative centre, with surrounding public realm improvements.

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With summer time upon us, the wave sculpture surrounding the clock on Deal Pier has been repaired and replaced.

The wave sculpture was taken down as part of refurbishment works, which included a new and larger clock.

The wave structure has been refurbished and adapted to fit around the clock, and specialists have been coating the artwork to blend in with the Jon Buck sculpture 'Embracing The Sea' at the pier entrance.

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A big thank you goes out to everyone who supported the Great British Spring Clean this year - with more than 280 bags of litter collected by over 300 volunteers taking part!  

As part of the campaign, we teamed up with contractors Veolia for a design competition, and welcomed winners and their families to DDC offices for a presentation. Hattie, aged 4 from Deal, won a £50 gift card with her poster, which will be available for everyone to see on a refuse vehicle in the district.

We have also run our popular REACH environment and community awards for the third year running, with details of winners set to be announced over the summer.

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In April, DDC celebrated its golden anniversary.  To help mark the occasion, DDC staff took part in a voluntary litter pick around Whitfield, which also tied in with the Great British Spring Clean, (see above).

DDC was one of a number of councils celebrating 50 years of public service, since the separate municipal boroughs of Deal, Dover and Sandwich, and the rural districts of Eastry and Dover, formed to create what we now know as Dover District Council, which officially launched on 1 April,1974.

It’s been an eventful half century, and the council continues to work hard to provide services for the district's growing population, which now stands at around 116,400, up from 101,000 in 1974. 

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