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Our programme to transform Gillingham Town Centre is underway. This newsletter will provide regular updates on the transformation work taking place to make the heart of Gillingham a better place to live, work, learn and visit for years to come.
Learn more about the following:
- First Community Panel workshop takes place
- Gillingham Town Centre Taskforce
- Signs of Youth
- Keeping the High Street clean and green
- Putting the brakes on e-scooters
- Christmas shop window competition
Stay up-to-date on the latest Love Gillingham news via our website
Got a question? Email futuregillingham@medway.gov.uk
The first Gillingham Community Panel took place earlier this month as part of our ongoing regeneration work to transform the town centre.
The workshop included 40 panel members featuring local residents and individuals who work in Gillingham. The panel discussed opportunities to improve the High Street and looked at what are the most challenging issues currently affecting the area, including concerns around safety, cleanliness and green space improvements. The panel were joined in attendance by MP for Gillingham and Rainham, Naushabah Khan and Medway Council Officers and colleagues from Design-South East and BPTW.
Together the panel will help to shape the future of Gillingham Town Centre, making it a better place to live, work, learn and visit for years to come. The workshop programme is being run by Design-South East and BPTW, who were commissioned by the council to deliver a co-creation project with Gillingham's residents and businesses. This includes developing a Gillingham Town Centre Action Plan that will identify a clear vision and projects for the transformation of the area over the coming years.
The panel will meet again for the 2nd workshop on Saturday, 30 November 2024, with a 3rd workshop set to take place in February 2025.
Learn more about the Gillingham Community Panel
The Gillingham Community Panel is just one of a number of activities coming forward under a new Gillingham Town Centre Task Force. Chaired by MP for Gillingham and Rainham, Naushabah Khan, the Gillingham Task Force has been created to address issues and challenges facing residents living and working in the town, and brings together a variety of council services including planning, highways, climate change and waste, along with key partners such as Kent Police, to help tackle the issues that matter most.
The Taskforce have already had two meetings, most recently on Friday, 15 November. Members will continue to meet regularly to help ensure the Town Centre is a better place for everyone, from residents and visitors, to businesses and young people.
The first phase of activity took place earlier this summer with the first-ever Love Gillingham event in the High Street which attracted 2500 attendees. Other strands of improvements coming forward through the Gillingham Taskforce include signage, more street-cleaning and cracking down on littering, with more fines helping to reduce the quantity of littering in the High Street.
Stay tuned for further updates on improvements coming forward through the work of the Taskforce.
Medway's Signs of Youth project has reached a major milestone. 100 signs designed by children and young people have been installed across Medway's greenspaces, high streets, parks and roads. The milestone moment has been created through @ChildFriendlyMedway's Signs of Youth project which tasked children and young people in designing a sign this year using one of six environmental themes including:
- Littering
- Dog fouling
- Recycling
- Car idling
- Plant more flowers and trees
- Take care of the wildlife
The activity is being funded thanks to Medway’s Shared Prosperity Fund. More than £1.4 million has been awards over the last three years to projects across Medway to make a difference to local communities. The ‘Signs of Youth’ project is one of those initiatives which has received funding to help improve public awareness on protecting the local environment.
Portfolio Holder for Children's Services Cllr Adam Price recently visited one of the sign locations outside the Sunlight Centre in Gillingham to help raise awareness of the success of the project so far.
Learn more about Signs of Youth
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One of the key priorities that members from the Gillingham Community Panel raised during their first workshop (held earlier this month) was to see improved cleanliness in the High Street, including tackling litter.
With Medway Norse, we will be carrying tree improvement works in the coming months. Work has already started this month with several trees pruned back to ensure they remain healthy over the winter months.
Our Medway Enforcement Team have been cracking down on littering too, handing out an increased number of fines to offenders over the last few months to help reduce the issue in the High Street.
We will also be working with both the private and social housing sector over the coming months to ensure domestic waste is being stored correctly to keep our High Street clean and ensure all waste and recycling is correctly collected through our weekly kerbside collections to keep our Town Centre clean every week.
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We are working with Kent Police to put the brakes on e-scooters being used in Gillingham High Street. It is against the law to use a privately owned e-scooter on public land.
We are continuing to see incidents of e-scooters being used within the High Street which cause a risk to public safety.
Under the government guidance, it is against the law to use an e-scooter on the pavement. In Medway, we don't have designated lanes for e-scooters in public places.
As part of the Gillingham Task Force, we will be running an awareness campaign over the coming months to remind residents of the rules regarding e-scooters.
The rules on e-scooters in Medway
- You are NOT allowed to use/ride e-scooters on any public highways or public place* - This includes parks, pavements and shopping centres
- If found riding/using one in public, police will seize the e-scooter
- You are required to stop if directed by a uniformed officer, failure to do so may result in a fine
* The statutory definition of “public place” contained within the Prevention of Crime Act 1953 at section 1(4) states it 'includes any highway and any other premises of place to which at the material time the public have or are permitted to have access, whether on payment or otherwise.
There are a number of offences committed by riding/using an e-scooter in a public place. E-scooters are classed as mechanically propelled vehicle and as such must have valid insurance. Police can seize the e-scooter in line with section 165 of the Road Traffic Act 1988.
If directed by an officer in uniform to stop riding/using an e-scooter in a public place/highway you must stop. Failing to do so may lead you to be prosecuted for this offence and leave you liable to be fined which is an unlimited fine.
You are allowed to ride/use e-scooters on private land with the following guidance in place:
- Ensure you have the land owner’s permission to ride/use the e-scooter
- Wear appropriate safety equipment e.g. Helmet
- Only have one rider per e-scooter
The rules are in place to help keep residents safe in public locations across Medway including Gillingham High Street.
Nationally, there are e-scooter trials taking place with several local authorities across the UK. Currently, both Kent and Medway are not participating in a trial scheme.
Read more about our guidance on e-scooter use in Medway
Read more on the guidance of using e-scooter from Kent Police
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We have fifteen businesses in the High Street who are taking part in the Gillingham Christmas Window trail. Organised by the Salvation Army, the shops have decorated their own windows to bring festive cheer to shoppers.
The trail will launch today (Friday, 29 November) as part of the lights switch-on in the High Street (taking place at 4:40pm).
The public are encouraged to visit shop windows and vote for their best dressed window, via a QR code (displayed in each of the participating shop windows). The competition closes on Thursday, 19 December, with the winner to be presented a plaque by MP for Gillingham and Rainham, Naushabah Khan.
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