FI16347

Request

  1. Will additional funding over the current budget be sourced to further the work on beach vegetation between Walmer and Kingsdown? 
  2. What is the timetable and timeframe to clear the hazardous materials liquids and loose detritus from the beach plots at Deal Walmer and Kingsdown and make public spaces at these sites publicly safe? 
  3. Will Council review current policy on the care and management of memorial benches along Deal and Walmer Seafront and in particular those that have fallen into poor health due to owners non maintenance or where owners have passed or unable to maintain to replace the current policy of to leave to rot and remove? 
  4. What specific steps will council take to provide more wildflowering of grassed public places and introducing a managed policy of wild life growth over the current cut and mow polices even when grass does not require mowing in particular during drought or extreme heatwaves? 
  5. When will improved beach access for all abilities be delivered along Walmer Deal Seafront as indicated by current and previous head of open spaces?

 

Response

  1. The White Cliffs Countryside Partnership (WCCP) manages the Section 106 contribution allocated to management of the Local Wildlife Site.  There is sufficient funding remaining to support several years of management and WCCP is always alive to opportunities for additional funding.
  2. Clearance of the beaches is an ongoing project due to beach plots being live environments.  Significant clearance has been undertaken over the past year, and the plots continue to be monitored.  Letters have been sent to all plot holders, alongside on-site engagement with individuals and a wider meeting with plot holders.
  3. On 3 February 2025, Cabinet approved a new policy regarding the siting and upkeep of memorial benches.  Currently this is a pilot focussed on strategic parks, but once the new approach becomes embedded, and provided it proves successful, there is potential to extend to other areas.  The report on this matter can be found here (item 84): https://moderngov.dover.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=121&MId=4962.
  4. The Parks and Open Spaces team aims to add new areas to our low-mow regime each year.  For example, during the 2025 season we used low mow management on the grass in front of the Council’s offices in Whitfield for the first time.  Low mow sites must be selected carefully, for example they should be subject to relatively low pedestrian traffic and be subject to low levels of litter.  Mowing is suspended when conditions are very dry and growth minimal.
  5. It is hoped that the proposed walkway will be delivered for Spring 2026.