Public meeting to discuss Margate Town Council proposal

Margate Photo Steven Collis

A public meeting will be held tomorrow (September 29) to discuss proposals for a Margate Town Council.

In May the Mayor and Charter Trustees of Margate agreed that a plan for a Town Council for Margate should be actively pursued.

They said the formation of an independent Town Council for Margate would mean better direct access to government funds and grants and could benefit the community by being channelled into local projects and initiatives with a more tangible impact.

If successful, the newly-formed Town Council could provide services around litter, parking, crime prevention and  parks and green spaces.

External consultants, Think Studio, were engaged to help shape the proposal and head up an awareness campaign

The electorate in CT9 will be asked to have their say on whether plans should be progressed, via an e-petition. If the results show that the majority support the formation of Margate Town Council, then a proposal will be sent to Thanet District Council for consideration.

Public consultations in 2014 resulted in agreement to set up a Westgate Town Council but to retain charter trustees in Margate.

The steps

To set up your own town or parish council, you’ll need to first give your local authority a petition containing the signatures of at least 7.5% of the local population.

The petition must:

  • state exactly what it proposes: creating a parish or town council for a defined area
  • contain the signatures of at least 7.5% of local electors, based on the most recent electoral register – you’ll need more signatures for areas with fewer than 2,500 electors
  • If the petition is valid, the local authority will carry out a ‘community governance review’ to see if a local council should be created. This can take up to 12 months.

The public meeting is being held at the Dreamland Ballroom (Hall by the Sea Road entrance), 6.30pm entrance for a 7pm start.

More details on the proposal here

20 Comments

  1. Long overdue – everywhere in Thanet has a town or parish council, but not clear if proposal is for a Margate & Cliftonville Council as they are in different constituencies?

  2. Consider what services will be taken over by the Town Council that at present are (should be) carried out by TDC. Remember that TDC are responsible for street cleaning so why pay an additional charge to MTC for this same service.

    Speak to Residents of towns who have a Town or Parish Council to see how much paying on top of their property tax and what they are paying for. Have service improved. Ask before you jump

    Who wants to be a town councillor and for what reasons. Should a town councillor also be a TDC councillor or KCC councillor. Are they on any other local committee’s and what is their reputation like amongst the other committee members. What do social media sites say about the applicant. Are they just glory seekers and after free gifts meals.

    • Being responsible for street cleaning and actually doing it are two entirely different things!

      I lived in Westgate and I’m now in Birchington, and both places (a) have town councils and (b) are far cleaner than in Westbrook (Margate) where I lived before.

      • I live in westgate and have 18 months of falling leaves in my street off Westgate bay Avenue and we pay over £80000 a year for a closed office and an answer phone

        • I think the big problem with all street cleaners these days is that they only pick up litter – nothing is actually swept! Hence the leaves, weeds in gutters, etc.

  3. If it’s anything like how Ramsgate Town Council are working then be careful what you wish for. To be fair to them, they are trying to address things like the shocking state of rubbish and littering on the streets but what is happening in reality is that we continue to pay TDC to carry out this service (which they aren’t doing) and are now also paying RTC to carry out the same function. Double whammy for the taxpayer.

    Added to that many years of inflation busting RTC tax increases (apart from this year to be fair) you may have a situation where your Council Tax bill rises and rises but this is just to mask the fact that TDC aren’t actually doing what they are meant to be doing.

    The town council are stepping in to fill the large gaps in TDCs service provision but we are all paying twice for it.

  4. Yet another layer of expansion and unsackable council officers for residents to pay for.

    Can we have an undertaking that 7.5% of the electorate can get rid of it and all those extra civil servant‘s employment will be terminated without cost to the overtaxed council tax payers who are not getting value from TDC.

  5. The only answer is to have town councils and a unitary east kent council and scrap thanet district council and Kent county council totally, cheaper and better

    • So would it be better to go back to Margate,ramsgate and broadstairs borough councils because in my view the whole Island has gone downhill since the amalgamation in 1973/4

  6. Margate already has its own Council, it is called Thanet District Council. The reason why RTC has to pick up the tab, is because TDC spends very little in Ramsgate and cares even less about it.
    The double funding conundrum is a fair point, but what else can you do?
    The villains of the peace are a partial, inept, management at TDC, aided and abetted by shape changing politicians, that fight like rats in a sack, to be leader. Those who change sides for baubles, are no better, and are often worse than the rat sackers.
    Overarching all this however, is Central Govt, that wants to make decisions at a micro level and penalises Councils at every turn.

  7. Well said Barry – a unitary authority will free Thanet from KCC to control our own health authority, police, fire brigade, waste management and get value for our money.

    I know everyone loves the NHS but Thanet gets a raw deal with totally inadequate service whilst KCC support grand schemes to enhance the people north of Canterbury whilst cutting back on Thanet services.
    Don’t have a Stoke in Thanet if you want to reach quality treatment in under the critical hour.

  8. A Margate Town Council?

    We already have one useless, local government administration in Margate. Are we not beleaguered enough?

  9. Please come along to the public meeting this evening, especially for those residents who have concerns about the formation of a Margate Town Council. If implemented, a new Town Council would replace the current Charter Trustees system for which a precept is currently paid within all CT9 household council tax bills. A Margate Town Council would cover all seven wards including Cliftonville West & East, Dane Valley, Salmerstone, Garlinge, Westbrook and Margate Central.

  10. I just hope Margate town council will be better than Ramsgate Town council , they are perfetic, the town is in a disgusting state ,the mayor thinks she is the queen ,who only fights for the welfare of the traveler’s, sod everyone else ,

Comments are closed.