News

FOR ACTION: Get involved in the Great British September Clean

The aim of the Great British September Clean is for communities to come together, clean up their local environment and have fun, which of course means staying safe at all times.

However, earlier this year, given the national lockdown, sadly we had to postpone the Great British Spring Clean in Higham until now. Now with a relaunch, Higham Parish Council want to make sure that everyone stays safe while doing their bit for the environment and contributing to the clean-up. Unfortunately, due to the continuing uncertainty surrounding the pandemic it is not possible for the Parish Council to arrange a community effort this year.

Instead, we are asking residents to pledge some time to complete a litter picking session in their own time and log it (if you wish to) on KeepBritainTidy.org. To do this, simply follow the link below and complete the quick form to let them know how many minutes of picking you wish to pledge.

Keepbritaintidy.org - Pledge your time

You can pledge as many minutes or hours as you wish between the 11th and 27th and, of course, any time you donate will be greatly appreciated by the Parish Council and local residents who will very much enjoy seeing how tidy the village can be! Several of us on the Parish Council have already signed up.

We Want to Hear from You

Higham Parish Council would love to hear from residents who get out and about cleaning up our beautiful village.

You can take a photo of your group session or perhaps a ‘selfie’ if you are a lone picker. Why not send in a brief report telling us where you picked and/or how much litter you collected.

You can upload your photos and reports to our facebook page:

Higham Parish Council on Facebook

OR

email your photos and reports to cllr.gilby@higham-kent-pc.gov.uk for inclusion on our website

Please indicate in your email if you are happy for your reports and photos to be uploaded to these platforms as part of your submissions.

Safety Guidelines

KeepBritainTidy.org have prepared easy-to-follow guidance to support all volunteer litter-pickers to keep everybody as safe as possible.

The guidance states that litter-picking can be carried out alone, in pairs or in small groups of up to a maximum of six based on the current government guidance for meeting with people outside of your household. For all of the safety information, follow the link below:

Keepbritaintidy.org - COVID-19 Safety Guidance

When?

Anytime between Friday 11th and Sunday 27th September.

Where?

Anywhere within Higham Parish! This year, we are asking residents to choose their own  locations to litter pick: perhaps the recreation ground, outside the parade on Forge Lane or another location where you feel that litter is an issue.

We want everybody to stay safe so we are asking residents to exercise caution and common sense when choosing an area to litter pick. For example, don’t litter pick in the dark and avoid rough and overgrown areas and verges along busy roads such as the A226 Gravesend Road and A289 for instance!

What should I do with the rubbish I collect?

This year, Gravesham Borough Council will not be collecting the rubbish that Higham residents pick up after this Spring Clean event. We are therefore asking residents to collect litter in black bin sacks and to put them out with your household waste on your designated bin collection day.

Good luck and we look forward to hearing from as many residents as possible on how you got on with your litter picking! Please remember the golden rule when out and about litter picking – STAY SAFE.

Thank you for your continued support

Higham Parish Council

September 8, 2020 in Community, Environment

FOR ACTION: Local Green Space Public Consultation

Gravesham Borough Council Public Consultation NOW OPEN
 
Local Green Space is a planning designation introduced by Government in the National Planning Policy Framework.
 
The designation is a way to provide additional protection to green spaces (sites) which demonstrate particular importance to local communities in line with the criteria for Local Green Space.
 
The Council is inviting representations on:
 
  • View and provide comments on the draft local criteria for the designation of Local Green Space
  • Nominate a site to be considered by the council for the Local Green Space designation
The Local Green Space consultation will run for four weeks from Tuesday 1 September until Tuesday 29 September 2020 at 5 pm.
 
For all of the details, please visit the Gravesham Borough Council’s dedicated webpage here:
Here you can read the consultation documents and submit your response online too.
 
Higham Parish Council
September 5, 2020 in Community, Environment

FOR INFO: Gardens for Pleasure Competition in 2020

Gardens for Pleasure Competition in 2020

The Parish Council very much regrets that for the first time in 36 years it has not been possible to hold our Annual Higham Gardens for Pleasure Competition in 2020.

Some parishioners have opted for a simple garden display this year, others have not attempted to plant out their usual pots. It has therefore been decided that, as this year is exceptional, the fairest thing to do to ensure a level playing field is to not proceed further with the competition this year.

We are sorry for this disappointment but (fingers crossed) we very much hope to be able to stage the competition as usual next year. If you are not familiar with the annual competition, please follow the link below for our Garden for Pleasure Competition page:

Gardens for Pleasure Competition

  • GFP 2012

Higham Parish Council

 

August 19, 2020 in Community, Lifestyle

FOR ACTION: Review of The Highway Code to improve road safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders

The Department of Transport have opened a consultation seeking the UK’s views on proposed changes to The Highway Code to improve safety for vulnerable road users, particularly the groups of:

  • cyclists
  • pedestrians
  • horse riders

The main alterations to the code being proposed are:

  • introducing a hierarchy of road users which ensures that those road users who can do the greatest harm have the greatest responsibility to reduce the danger or threat they may pose to others
  • clarifying existing rules on pedestrian priority on pavements, to advise that drivers and riders should give way to pedestrians crossing or waiting to cross the road,
  • providing guidance on cyclist priority at junctions to advise drivers to give priority to cyclists at junctions when travelling straight ahead
  • establishing guidance on safe passing distances and speeds when overtaking cyclists and horse riders

Higham Parish Council are urging our parishioners to have their say in this consultation as cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders are well represented in the area and particularly as the activities mentioned are very popular in and around our village.

Please follow the link below for all of the details on how to respond:

Gov.uk - Review of The Highway Code to improve road safety for cyclists, pedestrians and horse riders

The consultation closes at

The Parish Council

August 1, 2020 in Community, Lifestyle, Transport

A further message from your Borough Councillors Leslie Pearton and Harold Craske

COVID-19
Lockdown is easing and many people are getting back to a ‘normal’ way of life. Schools, which never closed, are taking in more children; our village shops have continued trading, as has many of our businesses and the surgery whilst observing social distancing procedures; many more people are returning to work; and, our places of worship are now gradually opening for short periods of time whilst providing collective worship through that wonderful platform, and previously unheard of ZOOM.
For some, however, the virus is still as dominant in their lives as it was earlier in the year and many are suffering because of its consequences. The tireless task to assist those in need has been continued throughout by our ‘Helping Hands’ volunteers. All our village key workers and volunteers have continued regardless whilst also trying to juggle their own personal lives and families.
Our heartfelt thanks go out to all to all the volunteers, the shopkeepers and staff, our Parish church and the Congregational church, the garages, the surgery and to both our village schools to keep Higham village going through the lockdown thus far. Some innovative ideas have kept the community together – the rainbows, the pebbles, the essentials kits, the VE Day kits, the sunflower kits, the Joyce sweetshop kits and much, much more. Volunteer aid has kept going whether via the churches, the schools, the shops or individual members of the Parish community.
We must not forget that some village businesses have suffered, but spirits have remained high and everyone has pulled together wherever possible.
There are too many ‘Heroes’ to name individually and in fear of missing anyone out – you know who you are and you are applauded.
On behalf of the whole village and your Parish Council – THANK YOU!
Harold and Les
July 1, 2020 in Community, Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Anisa Celebrate Key Workers and Local Volunteers

You may or may not be aware that for several Sundays in a row throughout May and June, Anisa (our local Indian food takeaway) has been providing free take-away curries to NHS staff during the lunchtime period.
On Sunday 21st June, Anisa, wished to say a big ‘Thank You’ to the NHS, police, fire brigade, Higham volunteers and their families for all of their hard work during the lockdown period. Heather Harvey, one of the main Administrators with ‘Higham Help’, Lauren Sharman and the owner and employees of Anisa organised a small (and socially-distanced) gathering outside Anisa to celebrate the good work that has been done by our community here in Higham.
Councillors Les Pearton, Liz Jeffery and our Chair, Councillor John Grey, also attended the event to extend their gratitude for all of the hard work and dedication that has been shown by key workers in these difficult times and to thank Higham Help and Anisa for their wonderfully generous contributions to the community.
Please take a look at the photos of the event below:
Thank you for your continued support.
The Parish Council
June 29, 2020 in Community, Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Higham commemorates 150th anniversary of the death of Charles Dickens

This year marks the 150th anniversary of the death of Charles Dickens. The author spent the latter part of his life residing at Gad’s Hill Place where he wrote some of his most famous works. In addition to Higham, many buildings and landmarks around Gravesham feature in his works also.

On Tuesday 9th June 2020, to recognise his strong links with the village, members of Higham Parish Council and the Mayor of Gravesham, placed geraniums (Charles Dickens’s favourite flower) beneath our beloved (and newly-painted) ‘Higham’ signpost located on Gravesend Road.

Strictly observing Government social distancing guidelines, the Chair and Vice-Chair of Higham Parish Council (Councillor Grey and Councillor Mendzil, respectively), the Parish Clerk and Councillor Gilby (also official photographer), assisted the Mayor in placing the planters below our Charles Dicken’s ‘Higham’ sign (recently repainted by Terry Morris, a local signwriter). The planters will be present for the entire summer giving a splash of colour to passers-by as they drive through our village.

The Mayor said:

Thank You very much for inviting me today and for the photo, the sign looks fantastic with its blaze of colour,  a real credit to all those on the Higham parish council. You should all be applauded for looking after the village for everyone to enjoy and celebrate being part of the Charles Dickens legacy.
I hope we can all get together again soon
Kind Regards
John
 Cllr John D Caller, Mayor of Gravesham

Higham Parish Council would like to thank a few people that made this commemoration possible: Councillor Liz Jeffery for organising the event;  the Oakleigh Garden Centre, Higham for the planters; Terry Morris for ensuring our village sign was looking its best for years to come and also a thank you to Carol Janz (local resident) for volunteering to keep the displays watered throughout the summer – a most generous undertaking for which we are very grateful.

For photos of the morning, please see below:

Higham Parish Council

 

June 9, 2020 in Culture

For Info: Coronavirus (COVID-19) Higham Parish Council team up with Helping Hands

HELPING HANDS – HIGHAM VILLAGE

ARE YOU SELF ISOLATING DUE TO CORONAVIRUS COVID-19?

ARE YOU ABLE TO HELP THOSE WHO ARE SELF ISOLATING?

Higham Parish Council  has joined forces with the Helping Hands Facebook group which has been set up in the neighbouring villages of Cliffe, Cliffe Woods and Wainscott to ensure all those in Higham receive any assistance that they need.

Assistance given may include:-

  •   Picking up shopping
  •   Posting mail
  •   Getting urgent supplies
  •   A friendly phone call

If you are able to help , or you need help, please contact the Parish Clerk by email on highampc@hotmail.com or by telephone on 01474  822642 (email is preferred). Higham Parish Council will use the bank of volunteers to ensure those who are unable to go out receive the support that they need.

If you are able to offer your help you will be asked to select a road in the village and fill in copies of the Helping Hands slips (shown below) with your contact name and a number for the self-isolating person to contact you, before posting through the front doors.

IMPORTANT :  Please be aware that people may be targeted by criminals who seek to take advantage of those who are in self-isolation. Please only deal with people that you know, or who have been arranged via Higham Parish Council.

For more information please contact:-

Linda Carnall

Clerk to Higham Parish Council

01474  822642 / highampc@hotmail.com

 

April 5, 2020 in Community, Coronavirus (COVID-19)