Should Sheppey have its own council?

Should Sheppey have one council serving the Island?

Should Halfway get its own parish council or be absorbed by Minster, Sheerness or Queenborough?

Does Warden parish council need to be renamed Warden Bay?

These are some of the questions to be discussed by the next Island Forum on Tuesday (January 20).

Welcome to the sun-kissed Isle of Sheppey

There will also be an urgent update from Lee Jarmain and Paul West from the Pyramid Project on how the Island desperately needs to support its young people who are not working or in school.

Esther Marsh from the Sheppey Employment Forum will highlight a ‘No Excuses’ event to be held in March at the former Dockyard Church in Blue Town

And Jenny Hurkett from the Criterion Blue Town will give the latest low-down on ambitious plans to celebrate the Island in June with a month-long Festival of Sheppey to highlight its heritage.

Jenny Hurkett, founder of the Criterion Blue Town, is masterminding a Festival of Sheppey

A competition to find a town crier for the Island is also on the cards.

Tuesday’s meeting begins at 6.30pm and this month will be at Sheerness East Working Men’s Club in Queenborough Road, Halfway, as part of Swale Borough Council's public consultation into a community governance review.

Cllr Mike Whiting (Ind, Queenborough and Halfway), who chairs Swale council’s community governance review working group, said: “This is a really important moment for Swale and for Sheppey in particular.

Cllr Mike Whiting. Picture: Swale Borough Council

“The Community Governance Review (CGR) will help Swale Council decide whether it wants to make changes to existing parish and town councils on the Island.

“Local representation will be all the more important when the government abolishes Swale Borough Council and Kent County Council in favour of a large unitary authority.

“Town and parish councils can provide local input into decisions which affect their residents and can ensure local money is spent locally.

"The consultation considers whether Halfway, the only area on Sheppey not to have its own parish council, should have one, or whether Halfway should be absorbed into another parish.

“It also asks for views on abolishing all the town and parish councils on Sheppey and creating one large council covering and representing the whole island.

"The final question is whether Warden Parish Council should change its name to Warden Bay Parish Council.”

Cllr Tim Gibson. Picture: Swale Borough Council

Cllr Tim Gibson (Lab, Roman) who chairs the council’s policy and resources committee, said: “When done right, parish and town councils benefit local communities. They give residents a direct voice in local affairs and provide flexibility on how funding is spent.

“But we want to make it clear: having these new councils won’t be free and if set up there will be an additional charge on your council tax bill.

“That is why it is incredibly important for us to hear from you; we only want to implement changes if that is what people truly want.”

He added: “These options are not set in stone. Residents can help us shape the future of parish and town councils in Swale.”

Does Halfway need its own parish council?

Have your say by filling in the council’s questionnaire here: https://tinyurl.com/ParishCouncilSurvey

 The deadline is Monday, February 9.

There will be another meeting on Sheppey in Warden Bay next month.

The results will shape a second consultation which will be launched in the spring.

That could include changes to boundaries. For example, part of Appleford Drive is currently in Halfway and some in Minster-on-Sea. The council may suggest moving all of it into Minster-on-Sea.