East Kent EDG November 2024 Minute
Ray Johnson (RJ) – Chair
Jayne Miles (JM) – Dover District Council (Minutes)
Mel Dizon (MD) – Martello Building Consultancy
Daniel Sangiuseppe (DS) – Castlewood Hotels
Jason Lewis – Stantech
Richard Christian – Port of Dover
Chairman’s Comments and Report
a. RJ welcomed RC to the group and thanked the Port of Dover for hosting the meeting. RJ will share notes from the previous meeting with RC.
b. RJ reported that there will be a strategy meeting to work out how the EDG groups will be taken forward. EKEDG covers Dover, Folkestone and Thanet and works differently to the other Kent groups as meetings are held in a variety of venues giving group members the chance to see local projects.
We agreed despite many requests from the chair to increase participation from Thanet both businesses/Local Authority as currently there is no representation – suggestions included Manston airport.
RJ will contact Betteshanger Park.
c. RJ reported that at a recent Kent Resilience Forum meeting Toby Howe gave a very informative presentation but there is currently no new news. The Port of Dover are working to create a local freight facility which would be able to hold 3,500 lorries, removing the need for TAP and significantly reducing the need for BROCK. The project is supported by KCC and there are ongoing discussions with DofT. The University of Kent are working on a ‘Dover impact study’ and the Chamber are looking to produce a strategy.
d. A paper has been circulated by TP (copy attached) informing members of a new ‘Get Britain Working’ White Paper which the Chamber have been providing advice and guidance on through their work with the Local Skills Improvement Plan and EDG representation.
e. RJ has previously taken 20 students to a conference that he chaired in Maidstone which was so successful that they had requested to return the following year. A discussion took place around encouraging young people to attend our group meetings – DS will speak to EB to ask if the Youth President from EK College may like to come along to the next Folkestone meeting.
RJ said we would need to handle confidential aspects.
RC reported that the Port have recently introduced the ‘Young People’s Port Network’ where they encourage young people to experience the port. A ‘Youth Council’ will help with future plans. JM to introduce RC to Lyndsey Read from DDC who is organising a Youth Festival in March 25. RJ suggested a great way to get traction is to reach out via employees.
Presentation from RC, Port of Dover
RC presented to the group and shared a link for further information – Have Your Say Today – Port Of Dover 2050 | Empower Exchange – Commonplace.
Summer went extremely well at the Port this year – handled a third more traffic with a third less space in a third of the time. New booths have been installed for the French border police which have significantly improved performance.
Eastern Docks doesn’t have the space for the EES proposals. Coaches are now being processed at Western Docks which is working well. The old marina is currently being infilled to provide space for processing cars. Freight will go straight to Eastern Docks for processing – a new canopy has been put up in Eastern docks. IT has been the biggest problem – tablets had a high (85%) fail rate when tested in Paris. The EU has agreed to review the regulations.
The Port are still hoping to be awarded the £40m Levelling-Up Fund grant for the Outbound Controls project in Eastern docks which is planned to be introduced in 2027 and will remove the need for TAP and significantly reduce the need for BROCK.
The presentation also included slides on the Port’s 2050 ambitions with its Target Zero agenda for zero impact.
Sector Updates (Planning Consultancy) JL reported:
- Stantec’s client has a site in the Dover vicinity for c.3,400 HGVs to aid removal of operation TAP and Brock. KCC has written a letter supporting the scheme and Stantec’s client is seeking the same from DfT.
- General market roundup:
o Property developer access to funding is difficult, due to interest rate hikes over the past 2 years
o Homes England are starting to get involved in large schemes to aid housing delivery. Two of Maidstone’s three strategic sites feature government support.
o The recent decision by Government to call in the Quinn Sittingbourne scheme for c.7500 homes has raised a lot of reaction in the planning sphere. Many are interested to see how this plays out. (Construction Consultancy) MD reported: - Looking ahead to 2025, Andy plans to attend EKEDG, with me stepping in as a reserve if he is unable to.
- For Martello, we are currently very busy, particularly with some exciting projects, including:
o Collaborating with Dover District Council to deliver new affordable homes
o Supporting Kent Police with architectural drawings for their assets, as well as providing conveyancing drawings to assist in the sale of their stock to the private sector. - Additionally, we are preparing a tender package for Dover District Council’s Poulton Close project which is set to go out this January. Contractors, including Jenners, will be notified accordingly.
- We are optimistic about the upcoming year, anticipating a sufficient workload for 2025, with any additional opportunities being a welcome bonus.
- Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! (Hospitality) DS reported:
- The Folkestone and District hospitality sector has had a decent Summer but not brilliant. Trade was affected by the weather. Autumn is ticking over and there’s always a lull in November. Christmas is looking strong with lots of parties being booked and many businesses already fully booked for Christmas day lunches. January and February is always very quiet.
- Following the budget there are serious concerns regarding business costs with increases to minimum wage and National Insurance contributions plus changes to Business Rate Relief.
From April next year these costs will hit hard and a number of businesses are reporting that it won’t be commercially viable to continue trading and so are planning to close their doors.
There are reports of a few new businesses opening or changing hands.
- Lots of events are being planned for Folkestone next year including the Triennial.
- Lots of infrastructure projects going on around Folkestone.
- DS recently attended a hospitality recruitment meeting at the Yarrow – the Government are funding new initiatives and working with local providers to train existing staff on employability skills plus a ‘Try before you buy’ scenario where employers can recruit an employee for two weeks experience, funded by DWP. (Local Authority – Dover) JM reported:
- ‘Dover Beacon’ (Levelling Up project) is progressing well with a groundbreaking ceremony being held this week.
- The refurbishment of Dover’s Maison Dieu historic building is almost complete, DDC will take a few months to get the building ready, find a tenant for the concession and tender for event caterers. First event is due to be held in April 2025.
- We are in the final few months of the UK Shared Prosperity Fund and Rural England Prosperity Fund and are working on a variety of projects including improvements to town centres and green spaces and a training programme with a ‘BIG training day’ to be held in February.
- Empty shops continue to be an issue for Dover but not such a problem in Deal and Sandwich. We continue to work with the Planning Enforcement team to target scruffy properties.
- Students from East Kent College have been visiting our sites (Roman Painted House, Western Heights and the Maison Dieu) and will be working on writing tours for their curriculum which we hope they will use when cruise visitors arrive next year.
- Our draft Cultural Strategy is currently with the design team and will be presented to cabinet for approval in the new year. (Construction) EB reported:
- Whilst the construction industry is undoubtedly ‘on the up’ and feeling very buoyant, it remains challenging. The sad demise of other contractors, particularly ISG as the most notable recently, pressures those remaining as Performance Bonds continue to be difficult to secure as the sureties reduce their exposure.
- Nonetheless, Clients seem to be pushing forwards with confidence with a strong pipeline of opportunity coming forwards. The recent Construction Expo (held 3rd October) was testimony to the current positivity in the industry as this was incredibly well-attended and the room was buzzing.
- At Jenner we are still very busy, particularly with care sector work in both Kent and Sussex and are delighted to have been recently appointed to deliver two projects for EKC Group in Margate and Sheppey, and we have lots on site and recently awarded by Ashford Borough Council too. Dover Beacon (The Bench Building) has this week officially broken ground in the presence of the Leader of DDC, the Mayor and representatives from the funders MHCLG, and is now well underway with the piling progressing well.
- The spectacular development of Shoreline (Folkestone Seafront) has recently been recognised at the WhatHouse Awards winning the gold accolade for ‘Best Development’ and gaining silver in the ‘Best Luxury House’ categories.
Meeting closed at 11:52. RJ thanked all for their attendance and input and to Richard for hosting.
Date of next meeting: 29th January 2025 – Shoreline Development Folkestone
